Chrildren's Reading List

OK guys. I am need of some help.

One of my daughters told me last week that she would be more likely to read if she had a list of books she should read. Her cousin has been given a laminated list of around 10 books to read before the end of the school year and my daughter wants something similar.

Both of my girls are not big readers and I have tried numerous ways to encourage them to read,so I was more than happy to help organise this. My other daughter, not one to be left out of things has asked for the same thing.

Now I know my American friends have some wonderful schools and libraries who come up with lovely reading lists for each season, but we don't seem to have that over here, so I really do need some help.

I have come up with a few suggestions that could possibly go on my list which are as follows.

1) Are You There God, It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

2) Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DeCamillo

3) Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

4) The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston

5) Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

6) Mary Poppins by P.L Travers.


What I also want to include are some more up to date books to mix in with the classics. I am looking for a real mixture of books that will make my daughters excited to read and really want to finish a book. I almost need them to be gripped from the first page to keep their interests.

So this is where I come to you, my wonderful book blogging friends. Can you help me with my list? Tell me the books that you loved as a kid, as well as the books your children are loving now? I am happy to add graphic novels into the mix and non fiction, so any suggestions would be fantastic.

I want to end up with a book list of 10 books to start with and if they complete them, then I will make another one, so please suggest as many as you can.

When I have completed the list, I will show you what I have picked. Thank you in advance for your help.

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at You Should Be Reading and you can find it here. MizB does a fantastic job with this meme every week, so do pop over and pay her a visit.

1) The Prophecy by Dawn Miller
I found this book over at a new blog to me, The Little Bookworm and couldn't resist. You know me and angels!

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

In this intense, emotionally charged supernatural thriller for young adults by author Dawn Miller, the angelic forces of heaven and hell wage battle over mankind, placing five gifted teenagers in the middle of a war only they can end. Each of the five has struggled since a terrifying night in their childhood, and as memories of that evening's events come rushing back, and the dark angels make themselves known, they discover that what was meant to destroy them has instead opened their eyes to a world otherwise hidden from humankind.

2) The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw

I can't seem to find this book on Google Reader, so I can't actually remember where I found it. If you reviewed this book this week, let me know and I will add a link.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

An extraordinary tale of a girl who is half folk/half human and never quite fits into either realm. The magical Moorfolk reject Saska and secretly exchange her for a perfect human baby. Saska grows up loved by her human parents but harassed by the other villagers. She escapes to the moors where she learns of her history and sets out to rescue the stolen human child.

3) Little Children by Tom Perrotta.

Amanda from The Zen Leaf reviewed this book last week and I fell in love with it.
Here is the blurb from Amazon.

The characters in this intelligent, absorbing tale of suburban angst are constrained and defined by their relationship to children. There's Sarah, an erstwhile bisexual feminist who finds herself an unhappy mother and wife to a branding consultant addicted to Internet porn. There's Todd, a handsome ex-jock and stay-at-home dad known to neighborhood housewives as the Prom King, who finds in house-husbandry and reveries about his teenage glory days a comforting alternative to his wife's demands that he pass the bar and get on with a law career. There's Mary Ann, an uptight supermom who schedules sex with her husband every Tuesday at nine and already has her well-drilled four-year-old on the inside track to Harvard. And there's Ronnie, a pedophile whose return from prison throws the school district into an uproar, and his mother, May, who still harbors hopes that her son will turn out well after all. In the midst of this universe of mild to fulminating family dysfunction, Sarah and Todd drift into an affair that recaptures the passion of adolescence, that fleeting period of freedom and possibility between the dutiful rigidities of childhood and parenthood.

4) Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

I found this one over at The Little Bookworm too.
Here is the blurb from Amazon.
It’s been 300 years since Lake Michigan became Unlake Michigan; the “cool age” is only hazily known to residents of Wharfton, a small village that sits alongside the walled city of the Enclave. Gaia is 16 and works in Western Sector Three with her mother delivering babies, “advancing” the first three per month to live a better life inside the city. It’s a wrenching routine Gaia doesn’t question until her parents are mysteriously arrested by Enclave authorities. Gaia’s rescue attempt is fraught with peril—the burn scar on her face marks her as a “freak” who would never be allowed into the Enclave’s exclusive gene pool—and soon she herself is tossed into a cell with other female physicians.

What did you find this week?

Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons

Pages -387

Challenges - 1930's Mini Challenge

First published by Longmans in 1938, republished by Virago Press in 2009

It is difficult to make a dull garden, but old Mr Wither had succeeded. He himself did no work in the grounds of his house near Chesterbourne in Essex, but his lack of interest in them and his dislike of spending money influenced the gardener. The result was a poorish lawn and a plaster rockery with very little in it extending as far as the eye could reach, and a lot of boring shrubs which Mr Wither liked because they filled up space and gave little trouble.

Poor, young Viola, recently widowed is forced to go and live with her in laws in a house that lacks warmth and happiness. Her father in law, Mr Withers is a tight old miser and his wife thinks Viola is far too lowly to be part of the family.

Viola arrives with nothing to look forward to until the invitations arrive for a charity ball where Viola comes face to face with Victor Spring, the local Prince Charming. Victor is quite taken by Viola, but not in the way she would like. Viola only hopes that she has finally met her very own Prince Charming.

This part of the story is very much a retelling of Cinderella. Viola comes across as the poor little girl, who gets to go to the ball and meet her Prince Charming. Unfortunately within this book, Prince Charming, is not so honourable and is more interested in a quick fling than a full blown romance. Victor Spring appears in the book as a bit of a cad, but gradually he actually fall for the charms of Viola and the book is blessed with a happy ending. Viola searched for true love and finally found it after many twists and turns.

However Viola and Victor are not the only characters searching for something within this book. The two daughters of Mr Withers are also searching. Madge is searching for companionship and finally finds it when her father allows her to have her very own book. Tina, is surprisingly also searching for love, yet she falls for the chauffeur, Saxon, who is not only from a lower class, but also a lot younger than her. Her family are appalled when they discover the affair, but eventually Tina and Saxon work their relationship out and are finally seen as acceptable by the family. I felt so sorry for Tina, as in this day and age, her relationship would be acceptable, yet in those days, she would have caused quite a scandal.

I loved this book from the very start and I have to say I enjoyed it even more than Cold Comfort Farm which I also read recently. It was a delight from the first page. As the book progresses, you witness each person blossoming like a new rosebud. As the summer progresses, they each come out into the sunlight and feel the warmth upon their skin, bringing each to a happier place. It is full of innocent romance, which is the kind of romance I like.

Viola is sweetly naive to Victor's real feelings, but she plants a seed in his heart, which just grows and grows and he eventually regrets his thoughts of a quick fling.

This book is full of love that can be found in the most unlikely places. If you loved Cold Comfort Farm, then this really is a book for you. After reading Nymeth's thoughts on this book, I did realise that the book reminded me of The Enchanted April too, which I read last year. It had the same aroma of magic in the air and Cupid watching carefully over the characters, shooting arrows this way and that to bring romance in abundance to the story.

Wuthering Wednesday - Week 8

This is Week 8 of the Wuthering Heights read a long organised by Softdrinks, and whose blog you will find here. Joining us on this adventure are:
Literate Housewife
Messy Karen
Victoria
Jenny (Take Me Away)
Ti (Book Chatter)
Lisa – Lit And Life
Peeking Between the Pages
J.C. Montgomery (The Biblio Blogazine)
Whitney
JoAnn (Lakeside Musing)
Gentle Reader (Shelf Life)
Amy at New Century Reading
Geri at One More Foggy Notion
Rob at Books are Like Candy Corn
Trish at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity

Summary of Chapters 22 to 24.Here are the main points covered in these chapters.

• Young Cathy is very sad as her father is quite ill.
• On a long walk with Ellen, she meets Heathcliff.
• Heathcliff tells her that Linton is dying without her love. He has been so upset since she stopped writing to him.
• Heathcliff insists that she visits Linton.
• Cathy and Ellen go to see if Linton is as ill as Heathcliff says.
• They find Linton quite poorly and very disagreeable.
• Cathy feels guilty and pledges to return daily, whilst Ellen forbids her from visiting Wuthering Heights again.
• Ellen becomes ill and is bedridden for three weeks.
• Cathy nurses Ellen and her father back to good health.
• When Ellen returns to good health, she discovers that Cathy has been visiting Linton.
• Cathy begs forgiveness and for her secret to be kept.
• Ellen tells Cathy's father what has been going on.

My thoughts.

Well Cathy is a bit of scheming minx, isn't she. She manages to keep the whole family in the dark whilst she slips out to visit Linton. Can't think what she sees in Linton as he comes across as the most whinging and childish boy I have ever read about. From Bronte's writing, there is nothing attractive at all about Linton. I really didn't think I could dislike a character even more in this book with this cast of horrors. Not to worry though, as I don't think he will be in the book for much longer.

I find myself struggling to continue with this book, but I made a commitment and I shall carry on until the end!

Could it Be Magic by Melanie Rose

Pages - 360

Published by Harper Collins in 2009

How could they have made such a mistake? It wasn't possible that I had a husband and four children I couldn't remember. I couldn't have forgotten something like that! This simply had to be a a bad dream after all - a very real seeming dream that would evaporate when I awoke.

Jessica, a single, career girl gets struck by lightening whilst walking her dog and wakes up in hospital to find that she is a different person. She has become Lauren, a wife to a domineering husband and a mother to four children. She cannot believe that it has happened.

When she finally falls asleep, she wakes up as Jessica again. She quickly discovers that she is living two lives. Whilst Jessica sleeps, she becomes Lauren and then when Lauren sleeps, she becomes Jessica.

This plays havoc with both lives and you cannot help but sit back and watch Jessica/Lauren cope with a demanding career in one life and a demanding family in another.

This would not normally be the type of book I would read as I am not a huge fan of chick lit. There is nothing wrong with chick lit and I used to read a lot of it years ago, it just doesn't hit the right spot anymore. So I was a little apprehensive to read this book that was lent to me. My friend was aware that I had recently read The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski, which involved a woman waking up in a different body, so she thought this one would appeal to me. My god, was she right! I absolutely loved this book. It seems that magical realism has reached the chick lit genre and is settling in quite nicely. I was gripped by this book from page one and found myself flying through the pages, desperate to see what would happen to Lauren/ Jessica by the end. I really really enjoyed it.

Jessica takes to the the double life quite quickly and she makes it look easy. She reminded me of mums who try and juggle work and home life, how they pack everything in during a 24 hour period.

The story has quite a few twists and turns and the ending was really not what I expected. There were a couple of incidences within the book where I felt that the emotion wasn't true to the experience, but I will let the author off, as I really did enjoy the book.

If you are looking for a nice and easy read with a touch of magical realism, then this is the book for you. Enjoy!

Monday Mail - I know I lied!

I know I said that I wouldn't be buying anymore books for awhile, but I lied! I hadn't planned to buy anymore, so my intentions were good. My hubby won £20 on the lottery and gave it to me to spend on books. Who am I to say no!
Here are the four lovely books I bought.

1) The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale shortlisted for the 2010 Orange Award for New Writers.

2) The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh. I have heard that this one is similar to The Spook's Apprentice books and I really enjoyed them last year.

3) Wintercraft by Jenna Burtenshaw- a YA fantasy book that is doing the rounds.

4) Angelology by Danielle Trussoni - another new angel book that found it's way into my collection.

We Hear The Dead by Dianne K. Salerni has been sent to me directly from the author. Yay! I happened to see her book mentioned on Facebook and told her it looked fabulous and she sent me a copy to review. Thank you very much Dianne and I can't wait to start reading it.

I bought this book on my recent travels to Essex. Anyone who has contact with me on Facebook will know that I am about to embark on my first camping trip as an adult. So this book seemed rather fitting to me. It will either inspire me or put me off camping for ever.

I found these three books in the charity shop. After becoming a regular reader of Verity's Virago Venture blog I became fascinated by these green covered books. I am now searching them out to add to my collection.

I have been after Elspeth Huxley's memoirs for ages, so I was really pleased to find The Flame Trees of Thika in the charity shop.

So there you are. More books that have been added to my collection this week. What did you get?

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at You Should Be Reading and you can find it here. MizB does a fantastic job with this meme every week, so do pop over and pay her a visit.

It feels like ages since I last joined in with this meme. So I am glad to be back finding lush books to show you.

1) Well Wished by Franny Billingsley

I found this book over at Christina's blog Reading Through The Night.
Christina absolutely loved this fairytale and it left her craving for more from the author.

Here is the blurb from Franny Billingsley's own site.

In the village of Bishop Mayne is a magical Wishing Well where a person may make one wish in a lifetime. But the Well can create problems for those who use its power, for wishes often go wrong. It was just such a wish that took all the children in the town away. Only eleven-year-old Nuria, who lives with her grandfather up on the mountain, remains.Then one child returns-Catty Winter. Catty's legs are mysteriously crippled, and Catty desperately wants Nuria to make a wish so she can walk again. Nuria swears she will make the wish for her friend. But the Well has a mind of its own. What if Nuria's wish goes wrong?

2) Firefly Rain by Richard Dansky

I found this book over at Missy's Book Nook. She described this as a Southern Gothic thriller, which had my attention straight away.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

A riveting supernatural mystery like you've never read before.The prodigal son leaves the big city to return to his dearly departed parent's house in North Carolina only to find, now that he's home, that something is trying to make damn sure he stays there--even if it means burying him out back. In a small town with dark secrets, one man struggles to find a way out before the spirit of the town can find a way in.


3) The Ice Princess by Camilla Leckburg

I discovered this book over at Diane's blog Bibliophile by the Sea and it was part of her Waiting On Wednesday post.

This author has been compared to Agatha Christie, and although crime fiction is not normally my thing, I just love the idea behind this one.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.
For the first time in English, the psychological thriller debut of No 1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg. Returning to her hometown after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice-cold bath, it seems, at first, that she has taken her own life. Erica conceives a memoir about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will help to overcome her writer's block as well as answer questions about their own past. While her interest grows to an obsession, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case. But it is only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about this small town with a deeply disturbing past!


4) Foreign Correspondence by Geraldine Brooks.

I read one of her fiction books last year called Year of Wonder which I really enjoyed, but I had no idea that Brooks also wrote non fiction books until I discovered this one over at Iliana's blog Bookgirl's Nightstand.

Here is the blurb form Geraldine Brooks own website.

As a young girl in a suburban neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, Geraldine Brooks longed to discover the places where history happens and culture comes from, so she enlisted pen pals who offered her a window on adolescence in the Middle East, Europe, and America.
Twenty years later Brooks, an award-winning foreign correspondent, embarked on a human treasure hunt to find her pen friends. She found men and women whose lives had been shaped by war and hatred, by fame and notoriety, and by the ravages of mental illness. Intimate, moving, and often humorous, Foreign Correspondence speaks to the unquiet heart of every girl who has ever yearned to become a woman of the world.

So there are my Friday Finds this week. What did you find?

Double Review - Graphic Novels

I have read two graphic novels in the last couple of weeks, so I thought I would review them both together, as both are eligible for the Once Upon A Time Challenge, Library Challenge and the Graphic Novel Challenge.

The first book I read was Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham. This book collects together the first five issues of Willingham's new Vertigo series.

The book is set in Fabletown, where exiled fairy tale legends, such as Snow White and The Big Bad Wolf , live alongside regular New Yorkers. They each wear a glamour which covers up their true identity and live as a small community, trying to fit in with life in New York.

When Snow White's sister Rose Red is believed to be killed,the Fabletown residents are in uproar. Big Bad Wolf and Snow White set out to solve the case of her murder.

Wow, this book was amazing. Every page filled with characters from my childhood, thought they are a lot more grown up in this book. I wouldn't recommend this as a book for children as some of the pictures are a little graphic and you may end up giving your child nightmares about Rose Red in the nude!

The story is gripping and I found that I read the whole book in one session,finishing with a thirst for more. Luckily this is just the first book in the series, so I can't wait to get hold of the rest of the books.

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman by Alan Moore.

Challenges - Once Upon A Time Challenge, Library Challenge and Graphic Novel Challenge.

Oh how I wish I had enjoyed this one as much as Fables. For some reason, I just couldn't wait to finish this book.

The year is 1898, as the Victorian Age draws to a close, the world undergoes some great changes and chaos begins to reign. A new order of champions is needed.

Allan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, Hawley Griffin, Jekyll and Hyde and Mina Murray are brought together to create the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Recruited by the enigmatic Campion Bond, who is under orders from the mysterious 'M', the six adventurers must stop the nefarious Doctor from world domination.

With such a wonderful caste of characters I had expected these comic books to live up to the film, which I thought was fabulous, but they left me bored. Quite a few of the pages were in different languages and there was no translation, so I had no idea what they were saying. The pictures were very dark and just didn't hold my interest as much as Fables did.

Unfortunately this book, just wasn't for me and I imagine a lot of other bloggers have loved it. Let me know what you thought of both of these books.

Wuthering Wednesday Week 7

This is Week 7 of the Wuthering Heights read a long organised by Softdrinks, and which you will find here. Joining us on this adventure are:

Literate Housewife
Messy Karen
Victoria
Jenny (Take Me Away)
Ti (Book Chatter)
Lisa – Lit And Life
Peeking Between the Pages
J.C. Montgomery (The Biblio Blogazine)
Whitney
JoAnn (Lakeside Musing)
Gentle Reader (Shelf Life)
Amy at New Century Reading
Geri at One More Foggy Notion
Rob at Books are Like Candy Corn
Trish at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity

Summary of Chapters 19 to 21

The chapters read this week were fairly short, so it didn't take me long to read them.
Here are the main points covered in these chapters.

• A letter arrives to announce the imminent return of Mr Linton with his nephew Linton.


• Cathy is eager to meet her new cousin and runs up the road to meet them.


• Linton arrives at the house and appears to be a rather sickly and whinging child.


• Heathcliff sends Joseph to the house to bring his son, Linton to live with him.


• Next morning, Ellen takes Linton to live with his father, whom he has never heard of, let alone met.


• Heathcliff is quite disgusted by Linton who holds none of his features or character.


• Linton is upset to be left in the hands of Heathcliff.


• Cathy is upset to find her new cousin has gone to live somewhere else.


• Over the years, Ellen keeps tabs on Linton and finds that he is not a popular lad amongst the residents of Wuthering Heights, however his behaviour is tolerated.


• Time passes and we return to see Cathy celebrating her sixteenth birthday with a walk right up to Wuthering Heights.


• Heathcliff invites her in and explains their relationship. Ellen is not happy with the new friendship.


• Heathcliff tells Ellen of his plans to see Linton and Cathy wed, so that he will eventually own both properties.


• Cathy is quite taken with Linton. She goes for a walk with Hareton, but Linton gets jealous and follows them.


• Mr Linton forbids Cathy to see Linton or Heathcliff again.


• Cathy begins sending letters to Linton, letting their friendship blossom into romance.


• Ellen discovers the blooming relationship and burns all the letters,threatening to tell her father if she does not stop sending them.

My thoughts

I am beginning to dislike this book the more I read it. I can't help it, as I just don't like anyone in it. Young Cathy appears to me as a spoilt brat on one hand and a prisoner on the other. I can understand her father trying to protect her, but she isn't allowed anywhere on her own and she is sixteen years old. I can just see the teenagers of today standing for such treatment. Young Linton appears as a whining child and I didn't feel sorry for him at all. As for Heathcliff, he just gets nastier by the page.

I really can't say anything nice, but I am compelled to finish it to find out what happens. I have definitely never read anything so morbid and depressing. Here is to a happy ending perhaps! I think not.

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

Pages 329

Challenges - Young Adult

Published by Harper Collins in 2010

Frost began to creep up the walls. Transfixed, I watched lines of frost lace their way across the stone of the north tower's record room. The pattern swept up from the floor, covering the wall, even icing the ceiling with something flaky and white. A few small, silvery crystals of snow hung in the air.

I was going to issue a spoiler alert, but I think I have done a grand job below without revealing any of the Evernight secrets from the first book. If you are interested in reading this series you need to start with Evernight, which I reviewed here.

Bianca returns to Evernight for her second year. Yet she returns without the love of her life, Lucas. Lucas has returned to his roots at Black Cross and is carrying out his destiny.

A very young vampire turns up all sweet and innocent and Balthazar is eager to protect her. Yet she is far from sweet and innocent and about to turn Bianca's world upside down.

Bianca also has to deal with the fact that her parents have been lying to her most of her life and her destiny is not as clear cut as she thinks it will be.

The Romeo and Juliet romance takes even more twists and turns in this book. Lucas, Bianca's love interest, is not in this book as much as the first, but there is an added love interest,creating a lovely love triangle. Balthazar has strong feelings for Bianca and whilst pretending to be her boyfriend, grows ever so close to her. The Romeo and Juliet scenario is made even more obvious throughout the book with constant references to the Shakespearean play as they study it at school. I wonder if the references were put there on purpose for anyone reading with blinkers on who didn't get the gist of the story.

This book also adds another element to the battle between vampires and humans. It sees the arrival of the wraiths, intent on getting justice. It was like watching the UK general elections, as each party battled to take the lead. Humans, vampires and wraiths - let the battle begin.

Bianca has a rough ride through out this book and realises that she can't actually trust anyone. By the end of the book, she end up being put in a very difficult position that goes against every bone in her body.

Just like the first book, this one has a really dark Gothic feel to it. All it's missing is a few oil lamps and some hansom cabs.

I did enjoy this book, probably not as much as the first as the twists and turns didn't leave me gobsmacked, but it was good and there were a few elements of the unexpected. Just like most other readers, I am a bit vampired out, but I think this series is a little different and it is definitely holding my interest.

Just like the last book, it ends on a cliffhanger, so now I have to wait patiently for the next book!

Other reviews of this book

The Eclectic Reader

Melissa's Bookshelf

The Onion Girl by Charles De Lint

Pages 506

Challenges - Awesome Author Challenge, Once Upon a Time Challenge and Library Challenge.

Published in 2002 by Gollancz

Once upon a time......

I don't know what makes me turn. Some sixth sense, prickling at the nape of my neck, I guess. I see the headlights. They fill my world and I feel like a deer, trapped in their glare. I can't move. The car starts to swerve away from me, but it's already too late.

Oh how I loved this book! Oh how I now want to own everything this talented author has ever written! Oh how I wonder I have survived all this time without ever reading one of his books.

The Onion Girl is an urban fantasy set in a place called Newford, a fictitious North American city. The book crosses over between reality and fiction in the same way an ambidextrous person can swap hands with ease. The Onion Girl is one of a set of books set in Newford and the characters cross over all the books. I didn't feel that I needed to read the other books first as this book was easily read as a stand alone.

The story is set around the character of Jilly who after being hit by a car, finds that whilst her body is badly broken and paralysed, she can venture over into the dream world like her friend Sophie. Whilst in hospital recovering from the accident, Jilly's apartment is broken into and her faerie paintings are destroyed. Her friends are concerned that Jilly has created a shadow twin, intent on destroying her life's work as she will never be able to paint again. They soon realise that Jilly is not responsible and that someone has set out to destroy Jilly, either in real life or in the dream lands.

I just could not put this down and I spent the entire week walking around with this book in my hand whilst I juggled washing,ironing and cooking. I was so intrigued by it, as many people were not keen on the book. So I ventured in a little weary and just loved it.

Jilly is someone I admire completely. Her life as a child was just awful and from a very young age she had to deal with sexual abuse. Without the love and care of the people on the street, she would never have become such a warm hearted and caring adult. They put her back together and helped her to live and help others. Unfortunately, they couldn't melt the ice that had developed in her heart, but she worked hard to repair that, so that she could find everlasting love. Jilly is like a shining beacon of light, almost saintly.

This book has a cast of unusual characters with many who can transfer from dreamland to reality without getting out of breath. Characters like the Crow Girls, Jack Daw and Coyote are believable, even when they don their animal persona's. De Lint has actually given me hope that perhaps real magic does exist out there and if I just quickly turn a certain way, I might just find my own open door way into the dream lands.

This is quite a dark and disturbing book and from what I can gather, De Lint's other books set in Newford are a lot more lighthearted. So I am kind of glad I started with this one, as it appears to be a lot of reader's least favourite book by him. Now I know I have even better books to read.

One of the main themes that seems to keep rearing its ugly head is child abuse, both sexually and physically. All the characters seemed to have suffered one way or another as children and have walked a very difficult road into adulthood. I couldn't help but see the dream lands as a release for them, somewhere they could go and leave the real world behind with all it's troubles.

This book also dwells a lot on forgiveness. It looks at forgiving the people in your past who have hurt you and learning to move on. Learning to see why they did what they did in the first place, what circumstances out of their control made them like they are. Forgiveness is never easy for anyone, but I can understand when looking to forgive, how you need to take into account the bigger picture surrounding the events.

The reason the book is called The Onion Girl is because that is the way Jilly sees herself. She has many layers and every time you strip one layer away, another one would materialise, until you reached the centre where the real Jilly shone out from. As the book progresses, you get to see another layer of Jilly's previous life that she has kept hidden for many years. By the end of the book, you see Jilly laid bare, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would be such a wonderful person, after experiencing all that she had in her life.

Part of The Onion Girl was originally written as a short story called "In The House Of My Enemy", and the author decided to add it to the book if full. I couldn't tell where the short story was in the book as I am not familiar with it. Does anyone know which bit it was?

This book is just beautiful and fills you with hope, that even when you reach the bottom with all the dirt and sludge, it is possible to rise back up to the top. Happy endings do exist,even when you feel the light from the tunnel has long been extinguished. If you love a bit of magical realism, then I would say Charles De Lint seems to exhale it in gusts of wind.

I found a passage in the book, which clearly made me think of all us of book bloggers.

I think back to what the professor told me about how people need to be storied. How if they miss out on stories when they're younger, it creates a hunger in them that they can't sate. They don't know what it is, what they need. They only know they need something. They have to be re-storied before they can find any kind of peace.

Charles De Lint is definitely an author I wish to read more by and I shall definitely be putting an order into Amazon for some of his books. Can anyone recommend, which books I should read next by this author?

I couldn't find any other reviews of this book, but I know a few of you have read it, so if you put a link in the comments box, I will add it to this post.

GLBT Challenge Wrap Up

This post is to wrap up the GLBT challenge which I finished in April. The challenge was organised by Amanda from The Zen Leaf and runs all year, so there is plenty of time still to enter.

I did the Lambda Level for this challenge, which required me to read 4 books.

The four books I read were as followed.

1) Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

2) White is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

3) Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

4)Ash by Malinda Lo.

None of the books were the ones I intended to read and all of them ended up being lesbian books rather than books portraying gay men, which were the ones on my original list. Out of all the books I read for this challenge, I would definitely say that Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe was my favourite read, followed a close second by Ash. I really didn't enjoy White is For Witching at all, but as I have enjoyed other books by Helen Oyeyemi, I won't give up on this author.

I really enjoyed participating in this challenge, as it opened up a style of books that I would probably never have considered reading. Thank you to Amanda for hosting this challenge, and I look forward to taking part again next year. Although I think I may increase the number of books I read for it. Also thank you for making my TBR list even longer!

Ash by Melinda Lo

Pages - 291

Challenges - GBLT challenge and Once Upon A Time Challenge.

Published in 2010 by Hodder's Childrens Books.

Aisling's mother died at midsummer. She had fallen sick so suddenly that some of the villagers wondered if the fairies had come and taken her, for she was still young and beautiful. She was buried three days later beneath the hawthorn tree behind the house, just as twilight was darkening the sky.

Ash follows a similar storyline to Cinderella, only there is a rather unusual twist in the end. After Ash's mother passes away, her father remarries, only to fall ill and die shortly after, leaving his new wife with lots of debts. Ash is put to work for the family in order to pay for the debts. The king announces that his son will soon be looking for a bride and a battle amongst the females of the town commences. Ash forms an agreement with Sidhean, who grants her a couple of wishes in return for her living with him for ever. Will Ash follow the agreement, or will her heart lead her in another direction.

I know a lot of people haven't really enjoyed this book, but I have to say I absolutely loved it. I found Ash to be a charming lead character, who had to overcome such hardship to find her true love. You feel her pain, after the death of her mother and you only want to nurture her as she grows up. I thought she was portrayed as a very strong female character.

The twist was totally unexpected to me and really an interesting surprise. I know that some people have felt the twist should have been more obvious from the beginning, but I have to disagree. I found the more I read this book, the more I couldn't put it down. I was utterly compelled to finish it quickly.

I found the writing very descriptive and thoughtful. I also found the fairy domain to be intriguing and the cross over between fairy and reality to be believable. For a debut novel, I thought it was brilliant, and I can't work out why others didn't enjoy it.

If you enjoy fairytale retellings, then you will enjoy this one, especially as it doesn't follow the storyline completely. I look forward to reading more by Malinda Lo.

Wuthering Wednesday - Week 5

This is Week 6 of the Wuthering Heights Readalong. Joining us in this adventure are:

Literate Housewife
Messy Karen
Victoria
Jenny (Take Me Away)
Ti (Book Chatter)
Lisa – Lit And Life
http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/
J.C. Montgomery (The Biblio Blogazine)
Whitney
JoAnn (Lakeside Musing)
Gentle Reader (Shelf Life)
Amy at New Century Reading
Geri at One More Foggy Notion
Rob at Books are Like Candy Corn
Trish at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity

After reading such an excellent point by point review last week from JoAnn for this read along, I thought I would give it a go too.

So in order to summarize the last three chapters I have read, I will highlight in points the events that have happened.

• Catherine passes away ( we all knew that was coming!)leaving a daughter Cathy.
• Heathcliff becomes distraught and pleads with the dead Catherine to haunt him for the rest of his days.
• Isabella finally leaves Heathcliff, though leaves carrying his child.
• Catherine's brother Hindley passes away in a drunken stupor.
• Heathcliff gains ownership of the property Wuthering Heights, as Hindley left massive debts owing to Heathcliff.
• Twelve years pass, only to find Isabella has now passed a way, leaving her son Linton homeless.
• Edgar travels to London to pick up Linton, leaving Cathy,who has led a very sheltered life, almost unattended.
• Cathy meets the rather unruly Hareton, all grown up now and turning into a mini Heathcliff.

My thoughts.

This book just get more depressing as I read it. I wasn't expecting to attend three funerals within three chapters, but I did. Unfortunately I felt no sympathy for anyone dying within those chapters, as I didn't like any of them.There still isn't a character that I really like in the book, even with the arrival of Cathy and the new grown up version of Hareton. Yet I am still compelled to find out what happens!

Isabella has gone and named her son Linton, after her family's surname, which will just add more confusion to the name situation that I finally thought I had under control. I really wish Emily Bronte had ventured a bit more through the alphabet when choosing character names, there are far too many C's, L's and H's in this book.

The book is still full to the brim of misery and bleakness and I can't see it ever ending. Everyone is still self centred and some have completely lost the plot. Heathcliff is now beginning to scare me a little and I am wondering how far he will go.

What on earth can I expect next?

Double Review - The Dahls!

I am so behind with my reviews, I thought I would double up on this post and write two mini reviews to keep it in the family. I read the following two books back to back and it was nice to read books by both grandfather and granddaughter.

Playing With Grownups by Sophie Dahl was released in 2007 and was Dahl's second attempt at fiction. I have always associated Sophie Dahl with modelling for the larger lady, however Dahl has had a complete career makeover. She lost a lot of weight to become a very slim model, before moving into a writing career and recently taking up a cookery career. It seems there are many strings to her bow.

Playing with Grownups follows the trials of Kitty as she is brought back to England with a bang when her mother takes a turn for the worse. Heavily pregnant, she boards a plane from America and heads home. Whilst she is travelling, we get glimpses back into her past, where you get to see the relationship between Kitty and her mother. Her mother, Marina, is one of those women who seems afraid of growing old and treats Kitty more like a friend than a daughter. By the end of the book, it is quite obvious that when Kitty reached her teenage years the roles had definitely reversed. Kitty was adult enough to realise that she could no longer live with her mother. This book is described as a sweet coming of age book, but I found it rather bitter sweet. Poor Kitty never really had a proper mother; what she had was a woman, who wasn't quite there and would happily drink and take cocaine in front of her daughter.

I did enjoy this book and found it to be a good example of how not to bring up your children. I came away, gently patting myself on my back, realising that although I am not a perfect mother, I am no where near as bad as Marina in this book. The trouble is I know the Marina's of the world do exist and I have met quite a few in the past. It seems such a shame that some children have to feel responsible for their parents.

This book is written from the point of view of a girl travelling through the trials of her teens. I loved the character Kitty and felt her pain as she dealt with the devastation her mother caused. I found the book to be well written, however I did get a little confused with the chapters as sometimes the book numbered them and other times it didn't.

Sophie Dahl obviously does have a spark of the talent her grandfather had and I look forward to reading more of her books.

James and The Giant Peach was originally written in 1961 and has gone on to be republished many times over. The children of the world fell in love with Roald Dahl and with every new generation, they fall in love again. I remember growing up and being addicted to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. I would read this book over and over again, but for some reason I never read any more of his books. After reading James and The Giant Peach, I felt sad that I missed out on so many good books as a child. I endeavour to read them all as an adult.

James is sent to live with his two wicked aunts after his parents are eaten by an angry rhinoceros. James is treated badly by his aunts and desperately wants to run away. His luck changes when a mysterious man gives him a bag of magic crocodile tongues which he accidentally drops. Very soon he discovers the giant peach caused by the magic crocodile tongues and manages to make his way inside to meet a lovely array of talking insects who had swallowed some of the magic crocodile tongues. The weight of the peach causes it to break away from the tree and it begins to roll down hill; the adventures of James and the talking insects are about to start.

I found this a beautiful, heartwarming book where I could curl right back up into my childhood and savour the words of Dahl and the wonderful pictures by Quentin Blake. Dahl's imagination was outstanding and I can see why the children of today can still fall in love with his books. They are timeless, funny and beautiful and children come out as the heroes of the adventure. A beautiful and entertaining quick read.

Monday Mailbox - last for a while I promise!

This is the last parcel of books that I have been waiting for, which came out of my birthday money. That is it for me for a long while now. I don't plan to buy anymore books unless they are ones I am desperately waiting for.

These books came from Red House books and they had a spring sale where you could buy five books for £12. I couldn't resist!

1) Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge. When Ryan and his friends are caught stranded and penniless late one night, they steal some coins from a well for their bus fare home. Soon after, strange things begin to happen. Peculiar marks tingle on Ryan’s knuckles, light bulbs mysteriously explode and a terrified Chelle starts speaking words that aren’t her own.
Then the well witch appears, with her fountains for eyes and gargled demands. From now on, the friends must serve her . . . and the wishes that lie rotting at the bottom of her well.

2) Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestley - this book was read by so many people before Christmas I was desperate to read it. Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house and his regular visits from his nephew give him the opportunity to relive some of the most frightening stories he knows. But as the stories unfold, a newer and more surprising narrative emerges, one that is perhaps the most frightening of all. Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror, it transpires, are not so much works of imagination as dreadful lurking memories. Memories of an earlier time in which Uncle Montague lived a very different life to his present solitary existence.

3) Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - I haven't read any books by Sarah Dessen yet, but I really want to. I may just buy all her books for these nifty covers.Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"--at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf 's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling.With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

4) Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgewick. Set at the time of the Russian Revolution, the end of a centuries old dynasty, the rise of the Bolsheviks sent shockwaves around the world. This is the story of one man who was there. It's real history - about the riches and excesses, the glory of the Russian nobility, Nicholas and Alexandra, their haemophiliac son, Alexei, notorious Rasputin, Lenin and Trotsky who ruled from palaces where the Czars had once danced till dawn. The man was real too, his name was Arthur Ransome. He was a writer, accused of being a spy, perhaps even a double agent, and he left his wife and beloved daughter and fell in love with Russia and a Russian woman, Evgenia. Fictionalising history and blending it with real life.

5) Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey. In this darkly atmospheric fantasy, the first in a planned trilogy called A Resurrection of Magic, Duey weaves together the stories of two teens who live in a world in which the working of magic has a turbulent history. When her bitter father dies, Sadima, a young woman who can communicate with animals, keeps house for two renegade magicians at a time when magic has been outlawed. Her experiences, which include learning to read and falling in love, alternate with those of Hahp, born generations after Sadima. Exiled by his wealthy, disapproving father, he attends a school of wizardry where, among other unpleasantness, students are starved to death if they can't conjure up food. The pacing in this page-turner accelerates as the stories progress and links between them emerge, moving toward a cliffhanger ending that will leave readers anxious for future installments.


Can't wait to get around to reading these lovely new books!

Learning to Play the Steel Drums

I couldn't resist sharing some photos with you of my adventures in steel band land! Our local secondary school has the most amazing senior steel band. The band are well known in the county and everyone I know loves to go and watch them and support them. They are so good you cannot help but get up and dance along to the music. They make it look so easy, that you cannot help but believe you could easily play it too.

Last Saturday, they opened the doors to the general public and let us loose with the steel drums. There was a session for children in the morning, which both my girls attended. Then in the afternoon they allowed the adults in.

Here is hubby trying his hand at the guitar steel drums. Each set of drums represented a different set of instruments. The band made it look so easy, but we were in for a big surprise. I have absolutely no musical talent at all, yet I was convinced that I would be able to play a steel drum by the end of the day. Ha ha ha!

The leader of the band had decided to teach us all how to play Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot. There was no music to follow, we were just expected to follow the notes the band told us. I didn't have a clue what I was doing and knew I needed it written down in order to understand it, so a lovely young boy wrote the notes down for me to follow.

I had managed to convince quite a few of my friends that they really should come and join the fun too. Here is Anne from Pretty, laughing at my lame attempts to play the first few notes of the song. By the time I had actually mastered the notes,playing on the timber steel drum (could not cope with the other drums as you had to play two drums at a time!) I thought I was doing really well, then I was asked to play at speed with the other drummers. I completely lost the plot and was unable to play the notes that fast.

This was an attempt at playing two drums at once. I just couldn't keep both eyes on what both hands were doing.

The day was a complete blast and I haven't laughed so much in years. When we attempted to play the song together, it was an absolute shambles and the poor band leader went home with a headache.

We may not be as talented as the real band players, but we had a huge amount of fun attempting to play.

If you ever get the chance to play the steel drums, even if you are in no way musical, then you must have a go. You might not get the tune right, but I can guarantee you will have a great time trying.

Will I join an adult steel band? Hmmm, I don't think so, perhaps a samba band would be more suitable. Now where is that Yellow Pages directory,so I can find one!

Persephone Week - The Victorian Chaise-Longue by Marghanita Laski

I was so glad to get to participate in Persephone Week this week, but I didn't get to read as many books as I would have liked due to other book obligations. Persephone Week has been organised by Claire at Paperback Reader and Verity at The B Files. Do pop over to their blogs and have a look, as they have had lots of interesting things going on this week to support Persephone Week.

The Victorian Chaise-Longue was originally written and published in 1953, but now has been brought back for out pleasure by the lovely people at Persephone. If you haven't read any books published by Persephone, then you are really missing out. There distinctive grey covers give off an air of elegance and although they are quite expensive at £10, they are like having rare diamonds in your collection.

Before I tell you a little about this book, I want to share with you a story about how Laski wrote this book. I found this passage in the preface to the book written by P D James.

'I had the pleasure of speaking to Marghanita Laski's daughter and granddaughter and was told an interesting story about the writing of the novel. Miss Laski, in order to frighten the reader, needed to frighten herself and went away alone to a remote house the family owned in Somerset. There, without company, she was able to induce in herself the fear which she so effectively evoked in her writing.'

Now how many writers go that far to create the right atmosphere for their readers.

This frightening little book tells the story of a young woman who has recently given birth and is in the recovering stages of TB, she has been ill for a long time, but she is happy to be returning to normal health and knowing that she won't die. Her doctor requests that she is ready to move from her sick bed to a new room with a view and her husband and nurse help to settle her down on the Victorian chaise-longue she bought from an antique shop. Once settled, Melanie, drifts off to sleep, only to wake up in her alter ego ninety years previous to the one she fell asleep in. Melanie has time travelled to the past whilst falling asleep and is unable to return to the present day.

This book is a scary version of time travelling. Laski will put you off ever having visions of travelling through time after you have read this. I couldn't help but feel a little freaked out by the story line. Melanie finds herself in the body of Milly, who is on death's door. Milly has in someway disgraced the family, through a sexual nature and is treated quite badly. Melanie has gone from being treated with kid gloves to being treated as a disgrace. You can feel the terror and fear that emanates from Melanie. Imagine being trapped in the body of someone who is dying, when you have so much to live for. This book is a very thought provoking one and definitely worth reading.

A couple of things left me a little confused and I will have to investigate to find out the answers. Firstly, I wasn't sure whether Melanie was a reincarnation of Milly and had gone back to her previous life. Secondly, I wasn't completely clear as to what happened to Melanie at the end, I keep rereading the last passage and I still can't work out whether Melanie returns to her own body or whether she dies as Milly. If anyone can clear up either of these points then I would be extremely happy.

If you are going to read a Persephone book, then this is brilliant one to start with, as it is quite short. However, if you get scared easy, then you many want to choose something else.


Other reviews of this book

Things Mean Alot