What I've Read This Week . .
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella -- women's fiction/paranormal mystery/Historical Romance
Lara Lington's life is a mess. First, she quit her job to start a headhunting business with her best friend Natalie and then Natalie up and left for Goa leaving Lara unprepared to deal with business. Next, Lara's boyfriend Josh dumps her, leaving her lonely and desperate. Then Lara's great-aunt Sophie dies. Aunt Sophie was 105 and died alone in a nursing home. Lara's family can barely spare the time to hold a brief funeral for the lady. During the service, Lara hears a voice in her ear which she eventually realizes is great-aunt Sadie's ghost who tells Lara to stop the funeral before her body is cremated! Aunt Sophie's ghost manifests herself as a young woman in her twenties and she is searching for her favorite necklace from the 1920s and won't rest until she finds it. Lara quickly finds herself going crazy trying to help the ghost of Aunt Sadie. As their relationship develops, Sadie helps Lara learn about life, friendship, love and most importantly, family. Lara uncovers some shocking family secrets and helps Sadie achieve her dream and accomplish her goal. with very unappealing characters. Every single conversation and action is written out making for a very long, slow-moving novel until 3/4 of the way through when the mystery really picks up. Then, once the mystery is resolved, the predictable resolution drags on and on. The characters in this book are also not very appealing. Lara is such an annoying sad-sack in the beginning that I just can't like her very much. Sadie is even worse. She's obnoxious and acts like a spoiled child when she doesn't get her own way. I felt sorry for in her old age though and liked her a little better towards the end. I also had issues with the way Lara handled the mystery and the unrealistic way museum staff were portrayed. Fans of Kinsella's quick, witty novels will probably be disappointed in this one.
The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry -- YA Fantasy/Fairy Tale
When Lucinda Chapdelaine was five years old, her parents left for a ball and never returned alive. For the last ten years she has been in the care of her uncle-by-marriage and his cruel, spiteful wife. Uncle is unable to prevent Lucinda from his wife's beatings but shows her as much kindness as he can. On one fateful day, a woman named Beryl brings a precious stone to Lucinda's uncle's goldsmith shop to be reset and notices Lucinda's unhappiness. The mysterious woman offers to take Lucinda but Lucinda's aunt won't part with the girl. When Luncinda's aunt discovers that Beryl is the Amaranth Witch, she refuses the woman's business and sends Lucinda to return the stone. Lucinda doesn't believe the stories and intends to return the stone to her uncle to reset and earn some money without his wife knowing. Unwittingly, Luncinda becomes involved with the stone and the Amaranth Witch more than she'd like to be when her uncle dies and Luncinda discovers the stone was stolen by a sneaky boy named Peter. Lucinda's quest to confess the theft leads her to the Amaranth Witch and involves her in the lives of people from two different worlds, including Crown Prince who may be her own true love. This is a Cinderellaesque fairy tale with fantasy elements. It wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I was expecting more of a fairy tale. The plot is fast paced and the resolution happens almost too quickly. Lucinda is naively charming at times but determined to survive and in no way searching for true love. Peter is charming and funny and his journey is rather unexpected. Beryl's story is unusual and interesting and she is a very kind and likable character. I liked the book but I would have enjoyed it a lot more without the fantasy elements.
The Other Half of Life by Kim Ablon Whitney -- YA Historical Fiction
In 1939, Hitler and the Nazi Party have taken over Germany and Jews are rapidly being degrading and persecuted like never before. 15-year-old Thomas's father is Jewish and his mother, a gentile, has decided to send Thomas away to Cuba where he'll join his older half-brother in safety. Thomas is determined to be tough and cynical but two girls enter his life and change him for good. At first Thomas feels the beautiful Priska is naive and her little sister Marianne silly, but the more he gets to know the girls, he realizes that Priska is more than what she seems and together they form a close friendship to get them through the nerve-wrecking voyage. Though they are treated kindly, Thomas worries that the Nazi officers on the ship mean to trick them and he and Priska suspect a high-ranking officer of being up to something and Thomas also suspects the kind attentions of the ship's steward. The only person he can count on is Priska and they help each other through the nerve-wracking voyage and long delays once the ship docks. The main plot of the story ends after the ship docks in Cuba and what happens next is told in one chapter and an epilogue. I thought the book would longer and tell the whole story of the ship. I was also a bit confused because the story was based on a true incident and the book jacket advertises that fact but the name of the ship was changed in the story. Even knowing what happened to the ship, I found the story suspenseful enough to keep turning the pages until I finished. I also liked knowing what happened to the characters after the story ends. This is a good read for teens who are interested in Holocaust history without a lot of gory details.
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella -- women's fiction/paranormal mystery/Historical Romance Lara Lington's life is a mess. First, she quit her job to start a headhunting business with her best friend Natalie and then Natalie up and left for Goa leaving Lara unprepared to deal with business. Next, Lara's boyfriend Josh dumps her, leaving her lonely and desperate. Then Lara's great-aunt Sophie dies. Aunt Sophie was 105 and died alone in a nursing home. Lara's family can barely spare the time to hold a brief funeral for the lady. During the service, Lara hears a voice in her ear which she eventually realizes is great-aunt Sadie's ghost who tells Lara to stop the funeral before her body is cremated! Aunt Sophie's ghost manifests herself as a young woman in her twenties and she is searching for her favorite necklace from the 1920s and won't rest until she finds it. Lara quickly finds herself going crazy trying to help the ghost of Aunt Sadie. As their relationship develops, Sadie helps Lara learn about life, friendship, love and most importantly, family. Lara uncovers some shocking family secrets and helps Sadie achieve her dream and accomplish her goal. with very unappealing characters. Every single conversation and action is written out making for a very long, slow-moving novel until 3/4 of the way through when the mystery really picks up. Then, once the mystery is resolved, the predictable resolution drags on and on. The characters in this book are also not very appealing. Lara is such an annoying sad-sack in the beginning that I just can't like her very much. Sadie is even worse. She's obnoxious and acts like a spoiled child when she doesn't get her own way. I felt sorry for in her old age though and liked her a little better towards the end. I also had issues with the way Lara handled the mystery and the unrealistic way museum staff were portrayed. Fans of Kinsella's quick, witty novels will probably be disappointed in this one.
The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry -- YA Fantasy/Fairy TaleWhen Lucinda Chapdelaine was five years old, her parents left for a ball and never returned alive. For the last ten years she has been in the care of her uncle-by-marriage and his cruel, spiteful wife. Uncle is unable to prevent Lucinda from his wife's beatings but shows her as much kindness as he can. On one fateful day, a woman named Beryl brings a precious stone to Lucinda's uncle's goldsmith shop to be reset and notices Lucinda's unhappiness. The mysterious woman offers to take Lucinda but Lucinda's aunt won't part with the girl. When Luncinda's aunt discovers that Beryl is the Amaranth Witch, she refuses the woman's business and sends Lucinda to return the stone. Lucinda doesn't believe the stories and intends to return the stone to her uncle to reset and earn some money without his wife knowing. Unwittingly, Luncinda becomes involved with the stone and the Amaranth Witch more than she'd like to be when her uncle dies and Luncinda discovers the stone was stolen by a sneaky boy named Peter. Lucinda's quest to confess the theft leads her to the Amaranth Witch and involves her in the lives of people from two different worlds, including Crown Prince who may be her own true love. This is a Cinderellaesque fairy tale with fantasy elements. It wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. I was expecting more of a fairy tale. The plot is fast paced and the resolution happens almost too quickly. Lucinda is naively charming at times but determined to survive and in no way searching for true love. Peter is charming and funny and his journey is rather unexpected. Beryl's story is unusual and interesting and she is a very kind and likable character. I liked the book but I would have enjoyed it a lot more without the fantasy elements.
The Other Half of Life by Kim Ablon Whitney -- YA Historical Fiction
In 1939, Hitler and the Nazi Party have taken over Germany and Jews are rapidly being degrading and persecuted like never before. 15-year-old Thomas's father is Jewish and his mother, a gentile, has decided to send Thomas away to Cuba where he'll join his older half-brother in safety. Thomas is determined to be tough and cynical but two girls enter his life and change him for good. At first Thomas feels the beautiful Priska is naive and her little sister Marianne silly, but the more he gets to know the girls, he realizes that Priska is more than what she seems and together they form a close friendship to get them through the nerve-wrecking voyage. Though they are treated kindly, Thomas worries that the Nazi officers on the ship mean to trick them and he and Priska suspect a high-ranking officer of being up to something and Thomas also suspects the kind attentions of the ship's steward. The only person he can count on is Priska and they help each other through the nerve-wracking voyage and long delays once the ship docks. The main plot of the story ends after the ship docks in Cuba and what happens next is told in one chapter and an epilogue. I thought the book would longer and tell the whole story of the ship. I was also a bit confused because the story was based on a true incident and the book jacket advertises that fact but the name of the ship was changed in the story. Even knowing what happened to the ship, I found the story suspenseful enough to keep turning the pages until I finished. I also liked knowing what happened to the characters after the story ends. This is a good read for teens who are interested in Holocaust history without a lot of gory details.
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