Before Midnight: A retelling of Cinderella

Author: Cameron Dokey
Pages: 193
Rating: G

Summary:
Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted. His wife has died in childbirth, leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name. But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal.
The girl, La Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants' care until one day a very fine lady arrives with her two daughters. The lady has married La Cendrillon's father, and her arrival changes their lives.
When an invitation to a great ball reaches the family, La Cendrillon's new stepmother will make a decision with far-reaching effects. Her choice will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul toward their destiny -- a choice that will challenge their understanding of family, test their loyalty and courage, and, ultimately, teach them who they are.

My Thoughts: A quick and cute read, definitely a nicer twist on Cinderella than you've heard before. The stepmother and sisters are actually nice, although they are not aware at first that Cendrillon is anything more than a servant. Her father, Etienne, has never mentioned her existence to anyone, and her homely appearance at the arrival of her new family leads them to believe she is a serving girl. However, they are not overly cruel to her, and when she does eventually reveal who she is, the family is very accepting and loving.

Again, Dokey has a problem of spending the entire book on buildup and not enough on climax and ending stuff, but I still enjoyed it, even though I figured out who Raoul really is very early on in the story. There's a lot in this book about wishes that are powerful and really come true, and love at first sight. I think it's probably one of the better ones I've read in the Once Upon a Time series.

13 Gifts

Author: Wendy Mass
Pages: 339
Rating: G

Summary: When Tara, a self-proclaimed shrinking violet, steals the school mascot, a goat, in order to make some friends with the popular crowd and gets caught, she gets herself in a heap of trouble. In addition, her parents decide that instead of taking her on their summer trip to Madagascar to study the courtship rituals of the Bamboo Lemur, she must go stay with her aunt, uncle, and bratty cousin Emily St. Claire in Willow Falls. Tara thinks it's a good time to start over; she'll be turning 13 after all, so she might as well make the best of it and perhaps even attempt to break out of her shell (in a non-criminal manner). What Tara doesn't know is that this charmed town has something big in store for her on her 13th birthday. It's not a typical birthday. But then again, nothing is Willow Falls is exactly typical!

My Thoughts: Eh. This is a book that's all well and good for a preteen. I'd say it's definitely interesting, with weird twists you don't expect, but I felt like some of it was overdramatic, and a lot of the stuff Tara does or has to deal with in the book just works out WAY too easily. There aren't really any true obstacles. Everything she comes up against seems like an issue for all of like 10 minutes and then the problems are solved in some quick and simple way that in real life would probably never happen.

Also, I was annoyed because there are a few mysteries in the book that don't really get solved because they have to do with other characters and apparently they have their own books, 11 Birthdays, and Finally. So that bothered me. You get to hear the end of Tara's story, but there are these two odd characters Leo and Amanda and something fishy is going on with them the entire book, yet it ends without you ever getting to find out what's going on with them.

Like I said, this is definitely a clean and wonderful book for the 10-14 age group, but I found a lot lacking in it from an adult perspective.

Hidden Places

Author: Lynn Austin
Pages: 429
Rating: PG

Summary: A deep yearning for home had led Eliza to Wyatt Orchards ten years ago. Now widowed with three young children, she faces mounting debts and the realization it is all up to her. But she has no idea how to run an orchard alone. When a stranger appears at her doorstep, Eliza guesses he is no different than the other out-of-luck characters searching for work during the Depression. But the familiarity with which Gabe tends to the farm raises unanswered questions. With a vulnerable heart, she is unwittingly drawn to his gentle ways. But Eliza also fears that Gabe hides a past and motives that could jeopardize all she has fought to attain for herself and her children....

My Thoughts: Lynn Austin is slowly becoming a favorite author. I loved this book just as much as I loved the other book by her that I've read, A Woman's Place.

The book opens with Eliza burying her father in law, the last male member of the family she married into. It's the middle of the Depression, and she soon finds out she is close to losing her farm. She desperately needs a miracle, which comes in the form of crazy Aunt Batty, and a wandering hobo named Gabe. The Wyatt family has many hidden difficulties and problems. Frank Wyatt, Eliza's father-in-law, was an abusive, greedy man, who never showed one speck of love or pride in his children or family members. That has caused quite a lot of pain and problems.

As the story goes on, it becomes necessary for Eliza to learn of the painful and shocking history of the Wyatt family. It's heartfelt and raw and very real. You also eventually get to hear Gabe's story, slowly, and it's pretty amazing. Eliza knows she never truly loved her first husband, Sam Wyatt, who died of tetanus. She only married him because she loved the idea of having a real home to live in. So when Gabe comes along, and Eliza feels herself falling in love with him, she is afraid that something bad will happen and she will not be allowed this happiness as punishment for all the lies she told Sam.

There is definitely a very Christian message to the book, basically saying that we should not think that the bad things that happen to us in life are punishments from God that we deserve. God is not cruel, he is loving and he wants us to find happiness and hope in life. Unlike other Christian books I've read, this one does not feel overly sweet or overbearing with the Gospel message in it. It doesn't seem forced, is what I'm trying to say. All the talk of God and his love for us just seems to fit naturally into the story, which was definitely nice.

The only beef I had with this book was I wasn't really impressed with Eliza's background story. Hers is the final "secrets of the past" story that comes out, such as what happened between her and her father, and where she really came from. Compared to Batty's story and Gabe's story, Eliza's just seems petty and ridiculous in comparison. But maybe that was the point. Sometimes we have legitimate reasons to be upset and think that life is out to get us, and other times we're just looking at it completely wrong and being childish and prideful about something that really is not that big of a deal.

I would recommend this book, it's definitely a "feel good" story, and I now plan to read even more books by this author.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick
Pages: 525 (However, over half of the pages are pictures. It only took me 2 hours to read the entire book)
Rating: G

Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

My Thoughts: This is definitely a different kind of a novel. Like I said, over half of the pages in this book are pictures, which is why you shouldn't let how thick it is change your mind about reading it. It's almost like a mixture between a book and a movie, because often there will be several pictures in sequence and those pictures will tell a section of the story. Then the words pick up where the pictures left off. It's an unusual experience. Because of the amount of pictures, I think this would be a good book for all ages. I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially since it was such a quick and fun read. Here are a few of the illustrations that appear in the novel.

I decided to read this book because the movie "Hugo" is based off of it. Now I want to see the movie. If you've seen the movie, you know the basic plot. But you should still check out this book just because of the new experience it provides you to interact with the book almost as if it is a movie in and of itself. I think this is one worthy of joining my personal bookshelf at home.

Marrying Malcolm Murgatroyd

Author: Mame Farrell
Pages: 122
Rating: G

Summary: Hannah dreads her school autobiographical writing project; she doesn't want to admit that the biggest nerd in sixth grade, Malcolm Murgatroyd, is a long-time family friend and best friend to her brother, who has muscular dystrophy. She hates being teased by her family about marrying Malcolm, until he reveals his true personality when her brother succumbs to his disease.

My Thoughts: I bought this book at a scholastic book fair when I was in about the 5th grade. At the time, I was obsessed with all things love story and romantic, and the fact that this book had the word "marrying" in the title was a good enough reason for me to snatch it up. I also thought that the girl on the cover looked so much older and mature, so I was sure this would be a very romantic story. I was dead wrong, but not disappointed.

Hannah is part of the popular crowd at school, and in order to keep it that way, she keeps her family's relationship with Malcolm a very close secret. Their families have been friends since before Hannah was born, and Malcolm, although physically awkward and painfully "uncool" is very emotionally mature, and knows exactly how to handle difficult situations like Hannah's brother Ian being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Because of their family relationship, Hannah feels like it is her duty to stand up for Malcolm when he gets bullied at school, usually by her group of friends. However, this has the potential to put her in the line of fire as well, which she is afraid to do.

I absolutely love this book. It's short and simple, I would say that 4th grade and up could read it, and it has an amazing message about how it doesn't really matter what someone looks like on the outside. It's what they are on the inside that counts, and standing up for someone is always the right thing to do, even when we are afraid of being the target ourselves. If you ever come across this book, it's definitely worth the short time it will take you to read it. It has such a sweet ending and an amazing message.

Tortall Series: Protector of the Small Quartet

Author:Tamora Pierce

Books in Series: First Test, Page, Squire, Lady Knight

Tortall Series: Protector of the Small is the last quartet in a larger series of books called the Tortall Series. Each quartet is related in that they take place in the same land and the charcters often know each other or are inter-related, however, each quartet is about a different person. Song of the Lioness comes first, the next quartet is called The Immortals Series, and it's about a girl named Daine. Protector of the Small involves the characters in the other two quartets, but you don't have to read them in order to understand this set.

Rating: PG-13. Although none of the battle scenes in these books are particularly graphic, there are still a LOT of them, and some of the techniques of the enemy are not exactly.....mild, to say the least. There's no sex though. Kel does consider it, and it is vaguely hinted at that the notion of staying a virgin till marriage is old-fashioned and ridiculous, but Kel is more focused on her duties as a knight than she is in romance.

Pages:
Book 1: 228
Book 2: 253
Book 3: 390
Book 4: 411

Summary:
First Test: In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits females to train for knighthood.


Page: Kel fights to maintain the rigorous regimen of a page while confronting the prejudices that come with being a female in a man's world and coping with a crush on her closest friend, Neal.

Squire: When Kel is chosen by the legendary Lord Raoul to be his squire, the conservatives of the realm hardly think she’s up to the job. Kel earns respect and admiration among the men, as well as the affection of a fellow squire.

Lady Knight: Keladry of Mindelan has finally achieved her life-long dream of being a knight. But it’s not turning out as she imagined at all. With the land of Tortall at war with the Scanrans, she has been assigned to oversee a refugee camp. But Kel has had a vision in the Chamber—a vision of the man behind the horrific battle machines that her fellow knights and friends are now fighting without her. She is torn between a duty she has sworn and a quest that she feels could turn the tide of the war. . .

My Thoughts: Of all the Tortall Books, Protector of the Small is my very favorite. Kel seriously just kicks butt. She doesn't let stupid people with prejudices against women get her down. At every seeming setback, she just works harder to prove herself, and manages to make quite a few friends in the process. The title of "Protector of the Small" is very apt because from the beginning Kel takes it upon herself to protect many of the other pages from severe bullying. She forms a habit of roaming the halls at night and starting fights with older boys who are in the process of bullying younger ones. She really looks out for the little guy throughout the entire series, especially anyone who is normally overlooked by people of her station, such as peasants, servants, and children. Another reason I love Kel is that unlike Alanna, everyone knows she is a girl, so she's got it really rough, but she also doesn't have any magic. She does it all on her own power, with no real help.

This is part of the reason it's so difficult for her to gain acceptance. Since Alanna made it through to Knighthood by tricking everyone into thinking she was a boy, and she also had magic, there were speculations that she basically cheated. Even though the king officially declared that girls would be allowed to try for knighthood, Kel is the first to take advantage of it. The training master, Lord Wyldon, is very against the idea, and so insists that Kel be put on one year of probation. If she survives the year acceptably, she will be allowed to stay and train for knighthood. Another restriction is that Alanna will not be able to have any interaction with Kel, on suspicion that she will try to help her. Kel is extremely determined, and does not let any of the formidable obstacles in her way stop her from trying her absolute best.

Another reason I love this quartet is that it's more about the process of becoming a knight and what a knight does. The Alanna series is almost more about her personal relationships and how she uses her magic in her life. Kel sees much more battle, and the exciting scenes are much more drawn out, since these books are longer. Still almost impossible to put down though. I could barely stop reading the last book. There's a lot of suspense and almost non-stop action as Kel races to stop the horrific magic of a man named Blayce.

I just think Kel is a great role-model because she is brave, she keeps her head in tough situations, she's fair, she's always looking out for those less fortunate, she's humble, and she never falters in the face of adversity. She just keeps plowing forward, even when the odds seem to be heavily against her. I love this quartet the best out of all the Tortall books, so if you are unsure, start with these. Love them!

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb: A Novel

Author: Melanie Benjamin
Pages: 413
Rating: PG - there is one scene where she almost gets raped, but it's not graphic or anything

Summary: She was only two feet, eight inches tall, but more than a century later, her legend reaches out to us. As a child, Mercy Lavinia “Vinnie” Warren Bump was encouraged to live a life hidden away from the public. Instead, she reached out to the immortal impresario P. T. Barnum, married the tiny superstar General Tom Thumb in the wedding of the century, and became the world’s most unexpected celebrity. Vinnie’s wedding captivated the nation, preempted coverage of the Civil War, and even ushered her into the White House. But her fame also endangered the person she prized most: her similarly sized sister, Minnie, a gentle soul unable to escape the glare of Vinnie’s spotlight.

My Thoughts: This book is my favorite type of historical fiction. ALL the characters and events are real, it's just the details that are filled in by the author's imagination. All of Vinnie's inner thoughts and feelings, her specific conversations, and her impressions of those she meets are mostly fictional, but who she meets and where she goes and what she does are all real events. I had never even heard of General Tom Thumb until I read this book, and it was definitely fascinating. If you are interested in reading up a little on Vinnie and her life, go here. There are also several pictures you can find by searching "Lavinia Warren Stratton" on the internet.

I love the way the author chose to portray Vinnie as someone with huge ambition and drive, but also not willing to allow her small size to hold her back from achieving anything. Vinnie is a very proper lady and she never lets anyone forget it, even when she is being displayed early on in her career on a crude traveling showboat. She wants to be remembered for how cordial and perfectly ladylike she is, not by how small she is. It was absolutely fascinating following her life story, especially as she became a very close friend of the famous P.T. Barnum, which is still a household name even in the 21st century. There was so much history in the book as well. She starts out her career as the Civil War is breaking out, and her marriage to Tom Thumb actually manages to push news of the war into the back pages of the newspapers. Each chapter begins with a few short newspaper excerpts relating the news of the time period, such as the new discovery of electricity and how it can be used to power lights. I loved it.

The only complaint I would have about this book is that when Vinnie goes to Utah and meets the Mormons, she has an extremely disfavorable view of them, because of polygamy. The book says that she felt like the Mormon women were more like background slaves and that they were downcast and depressing in appearance. This was obviously something that was mostly up to the author's personal discretion. In the Author's Note at the end, she says that she never found much of anything that Vinnie shared personal feelings about. I was a bit disappointed that the author made something like that up. Yes, they were practicing polygamy at the time, but I highly doubt that Mormon women were actually background characters, there to just serve their husbands meekly and not to be seen or heard. That doesn't mesh with what I know of Mormon history. So that was really the only part that I was unhappy with in the book. Otherwise, it was an absolutely fascinating read that I highly recommend!

My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park

Author: Cindy Jones
Pages: 319

Rating: Sadly, R. There are two sex scenes. The first one is not a problem because it's pretty vauge, but the second one is pretty descriptive. I had to skip it. If you still want to read the book, then skip the first three pages of Chapter 20. All you need to know is that she regrets it.

Summary: Lily has squeezed herself into undersized relationships all her life, hoping one might grow as large as those found in the Jane Austen novels she loves. But lately her world is running out of places for her to fit. So when her bookish friend invites her to spend the summer at a Jane Austen literary festival in England, she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself.

There, among the rich, promising world of Mansfield Park reenactments, Lily finds people whose longing to live in a novel equals her own. But real-life problems have a way of following you wherever you go, and Lily's accompany her to England. Unless she can change her ways, she could face the fate of so many of Miss Austen's characters, destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

My Thoughts: I often have a hard time with adult novels because they often have too much sex, and they are SOO dramatic! Lilly is such a ridiculous character. She has serious problems. It makes sense, and you feel her pain, but it's almost depressing. I felt depressed when I was done with reading the book for the day. Here's the situation. Lilly has just lost her mother after a brief bout with cancer. Only a few weeks later, her father already has a new girlfriend, who moves into the house and begins to erase Lilly's mother from existence. Lilly's boyfriend of over a year dumps her, she gets fired from her job, and then she finds out that her father is getting married to this new woman, who happens to be quite a bit younger. Life is really sucking for Lilly. So, when an opportunity opens for her to go to England and participate in a Literature Event that reenacts Jane Austen novels, she is all over it. However, life just keeps getting more complicated.

The book would probably be better if you are more familiar with Jane Austen novels, especially Mansfield Park. There is a brief synopsis of Mansfield Park at the beginning, so I wasn't totally lost, but I felt like some of the arguments presented in the book were over my head. It wasn't really that great of a book in my opinion. It was well written. I felt for Lilly, that is for sure, but I didn't really like how I felt at the end or while I was reading. It was just so depressing and confusing. And I'm not sure if the ending was exactly happy either. If you're a die-hard Jane Austen fan, go ahead and read this one, but like I said, skip the sex scene in the first three pages of Chapter 20.

Series: 1-800-Where-R-U

Author: Meg Cabot

Books in Series: When Lightning Strikes, Code Name Cassandra, Safe House, Sanctuary, Missing You

Rating: PG-13 for some mild language and frightening scenes

Pages: Book 1 -272
Book 2- 272
Book 3- 272
Book 4- 231 (thank goodness, I was beginning to think the author made them ALL 272 pages.)
Book 5- 288

Summary:
 Book 1 -When lightning strikes there can only be trouble - as Jessica Mastriani finds out when she and best friend Ruth get caught in a thunderstorm. Not that Jess has ever really avoided trouble before. Instead of cheerleading there are fistfights with the football team and month-long stints in detention - not that detention doesn't have its good points - like sitting next to Rob - the cutest senior around! But this is trouble with a capital T - this trouble is serious. Because somehow, on that long walk home in the thunderstorm, Jess acquired a newfound talent. An amazing power that can be used for good...or for evil.

Book 2-  Jess Mastriani was dubbed "Lightning Girl" by the press when she developed a psychic ability to find missing children after she was struck by lightning during a huge storm. Now Jess has lost her miraculous powers...or at least she would like the media and the government to think so. All she wants is to be left alone.

But it doesn't look like Jess is going to get her wish -- especially not while working at a summer camp for musically gifted kids. When the father of a missing girl shows up to beg Jess to find his daughter, Jess can't say no. Now the Feds are on her tail again, as is one ornery stepdad, who'd like to see Lightning Girl...well, dead.

Book 3- When cheerleader Amber Mackey goes missing and is later found dead, many blame Lightning Girl, Jess Mastriani, for not stopping the brutal killing. But when Amber went missing Jess was on holiday. It wasn't her fault! How could Jess have found her when she didn't know that she was missing in the first place? When another cheerleader disappears, Jess has a chance to redeem herself. But just how is she supposed to keep her psychic powers secret from the feds, while at the same time tracking down a murderer - especially when the number one suspect turns out to be living in Jess's own house?

Book 4- Jess knew she wasn't going to be able to hide her psychic powers from the U.S. government forever. But she never thought that she and Dr. Krantz, the special agent brought in to convince Jess to join his elite team of "specially gifted" crime solvers, would have something in common.
When a local boy's disappearance is attributed to a backwoods militia group, it turns out that Jess and Dr. Krantz have the same goal. Suddenly Jess finds herself collaborating with one enemy in order to stop a far worse one. In an atmosphere of hate and fear, Jess and Dr. Krantz must work together to unite a community and save a life...without loosing their own.

Book 5-  Ever since a walk home on a particularly stormy day, Jessica Mastriani has had an ability like no other. She became known worldwide as Lightning Girl—a psychic who could find the location of anyone, dead or alive. Jess finally had no choice but to embrace her newfound talent, and ended up lending her skills to the U.S. government.
But her work for them has taken a terrible toll, and Jess resurfaces months later a shadow of her former self, her powers gone, Lightning Girl no more. Her only hope is starting over in a new place, a big city where nobody knows her. It's only when Rob Wilkins unexpectedly shows up on her doorstep that she's forced to face her past. Rob, all the way from back home, needs her help. But how can Jess, her powers gone, find anyone, let alone the sister of a man she once loved . . . when she can't even find herself?

My Thoughts: If you've ever read anything by Meg Cabot (Princess Diaries...) you know she's a fantastic author with a sharp wit. I always end up laughing when I read her books, and they're hard to put down. These are no different. I loved them because they aren't terribly long, but they are almost thrillers, since they deal with disappearances and sometimes murders. And they aren't really THAT creepy. I'm a huge wuss when it comes to anything frightening and I was able to get through these without having nightmares, but there was still PLENTY of suspense. There are really no good stopping places.

Just a brief rundown...Jess is not a very popular person and she has a tendency to lose her temper and get in fights pretty often. Usually with football players three times her size. But then one day when walking home from school, she gets hit by lightning, and ends up being able to find missing people. All she has to do is see their picture and know they are missing, and their location just pops into her head. However, she runs into some trouble when she finds out that some people went missing for good reason and aren't very pleased to be found. This new talent also makes her famous with the press AND the US government, who basically want to use her as a secret weapon. It's very entertaining.

If you're not interested in reading the whole series, the first book stands on its own pretty well, and the last one does too. The background from the other books is nice, but since the setting is several years past book 4, it's not super important.

The only problem you may have with these books is that they are hard to find. My sister ended up buying them online because she couldn't find more than the first book anywhere else. But if you do come across them, they are fantastic! I don't know why they are so hard to find, because I liked them better than the Princess Diaries.

Are We There Yet?

Author: David Levithan (a side note about this author, all of his other books have strong homosexual themes and are usually about gay teens. If that is something you are interested in, he's an author for you. If not, then this is really the only book by him that I can recommend.)

Pages: 215
Rating: PG-13, for several drug references, slight language, and vague references to sex.

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Elijah is completely mellow and his 23-year-old brother Danny is completely not, so it’s no wonder they can barely tolerate one another. So what better way to repair their broken relationship than to trick them into taking a trip to Italy together? Soon, though, their parents’ perfect solution has become Danny and Elijah’s nightmare as they’re forced to spend countless hours together. But then Elijah meets Julia, and soon the brothers aren’t together nearly as much. And then Julia meets Danny and soon all three of them are in a mixed-up, turned-around, never-what-you-expect world of brothers, Italy, and love.

My Thoughts: I have read this book at least three times, not because the story itself is particularly moving, but because Levithan is a master of words and language. The sentences he strings together never cease to amaze me. Here's an example. "He feels the antithesis of alone, because he is in the company of circumstance." Or "The buildings line the canals like sentences—each house a word, each window a letter, each gap a punctuation." It's just....deep the way he writes. And the story really isn't bad either. Two brothers, so far apart, sent on this random trip to Italy together, somehow manage to come to terms with each other by the end. It's a good one. And I love it.