2013: The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker

After reading my best friend Daisy's recommendation of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, I felt it necessary to follow-up and read the sequel by the same author Leanna Renee Hieber called The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker. I only wish that I knew more about Greek mythology because I feel as if it could help me with understanding the past of Miss Persephone Parker and how it influences her future. Please click the link in the title of the first book if you wish to read or re-read the review of Hieber's first book.

In reading this sequel I found that it reminded me of the Harry Potter series. Except for the fact it's a historical fantasy romance from 1888 of course ...

It involves shriekers, ghosts, secret chambers, secret passageways, and of course a fair amount of magic. This second novel continues on with an elite group of seven chosen to protect mortals from Darkness ... Darkness being "Hades" if we follow the original mythology. So the real Persephone is Goddess of the Underworld and in this book, Persephone becomes a mortal woman ... Persephone Parker who becomes part of the Guard and is to marry Alexi ... the professor whom she fell in love with in the first book ... and a man who is almost more than twice her age (if I read that correctly).

Instead of a boy with a scar on his forehead (Harry Potter), we have a white, ethereal young woman warned of an impending betrayal who is given a task of entering the Whispering World to fool Darkness, gather a key, and fight in the war between the worlds of the living and the dead.

What I found enchanting about the first book I found tedious and irritating about the second. However, I believe it is still worth a read if you have extra time. Had the awkward relationship and dialogue between Percy (Persephone Parker) and her husband, Alexi, not been such a focal point of the novel, I might have liked it more. The plot overall was decent but the romance was uncomfortable for me. Instead of being turned on I was impatient and frustrated with their blah blah blah dialogue and somewhat violent patriarchal relationship.

This second book is mainly about an unavoidable war between the human world and the spirit one. It is about Darkness seeking revenge for his bride being stolen and about the leader of the Guard, Alexi, fighting to keep his precious new bride (a reincarnation of the Goddess Persephone) safe from harm.  As the impending doom of war grows thicker as the relationship between Percy and Alexi grows more uncertain. Another member of the Guard remarks that "Two people can love each other dearly, but anxiety, fear and silence can keep them apart. Percy and Alexi, of all people, cannot afford distance. None of us can."

The characters in the book try to teach one another to love what they have and stop worrying or they will end up with nothing. Often this is a good concept to live by in our own lives. Love what you have or you'll end up with nothing and do not worry about what you cannot control. In this book a war does commence and Alexi and Percy must learn to fight for each other, for themselves, and for the balance of good vs. evil. It's a good book, particularly if you've read the first, but I wouldn't say it's a must-read. I enjoyed it over break, however, and I do believe that Ms. Leanna Renee Hieber should keep writing.

Until the next review,
Britt

2013: A Dance with Dragons

This book took me the majority of December 2013 to read, but with school getting ready to close out for the holiday break I was quite busy. Luckily though, I was able to finish this when I got back to Minnesota and it has now been returned to its dust jacket and put on our brand new bookshelf!

One of my all-time favorite quotes came from the middle of this book: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” I feel as though this should be the quote that we live by as we explore some new books in 2014. So you, my readers, and me ... the reader of these books, shall from now on live by this idea that a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies ... but a man who never reads lives only one life. I hope to pass this idea on to my students. To inspire them to lose themselves in the characters of their books. 

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin was, in my humble opinion, the BEST book so far of the entire "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. It was entirely captivating and I loved the new plot lines introduced and of course the many point of view chapters of Daenerys Targaryen - the Queen of Dragons. The ending ... I was warned by a parent of one of my students as well as Kevin, Scott's father, is quite shocking. AND indeed it was. I was horrified and I am literally chewing my nails as we speak (a.k.a. as I write this) until the next book comes out in the "Game of Thrones" phenomenon. I have heard that HBO is putting a lot of pressure on the author to get these books DONE so that the TV show can continue on and continue to enjoy its success. If you've started this series already - watch out! This book will do you in. I'm hooked and by golly I want more!

Also ... I lent my Game of Thrones DVDs out ... I need them back as I first of all: DO NOT HAVE HBO ... and second of all: The third season is coming out soon and I need to  rehash the first two TV seasons to reacquaint myself with the TV version of this epic adventure. Happy reading!

And thank you to the gift-card givers of this holiday season! Scott and I had a good shopping day. Coming up I want to read the "Divergent" trilogy by Veronica Roth among my other unread beautiful books ... and I'm still working on The Marriage Plot. 

Puzzles! The French Riviera and Greece! Two of my favorite places. Thanks Barnes and Noble!

Seems like an awesome book! People trying to escape Europe during WWII. Definitely a 2014 must-read.

Divergent series!

This is the back of my head as I dive into The Marriage Plot.

Here's to Brittany's Book Reviews 2014!

Well here's to a year of blogging! Albeit off and on blogging ... it's hard to blog and read and write when you work full-time. But here I am back from about 2 weeks in Minnesota sitting in my sunny Oklahoma apartment - sick. I should be at work hearing hours of gibber-jabber, but as you can see (or read) I'm not.  I finished three books in Minnesota this break (granted one I finished in the car on the way to Oklahoma City but you get the picture). So the first three blog posts of 2014 will actually be about books in 2013. The first 2014 book I am reading is The Marriage Plot and I love already even though I'm not yet 100 pages into it.

I hope 2014 is a year of change and progress. I hope I will be able to read more books, write more blogs, and find love and happiness wherever I end up in work and wherever I will choose to call home after this school year. Things are happening, folks! I wish the same for all of you who give up your time to read my ramblings. I appreciate your feedback and your interest.

Stay tuned for blogs about my last three finished books of 2013 - A Dance with Dragons, The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, and An Abundance of Katherines. Here are some of my favorite books from 2013:

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

• Scott and I were listening to this as a book-on-tape (or rather CD) on our incessant driving adventures this holiday break. I loved reading the book and adored hearing it read to me and enjoying the dark story all over again with its horrible characters and its unfailing ability to make me hate a character one second and root for them in the next. 

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver 

• I saw the premiere of this film in Cannes and read the book last May. It's dark and gritty and marvelous and indulgent in our baser natures. 

The Dinner by Herman Koch 

• Amazing book. One of my favorites. Almost bought it on tape (CD). READ IT! I'm seeing that I have a theme going of loving books with simply terrible people in them. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

• A simply frightening and magical story with old vintage photographs that add to the mystery and excitement. The sequel comes out this year! 

Paris by Edward Rutherfurd 

• I bought his also humongous book, London, after reading this. I was hoping to read London during the holiday break but couldn't fathom reading another 800+ page book after finishing George R.R. Martin's, A Dance with Dragons. I lent my copy of this book out to a friend and still haven't gotten it back yet. My heart aches with yearning for it to be back in my possession because of how much I loved and adored its interweaving chronicles of life, love, and history in Paris. 

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 

• I didn't love the first book in this trilogy so much as I adored the second. However, you must read Wolf Hall before you can dive into this one. It is worth it. Thomas Cromwell is a character from English history that I had never truly cared about before, but this novel dragged me into the depths of who this man must have been from Mantel's research and genius perspective. 

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler

• If you have read and loved The Paris Wife (as I did) then you should definitely give this woman's story a try. 

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty 

• Loved it. Read it. Please. It's the story of two unlikely women coming together for a summer that will change both of them forever. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

• Critics hated the film - I loved it. I love the book and still feel uncertain about whether or not I should read it aloud to my fifth grade students (particularly now that we're going to be reading Number the Stars together in class). I just got this for Scott's mother, Jody. I hope she loves it as much as I did. 

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 

• Here is a book that judging by its cover I couldn't tell tell if I would like it or not ... but I LOVED it! Please listen to me on this one and give it a try. It's a seriously engaging story. I should really read her other book sitting on my shelf that I've had for years now considering I loved this one of hers so much. Oh well ... I'll just have to try and shoot What Alice Forgot to the top of my list. But as I've mentioned before ... I can be fickle with my book choosings. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

• Somewhat obvious, and yes I realize I'm somewhat behind the times, but this trilogy is seriously awesome. Action-packed, political, socially-relevant, and thought-provoking for our young adult readers. It's a series that gets kids to love reading (similar to what Harry Potter did for my generation). I still haven't seen the second installment in the film series. I was originally supposed to go with Scott for my birthday and then with a parent-of-a-student-friend for her birthday and then that all failed ... so hopefully we'll be going to see it this weekend. IF it's still in theaters which I very much hope it is. Read all three!

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

• This is by the same guy who wrote The Fault in Our Stars. So if you loved that please listen to me because I personally thought this was better. This was a surprise gift from Scott - I had never heard of it before. The Fault in Our Stars was good, but this was witty, funny, touching, and compassionate. I wish the review for it existed, but as of yet it does not. So look for it in the January 2014 section of my blog - it's coming! But remember I did technically get it done before the New Year so it's a good way to end things for 2013. Ending on a good note with a great book.

Some other books to consider that didn't quite make my favorites list:

• Beautiful Ruins
• The Selection, The Elite (the third book hopefully coming out this year). These are young adult novels as well.
• The Fault in Our Stars (it'll probably make you cry but also kind of annoyed me too, even though I liked it in the end). 
• Orange is the New Black ... not a whole lot like the TV show so be prepared for that, but it's very good in its own originally-written way. Yup ... TV show took a lot of liberties.
• The Silent Wife - AWESOME book.
• Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and Gone Girl all by Gillian Flynn
• The Descendants ... also a very good movie with George Clooney 

Read the Game of Thrones books too! They're gggrrrrreeeeaaaatttt! And please PLEASE share any recommendations with me as well. Always looking to add to my pile (and I've got some cash and Barnes and Noble gift certificates to burn through as well.) Already on my list is the memoir Call the Midwife. I just got addicted to the BBC show on Netflix (thanks Jody!). 

So please click on the title of any of these books to read my actual reviews of them. And hey, who knows? Maybe one of my favorite books from 2013 will become one of your favorites for 2014! Here's to finishing up my second year as a fifth grade teacher and any new adventures to come after. 

Love you all lots and Happy Holidays from my family to yours,

Britt

Book-on-Tape / CD! The cure to any 12 hour drive

Sad to be leaving the Twin Cities

Happy New Year!

The Book Thief - Film Version

I am struggling to describe my reaction to finally seeing this film last night. At this exact moment I was in a movie theater about an hour or so into the film version of The Book Thief. I originally wanted to see this with my mother but we ended up running out of time when Scott and I were there for Thanksgiving. This film has gotten some negative reviews from critics. Many cite it as being somewhat cheesy with beautiful imagery but a lack of depth. I disagree. I find this film incredibly enchanting and charming. It is funny without being overly so. It's a subtle sort of humor that keeps viewers engaged but it's just enough to offset the darkness of the situation. Liesel Meminger is a young girl who steals books. Her mother was a communist who gave her up to keep her alive. Liesel's foster parents become her whole world and in the film we can see that her "mama" who was so harsh in the book truly has a soft heart and a loving nature. What the film teaches us is the theme from the novel - words have power. 

Liesel makes a friend in the neighbor boy, Rudy, despite her lack of social skills. Rudy is always there to support her, save her, and understand her in times when no one else does. Liesel's papa, Hans, teaches her how to read and creates a word wall in the basement where Liesel can keep track of words she doesn't know in her own life-sized dictionary. It is when they take in a Jew that Liesel starts to grow up. Through Max, their hidden Jew, Liesel discovers the power of words and writing. She learns how well-thought-out descriptions of the weather can change someone's life when they can't see the outside for themselves. She learns how to calm down her fellow Germans in a bomb shelter in the middle of the night through the telling of a story. And she records her own experiences to give merit to the crumbling world around her. She is afraid of losing the people the loves but she is strong enough to hold on even when all is lost. Death, our narrator, admires her. 

The film has beautiful imagery. The images we see, the cinematography, is crisp and very German - particularly when we see the differences between Liesel's house and the mayor's house. When we see the snow-covered streets and then the bombed aftermath ... every image is transcendent. The young actors seem so innocent which makes their offhanded remarks so much more interesting. I love how this tells the story of Nazi Germany from a child's perspective and does so very well. This is an expose into one of the darkest moments of human history through the eyes of a child. This is similar to film such as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and even Pan's Labyrinth to a certain extent. This one goes a little bit deeper because it's a girl living a double life. She has a secret identity ... that of the book thief. If someone were to find out what she believes and who she really is her future could be extremely fatal. If she lets her secret slip she could put her entire family into danger. But as Liesel soon comes to realize Germany is not everything she had thought it was. She soon realizes the very real implications of the words of the powerful as they condemn Jews, non-Christians, and Communists ... like her mother. This is the story of a young girl who has to grow up much too fast in order to survive in a world where a word against Hitler could mean death. Her sense of humanity runs so deep inside of her that she fights against him (Hitler) and constitutes how she grows up into a woman. Children cannot just be brainwashed into believing whatever you tell them ... children have the capacity to question what they're told and have the courage and bravery to stand up to some of the most powerful systems to ever have existed. Between Rudy wanting to celebrate the power of the black Olympian, Jesse Owens to Liesel loving the Jew in her basement with all of her heart ... these children are defying the entire Third Reich just by believing in their hearts that what Hitler is doing is wrong. They must fight between their public selves and their private ones. 

What sets Liesel apart in this film is that when she sees the Jews being marched through the town square for the first time she doesn't care if she's killed or beaten. She isn't afraid of death or an S.S. officer. No one scares her. She wants to know if anyone has heard of her Jewish friend and how he's doing. She doesn't care about who it exposes ... she cares about humanity. 

The movie at time can be sappy. It is a tidbit too long. But ultimately it a story through a child's eyes and it is meant to make you feel something. If you ignore the sometimes cheesiness of the film it can be deeply meaningful. This story is not so much about her stealing books but it is about a young woman willing to defy all odds to gain a stronger sense of who she is. Stealing books helped her gain confidence in her intelligence and in her desire to make a difference that was probably already always there inside of her. I would say that if you enjoyed the book you will enjoy this film. Accept it for what it is ... a story of fighting "wrong" and celebrating the little things in life - like the way the sun feels and the colors of the sky - and recognizing that all people should be treated equal because having the ability to understand words gives you the power to fight evil.