A Spy in the House

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

AR Reading Level: 5.1
On the library stacks: YA Fiction
Series: The Agency #1
Recommended for: Grades 7+

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Mary Lang was a young girl in trouble. As an orphan, she kept herself alive by stealing from others--a crime that sent her to the gallows. At the last minute she was saved by the warden and sent to Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls. When she finished school she was asked if she would like to join an agency that uses girls as spies...precisely because during that time period, no one would expect women to be spies.

Mary was excited about the work and transformed herself into Mary Quinn. She became the paid friend of moody Miss Thorold. Once in the home, she was to get information regarding the shipping endeavors of Mr. Thorold. She meets James Easton in a wardrobe and the two work together, not only revealing what exactly is going on in the household, but answering questions for Mary about the fate of her father as well.

I went into this book with really high expectations. I kind of imagined it would be like the Gallagher Girls meeting Jane Austen. While it wasn't exactly that, it was a fun Victorian mystery nonetheless. The writing didn't always seem true to the period and felt a little clunky at times. However, the story was charming and I enjoyed the romantic element.

Also reviewed by: Bloggin' 'bout Books ~ Booked on a Feeling ~ There's A Book ~ Thoughts of Joy ~ Your link here?
Source: Kindle Purchase

Caleb's Crossing

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

On the library stacks: Adult Fiction
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I loved Brooks' People of the Book, so I was excited to read her latest novel. Brooks seems to focus her novels on different places and periods in history, and for this book she takes on Martha's Vineyard in the 1600s. Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk was the first Native American to attend Harvard, and this book is a work of historical fiction built around his existence.

Bethia Mayfield is the daughter of a Puritan minister. Growing up on the untamed landscape of the Massachusetts coast, Bethia secretly befriends Caleb, a Wampanoag Indian. After Bethia's father tries to convert the tribe, Caleb comes to live with Bethia where he is tutored by her father. Eventually, Caleb is accepted into Harvard. Due to tragedies in Bethia's life, she is an indentured servant in Cambridge where she can watch Caleb's intellectual journey.

I think this book is more about Bethia's "crossing" than Caleb's. She has a certain attitude that seems somewhat inconsistent with the time and place, but makes her more relate-able to modern readers. I found this book slow and depressing, but I did like some of the writing. I particularly liked this passage about Bethia's love of her island:

"I would be cradled by the known world of kine and crop, the heaviness of each day's familiar chores lightened by love of the very place in which I did perform them. I knew that life; I knew my place in it. If I threw my thoughts forward I could see myself at every age."

Ultimately, it may have been a matter of bad timing for me, but too many people died in this book for me to be happy.

Also reviewed by: Book Nut ~  The Boston Bibliophile ~ Your link here?
Source: GoodReads BookSwap

Flying Without Fear

Flying Without Fear: Effective Strategies to Get You Where You Need to Go by Duane Brown

On the library stacks: Adult Non-fiction
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think there is a very good chance that I read the first edition of this book about 11 years ago. I spotted this copy, during the Borders closeout, which has been updated for flying in the post-9/11 world.

I consider myself a somewhat nervous flier, although I've never let that stop me from getting where I want to go. But I like to occasionally refresh my memory regarding why flying is so safe, how planes work, what double and triple backups are in place, etc.

This book is a quick and easy read with good information. Brown covers different types of anxious fliers, and while some of his information and coping techniques really didn't apply to me, I found it all interesting and useful.

I probably would give this book 3 stars for the quality of the writing. However, I just recently returned from a trip to Argentina and I successfully applied my new knowledge regarding turbulence on my flights. This trip was much more enjoyable for me and I really did feel more calm for having read this book. So for that, I consider this a valuable resource that will definitely stay on my shelf.

Source: Purchased

The Strangers on Montagu Street

The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White

Publication date: November 1, 2011
Publisher: NAL Trade
Price:$15.00
Paperback: 352 pages
Series: Book 3 of 4 (Tradd Street) 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been two years since The Girl on Legare Street came out, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Honestly, this series just keeps getting better and better.

Jack's teenage daughter Nola moves in with Melanie since Nola and Jack can't seem to get along. When Nola gets an antique Victorian dollhouse as a gift, she is thrilled. But everyone soon realizes the dollhouse is possessed and Melanie must use her "gift" to help solve the mystery of the dollhouse so the spirits can rest.

The heat really turns up in the relationship between Jack and Melanie in this third installment. I have to admit, Jack is one of those male literary characters that I have a crush on. (Sometimes I want to smack Melanie for being so dense.) I liked the inclusion of Nola as a character. I was worried her teenage angst would bother me, but I actually found her quite likable. I'm eagerly anticipating the final book in the series after the cliffhanger ending!

Click here to read the first chapter.

Source: Publicist - Thanks Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting!

Davita's Harp

Davita's Harp by Chaim Potok

On the library stacks: Adult fiction
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ilana Davita Chandal is a young girl living in New York City in the 1930s. Her mother is Jewish and her father was raised a Christian by a wealthy New England couple. Because of dark experiences in their pasts, Ilana's parents turn to the Communist party as they turn their backs on religion.

Ilana lives a somewhat bewildering life. Her parents don't have much time for her. They hold loud meetings in their homes late at night where groups sing and argue. The family moves frequently. They house political refugees in their home from Europe. Ilana feels neither Jewish nor Christian, despite her aunt's best efforts to teach her about Christianity.

But things begin to change for Ilana when her father, a journalist, dies covering the fighting in Spain. Ilana's mother goes into a deep depression and Ilana begins to find solace in the Jewish faith. She doesn't agree with everything she experiences through her school and synagogue, but she finds she finally has a place where she belongs.

This is an elegantly written novel, interesting both from a religious and political perspective. I've never read a book that covered what it might be like to identify with the Communist movement in the United States during this time period. My heart just ached for sweet Ilana, a child caught in the cross-hairs of so much upheaval. I loved her bright mind and felt her inner hurt. This is a slow and thoughtful book, but well worth the read.

Also reviewed by: The Book Nest ~ Your link here?
Source: BookMooch

The Conference of the Birds - TLC Book Tour

The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis

Publisher: The Penguin Press
Publication date: October 27, 2011
Hardcover: 160 pages
Price: $27.95
On the library stacks: Adult fiction
Peter Sis' website.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Based on a 12th century poem, this parable is beautiful in its simplicity and gorgeous in its illustrations.

This book takes us on a journey with a group of birds on their epic flight. The birds are trying to find their true king. But some realize that a journey like this will force them to give up some of their comforts and they resist. Some perish when they pass through the seven valleys of quest, love, understanding, detachment, unity, amazement and death. But in the end, those that have chosen to complete the journey and survived learn that the true king is each of them and all of them.

Reading this book is a pleasure. The colors are joyful, the texture of the pages is high quality, and the story resonates profoundly with our human experience. It's an uplifting read that I can easily recommend.

Peter Sis is a Caldecott Honor-winning children's author and illustrator. This is his first book for adults.

Check out these reviews: Bibliophiliac ~ Book Snob ~ Sarah Reads Too Much
Look for these reviews coming soon: Savvy Verse & Wit ~  Col Reads ~ Wordsmithonia ~ Hungry Like the Woolf ~ Melody & Words ~ Unabridged Chick ~ Seven Impossible Things ~ Alexandra Boiger ~ Abigail Halpin ~ Layers of Thought

Source: I received this book from the publisher as part of the TLC Book Tour.

Wisdom's Kiss

Wisdom's Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock 

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin 

Publication Date: September 13, 2011
Hardcover: 304 pages
Price: $16.99
Series: Companion to Princess Ben
On the library stacks: YA Fiction 

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I should say up front that I loved the Dairy Queen series and I have not read Princess Ben. However, the author makes it clear that this is a stand-alone book, even though Ben is in this book as the grandmother of Wisdom.

This book is told in a unique format. It includes 8 different points-of-view including diary entries, encyclopedia entries, letters, and a play. It's quite a task to keep up with them all, but I had more trouble with the different places for some reason than the characters. The short entries keep the book moving along at a steady pace, but I think it may have halted real character development too.

Princess Wisdom (Dizzy) longs for adventure outside of her kingdom. When the Duke of a faraway land proposes, she accepts. Fortitude (Trudy) is an orphan girl who lives within a day's journey to the Duke's home. When Dizzy's entourage stops at Trudy's inn, Trudy is asked to be a lady-in-waiting since everyone else in Dizzy's party is sick after eating bad oysters. Trudy is excited to travel once she realizes that her childhood love, Tips, is in town and they can reunite after six years apart.

The only character that I really liked in this story is Trudy. She's plucky and courageous, but has real feelings and emotions. Everyone else is pretty one-sided and I'm still kind of mad that things didn't turn out differently for Trudy. At the end, the author talks about the process of writing this book. While it does sound like she had fun, I'm not sure that all the pieces fit together cohesively enough for the target audience. For me, this is a fairy tale that falls flat. 

Source: e-copy provided by netGalley and Houghton Mifflin for review purposes.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

On the library stacks: Adult Biography
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was originally scared that reading this book would upset me. But our book club decided we would read it this month so we would really have something to talk about. I read this book in one sitting. It's fast-paced, surprisingly funny and thought-provoking.

Amy Chua is a professor of law at Yale. She and her husband Jed have two daughters named Sophia and Lulu. Amy and Jed decided early on that Amy would raise the children in the Chinese way, and that the kids would be raised Jewish like Jed.

Amy explains the differences between the Chinese mother and the Western mother. Yes, she forced her kids to do hours of piano and violin practice. They had to be #1 in most of their classes at school. But she has good reasons for this. Amy believes that self-esteem for kids comes by making them do hard things. They will feel good about themselves after their dedication pays off and they accomplish something difficult. And Amy stands by her kids every step of the way--through every practice session and rehearsal, driving them wherever they need to be, and all while holding down a full-time job. I honestly don't know when this woman sleeps.

While I question some of Amy's methods, I think her principles are quite valid. However, the one weakness in this book for me is that it doesn't really have an ending. She began writing the book when Lulu rebels, trying to make sense of it all. And really, how Lulu turns out and the backlash from her mother's strict parenting is still to be determined. Still, there is much to think about here and I can't wait to discuss it.

Check out: Amy's website & Sophia's New York Post article in defense of her mother

Also reviewed by: Planet Books ~ In the Pages... ~ BestBooks ~ Bloggin' 'bout Books ~ Your link here?
Source: Library

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight

Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler

AR Reading Level: 5.4
On the library stacks: YA Fiction
Recommended for: Grades 8+

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Calliope is a 15-year old who spends much of her life traveling with her mom from one Renaissance Faire to the next. Her mom is a wench (says so on her W-2!) and she also sells funky jewelry at the faires. Cal is used to moving from one town to another, often following men her mom has taken fancy to. Cal puts up with all the uncertainty, often living in tents.

Eliot is the son of an evangelist/fat camp director living in Asheville, North Carolina. He secretly (and illegally) makes fireworks. He spends much of his time disgusted with his dad making money selling God. He and his mother wish they could go back to their simpler life in Carolina Beach.

And, of course, Cal and Eliot meet and their lives change forever. I loved the scene where Cal and Eliot meet in the bookstore. Cal says she hears percussion instruments strike up in her head. As Eliot goes to leave she says:

The band keeps rocking in my head, but as I listen I realize that there is something else there, real soft underneath the crashing. I can't quite identify it, but it's there--a sustained note. It's something quiet and peaceful, and all I can do is smile and lift my hand because my brain is too busy throwing a party in my head to think of anything clever to say.

This is a delightfully quirky teen love story. I love that it is set in my home state, and I could definitely feel the influence of the Carolina Renaissance Festival & Artisan Marketplace that our family attended last year in Huntersville. I actually don't like the title and I don't like the cover art. But I love the format with alternating chapters where we get to hear Cal's and Eliot's voices.

Also reviewed by: The Book Nest ~ Tiny Little Reading Room ~ Not Enough Bookshelves ~ Your link here?
Source: Purchased

Under the Tuscan Sun

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

On the library stacks: Adult Non-fiction
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I remember watching this movie years ago and enjoying it. I traveled to Tuscany as a teenager and I felt the cinematography brilliantly captured the essence of the beautiful landscape. The book, however, is very different from the movie--in large part, because there really is no plot to the book.

In 1988, Frances Mayes was a divorced professor, living in the Bay Area. In 1989, she and her partner Ed, decided to purchase a 250-year old farmhouse named Bramasole in Cortona, Italy. The book is really a somewhat random collection of her thoughts as they go through the decision to buy the home, perform the much-needed restoration, transform the land, play tourists, and host dinner parties. Some chapters contain recipes, in some we follow her footsteps as she explores a nearby town, and in others she explains the the difficulties inherent in such a huge undertaking.

For me, the book moved really slowly. It's the sort of book you can put down and pick up at any time. Mayes does a nice job describing the land, the food, the weather and the house. But because the book is a compilation of sorts, some things got repeated and the word "Etruscan" was overused. I really wanted to connect more with Frances, Ed, and her daughter Ashley, but I felt like there was a wall put up between us and she wouldn't let me in. Perhaps travel/home remodeling memoirs are just not for me.

Also reviewed by: Silly Little Mischief ~  Bermudaonion's Weblog ~ Book Nut ~ Your link here?
Source: BookMooch