Monday, September 11, 2017

Movie Monday: Captain Fantastic

We've seen a bunch of good movies this past month, but my favorite has been Captain Fantastic, the story of a very unusual family facing some difficult challenges. It is both warm and funny.

Viggo Mortensen plays Ben, a father who is bringing up his six children in a very unorthodox way in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. He and his wife, Leslie, decided to bring up their family outside the influence of corporations and government, in their own little quirky homestead out in the woods. The kids know how to hunt, gather, and grow their own food and are in excellent physical shape, but their parents have also paid attention to their intellectual development, creating their own unique academic approach that includes a wide range of books with no conventional age limits on them. In the opening scenes, we see that the children (Bodevan, Kielyr, Vespyr, Rellian, Zaja, and Nai - thank you, IMDB!) seem healthy, well-adjusted, and very happy, despite their strange lifestyle and isolation.

Then tragedy hits, and Ben must take his family out into the wider world for the first time in many years. They pile into their converted bus - just as unique and homemade as everything else they own - and head off on their epic road trip. Besides the expected clashes between their insulated upbringing and the commercial, material world we live in today, they are also encountering their extended family for the first time in years. Their first stop to visit Ben's sister (played by Kathryn Hahn, of Transparent), her husband (played by Steve Zahn of Treme), and their two sons doesn't go well, with Ben's children's swearing and high intellect, paired with Ben's openness with them, going head to head against his sister's traditional parenting approach. The dinner table scene is both hilarious and painful.

Things get worse when they visit Leslie's parents, with Grandpa played by Frank Langella, who is especially unhappy with the children's non-traditional upbringing. Conflict ensues, with it looking for a while like there won't be a happy ending for this wonderful but unusual family.

I absolutely loved this movie, and my husband enjoyed it, too. I expected humor from the fish-out-of-water scenarios, and I wasn't disappointed. But this movie also delivers with plenty of emotional depth, moving from heartwarming to heartbreaking and back again. In addition, Ben and Leslie's unusual approach to parenting and their clashes with the outside world bring up plenty of thought-provoking issues, around education, materialism, and family. Some of the very honest discussions among the characters in the movie further delve into issues like mental health. literature, and politics.

The acting here is superb - Viggo Mortensen was nominated for loads of awards for his role but the kids are the real stars here, and the young actors do a tremendous job playing these warm and quirky kids. This movie will have you laughing one moment and tearing up the next. It was very satisfying and had unusual depth among the typical blockbusters of today. Apparently, I'm not the only one to think so, as it has a long list of award nominations, including a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Viggo Mortensen, and many film festival wins. I'm ready to watch the whole thing again right now!

Captain Fantastic is out on DVD and is currently streaming free on Amazon Prime (link below).

Warning: the movie trailer below gives away more of the plot than I did in my review (but it is from the films' creators, so it's what they intended). If you prefer to watch movies cold, then you might want to skip it...but I included it because it shows the warmth, humor, and humanity of the film.



    

It's Monday 9/11! What Are You Reading?

It's a tough day here in the U.S. - the 16th anniversary of 9/11 and a devastating hurricane making it's way up Florida and the other southeastern states. I hope that all my reading & blogging friends down there are safe and dry. We have lots of real-life friends and family there, but so far, it sounds as if everyone is OK, either evacuated to safe places or sheltered in place. It's sad to see the destruction in the Keys - we so enjoyed our vacation there last November.

Closer to home, things are good but still super hectic. Our sons are into their 3rd week at college now and settled in (though the younger one comes home to scavenge our cupboards & freezer occasionally!) My time is still far too busy, thanks in part to physical therapy, which is going slow (I tend to take a long time to heal because of my other health problems), so my writing time is still limited...trying to catch up, though!

Hope everyone enjoyed a nice weekend. Here's what we've been reading here:
  • I finished my last Big Book for Summer: Overpowered by Mark H. Kruger, a teen/YA sci fi novel about a little town in Colorado with some very weird stuff going on. It was a very quick and captivating read. I don't always read past book 1 with series, but I definitely want to read the sequel to this one! I'll write my review this week, so I can sum up my Big Book Summer Challenge.
  • After that, I quickly shifted gears into my Sept/Oct spooky, suspenseful, creepy reading! I love participating in the R.I.P. Challenge each fall, and will post my sign-up this week. I needed a short, quick read to fill in a few days while I waited for a library hold to come in, so I read Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott, a middle-grade outdoor adventure with plenty of suspense! It's about a young girl in Alaska left on her own when a major blizzard hits, and how she and some other ragtag loners pull together to try to get one of their group to medical care. It's a bit gruesome (due to the wolves in the title), but it's a tense and well-written adventure story.
  • Now, I am quickly reading my neighborhood book group's selection for this week, Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson. I am really enjoying this warm, funny novel about a unique little boy and the young woman put in charge of him.
  • On audio, I am STILL listening to Carve the Mark, the latest YA novel by Veronica Roth. She is the author of the Divergent series, so I am trying to see this one through, though it's not really my cup of tea - a full-blown fantasy set in a different universe. I prefer fantasy or sci fi set in our real world, with some fantasy or sci fi elements. However, it grew on me, and I am enjoying it more now that I've gotten to know the characters, though it is feeling a bit over-long at this point.
  • My husband, Ken, finished reading The Magician King by Lev Grossman, book 2 in the Magicians Trilogy. He and our son both like this series, and he enjoyed book 2, though also felt it ran a bit long.
  • Ken is going along with the spooky R.I.P. Challenge and now reading The Son by Jo Nesbo, a stand-alone novel not featuring his well-known Harry Hole character.
  • Jamie, 23, is reading an epic fantasy: Swords and Scoundrels by Julia Knight, book 1 of The Duelists trilogy. I could tell by the title, this one is right up his alley! He went on a brief sci fi kick this summer, but now he is clearly back to his fantasy roots. I don't know if he's finished yet or not, but he got a $50 Amazon gift card for his birthday that he can't wait to use!
 Last week's blog posts:
TV Tuesday: The Last Tycoon - based on a Gatsby novel set in 1930's Hollywood

Fiction Review: Jane Eyre - I enjoyed re-reading this classic with a favorite literary heroine

Fiction Review: Dust - Book 3 in Hugh Howey's Silo trilogy - fantastic!

Saturday Snapshot: Possum Hill in Delaware - nice hike on a beautiful day

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

What are you and your family reading this week?  

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.


Remember if you are participating in my Big Book Summer Challenge to leave links to your reviews on the challenge page (the second links list is for reviews, updates, and wrap-ups) to share them. I know many of you enjoyed your Big Books this summer! The Challenge finished last Monday, though you can continue to link up your reviews and/or wrap-up posts through the end of September. That reminds me - I need to put my last ones up, too!

Saturday, September 09, 2017

Saturday Snapshot: Possum Hill Hike


Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads.

My husband and I set aside all the undone work at home last weekend and got out for a nice hike on Labor Day. We went to a local park that was just refurbished a bit (the Possum Hill area of White Clay Creek State Park in Delaware) to check out the changes and enjoyed our hike through the woods on a gorgeous day!

Jet trails across a wide open field

Tall trees with rough bark

My husband hiking under a canopy of branches

Fallen tree along the trail

Hiking selfie

Bridge over a stream

Reflections on the pond

Hope you are enjoying the weekend!

Thursday, September 07, 2017

Fiction Review: Dust

A few weeks ago, I read Dust by Hugh Howey and finally finished his compelling and stunning Silo trilogy that began with Wool and Shift. I just finished book 2, Shift, in June and hadn’t planned on reading book 3 this summer, but it is such a captivating story that I couldn’t wait. Besides, Dust is another 400+ page book, so I just subbed it into my Big Book Summer Challenge. The finale of the series was just as riveting as the first two books, with a satisfying ending.

This is going to be a very short review because I don’t want to give away any spoilers for those who have not yet read Wool…because you MUST read this incredible trilogy! That’s what friends kept telling me about Wool, and they were absolutely right. Both my husband and I devoured that first book and the subsequent ones. We both finished the series this summer.

Odd as it sounds, book 1 and book 2 both ended at the same point in time (book 2 was a prequel of sorts to book 1), so book 3 picks up there. The entire series is a post-apocalyptic, dystopian story focused on a silo buried deep in the ground, going down over 200 stories. Readers find out in book 2 why humans are now living underground, why the outdoor world is no longer safe, and how the world of the silo came to be. The series combines elements of romance, thriller, suspense, and science fiction with in-depth characters whom you come to care about (or loathe, depending).

As the story picks up again in Dust, the focus is mainly on Juliette, who is now the mayor of her silo, and Donald, a character that was introduced in book 2. Revolts are still a big problem in the silo, and Juliette herself is leading a secret effort to dig out a tunnel horizontally from the bottom of the silo to find out what else is out there. Donald is continuing his efforts to save what remains of humanity from the evil forces he discovered in the previous book.

That’s about all I can say plot-wise, without giving away spoilers, but the book – and the series – culminate in a very satisfying and hopeful ending. Along the way, there are lots of unexpected twists and turns, as in the first two books, and plenty of suspense to keep you turning the pages long after you should have gone to bed! Howey further develops the engaging and real-feeling characters he introduced earlier, as well as a few new ones. The premise continues to be absolutely mind-blowing as the secrets revealed in book 2 are discovered by more characters, with plenty of intriguing science to back them up (the science fiction here is based in real-world science, as I explained in my review of Shift). Overall, I stand by what all my friends told me after reading Wool: you must read this series!

468 pages, John Joseph Adams, Mariner Books (imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

NOTE: On October 3, Hugh’s Howey’s latest book, a collection of short stories called Machine Learning, will be released. It showcases the creativity and thoughtfulness evident in the Silo series and even includes a few additional Silo stories (best saved until after you’ve read the series). I absolutely loved the short stories in this collection. I reviewed it for Shelf Awareness and will link to my review when it is published.


This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Fiction Review: Jane Eyre

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Way back in my early 20’s, just after college, I bought a copy of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and loved it. We’d read Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë in high school (which I also liked), and friends had recommended Jane Eyre to me. Fast-forward more than 30 years. Last summer, I re-read Wuthering Heights, which was very good but a bit dark for my taste. This summer, I re-read Jane Eyre and remembered why I loved it so much the first time! It also counted for both my 2017 Classics Challenge (which I am doing rather poorly on!) and my own Big Book Summer Challenge.

Ten-year old Jane was orphaned as a baby and lives with her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her three cousins. Mrs. Reed treats Jane like an outcast, constantly berating her for imagined slights while coddling her three own children. Out of her sight, though, Jane’s cousins are far worse than she imagines Jane to be, lying, fighting, and treating Jane poorly. After once again wrongly accusing Jane, Mrs. Reed punishes her even more severely than usual. When she decides to send Jane away to a boarding school, Jane is relieved. Though the school is a strict and spartan one, run by a religious fanatic, Jane enjoys living there and has far more freedom there to be herself, in spite of its rigorous environment.

As an adult, after teaching in the school for two years, Jane finds employment outside of the school that has sheltered her for almost a decade. Her new job is a governess to a young girl at the luxurious home of Mr. Rochester. The master of the house is sometimes gruff and brooding, but Jane gets along well with him and enjoys her new home. The house and its owner hold many secrets, though, and Jane only gradually grows to understand Mr. Rochester and his household. Jane even begins to fall in love with Mr. Rochester, though she has no experience of love, and his secrets may be an obstacle.

I loved this novel just as much 30 years later as I did the first time I read it, as a young woman myself. The mystery at the heart of the novel, plus plenty of other suspense, makes it a riveting read (even though I remembered part of the story). There are lots of plot twists and surprises along the way to keep the story moving along. Jane herself is the perfect heroine, having overcome such horrible beginnings to make a life for herself and seek her own happiness. Even Mr. Rochester, despite his flaws, is an interesting character. His tormented soul only makes him more earnest and real.

I enjoyed Charlotte Brontë’s writing, telling the story in Jane’s voice, and I tabbed many pages with insights from Jane that I want to remember and return to, like this one describing the root of her own restlessness:
“It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must take action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.”

I remember now why I liked Jane Eyre better than Wuthering Heights. Though Wuthering Heights is a captivating story with interesting characters and many plot twists, I didn’t find any of the characters (except the narrator) likeable or relatable. Cathy and Heathcliff were both tormented souls also but wholly miserable and wanting those around them to be miserable as well. Jane is a heroine to love; she overcomes great challenges, keeps moving forward no matter what obstacles she encounters, and believes in love. Even the anguished Mr. Rochester is understandable (once you discover his secrets) and likeable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this re-read of a favorite classic. Originally published under the pseudonym Currer Bell, Jane Eyre is Charlotte Brontë’s most famous and best-loved work, with good reason. In it, she created a rather modern heroine for 1847 who lives her own life and follows her dreams, all within a poignant love story. Brontë combined romance, mystery, suspense, and drama into a compelling novel that has more than earned its accolades over the years. I am glad to have been re-introduced to Jane.

433 pages, Bantam Books (my original paperback, purchased in 1987!)


Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.


Jane Eyre
by Charlotte BronteMass Market

Powells.com

Tuesday, September 05, 2017

TV Tuesday: The Last Tycoon

With the summer shows winding down, and the fall shows not yet starting, my husband and I were searching for something to fill in this in-between season (in addition to The Sinner, which we are still enjoying). Reluctantly, we agreed to try The Last Tycoon on Amazon Prime. I say reluctantly because neither of us usually enjoys period dramas (nope, never watched Downtown Abbey!), but the top-notch cast and rave reviews convinced us to give it a try. To our surprise, we are loving this wonderful show set in 1930's Hollywood and based on a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The great Kelsey Grammer stars as Pat Brady, head of Brady American, a smaller movie studio struggling to find a place among MGM and the other big studios. His partner and movie Golden Boy is Monroe Stahr, played by Matt Bomer (who my son and I loved in White Collar). Monroe has a magic touch with movies, instantly seeing what it would take to bring a film from mediocre to amazing. His personal life is tragic, though, as he lost his beloved wife, Minna, who was the studio's biggest star. Both Monroe and the studio have suffered from Minna's loss, and both are still trying to recover.

Pat Brady's young daughter, Celia, played by Lily Collins, is in love with Monroe and wants to be in the movie business, despite her father's admonitions to stay away from both. Monroe's luck seems to change when he meets a beautiful waitress at the local diner, Kathleen Moore, played by Dominique McElligott. Can he fall in love again? There are dozens of other plot lines winding through this entertaining show: new movies to be made, bad movies to be saved, affairs undertaken, and more, in a behind-the-scenes look at the 1930's movie industry. One plot revolves around the growing influence of the Nazis in Germany, which reaches even to Hollywood (where many of the studio employees, including Monroe, are Jewish).

Although both Grammer and Bomer are exemplary as the stars of this show, the entire (very large) cast is interesting and engaging to watch. There is a group of studio writers, struggling to do whatever Pat and Monroe tell them. One side plot involves Max Miner, played by Mark O'Brien, a young man from Oklahoma who is caring for his younger brother and sister in a Hooverville near the studio. Pat's wife, played by Rosemarie DeWitt, also plays a crucial role. And there are surprising guest stars, like Jennifer Beals playing Margo Taft, a legendary Hollywood star.

Although we are not big fans of period drama, the setting and period details here are intriguing and immersive. It's fun to see the cars, the clothing, and especially the movie sets. Amidst all the Hollywood glamour, viewers also see the business side of movie-making and the politics going on behind the scenes, plus the personal lives of all those involved.

Right from the first episode, we were surprised by how much we enjoyed this show. It is compelling and entertaining, filled with drama, humor, fun, and heartbreak. I see we only have one episode left; we will be sorry to leave this world behind. I hope there will be a season 2!

The Last Tycoon is an Amazon Prime original, so it is available only through Amazon. There are 9 episodes in the first season, and no word yet on whether there will be another season.



Monday, September 04, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Happy Labor Day here in the U.S.! Today is our unofficial end of summer. Most kids went back to school last week or are starting back this week. People here usually celebrate with a picnic or one last trip to the beach (or lake or whatever favorite summer place is nearby!). We're having a couple of friends and my father-in-law over for classic American summer food tonight: burgers, corn on the cob, and watermelon!

Labor Day also marks the official end of my 2017 Big Book Summer Challenge! Though my summer was a bit hectic and tiring, and I am happy for fall to start, I'm sorry to see this challenge end because I really enjoy having the time to tackle some bigger books in the summer - though there are still plenty more on my shelves! If you missed the challenge this summer, take a look at the challenge page and join the fun next year!

Here's what we've been reading this past week:
  • I finished my next review book for Shelf Awareness - Machine Learning by Hugh Howey, a collection of short stories (including a few Silo stories) from the author of the amazing Silo trilogy, which I just finished last month. Just like his novels, these stories are imaginative, clever, and entertaining - and some are mind-blowing as well! I really enjoyed this book, which is due for release on October 3.
  • I squeezed in one more review book for Shelf Awareness this week. I only intended to read a few pages and then set it aside until after the Big Book Summer Challenge ended, but it pulled me right in, and I read the whole thing in just a few days! The Hunting Accident by David L. Carlson and Landis Blair is a graphic novel for adults, based on the real-life story of Matt Rizzo, a one-time criminal who was in prison in Chicago in the 1930's and later became a blind poet and writer. It's told from the perspective of his son, and is absolutely riveting. It combines history, literature, suspense, and family drama, and the drawings are compelling. This one is due out in mid-September, so I need to write my review this week. Bonus: it turned out to be a huge book, so it counts for the Big Book Summer Challenge!
  • Finally, I got back on track with one last Big Book for the challenge: Overpowered by Mark H. Kruger, a teen/YA sci fi novel about a little town in Colorado with some very weird stuff going on. I am almost finished with it - it's been a very quick and captivating read - and I'm really enjoying it. 
  • My husband, Ken, is still reading The Magician King by Lev Grossman, book 2 in the Magicians Trilogy. He and our son both like this series, and he should finish it by tonight for one last Big Book of the Summer for him!
  • Jamie, 23, is reading an epic fantasy (and Big Book): Swords and Scoundrels by Julia Knight, book 1 of The Duelists trilogy. I could tell by the title, this one is right up his alley! He went on a brief sci fi kick this summer, but now he is clearly back to his fantasy roots. 
 Blog posts this week:
Movie Monday: Going in Style - warm, funny caper starring 3 Hollywood legends

TV Tuesday: The Sinner - dark, twisty thriller starring Jessica Biel

Teen/YA Review: Almost Autumn - teen girl in occupied Norway during WWII

My Summary of Books Read in July - still behind but catching up! A good reading month for me.

Fiction Review: The Atlas of Forgotten Places - 2 different women come together in war-torn Uganda in 2008 to search for missing loved ones. I loved it!

Saturday Snapshot & Weekend Cooking: Summer Food - my summer told in photos of delicious food!
What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

What are you and your family reading this week?  

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.

Remember if you are participating in my Big Book Summer Challenge to leave links to your reviews on the challenge page (the second links list is for reviews, updates, and wrap-ups) to share them. We only have a few reviews linked up so far, and I know many of you have been reading your Big Books this summer! The Challenge will wrap-up next Monday, though you can continue to link up your reviews and/or wrap-up posts through the end of September.

Saturday, September 02, 2017

Saturday Snapshot & Weekend Cooking: Summer Food


I didn't have any new photos this week to share (super busy week), so I looked through my photos from the past few months and decided to combine Saturday Snapshot, hosted by Melinda at West Metro Mommy Reads, with Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads, for a Summer Food post!

Looking back over my summer photos, I have shared all the travel and nature photos, but I see plenty of photos of great food we enjoyed this summer, both at home and away.

So, here we are...my summer of food in photos!

Homemade Corned Beef Hash & Eggs - Memorial Day Weekend

Fresh, local strawberries - amazing!

Baklava (my favorite!) from Greek Festival in June

Cuban Eggs Benedict at Up for Breakfast in Manchester, VT

Back home, steak & veggie kebabs

Favorite summer meal: Roasted Cod & Veggies

Authentic Muffeletta & Gumbo From Cajun Kate's, an amazing local place

Best Birthday Ever: Ice Cream Pie from Abbott's Frozen Custard in Rochester, NY

Delaware Peach Season! Mostly Paleo Shortcake (except the real whipped cream)

Childhood summer dinner revisited: Tuna & Tomatoes

My sons always ask for a homemade banana cake for their birthdays!

Yum - it was a delicious summer! Hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend!

Friday, September 01, 2017

Fiction Review: The Atlas of Forgotten Places

This summer, I read and reviewed The Atlas of Forgotten Places, Jenny D. Williams' first novel, for Shelf Awareness. You can read my full review at this link.

I absolutely loved this novel and was riveted from the first chapters. In fact, I told my editor how much I liked it, so he could put it in the running for Shelf Awareness' Top 10 list at the end of the year.

It's the story of two very different women, connected by two missing persons in Uganda in 2008, who come together to search for their loved ones in the war-torn region. I knew very little about Uganda when I started this book, other than hearing a bit about Joseph Kony, the African warlord who notoriously abducts children and turns them into soldiers, on the news. Kony is a critical part of this novel, as one of the main characters, Rose, was abducted by his people as a child and held captive, living in the bush, for 10 years.

When Rose's boyfriend goes missing, she joins forces with Sabine, a German woman whose American niece also went missing after her volunteer work in Uganda ended. I highly recommend this novel that combines mystery, suspense, action, history, and family drama into a compelling, moving story.

You can read my full review on Shelf Awareness.

 368 pages, Thomas Dunne Books

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Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

The Atlas of Forgotten Places
by Philip D. Kenneson and Debra Dean Murphy and Jenny C. WilliamsHardcover
Powells.com


Or order The Atlas of Forgotten Places from The Book Depository.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Books Read in July

Everyone else is probably posting their August month-in-review today, and this is my July summary! I am still way behind on reviews, though this is actually an improvement over the past two months...baby steps...

I finished 7 books in the 7th month and enjoyed them all. Here's what I read in July:
  • Exo by Fonda Lee (NE), teen/YA audiobook
  • The Risen by Ron Rash (NC), adult audiobook
  • Exposed by Lisa Scottoline (PA), adult novel reviewed for Shelf Awareness (will link here when it is published)




That's a total of seven books, with three read on paper and four audiobooks. That probably sounds like I didn't read much (with my eyes!) in July, but I also started one of my Big Book Summer books that I finished in August. I read a nice mix of middle-grade, teen/YA, and adult books and even had one nonfiction (memoir) and one graphic novel in the bunch. My books were set in some very diverse places, too. My favorite book read in July was I Am Malala, a very compelling and fascinating true story.

Progress on 2017 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges! Only 1 of my 7 books were from my own shelves for my Read Your Own Damn Books Challenge - bringing my 7-month total up to only 13. That's dismal, and the books just keep piling up! For the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge, July was Believe the Unbelievable with a focus on fantasy, so Mighty Jack and the Goblin King fits. No more classics for the 2017 Back to the Classics Challenge, but I started one in July that I finished in August. I slotted three of my books into categories for my Well-Rounded Challenge, but the categories are almost filled up now. For my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge, I added Pakistan and Norway. For my 2017 Literary Escapes Challenge, I added three more states: Nebraska, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! This was one of my best Bingo months ever with 22 squares filled in!



















Books on the Bingo Card:
Exo - Death & destruction, alien, spy, cop/fireman/military, team/squad/friends
The Risen - Drinking
Exposed - Yellow on the cover, free book
I Am Malala - Library book, foreign country, award winning, travel
Almost Autumn - Season, audiobook
A Boy Called Bat - Animal/pet, lol/humor
Mighty Jack and the Goblin King - Paperback book, in a series, fairy tale, WTF, shelf love (TBR)
Free Space

What was your favorite book read in July?  

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Teen/YA Review: Almost Autumn

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I know – I keep saying I have overloaded on World War II novels, but then I keep reading them! This summer, I listened to Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin (translated by Rosie Hedger) on audio. It’s a teen/YA WWII novel set in Norway during the Nazi occupation.

Fifteen-year old Ilse Stern is a typical teenager living in Oslo in 1942. Her mind is filled with thoughts of dresses, the cinema, and her next-door neighbor, Hermann, who is a lifelong friend but now might become something more. She lives with her older sister and parents in a small apartment and helps out in her father’s tailoring shop. Ilse’s secret dream is to use her seamstress skills to work as a costume designer for the theater

On a cold October day, Ilse puts on a summer dress because Hermann once admired her in it and sets off to meet him at the cinema for their first official date. She waits and waits on a bench outside, but Hermann never shows up, and she finally returns home broken-hearted. The next time she sees Hermann, he barely even mentions their missed date, and Ilse is left confused and hurt.

What Ilse doesn’t know is that Hermann is secretly working for the Resistance, helping Jews to escape Norway. No one knows of his work, except the man whom he works with. His parents and Ilse both think he is taking painting lessons from this man. He does like Ilse – very much – but he has more important things occupying his time.

Although Ilse is very naïve and seems mostly unaware of the effects of the Nazis in Norway, the war begins to seep into her consciousness bit by bit. She notices that her father’s business has dropped off, that some people will no longer visit his shop, and that rations are getting tighter and tighter as food becomes more scarce. Her father wants to protect her and so does not talk about what is going on in the world or the trials his business faces, even though Ilse works there with him. Finally, the war comes home to the Stern family, in a startling and terrible way.

I’m becoming something of an expert on WWII fiction, and this novel has a couple of unique characteristics: it is set in Norway, a country that was occupied but not in the midst of the fighting, and it focuses in on the fascinating role of chance. Through Hermann, Ilse and her family, the story explores how random circumstance could affect whether someone was captured, survived, or died during the war. It was also interesting to see the unfolding of the Nazi occupation through the eyes of a young girl who was mostly ignorant of world events (though that means the reader’s perspective on the occupation is also limited). Overall, I enjoyed the novel and its unique perspectives, though I didn’t find it as compelling as Projekt 1065, another recently read teen/YA WWII novel.

278 pages, Arthur A. Levine (an imprint of Scholastic)

For those looking for good World War II fiction portraying different perspectives of the war and its aftermath, in addition to Almost Autumn, I also recommend Project 1065 by Alan Gratz (teen/YA about a boy in Germany spying for the Allies), The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck (women in Germany after the war), and The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (women’s roles during WWII in occupied France).


Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Almost Autumn
by Marianne KaurinHardcover
Powells.com