Reading at Dawn - Book Review Blog

Lisa Mantchev, Author

Book 12 in  A to Z challenge

I bought this book several years ago but it wasn't until this month that I was able to finish reading (I started it last month). I'm a fan of theater and have read Shakespeare plays, which is what drew me to this book. Plus the cover is pretty. 

About the Book: 
Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.


My Review:  Overall, I liked the book. It's very different, to say the least. In the world of the book there is there theatre, where everyone lives and this mysterious outside world that we don't get much about in this book, though book 2 will show more of that I assume by the description.

It also has a very interesting cast of characters. There is the main character, Beatrice, who often goes by Bertie. Then many other prominent characters from a variety of plays. Everywhere from Pirates, to chorus girls, to Ophelia, tempests and fairies. I liked Bertie. She was a fun main character with a quirky personality and isn't afraid to let herself shine even when she struggles. However, the fairies (Peasblossom, Moth, Cobweb and Mustardseed) stole the show on more than one occasion. They were hilarious. Then there is the pirate who is often there trying to help Bertie though sometimes he steps on some toes in trying to do what he thinks she needs. Then there is the distracting one, for me.

I understand the character comes from a play. While I have never actually read that particular play (I tended towards ones like Hamlet), I can understand that the character's name was that way for a reason. But I couldn't help myself. When I saw "Ariel" that often lead to me picturing:


Yeah. And the Little Mermaid is even one of the plays in the theatre, so it's not just the name but well, okay for the most part it's that his name is Ariel and the only Ariel I can imagine now thanks to Disney is from the little Mermaid. Though the mermaid is cute and nice, Ariel in this book is well a jerk.  He is where the book went astray for me. While the conflict made me want to keep reading even though at times I wasn't sure what was going on or where the book would head, to be honest I did not find him a viable love interest. And the book talks about the love triangle, I'd heard about it before even buying the book. Plus the sequel, from what it says on Goodreads, is focused on the love triangle... but for most of book 1, he's got very little going for him. The end helps a tiny bit but nope, still don't like that factor.

But I still will have to read book 2. Overall, it's an interesting book that is great for people who love plays and want to see what a story might be like if there was a magic theatre where all the characters of different plays (such as Shakespeare and many others) lived.  Even with the slight annoyance in love triangle, it was an entertaining read and an enjoyable book.


Reviewed by:
Dawn Embers

Stephen King, Author

Book 11 in A to Z challenge

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.

Thus begins the story of Roland Deschain, the gunslinger, and what many consider the magnum opus of Stephen King. The story follows Roland as he treks across the desert in slow chase of the Man in Black, and taunts the reader with hints of a world much bigger than this single story. The setting is a world that has moved on, a post-apocalyptic wasteland of isolated pockets of civilization where scarcity is driven hard into the reader. Scarcity of food, life, humanity. The walking dead, a boy from our own world and creatures of myth populate the world, and nail down a message that seems to permeate the entire story. This world is broken. It is a place where worlds can be seen through open doors, and time is inconsistent at best, and at the center of it all is the Dark Tower.

I can't really complain about King's writing. He aggravates me with his tangents, but keeps me glued to every word, no matter how many pages it takes. His prose perfectly captures the feeling of this world, and the people who inhabit it. People do awful things--Roland does awful things--and you understand. As he kills dozens, you know that this is what must be. As he chooses his own quest over saving the life of another, you understand. Anyone can write about a man drowning a puppy. King can make you sympathize and forgive.

I will issue a bit of warning regarding the rest of the series. King doesn't seem to have planned the series out in advance, or even each book as he wrote it, and it does show. You may spend a hundred pages on something that will never matter to the story, but you will probably enjoy reading it.

This was a solid start to a series filled with ups and downs, and at a mere 300 pages, it's worth adding to your to-read list.


Reviewed by:
Addison Smith

Jasper Fforde, Author

Book 10 in A to Z challenge

Jasper Fforde writes a series of fantasy books about an alternative reality in which a human agency polices the world of books, a reality in which book characters exist, time and reality are mutable and the literary is often more real than every day life. Meet Thursday Next, one of those agents policing text, who is tasked with the retrieval of Jane Eyre who has been kidnapped from her novel.

Across books and realities, with the aid of many well loved literary characters and a father who has been erased from history, Thursday Next hunts for the missing heroine with whimsy, wit and a phlegmatic disposition we are never certain is true or pretend. The climax of the Eyre Affair both leaves you laughing and wanting more - fortunately there are other books to follow that first.

This book is for any book lover with a sense of humour and the ability to simply disband belief and be taken on the roller coaster of craziness and familiarity which is the book world. This book defies traditional age rating though I believe that the lovers of the classics will fall into it faster, and more completely, than others.


Reviewed by:
Christine Blackthorn
www.christineblackthorn.eu

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Another book I blame on my sister. Should have known after reading Before I Fall to expect such, plus the description kind of gives the huge hint that it's not a happy book. Did it stop me from reading it at work despite having worn makeup that day... nope. (I don't recommend that, even if it's "waterproof" mascara.) But on to the review...

Book 9 in A to Z challenge

About the book: Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.


My review:    Wow.

That sums it up. It's amazing, heart wrenching and overall, a fantastic read. While I went in knowing about the sad factor, it does state caught between life in death in the description and the car crash is at the very first chapter of the book, I didn't quite know how drawn into the story I would be or what to expect in the writing overall. I was not disappointed.

I've wondered how to approach stories that deal often with flashbacks or require times in the past brought up to make up the story. This is kind of like that because we get to experience the love story and the different moments in her life in small bits, during her day as she tries to make the decision to stay or leave. While at times, the approach feels jumpy and hard to really latch onto the story, this book in particular shows how it can work very well.

While I'm not a big fan of contemporary or sad, I watch comedy tv shows and movies for a reason, I very much appreciated this book and have the sequel now on my to-read list. I recommend If I Stay to many readers, YA and beyond. It's a great read and shows a growing love that stands out despite the darkest of times.

And if you're curious about book 2 review, check out my sister's review of it that we posted on this blog back in August, 2011. Where She Went book review


Reviewed by:
Dawn Embers

Middle Grade books involving the Holocaust

Books 8 in A to Z challenge

While an unexpected topic, I have come across a few and figured it would work for the H post in this challenge. I have read 3 middle grade books involving the Holocaust over the years, starting way back as a pre-teen and finally having read another last year from a familiar author. Each has a different angle and narration but all showcase the dark time in history.


The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

About the Book: In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the "Secret Annexe" of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.

In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.


My Review: I read this one a long long time ago. Not the longest of the three but still, anything more than 10 years ago was long for me. But I do remember parts of the book. And it's obvious why this is a classic and how people can rave about how the tragic tale showcased not only the time period but the nature of the human spirit. It is a great book, one I would recommend for others. Even as an assigned book in school, I had no problems back then reading it.

I remember the hope found in the story and the real life existence exposed through the words of the diary. It was a real glimpse at another life, the things she had to worry about during the days in the attic and trying to continue despite the dangers and threats. I wonder how many haven't already read this since even in small town Wyoming, it was part of the reading curriculum.


Number the Stars by Lois Lowry


About the book: Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life.


My Review: This is the one that I read last summer. I went to the library for the other book in same series as The Giver but my library didn't hate that one. I found this book instead and decided to give it a read. It's an interesting story focused on a little girl who has a great personality and much courage. This story looks at the risks others took during the Holocaust to help those being targeted all while looking at it through the lens of someone very young.

It's a good, short read. Any readers interested in different fictional perspectives around the time in history, along with fans of the author (though this doesn't quite reach the same shelf for me as The Giver did), should consider reading this one.



Escape from Warsaw by Ian Serraillier (also known as The Silver Sword)


About the book: In 1942 Warsaw, World War II is raging, and people live in fear from day to day. Ruth, Bronia, and Edek have to fend for themselves when both of their parents are taken by the Nazis. Can they survive? A gripping story based on true accounts.

My Review:
I read this when I was young, pre-teen range though I can't remember exact years.

I don't remember the exact details that happen in the story since I read it so long ago. In fact, it also was hard to even find a description online for this part of the review because Goodreads didn't have anything on what it's about. I do remember the story gripping my attention and not letting go. I really liked the three characters and worried throughout the book, wondering if they would survive. Each rise in the tension made me tense and worry. It's a good book and while not as well known compared to some, it's one I recommend for anyone interested in the time period. The intense escape will keep you reading till the very end. And that fact that it has stuck in my memory over the years is a good sign too.


I haven't asked questions for most of the reviews, but I'm going to do an old method for this blog.

Do you recommend any other Holocaust books for young readers?
Have you read any of these three?

Anne Golon, Author (also known as Sergeanne Golon)

Book 7 in A to Z challenge

Anne Golon is a historical romance author of French descent who wrote a series of book around the character Angeligue and her life in 17th century France and Canada. She is the daughter of an impoverished French noble who is traded away in marriage for the price of a mine. She is terrified and shocked when she meets her new husband, Joffrey de Peyrac, the Duke of Toulouse, whose face is disfigured by a horrific scar and whose sharp whit and intelligence mock her. But besides being a proud and influential nobleman, Peyrac is also one of the foremost scientist, troubadour and renown lover of his time.

Angelique falls in love with him after a well planned, and well executed, seduction of body and mind and all seems well - but this is when the wider political influences intrude. Joffrey de Peyrac is burnt as a witch by the young Louis IVX and Angelique, pregnant with his second son, now has to make her life, and protect her children, alone.

Over the next two decades, and 13 books, we follow her through the thieves court of Paris and the royal court of Versailles, through the dangers of the Mediterranean and middle east to the wilds of Canada. We see her love a King and a beggar, enchant a sultan and a pirate, she leads a rebellion and becomes one of the most successful traders in France. And we see her find something she thought she had lost …

These books are rich in detail and texture, written in the more lyrical style of earlier times. The historical detail is fascinating and the author managed to interweave historical truth and happenings with her fictional heroine letting us see a world full of danger and love, loyalty and betrayal.

This is a book for historical romance lovers who like the depth and historical detail, who can revel in their own sensual appreciation of characters and intricacies of action, without losing their attention span. For me, these were the books that made me love historical romance. I was nine and found them in my great-grandmother’s bookshelves - and have never put them down again. At the age of nine, I was caught by the adventure and the strong female character - today I appreciate the male characters we are handed and just cannot help falling in love with.


Reviewed by:
Christine Blackthorn
www.christineblackthorn.eu

Jeaniene Frost, Author

Book 6 in A to Z challenge

Jeaniene Frost created an urban fantasy series around a half-vampire, Cat Crawfield, who first independently, and then under the aegis of the government, hunts vampires. We meet her as a young woman when she, under the tutelage of an older vampire, Bones, gets involved in tracking down a vampiric flesh trader. In the course of this book we learn much about her, about the way her mother was raped by a vampire resulting in her death and how her grandparents are unable to see in her anything other than a stain on the family’s honour. We see her honour and her loyalty - but also her blind stubbornness and obedience she, as yet, still has to learn to outgrow. In the end she makes a rash, but noble sacrifice which sets up the rest of the series.

Over the course of the series we follow her through a wide range of cases and a turbulent personal life. Bones, her original tutor and later husband, is a powerful vampire in his own right and through him, and his vampire family, she becomes embroiled in the machinations of the supernatural world. This brings her again and again into conflict with her human employer, a secret government agency which is tasked with hunting down vampires and other supernaturals.

We follow her through her interactions with characters borrowed from medieval Europe, Ancient Egypt and voodoo New Orleans all while struggling with the challenges of modern life. It’s a joyful romp across cultures and countries with a sassy attitude and erotic sensuality. Any urban fantasy lover who likes their characters with some sensuality and brains will love this series.


Reviewed by:
Christine Blackthorn
www.christineblackthorn.eu