What I've Read This Week . . .
The Charming Impostor by April Kihlstrom -- Traditional Regency
Helena Stanwood is bored in Bath where she is forced to stay with her father's cousin Roberta while in mourning for her parents who died nearly a year ago. Nella convinces her friend Theodosia Elston to impersonate Nella's brother Bartram in order for the young girls to go out for a drive. Unfortunately, the joke is on them when the real Bartram shows up in Bath insisting on taking Nella back to Stanwood Oaks to keep her out of trouble. He agrees to take Theodosia along, as long as she meets with his approval. Once again, Nella asks her friend to be someone she's not - a prim and proper young miss - in order to fool Bartram. The plan works and they are on their way to the country when Cousin Roberta drops the news that her uncle, Nella and Bartram's grandfather, left a hidden treasure for his male heir to find and inherit. The young ladies quickly turn the house inside and out searching for clues. Their behavior offends the prissy Clarissa Cranely as well as Lord Thomas Holwell, the intended fiances of Bartram and Dosia. A crisis shows Bartram that Theodosia is not the flighty young miss he fears she is but neither is she the prim and proper young lady he first men - she's an impostor and a charming one at that! This is a quick, light read which combines the traditional Regency plot with comedy of manners. The characters are pretty well-developed and have good chemistry. Though I figured out the villain quickly, there are a number of red herrings that made me doubt my hunch. This is a good read for fans of both comedy of manners and traditional mystery plots.
Francesca's Rake by Lynn Kerstan -- Regency Romance
Galen Pender, Viscount Clayborn is happy with his rakehell existence until his domineering father threatens to cut him off unless he marries and produces an heir. His father even has a bride in mind, a woman who comes with a nice parcel of land. Clay's instinct is to rebel against his father and marry an unsuitable woman. At the posting inn on the way to London, he encounters a beautiful goddess who appears to be some sort of chaperon to a young minx and Clay becomes instantly smitten, however the lady wants nothing to do with Clay! The lady in question, Francesca Childe, is a 31-year-old bluestocking, illegitimate daughter of an Italian commoner! She and her mother were rescued from the streets of Naples by the Duke of Sotherton who married Francesca's mother and raised Francesca as his own. Francesca would like nothing more than to stay by her invalid father's side and read to him, but he sends her to London to chaperon her younger cousins during their first Season. Francesca knows that Clay's father has her in mind as a suitable bride for the Viscount and she intends to firmly snub the young man whenever she sees him, but Clay won't be ignored. This Regency is all about feelings. Clay lusts after Francesca and she tries to avoid her feelings about him. It would fall under Subtle Sensuality on All About Romance's Sensuality Rating Guide. The plot didn't interest me too much. It seemed repetitive and the characters never really take the time to think about anyone other than themselves and their own desires, however conflicting they may be. Francesca seems like she'd be an admirable character, I enjoy bluestockings, but I really couldn't like her very much. I think she would have been more interesting had she stayed at home! Read this if you like romance novels but not for period details and good plot.
Forest Born by Shannon Hale : Books of Bayern 4 -- YA Fantasy
Rinna's whole life has been spent in her beloved forest surrounded by her large, lively, loving family. She tries to blend in and be whatever is expected of her but deep down inside she knows something is different and potentially wrong with her. When she was a child, the trees offered comfort and allowed her to feel them deep inside. Now she is a teenager, and the trees no longer offer her the serenity she desires. In an effort to find her true home and rid herself of her problem, Rinna joins her brother Razzo and his girl Dasha in the city where she becomes waiting woman to the queen. Rinna feels a special bond with the little prince Tusken and takes on nurse maid duties, determined to protect the boy from another waiting woman whom Rinna does not trust. The King and Bayern's Own are called to the border of a neighboring country and are attacked by fire speakers. One man is killed and the King is injured. Determined to protect her country and her family, the Queen sets off with Enna and Dasha to journey to Kel. Rinna feels a special attraction to the other girls and sneaks off to join them. During their long journey, Rinna will learn things she never knew about herself and come to terms with her "otherness" and help rescue her friends and Bayern from an old enemy who wants them dead. This is a great sequel to the other Books of Bayern. Rinna is full of teen angst and when she leaves home for the first time, her feelings are similar to those of a real life modern teenager. She's the most realistic of Hale's heroines because of her emotions. The plot is suspenseful and the ending is different, leaving me wanting one more book about Rinna! I liked this book best after Goose Girl.
Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedeker -- Middle Grades Historical Fiction/Classic
This 1928 Newbury Honor Winner book is about a young Quaker girl on Nantucket in the 1820s. Dionis (Dencey) Coffyn is proud to be the descendant of one of the original founding Quakers of Nantucket and the daughter of a whaling ship captain. She tries to mind her mother while her father is away and follow the Quaker ways. When some of the local boys tease her about her darker skin tone, the teasing causes proud Dencey to react by throwing stones back at the boys. One stone hits an orphan boy, Sam Jetsam, and cuts him on the shoulder. Horrified, Dencey runs away but her conscience and her Quaker upbringing can not let her leave the incident alone. She sneaks off to the Commons to meet Jetsam and ask him to forgive her. He refuses her apology and her greatest treasure until she promises him her book, Pilgrim's Progress and reading lessons. Soon Dencey is sneaking off as often as possible to help Jetsam learn to read. The two try to outwit "Injun Jill," Jetsam's guardian who is jealous of Dencey and Jetsam's friendship and Jetsam's new skill. When the friendship is discovered, Dencey's will is tested and she must decide whether to obey her mother or her own feelings. One stormy evening, Jetsam's loyalty is tested and brings him to the notice of Dencey's family in a positive way. As the years pass, friendship grows into young love and the two friends must chart their own paths in life, either separate or together. This was a difficult book to read for a number of reasons. First, before the plot moves forward, it goes back in time, covering Dencey's family history and her earliest childhood memories, then it goes back to the main story. It also seeks to accurately (?) portray Quaker life of the early 19th century in all it's simplicity including plain speech. The book also contains a number of racial and ethnic slurs which are not considered appropriate by today's standards. This book should not be read through a modern lens but appreciated for it's historical value.
Plain Girl by Virginia Sorensen -- Middle Grades classic
Esther is a young Amish girl growing up in Pennsylvania in the mid-20th century. She has always trusted her parents to teach her the ways of their people, but when the school board demands Esther be sent to school, she worries about being with non-Amish children and what that means for her beliefs. Her older brother Dan went to school and then he went Away (from the Amish). A pretty girl in a pink dress at school wants to befriend Esther and Esther wants to be friends with the girl but doesn't know if she should. Is wanting to be friends with someone outside the Amish culture the first step Away? Esther ponders the problem and begins to question the rigid beliefs of her family in this classic story. This book nicely explains the strict Amish beliefs and raises many good questions. The story moved a little slowly in the beginning but picked up after a few chapters. I would recommend this to girls interested in Amish culture in addition to Lois Lenski's Amish Girl.
Helena Stanwood is bored in Bath where she is forced to stay with her father's cousin Roberta while in mourning for her parents who died nearly a year ago. Nella convinces her friend Theodosia Elston to impersonate Nella's brother Bartram in order for the young girls to go out for a drive. Unfortunately, the joke is on them when the real Bartram shows up in Bath insisting on taking Nella back to Stanwood Oaks to keep her out of trouble. He agrees to take Theodosia along, as long as she meets with his approval. Once again, Nella asks her friend to be someone she's not - a prim and proper young miss - in order to fool Bartram. The plan works and they are on their way to the country when Cousin Roberta drops the news that her uncle, Nella and Bartram's grandfather, left a hidden treasure for his male heir to find and inherit. The young ladies quickly turn the house inside and out searching for clues. Their behavior offends the prissy Clarissa Cranely as well as Lord Thomas Holwell, the intended fiances of Bartram and Dosia. A crisis shows Bartram that Theodosia is not the flighty young miss he fears she is but neither is she the prim and proper young lady he first men - she's an impostor and a charming one at that! This is a quick, light read which combines the traditional Regency plot with comedy of manners. The characters are pretty well-developed and have good chemistry. Though I figured out the villain quickly, there are a number of red herrings that made me doubt my hunch. This is a good read for fans of both comedy of manners and traditional mystery plots.
Galen Pender, Viscount Clayborn is happy with his rakehell existence until his domineering father threatens to cut him off unless he marries and produces an heir. His father even has a bride in mind, a woman who comes with a nice parcel of land. Clay's instinct is to rebel against his father and marry an unsuitable woman. At the posting inn on the way to London, he encounters a beautiful goddess who appears to be some sort of chaperon to a young minx and Clay becomes instantly smitten, however the lady wants nothing to do with Clay! The lady in question, Francesca Childe, is a 31-year-old bluestocking, illegitimate daughter of an Italian commoner! She and her mother were rescued from the streets of Naples by the Duke of Sotherton who married Francesca's mother and raised Francesca as his own. Francesca would like nothing more than to stay by her invalid father's side and read to him, but he sends her to London to chaperon her younger cousins during their first Season. Francesca knows that Clay's father has her in mind as a suitable bride for the Viscount and she intends to firmly snub the young man whenever she sees him, but Clay won't be ignored. This Regency is all about feelings. Clay lusts after Francesca and she tries to avoid her feelings about him. It would fall under Subtle Sensuality on All About Romance's Sensuality Rating Guide. The plot didn't interest me too much. It seemed repetitive and the characters never really take the time to think about anyone other than themselves and their own desires, however conflicting they may be. Francesca seems like she'd be an admirable character, I enjoy bluestockings, but I really couldn't like her very much. I think she would have been more interesting had she stayed at home! Read this if you like romance novels but not for period details and good plot.
Forest Born by Shannon Hale : Books of Bayern 4 -- YA FantasyRinna's whole life has been spent in her beloved forest surrounded by her large, lively, loving family. She tries to blend in and be whatever is expected of her but deep down inside she knows something is different and potentially wrong with her. When she was a child, the trees offered comfort and allowed her to feel them deep inside. Now she is a teenager, and the trees no longer offer her the serenity she desires. In an effort to find her true home and rid herself of her problem, Rinna joins her brother Razzo and his girl Dasha in the city where she becomes waiting woman to the queen. Rinna feels a special bond with the little prince Tusken and takes on nurse maid duties, determined to protect the boy from another waiting woman whom Rinna does not trust. The King and Bayern's Own are called to the border of a neighboring country and are attacked by fire speakers. One man is killed and the King is injured. Determined to protect her country and her family, the Queen sets off with Enna and Dasha to journey to Kel. Rinna feels a special attraction to the other girls and sneaks off to join them. During their long journey, Rinna will learn things she never knew about herself and come to terms with her "otherness" and help rescue her friends and Bayern from an old enemy who wants them dead. This is a great sequel to the other Books of Bayern. Rinna is full of teen angst and when she leaves home for the first time, her feelings are similar to those of a real life modern teenager. She's the most realistic of Hale's heroines because of her emotions. The plot is suspenseful and the ending is different, leaving me wanting one more book about Rinna! I liked this book best after Goose Girl.
Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedeker -- Middle Grades Historical Fiction/Classic
This 1928 Newbury Honor Winner book is about a young Quaker girl on Nantucket in the 1820s. Dionis (Dencey) Coffyn is proud to be the descendant of one of the original founding Quakers of Nantucket and the daughter of a whaling ship captain. She tries to mind her mother while her father is away and follow the Quaker ways. When some of the local boys tease her about her darker skin tone, the teasing causes proud Dencey to react by throwing stones back at the boys. One stone hits an orphan boy, Sam Jetsam, and cuts him on the shoulder. Horrified, Dencey runs away but her conscience and her Quaker upbringing can not let her leave the incident alone. She sneaks off to the Commons to meet Jetsam and ask him to forgive her. He refuses her apology and her greatest treasure until she promises him her book, Pilgrim's Progress and reading lessons. Soon Dencey is sneaking off as often as possible to help Jetsam learn to read. The two try to outwit "Injun Jill," Jetsam's guardian who is jealous of Dencey and Jetsam's friendship and Jetsam's new skill. When the friendship is discovered, Dencey's will is tested and she must decide whether to obey her mother or her own feelings. One stormy evening, Jetsam's loyalty is tested and brings him to the notice of Dencey's family in a positive way. As the years pass, friendship grows into young love and the two friends must chart their own paths in life, either separate or together. This was a difficult book to read for a number of reasons. First, before the plot moves forward, it goes back in time, covering Dencey's family history and her earliest childhood memories, then it goes back to the main story. It also seeks to accurately (?) portray Quaker life of the early 19th century in all it's simplicity including plain speech. The book also contains a number of racial and ethnic slurs which are not considered appropriate by today's standards. This book should not be read through a modern lens but appreciated for it's historical value.
Plain Girl by Virginia Sorensen -- Middle Grades classicEsther is a young Amish girl growing up in Pennsylvania in the mid-20th century. She has always trusted her parents to teach her the ways of their people, but when the school board demands Esther be sent to school, she worries about being with non-Amish children and what that means for her beliefs. Her older brother Dan went to school and then he went Away (from the Amish). A pretty girl in a pink dress at school wants to befriend Esther and Esther wants to be friends with the girl but doesn't know if she should. Is wanting to be friends with someone outside the Amish culture the first step Away? Esther ponders the problem and begins to question the rigid beliefs of her family in this classic story. This book nicely explains the strict Amish beliefs and raises many good questions. The story moved a little slowly in the beginning but picked up after a few chapters. I would recommend this to girls interested in Amish culture in addition to Lois Lenski's Amish Girl.
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