Little Women & Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott

 

Title:  Little Women

Author:  Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by:  Jennifer Woodward

Publisher: Saga Egmont

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Checked out from Hoopla through the Kewaunee Public Library

 

Title:  Good Wives

Author:  Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Audible Studios

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.

What is a positive book that improves your mood when you read it?  Little Women is just such a book for me.

Little Women is the story of the trials and tribulations of the four March sisters.  Meg is the eldest and is beautiful and caring. Jo is independent and fearless, Beth is musical and timid, and Amy is artistic and vain.  The country is in the midst of the Civil War and their father is gone having joined the Union war effort.  The girls and their mother, Marmee, and housekeeper, Hannah, work to keep their household going and to help their community.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was great on audiobook and both narrators were very expressive and a joy to listen to. The first audiobook that I listened to ended at the middle of what I think of as Little Women.  I had to go and get Good Wives separately to finish the story as the girls grow older and marry.  This is originally how the books were published, but most modern editions have both books packaged together as Little Women.

·       This book was the July pick for the Back to the Classics Book Club at the Kewaunee Public library.  We enjoyed it.  It’s an overall happy book which we discussed at book club is rare for a classic novel. We watched and enjoyed the 2019 adaptation of the novel.

·       As an adult with every reread, I am struck by Marmee’s talk with Jo on how she has a bad temper and how as an adult, she has had to work hard to keep her calm appearance and keep her anger in. It is so interesting and it provides such a depth to Marmee’s character.  She is a great mother who supported her daughters to become great women.

·       I loved how the sisters had their disagreements as all sisters do, but they support and love each other.

·       Amy and Jo spar but are a lot alike.  They are both passionate about their art and want a different life than the traditional pathway of marriage for females at the time.

·       I’ve read this book many times in my life, and I have loved it every time.

·       This novel is based on Louisa May Alcott’s real life and family.  At times now, I get real life and the novel confused. 

·       I loved how they help the immigrant Hummel family and give them their Christmas dinner.  The Hummels are a poor fatherless German Immigrant family.  I love the Christian message of helping the “stranger” in our midst.

 

Overall, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is an uplifting and timeless classic that is well worth a read, or multiple reads.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

Title:  The Book Thief

Author:  Markus Zusak

Narrated by:  Allan Corduner

Publisher: Listening Library

Length: Approximately 13 hour and 57 minutes

Source: Checked out in Libby from the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

What makes a book a classic?

Liesel has lost her family in 1939 Germany.  At her brother’s funeral, she picks up a copy of The Gravedigger’s Handbook that was accidentally left behind.  Her new life as a lover and stealer of books has arrived.  She is taken care of by a new foster family and grows up learning the complexity of trying to do good in a world that has forgotten its humanity.  Will Liesel, her friends, and foster family make it to the end of the war?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This is a powerful story.  This was a powerful book when I first read it fifteen years ago and was just as powerful on a reread, this time on audiobook.

·       This was the @dees.reads Classic Buddy Read for May, but I finished it up in June.  I am behind on my buddy reads!  I am still thinking about this book months later.

·       Liesel’s foster father, Hans Huberman, didn’t have much, but his kindness and care for others meant so much in troubled times, especially as so many ignored the suffering of others.

·       It was disturbing how many people blindly followed Hitler, and how many people didn’t want to say anything and rock the boat, even when they knew it was wrong.  It’s disturbing how much this is paralleled in modern times.

·       Allan Corduner was a powerful narrator on the audiobook.  Have your tissues handy as you listen to this one.

·       One major theme was how do you keep your humanity during terrible times?

·       The book was beautifully written and unique to have the story narrated by death.

·       Liesel has everyday cares and friends, but she lives during extraordinary times.

·       This book is classified as a young adult novel, but it is an important story that all adults should read as well.

Overall, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a must-read historical fiction classic that sticks with you long after you turn the last page.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

 

Title:  A Wrinkle in Time

Author:  Madeleine L’Engle

Narrated by:  Hope Davis, Ava DuVernay, Madeleine L'Engle, Charlotte Jones Voiklis

Publisher: Listening Library

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 27 minutes

Source: I used my monthly audible allotment from Amazon.com for this book.

What book would you like to see adapted for the big screen?  I had not read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle when I was young, but I did read it with my kids before the movie came out a little less than ten years ago.  It was good to reread it again for the Classics Buddy Read with @dees.reads in March.

Meg Murry’s father disappeared years before and her family waits for his return.  Neighbors whisper that he abandoned his family, but his wife and kids believe it has something to do with this work.  One night a strange woman visits Meg’s home and invites her, her brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin on an adventure to find her father.  Will they find him?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I enjoyed reading the physical version with my kids last time around, but it just didn’t really click with me this time around. 

·       The audiobook had a good narrator and I enjoyed that Madeleine L'Engle also discussed how hard it was to get this book published.

·       This is a young adult fantasy, science fiction, and coming of age story.

·       It was published in 1962 and won the Newbury medal in 1963.

·       I liked the time travel through the universe.  The tesseract and explanation were intriguing.

·       This is the first book in a series, but I have never read the other books. Have you?  What did you think?

·       I did love how this was great story of the power of love.

·       This book was referenced in the last season of Stranger Things, and it was fun to read it after watching that.

·       I liked that Meg was a strong female character who thought differently but was very gifted in math.  I felt like her and Charles Wallace may have been on the spectrum.

Overall, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle did not engage me this time around, but it is a unique young adult novel with a great female lead.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

 

What book would you like to see a prequel for?

It’s the fiftieth annual Hunger games and Haymitch Abernathy has been selected from District 12.  As part of the 50^th anniversary celebration, they are selecting twice as many children from each section, so District 12 is sending four tributes this year.  Haymitch wants to get back to his beloved girlfriend, mom, and brother, but he also wants to take down the Capital and the Hunger Games.  Will he succeed?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Sunrise on the Reaping was an entertaining action novel reminiscent of the first two books at the Hunger Games series.  It was very readable!

·       I do wish there would have been more differences to make this book more unique like the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

·       I liked the cameos of characters from the original novels that popped up such as Plutarch, Mags, Wiress, and Effie.

·       Haymitch loves Lenore Dove, a descendant of Lucy Grey (not explained how), but their romantic relationship isn’t fully developed.

·       This story explains why Haymitch breaks down and is the way he is.  It would have been interesting to tell the story of his life between the games and mentoring Katniss. 

·       I liked the new character of Masilee.  She is a wealthy mean girl from District 12 who shows her humanity and spunk during the games.

·       This story will make an entertaining movie.

Overall, Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins is an enjoyable story very similar to the first two Hunger Game novels.

Book Source:  Preordered from Amazon.com

Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott, Alyson Derrick

 

Title:  Make My Wish Come True 

Author:  Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

Narrated by:  Krystal Hammond and Natalie Naudus

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 4 minutes 

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  

Do you have a favorite actor/actress that was a former child star?

Arden James is a teen actress with an image problem.  She is known as a party girl and it’s interfering with her getting her dream movie role.  She decides to fake that her childhood best friend, Caroline Beckett, is her long-term girlfriend.  Caroline agrees to play along as Arden promises she will get to write an article in Cosmopolitan about their relationship.  Will their fake romance become real?

My thoughts on this book:

• This novel had a dual narrative.  Both Arden and Caroline alternate chapters.  There were also dual narrators for the audiobook too which I appreciated.  I feel this gives the reader a better understanding of the different characters.

• This was a slow-moving teen story.  They both seemed to have a crush earlier, but they had never told each other.  It was very slow burn.

• There was a lot of angst, complaining, and misunderstandings.  The audiobook at least had a slightly negative vibe at times.

• Arden reminds me of someone like a young Lindsay Lohan.  Her life spins out of control as she tries to break out of being a child actor.  Arden has lost who she is as a person and wants to go back to being a “normal” girl with a girlfriend and family who loves her.

• Tropes:  Fake dating, slow burn, Hollywood dating regular, and enemies to lovers.

• This audiobook just never really grabbed my attention.  I think I would have liked it better if the characters were in their twenties.

Overall, Make My Wish Come True was a slow burn teen romance that never quite captured my attention.

An Unlikely Proposition by Rosalyn Eves (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Title:  An Unlikely Proposition

Author:  Rosalyn Eves

Narrated by:  Hannah Curtis

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 30 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com.  Thank-you Farrar Straus Giroux and Austenprose for the Review copy of the physical book.

 

Lady’s maid, companion, or Lady?  If you lived during the Regency time period, which would you be?  I always imagined myself as a paid companion or governess if I lived during that time period. 

Eleanor is a young widow of only seventeen.  She has come to London to enjoy herself, make sure her late husband’s mathematical work is published, and ensure that she is not pestered by men looking for marriage. She hires a companion, Thalia, to accompany her around town.  Thalia herself had a failed first season and dreamed of becoming a published poet.  Will Eleanor and Thalia both find the happiness they crave?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Eleanor’s back story reminded me of A Little Princess.  What happens when your parent stops paying for your schooling, and you have no where to go?  In this case, the much older Mr. Lockhart rescued the sixteen-year-old Eleanor through marriage.

·       I enjoyed the characters.  They were fun and had relatable problems.  I felt for Thalia as she struggled to have her poems taken seriously and be published because she was a woman.  Eleanor’s search for a place of her own in the world was also relatable.  I wanted to be their friend.

·       This novel includes a fake engagement, and friends to lovers storyline.  I enjoyed both tropes and loved the double romance.

·       I didn’t know until I read on Goodreads that this is considered the second book in a series.  It’s a parallel novel in the Unexpected Seasons series.  I need to check out the first book, An Improbably Season as well.  An Unlikely Proposition worked as a standalone novel.

·       I have also seen this described as a young adult book, but I loved reading it as an adult!

·       This is a good clean read and only includes kissing.

·       The novel was told from two point of view, Eleanor’s and Thalia’s.

·       This was a great escapism read.

·       I started reading this as a physical book, but I had a lot of driving to do so I switched to the audiobook.  I enjoyed both the physical book and the audiobook.

Overall, An Unlikely Proposition is an enjoyable, witty Regency Romance.  If you are looking for an escapism read, I highly recommend this novel.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

 

Title:  The Outsiders

Author:  S.E. Hinton

Narrated by:  Spike McClure

Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 48 minutes

Source: Checked out with Hoopla through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

 

What is your favorite book that you read in middle school?  I don’t really remember being assigned books in middle school, just short stories, but I loved reading R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, the Nancy Drew Case Files, and Sweet Valley High during that time.

I somehow missed reading The Outsiders.  My two boys read it and enjoyed it in middle school and my daughter has just started to read it at school this week.  I noticed it was one of the top hundred favorite books in the PBS Great American Read in 2018. I finally read The Outsiders myself in January as part of the #classicbuddyread hosted by @dees.reads.

Ponybox Curtis is a fourteen-year-old orphan.  He has two older brothers that take care of him and want him to have a better life.  Over a two-week period, he struggles with what is right and wrong in life between his group, the greasers, and the rich kids, the socs.  When a tragedy occurs, how will Ponyboy and his friends handle it?

My thoughts on the novel:

·       It started off slow for me, but I got sucked into the story and I couldn’t quit listening to the audiobook.

·       I was shocked and moved by the story.

·       It’s amazing to me that this book was written by a teenager, and I think it really helps it to speak to teens.

·       This is a found family story.  I love that Ponyboy learns to appreciate his brothers and understand their sacrifices as the story progresses.

·       Ponyboy realizes that his enemies are people too who make both good and bad decisions and are loved.

·       People make assumptions about the greasers, but they can also be heroic and good.  Don’t judge a person by their appearance.

·       There was a LOT of smoking in this novel.

·       I had never watched the classic 80’s movie.  I finally watched it over the weekend, and it was pretty good.  Bravo to whoever the casting director was.  I don’t know how they wrangled that many future stars into one movie.

Favorite Quote, “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset.”

Overall, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton was a good book and definitely worth reading, even as an adult.

The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park

 

Title:  The Christmas Clash

Author:  Suzanne Park

Narrated by:   Jay Lai and Jennifer Sun Bell

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 17 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

Do you have a favorite mall?  Do you still have a mall around you?  Did you like hanging out in one as a teenager?  My Mom worked at Pearlevision / NuVision in the mall when I was a teenager.  It was great fun to go to work with her and my sister or a friend and then roam the mall all day long.  The mall of my youth is a bit sad and empty now when I go back home.  I enjoy our mall in Green Bay and my daughter thinks it is very exciting.

The Christmas Clash involves two teenager who work at a mall, Chloe Kwon and Peter Li.  Peter Li drives Chloe Kwon up a wall.  While Chloe works taking pictures of kids with Santa, Peter works at a North Pole Virtual Reality center right across the atrium from her.  As they fight over business, they are carrying on the fight between their parents.  Their parents each own a restaurant in the food court, the Lis sell Chinese food and the Kwons sell Korean food.  They have a bitter rivalry that their children don’t understand.  When Chloe and Peter discover that the malls new owner plans to evict everyone and tear the mall down, they ban together to save the mall.  Will they be able to save the mall and will their feelings for each other change?

This book was so delightful.  Chloe and Peter were great characters with great teenage angst . . . and chemistry.  I also enjoyed a friends to lovers’ trope as was the case in this story. . . although it is a teen story so it was more friends to boyfriend/girlfriend.  I like that it was like Romeo and Juliet, but the rivalry was between two food court restaurant owners.  I especially liked when Chloe started to question why exactly there was a rivalry and decide not to continue carrying it on to the next generation.  Both characters face racism as Asian Americans and I thought it was an interesting look into a realistic aspect of their lives.

I loved Chloe’s zest for fighting for saving the mall and her parents business.  The story of being in the mall brought back so many happy memories of my youth and local mall. I also liked that she had goals in life as a photographer and she pursued her goals.  Both her and Peter face challenges as the second child compared to their “perfect” older siblings and it was a great thing for them to bond over.  It was a great coming of age story for them both.

The story was a dual narrative told in chapters from Chloe or Peter’s perspective. Jay Lai and Jennifer Sun Bell were perfect narrators and were the voices of the characters to me.

Talk Santa to Me by Linda Urban

 

Title:  Talk Santa to Me

Author:  Linda Urban

Narrated by:  Ines del Castillo

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 59 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster.  Thank-you!

 Frankincense “Francie” was literally born in a stable at her family’s Hollydale Holiday Shop in northern Indiana.  After her beloved Grandpa’s death, Francie’s Aunt Carole has returned to town.  She is trying to improve the shop by targeting Grandpa’s Santa School and bringing in Hollywood flair.  Francie is not pleased with these changes and also is not pleased that Aunt Carole has made her work environment impossible with all of the crazy costumes she forces Francie to wear.  How will Francie save the shop and the Santa school?  She has also stepped in to help her father on a local cable show and has become known as Santa’s intern.  As letters flood in, will she be able to answer them all before Christmas?  Will the cute boy, Hector, working at the Christmas tree farm next door ever notice her?

 I loved the upper Midwest feel to this novel and I was actually surprised tor realize it was set in Indiana.  I was thinking it was Minnesota or Wisconsin.  Part of the teenage protagonist’s angst is that she has attended Catholic school her entire life, but she has now started to go to public school.  Her best friend is still at the Catholic school, which makes her sad.  There is also a hockey team and hockey seems to be huge in this school.  Poor Francie is known as a “bad kisser” after an unfortunate incident with a boy from the hockey team and is teased constantly about it.  Her angst about this also seemed real and trying to figure out how to move forward from it.  Although this novel was emersed in the Christmas spirt, Francie’s teen problems seemed relevant and real.  I thought the story was a lot of fun. 

 The story also brought in some sad experiences as it dealt with Francie’s Grandpa’s death and how it affected her.   I thought it took a good and honest look at grief.

  This was overall a clean young adult read.  I liked the romance between Francie and Hector.  They were both great characters.

 Ines del Castillo was a fun narrator of this audiobook and I thought she did a great job of capturing Francie’s voice.

How to Survive Everything by Ewan Morrison

 

Do you like dystopian novels? After COVID, do you feel more or less prepared for a future pandemic?


Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of How to Survive Everything by Ewan Morrison.

SYNOPSIS:

My name is Haley Cooper Crowe and I am in lockdown in a remote location I can’t tell you about.

Children of divorce, Haley and Ben live with their mother. But their dad believes there’s a new, much deadlier pandemic coming and is determined to keep them alive. He wants to take them to his prepper hideaway where they will be safe from other people. NOW. But there’s no way their mother will go along with his plan. Saving them requires extreme measures.

Kidnapped by their father and confined to his compound far off the grid, Haley and Ben have no contact with the outside world. How can they save their mother? Will they make it out alive? Is the threat real—or is this all just a dark fantasy brought on by their conspiracy obsessed father’s warped imagination?

Propulsive and chilling in its realism, How to Survive Everything is the story of a world imploding; a teenage girl’s record for negotiating the collapse of everything she knows—including her family and sanity.

Review Thoughts: With family visiting for the holidays, I haven't had a chance to write up a comprehensive review. I liked that I wasn't sure in this book if Haley's Dad was off in his world or if the pandemic was reality. It told through Haley's first person perspective and I thought it was riveting. Haley wonders about her Mom at first and her friends. She has teen angst about the only teen boy in the bunker, Danny. Do they like each other as the only two teens left in their bunker? There is also a horrifying surgery where the realities of living without modern medicine set in. I was looking for something different to read and enjoyed this one.

This book was published on November 15th.

Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

 

What’s your favorite retelling?

I love retellings, but I especially love Pride and Prejudice retellings.  Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price is a November JASNA Northwoods Book Club selection.  I went into this book thinking it was a retelling, but by the end, I realized this is more of a murder mystery that uses the characters names from Pride and Prejudice, and it also fits in some tidbits from the classic novel, but it is not a retelling.  Thinking of this book in this manner made me enjoy it more.

Lizzie Bennet wants to be a barrister, but in Regency England, women working in the law is not done.  Her father owns a successful firm, Longbourn and Sons, but with no sons, it looks like the odious Mr. Collins will be taking it over.  Mr. Bennet tells Lizzie to solve a case on her own to prove she can do the job.  When she learns of the murder of Mr. Hurst, she is determined to solve the case to prove herself to her father.  When she runs into Mr. Darcy who is also working on the case, how will Lizzie show her true mettle?  Will she be able to solve the crime before Mr. Darcy?

I will be honest here, I didn’t like the book at first, but it grew on me.  I was expecting a lighthearted young adult, Pride and Prejudice retelling.  This is more a “murder mystery makeover” as the back cover states.  What I didn’t like at first is that I had to check to see if it was set in the Regency era.  Lizzy was always walking around alone in London, which she would not have done in the Regency era.  I also didn’t really feel the chemistry between Darcy and Lizzy. The characters were not well developed.  I think if this book would have been set one hundred years later, I would have liked it better.  Then Lizzie being a lawyer and walking around town would have been okay.  Set in the Regency era, it just didn’t work for me.  I did like the mystery and the final conclusion.  I loved how Lizzy got her day at court and the credit for solving the crime.  I liked this as a murder mystery.

Book Source: Purchased from Amazon.com.

Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch

 

Title:  Spells for Lost Things

Author:  Jenna Evans Welch

Narrated by:  Renee Dorian, Ali Andre Ali

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 15 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster.  Thank you @BookClubFavorites #BookClubFavorites for the free book.

 If you had a spell that could do anything you wish, what would that spell be for?  I think my spell would be for an automatically clean house.  No more laundry or cleaning for me! 

 Willow and Mason are two teenagers who find each other and themselves in this compelling young adult novel.  Willow’s mother is always busy with her business.  After her parents’ divorce, Willow has felt disconnected with her mother.  She dreams of traveling the world.  She is surprised one day when her mother announces that her twin sister had died and they are going on a trip.  Willow had never heard of this aunt.  When they travel back to Salem to finish up her Aunt’s affairs, Willow finds even more secrets about her family.  Why has her mother never told her that their family is from Salem and that they are a family of witches?

 Mason is in foster care and all he wants is to find his mother and be a family again.  When his mother’s high school friend Emma and her family agree to become his foster parents in Salem, Mason has a new opportunity.  He learns more about his mother from Emma.  He starts to become fond of his foster family, but he yearns to reunite with his mother.  When he meets Willow, he gets caught up in helping her figure out her family secrets through a series of secret letters that they find.  But will a spell for lost things bring back the thing he wants most of all? 

 Spells for Lost Things was ultimately about relationships.  As a mother, this audiobook brought tears to my eyes.  Mason’s search for his mother, and her inability to give up drugs to be his mother, was heartbreaking.  I love Mason’s relationship with Emma and her family and with Willow.  I also liked the exploration of Willow’s relationship with her Mom.  She learned a lot about her, and they worked to mend their own relationship. I enjoyed the sweet romance between Willow and Mason as well.

 A secondary star to this novel was the setting of Salem.  It made me want to visit and go on some of the tours.  I also liked Willow’s eccentric Aunts.  There is brief magic in the book as Willow learns the history of her family. 

 The chapters were narrated by either Willow or Mason.  I liked that there were two narrators so that each was the voice of one of the characters.  They did a great job narrating.

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young

Do you keep in touch with your high school friends?

I live in a different state now, but I keep in touch with my best friend Jenn.  I wish I had more time to keep in touch and actually see more of my high school friends in person.  I’m grateful for social media to at least be able to keep in touch that way.

Spells for Forgetting is my first book by Adrienne Young, but it won’t be my last.  This tale was set on an island off the cost of the state of Washington.  The people on the Island make their living from tourism associated with an orchard owned by the Salt family.  After a devastating fire and the death of a teenage girl, Lily, August Salt and his mother left the island forever in a cloud of suspicion.  Now fourteen years later, August has returned to buy his mother and tie up lose ends.  He once again meets his high school love, Emery.  Emery has stayed on the island and tried to move on.  She can’t forget August and also can’t find out what happened to him.  Now that he has returned, what will Emery do with life?  Who killed Lily all of those years ago and who started the fire?  What other secrets does the town hold?

I loved the atmosphere and setting of this young adult novel.  I also always love a second chance romance novel.  The spells in this title are some slight magic that happens in the novel.  Old spell books are passed down through families on the island.  I would call this a mystery young adult novel with a hint of magical realism.  I guessed some of the ending, but not all of it in this novel.  It’s told from mostly August and Emery’s perspectives with a few other islanders thrown in. The action mostly takes place in the present, but it also flashes back to the past before the fire and death.

Review Copy from Netgalley.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.