All posts by skyebjenner

Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares

Book Review, , , ,

Overview

Girls in PantsTitle: Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Author: Ann Brashares
Series: Sisterhood #3
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Easy reading, Strong women
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ember
Year: 2005
5th sentence, 74th page: It was the life he had grown up in.

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Synopsis

Some friends just fit together.

It’s the summer before the sisterhood departs for college . . . their last real summer together before they head off to start their grown-up lives. It’s the time when Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen need their Pants the most.

Thoughts

This series just keeps getting better and better. It’s definitely one that will be read again and again and again. The four girls continue to grow older, confront their pasts and turn from the girls that they were into the women that they can be. Actually, pausing between books to write this review is a little like torture. Girls in Pants leaves them right on the cusp of adulthood, heading off to college (or university for us Aussies). And I can’t wait to open up Forever Blue.

Again, Carmen is forced to face her destructive tendencies. And just in time, I loved her self-destruction in the first two books (since I totally relate), but it was starting to get a little repetitive. So, finding out more about the Good Carmen was a lot more enjoyable. It also helped to send her off to the start of her adult life on a much more kiltered level. Again, Bee has to face up to emotions that she thought long buried. But this time, instead of just finding her footing and self, she finds someone else. Which was such a beautiful ending to her individual story that I was left smiling in that quiet way that you do when something just works so beautifully and sweetly.

Finally, Lena and Tibby go on two completely opposite journeys. While Lena struggles to get over her past love life and stand up for herself; Tibby tries to begin one and stop rebelling quite so hard. The reverse-parallel between the two stories works beautifully and it’s a reminder of how completely different these four young women are. Yet, how similar they are and the ways in which they’re just trying to find themselves in their new and ever growing world.

 <- The Second Summer of the Sisterhood Review Forever in Blue Review ->
Image source: Ann Brashares

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

Book Review, , , ,

OverviewThe Second Summer of the Sisterhood

Title: The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Author: Ann Brashares
Series: Sisterhood #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Easy reading, Strong women
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ember
Year: 2003
5th sentence, 74th page: So what’s your project going to be?

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Synopsis

Some friends just fit together.

With a bit of last summer’s sand in the pockets, the Traveling Pants and the sisterhood of four best friends who wear them – Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen – embark on their second summer together… a summer that does not go the way they expect.

Thoughts

It was just as good as the first! No. Scratch that. It was better! Because I already loved the characters. And I had already spent one summer of tears and trials with them. So I just needed to spend another one with them. And I wasn’t in the slightest bit disappointed. Some sequels are just not all they’re cracked up to be – this one was a lot better than I had expected. And more of a surprise since I haven’t seen the movie.

As with the first Sisterhood story, each of the four girls undergo their own journey of self-discovery and growth. For Lena, it is the admittance that she is actually in love. It is her discovery that she needs to put herself out there, and she finally suffers the consequences of opening herself up. Both the good and the bad. She also finally lets her family in beyond the well-defended exterior. On the other hand, Carmen, yet again, tries to learn to curb her emotions. Lessons, it seems weren’t quite learnt from the year before. And this constant self-sabotage is honestly something that I can relate to more than anything in this series. It took me years and years and years to curb my temper, and even now, my tongue causes chaos when I open my mouth. Much like Carmen.

Finally, both Bee and Tibby struggle and fight to get over the tragedies that befell them the summer before. Both fight to find themselves in a new world where they don’t quite know how to act. One sinks into her family, and both remember their past.

 <- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Review Girls in Pants Review ->
Image source: Ann Brashares

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

The Sisterhood of the Travelling PantsTitle: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Author: Ann Brashares
Series: Sisterhood #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Chic lit, Easy reading, Strong women
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ember
Year: 2001
5th sentence, 74th page: Antiperspirant rolled in all directions.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Some friends just fit together.

Once there was a pair of pants. Just an ordinary pair of jeans. But these pants, the Traveling Pants, went on to do great things. This is the story of the four friends – Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen – who made it possible.

Thoughts

I never really expect a book that is related to a movie I love to be good. And vice versa (I like the Harry Potter movies, but no one will watch them with me anymore). And although one of my girlfriends said that this was a really good book, I was still really tentative. But, as my rating shows, I LOVED THIS.

The thing that I’ve always loved about the movie is that there are four distinctly different and strong young girls, but they are also seriously flawed and rely heavily on one another. That, and the fact that this is the BFF girl friendship that people dream about (I have it, and it’s as good as the movies!) But the book just highlights all of this and makes it so much more entertainingly and awesomely complex. Tibby is far more confused twisted, and less cool than the movie; Bridget more unstable and more intense and fun; Lena far less okay with her looks, but with better reasoning; and Carman, well, I just related to her ridiculously throughout the entire story. She is temperamental and feisty – I now provide warnings when I know I’m likely to blow a fuse (for absolutely no reason). I think it’s the fact that the four girls are less picturesque and cool (Bridget is even described as manly), and far more selfish as human beings that really drew me in. I could completely relate to their flaws (not their strengths) and just, just, just… no words, I loved them all that much more.

There are so many monumental and meaningful things I would love to say about this book. But even a few days after finishing it, and constantly thinking about it… I can’t find anything that does it justice. I literally read this book cover to cover (and was a little late to work) because it was that good. It has been years since I’ve done this!

 <- Sisterhood Everlasting Review The Second Summer of the Sisterhood Review ->
Image source: Another Toast

The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson

Book Review, , , , , , ,

Overview

The Secret CountessTitle: The Secret Countess
Author: Eva Ibbotson
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, History, Romance
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Young Picador
Year: 1981
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘She’s new,’ he said.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Anna, a young countess, has lived in the glittering city of St Petersburg all her life in an ice-blue palace overlooking the River Neva. But when revolution tears Russia apart, her now-penniless family is forced to flee to England. Armed with an out-of-date book on housekeeping, Anna determines to become a housemaid and she finds work at the Earl of Westerholme’s crumbling but magnificent mansion. The staff and the family are sure there is something not quite right about their new maid – but she soon wins them over with her warmth and dedication.

Then the young Earl returns home from the war – and Anna falls hopelessly in love. But they can never be together: Rupert is engaged to the snobbish and awful Muriel – and anyway, Anna is only a servant. Or so everybody thinks . . .

Thoughts

It doesn’t matter how many times I read this novel, I fall in love every single time. After all, it’s the most beautiful love story set in picturesque England. Kind of Downton Abbey-ish, but with one of the best love stories I’ve ever read. It is simple, subtle and sneaks up on both you and Anna as you read. Honestly, you can’t help but smile as you turn the last page of the book. And, sometimes all you want to do is go back to the beginning all over again.

I’ve always struggled with reading historical fiction – I’m not really all that knowledgeable about it, and quite often, I get so bogged down in the details that I lose the story. Maybe I should really just do some research into the periods I’m reading about, but that would just take away from my time spent in the story… but I digress. Ibbotson’s work doesn’t get so bogged down about the details (in this case the years surrounding World War I) that you can’t find the story anymore. Instead, the history around World War I is just a great back drop to a story that expands the ages – like all good love stories.

So far this makes it sound like I love romances. But, mostly, I find them kind of tedious and frustrating to read. Boy meets girl, girl meets boy, love, sappy, bleugh… and, although this novel does mostly follow that pattern, there’s just that something extra that makes it interesting enough to read. Interesting enough that I have read this at least once a year since I got given it for Christmas.

 <- The Morning Gift Review A Song for Summer Review ->
Image source: Amazon

Little Gods by Holly Black

Book Review, , , , ,

Overview

Under My HatTitle: Little Gods
Author: Holly Black
In: Under My Hat (Jonathan Strahan)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fantasy, Witches
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: I guess it doesn’t make much sense.

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Synopsis

As a little girl, Ellery attended church with her grandmother and imagined what it would be like if the statues of saints and angels came to life. At sixteen, she joined a Wiccan coven hoping to discover a little real magic. She and the other members of her coven travel to a distant farm where they meet up with other covens to celebrate Beltane. As the festivities get into full swing, she heads to the edge of the woods by herself, feeling disappointed that she hasn’t yet experienced any magic like what she’d dreamed of. But when a mysterious boy stops by to introduce himself, she may get exactly what she’s wanted for so long.

Thoughts

Although I’m not quite Wiccan, I do prescribe to a lot of their beliefs, and I have spent hours upon hours reading up about different covens, rites and practices. Which always makes it fun to read a story that is based around this system of being and existing. I also related ridiculously to the chief protagonist – she believes that there is something more in the world, and that she can almost feel it, it’s just out of reach.

One of my favourite things about this short story is that I thought we were heading for disaster. That the story would end with disillusionment and a return to a more “normal” life. But, luckily for me, it didn’t there was a feeling of total peace and happiness at the conclusion of this, and I was left with a smile lingering across my lips.

 <- A Handful of Ashes Review Barrio Girls Review ->
Image source: Frances Hardinge

Groups, Gastro and Guilt

Blog, , ,

Guilt

Alright, so to start with, I don’t really have Gastro. I’m actually not really sure what I have, but I get results back tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll finally know. It’s really frustrating to feel completely fine (like this very moment) but epically shit (like 2 hours ago) all in a matter of moments. I’ve had to bail on a few of my shifts at work because of it which of course makes me feel guilty, and I’m sure that this then makes me a little worse too, but that’s a whole other issue.

And there is (of course) this nagging voice in my head screaming cancer. This is my psychosis – having a few too many people in my family diagnosed in such a way has left me slightly convinced that every time I go to the doctors, cancer will be mentioned again. After all, it’s been a few years since the last diagnosis…. psychotic, I know. But, because I’ve now spent the whole weekend wondering what my blood test will say (probably just something shit like Glandular Fever), the voice is screaming. Especially when I’m about to go to sleep. Which just makes it much much much worse because then I don’t sleep. Which makes me feel dizzier in the morning and… BLEUGH just BLEUGH.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before….

I HATE BEING SICK!!!!

But there was another moment of sick / guilt crapness this week. One that wasn’t because of work (YAY), but study. I was supposed to have a group assignment talk on Thursday. And I did really well, I got all the way to the bus stop. And then threw up. So I bought a DVD (as an excuse to get out of the car and walk around) and came home. Hence the doctors and the blood…

As I opened my email to tell my poor, poor group, I found an email from one of the other girls. There are four of us in the group, me, Girl 1, Girl 2 and Boy. Girl 1 and 2 have done basically all of the work on account of me being too sick and dizzy to really concentrate on anything (I don’t know what Boy has been doing). I’ve done bits, but, as I’m normally the group member who does almost everything, this was a really weird position to find myself in. And, that was before Girl 1 sent her email!

Basically, it was to tell us (me and Boy) that she was really pissed at the fact that we hadn’t contributed as much. Which, I think is fair… kind of, it was still kind of rude to send it on the day of the talk. We’ve had 4 weeks, why not tell us that she’s not impressed throughout the time of actually doing the assignment? Yes, I feel guilty because I was useless and horrible. But, there’s always one useless person in the group, and I would never berate them the way she did. It was actually so harsh that I’ve asked to not get grades for that aspect of the course to placate her. Stupid guilt.

Admittedly, guilt makes me do a lot of things I don’t want to. And it is really easy to guilt me into anything and everything. Something that my family is well aware of, and I’m trying to work on this…

Image source: Writers Bloc

The Lady of the House of Love by Angela Carter

Book Review, , , , , ,

Overview

The Lady of the House of LoveTitle: The Lady of the House of Love
Author: Angela Carter
In: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Angela Carter)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Dark fantasy, Vampires
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 1979
5th sentence, 74th page: All the silver tears fall from the wall with a flimsy tinkle.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

A virginal English soldier, traveling through Romania by bicycle, finds himself in a deserted village. He comes across a mansion inhabited by a vampiress who survives by enticing young men into her bedroom and feeding on them. She intends to feed on the young soldier but his purity and virginity have a curious effect on her.

Thoughts

Sleeping beauty with a dark twist. And not in the slightest what I expected. Actually, it kind of gave me the heeby jeebies. The beautifully lyrical and intense words seemed to completely offset the dark, twisted nature of this vampiri-fic (yes, I went there) story. It was actually so unsettling that I’m glad I read this early in the morning, not late at night. After all, who ever heard of sleeping beauty as a reluctant vampire?

As with everything else that I’ve read by Angela Carter, she has an uncanny ability to turn something that I well-recognise and twist it until it is only liltingly familiar. Turning the women from the place of rescuing, to the attackers or rescuers themselves. In this case, the young woman alone in her castle is most certainly the predator. And the endless sleep? Well, it’s kind of a happy ending…

 <- The Snow Child Review The Werewolf Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

Felidis by Tanith Lee

Book Review, , , , , ,

Overview

Under My HatTitle: Felidis
Author: Tanith Lee
In: Under My Hat (Jonathan Strahan)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fantasy, Witches
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: There was still a lamp burning in the lower room.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Radlo is on a journey when a passerby stops him on the road to warn him not to go into the forest. He says an evil young woman with the eyes of a cat and covered in fur lives there. Thinking the man is mad, Radlo continues on his way, and when he reaches the other side of the woods, he finds a village. There, the people seems to like the cat-girl. Annoyed by all these tales he’s not even sure he believes, Radlo goads his way into meeting the cat-girl, and is shocked to find she’s real. Felidis looks exactly like the man on the road said, and she lives with dozens of cats, one of whom appears to be her favorite. Fascinated by her, he spends the night at her house, intending to leave the next day, but soon, one day turns into several, and several days into seasons. Radlo can’t seem to bring himself to leave Felidis and thinks he may be falling in love with her, but she says that she has no interest in marriage. After spending so much time with her, Radlo knows that she is a witch, but he has no idea how she works her magic. Before he finally leaves, Felidis offers to grant him a request in exchange for all he’s done for her. If she won’t give him her love, Radlo wants to know how she does magic, but the truth may surprise him.

Thoughts

One of the things that I love about short stories is the way in which they generally get turned completely on their heads. Or at least, some of the best ones – like Lee’s Felidis. A furry, clawed witch girl saves a boy. He falls a little in love. Then he finds out her truth. Which is completely unexpected and brilliant.

It took a little while for this story to gain traction, and for me to see where it was going. At the beginning of the story actually, I was finding it a little boring and fully expecting to put it down in disgust within moments. However, just at that crucial turning point, it dragged me in. Felidis was suddenly in the story with her cat companions and her mystery developed.

This was a really well written, slightly obscure short story. Unlike others, I don’t want to dive back into the world again, but I will happily read this tale again and again.

 <- Barrio Girls Review Witch Work Review ->
Image source: Frances Hardinge

The Erl-King by Angela Carter

Book Review, , ,

Overview

The Erl-KingTitle: The Erl-King
Author: Angela Carter
In: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (Angela Carter)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Classics, Feminism
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Vintage
Year: 1979
5th sentence, 74th page: The woods enclose and then enclose again, like a system of Chinese boxes opening one into another; the intimate perspectives of the wood changed endlessly around the interloper, the imaginary traveller walking towards an invented distance that perpetually receded before me.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

A maiden wanders into the woods and is seduced by the sinister Erl-King, a seeming personification of the forest itself. However, she eventually realizes his plans and takes action…

Thoughts

I never know what to expect when I open the page on a new Angela Carter story. It always has a beautifully lilting language. Albeit, one that is a little difficult to follow and understand. And The Erl-King is no different. His slow destruction of the woman he loves is told in the most poetic and enchanting of ways. Until the strongly twisted ending that is.

I thoroughly enjoy reading Carter’s works, but they are a little hard going. And there are so many nuances throughout the words that no matter how many times I read this story, I think that I will find new points that jump out. There is such a strong message of strength beyond love that I melted a little inside. And then covered my mouth in shock at the incredibly twisted ending.

 <- Puss-in-Boots Review The Snow Child Review ->
Image source: Pinterest

The Education of a Witch by Ellen Klages

Book Review, , , ,

Overview

Under My HatTitle: The Education of a Witch
Author: Ellen Klages
In: Under My Hat (Jonathan Strahan)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Paranormal fantasy, Witches
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: Lizzy scoots, and her father puts the little chair from her bedroom right on the seat of the car.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

Synopsis

Lizzy Breyer’s parents take her to see the movie, Sleeping Beauty. Unlike most little girls her age who are enthralled by Sleeping Beauty and her prince, Lizzy is entranced by the wicked witch Maleficent. Her mother takes her to the toy store, where she chooses a Maleficent puppet to buy, and she imagines that it talks to her. When Lizzy’s baby sister is born, everything changes for Lizzy. She is no longer the center of attention, which makes her feel angry. As her obsession with Maleficent grows, Lizzy begins acting out at school and soon discovers an ability within herself to cause mischief and mayhem just like the witch she idolizes.

Thoughts

At the beginning of this story, I thought that it was really sweet that a young girl found solace in Maleficent when her family welcomed a new baby. After all, I totally get feeling an attachment to Maleficent – she is one of my favourite Disney villains. But, as with many short stories, it took a completely unexpected turn. And quite a sinister one.

I’m a bigger sister, so I’m sure that there were bumps in the road when, at two and a half, my baby sister came on the scene. I certainly remember there being many, many, many arguments as we grew older (they still occur frequently for that matter). But, I would never resort to witch craft to lash out at others. And (I hope), the teething issues weren’t as bad as they were for Lizzy. Since she turns from cute girl with no understanding of why she’s not the centre of attention to a slightly crazy little child. I’m actually glad the story ended on such a cliff hanger, since I don’t really want to know how it ended!

 <- Witch Work Review The Threefold World Review ->
Image source: Frances Hardinge