The Circle Of Marsh House

Hi Readers, who's ready for a rambling?  I am...and since it's my blog...let's get to it.  I am a Studio Ghibli and always enjoy the fact that several of the movies are inspired by books.  One day while looking through movies I found one I had never heard of before, and lo and behold it was based on a book called When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson.  The premise sounded interesting, and I always love discovering new books...especially older ones so both the book and movie got put in the basket and onto my book shelves.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Anna is a foster child in England who has withdrawn from everybody.  Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was very small, and her beloved grandmother died just a few short years later.  She has been taken in by a very loving couple who do their best to make her feel like their daughter.  Unfortunately between her natural reticence at getting close to anybody, and her discovery that the couple get a stipend from the government, Anna comes across as very cold.  Anna's foster mom decides to send her to her friend who lives in a sleepy little beach village.  The couple are pretty relaxed, letting Anna run around as she pleases, which suites Anna just fine.  Anna finds herself drawn to an old manor known as the Marsh House.  It is old and abandoned, yet still draws the quiet and withdrawn girl.  One day, as Anna is exploring the marsh area, she see's a girl with pale yellow hair being brushed by a maid at one of the windows of Marsh House.  This image sticks with Anna, and lo and behold one day that same girl appears in the sand dunes.  The girls name is Marnie and she makes Anna promise to keep her as her special secret friend.  As Anna is naturally quiet, this suits her just fine.  The girls have a couple of adventures and learn more about each other.  We learn that Marnie lives in the Marsh House with her nurse and two maids, all of which are borderline abusive.  They threaten Marnie with a trip to the abandon windmill if she misbehaves, which absolutely terrifies the girl.   Marnie's parents are away most of the time, leaving her all alone with the staff.  One night Marnie and Anna end up in the windmill, and get stuck.  When Anna wakes up, she is alone and very upset that Marnie would leave her.  Anna is rescued and taken back to recover as she is very sick.  As she recovers she sneaks out to try and find Marnie.  Marnie is at her window and yells down a heartfelt and tearful apology and tells Anna that she is being taken away.  Anna is understandably devastated and takes to her bed.  Anna finally decides to get back to exploring and heads to the Marsh House.  She is surprised to see a lot of activity and discovers a family with five kids has moved in for the summer.  She is drawn out of her shell and spends a lot of time with the family, finally finding a place she belongs.  One of the girls, after acting a bit weird, finally shows Anna an old diary she found in her room.  The diary belongs to Marnie and in it there are references to a special friend and a few of the events that Anna and Marnie experienced together.  They bring the diary to the mother and discover that it is over 50 years old...which puzzles Anna 'cause her hazy memories are from recent times.  Eventually they get to talk with an old family friend who grew up in the area of the Marsh House.  The whole story comes out and it turns out that Marnie was a girl who grew up with a lonely life until she got sick after a night in the windmill.  Her parents brought her back from the Marsh House, but more tragedy struck when her father died.  Marnie married her friend Edward, but he was killed in the war when their own daughter was only a couple of years old.  The daughter was sent to America to keep her safe and did not return until she was 13 years old.  At that point her relationship with her mother Marnie was strained.  The daughter ran away and had a daughter herself, who she brought back to be raised by Marnie.  The daughter and her new husband then died in a car accident leaving the child to be brought up solely by Marnie who was the only family left.  Unfortunately Marnie never got over the death of her daughter and died a few short years later...sound familiar?  That's right, Anna is Marnie's granddaughter!  Anna is very happy to finally have her family history and is able to warm up to her foster parents, who really do want her to be happy.  Anna herself becomes much happier and able to let people love her again.

World Building - The setting of this story is pretty small, a tiny little village, a marsh/beach, the house Anna stays at and the Marsh House.  That being said the world is perfectly complete.  The author was able to create not just a world, but an atmosphere that was able to transport me as a reader so completely that it was sometimes a shock when I put the book down to realize that I wasn't actually at a little English beach.  I can totally see why somebody would be inspired to make a movie after reading this, just to capture the world.

Story - The story was good.  It was a little different then I originally anticipated, as most of the blurbs tout it as a ghost story.  I feel like it is more of a circle of life type deal, with family and friends being when and where they are most needed.  The story made sense and other then a few overly convenient moments was well done.  Combined with everything else it worked well.

Character - I really liked the characters in this story.  There was a lot of introspection and growing and feeling and variety.  Each character was fully formed, each character had a story, each character stayed true to themselves, and nobody acted out of character just to further the story.  I also really liked how every single character felt well thought out was necessary for the story.

 Editing - The editing was fairly well done.  The story could have become very confusing, especially with the dream like quality that permeated the whole book, but overall the whole thing was readable and sensical.  Like I said before, other then a few small overly convenient details the book read beautifully and stayed with me.  Good editing.

Movie - The movie was made by the famous Studio Ghibli whom I love for their ability to translate atmosphere into a watchable movie, and this film was no exception.  There were a few notable exceptions from the book to film, the biggest being that it was set in Japan instead of England which was both odd and kind of cool, it was like seeing the same story in two different views.  The thing I didn't like so much is that they made Anna a bit more aggressive and almost mean, where in the book she was just withdrawn and stoic.  I also felt the movie was a wee bit rushed compared to the book.  Overall though the signature atmosphere, introspectiveness and sheer beauty were all there, just like I wanted.

Nostalgia - So one of the things that really struck me about this book was the sense of nostalgia it gave me.  This is totally a book I would have LOVED and read over and over back when I was in the 10-12ish age.  I really enjoyed reading this book now, but really wish I had been able to read it when I was younger because I can see it becoming one of my favorite.  I'm not 100% sure why I am so sure my younger self would have been so into this book.  Maybe it reminds me of the books I read when I was younger, maybe I can see myself pulling it off of the library shelf and curling up in my yard, maybe I can see myself forcing my siblings to act it out, maybe it was my affinity for imaginary friends, who knows.  Every once in a while I will get a book like this, where as much as I enjoy it as an adult, I really want to go back in time and give myself some of these books.

Ghost Story - This book was touted as a ghost story...but it really wasn't...but it kind of was.  It is really hard to really put this in any one category 'cause it really doesn't follow any rules...which I love.  The mechanism of the interaction between Marnie and Anna is never fully explained.  We know that they both had the same experiences because Anna remembers them, even if it is a bit muddled and Marnie records them in her diary, even if Anna's name is never actually mentioned.  I don't think that this pairing needs a "scientific" or "realistic" explanation.  I like to think that these two souls that were connected by blood and love found each other at their loneliest and helped each other survive.  I am good with the idea that love can transcend time and space and I'm gonna leave it at that.

Overall Impression - I really enjoyed this book, it was different and surprising and atmospheric and stuck with me in a good way.  I will probably reread it in late spring/early summer as it feels like it should be a seasonal book, but regardless I really liked it.  I give it 8 out of 10 sand castles with gardens and recommend it to anybody who wants a story with heart or is looking for one for their kiddos with out too much of the yucky stuff.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Are You A Claudia Or A Mary Anne?

I was watching my nephews today and had a very weird, yet very pleasant flashback to my early middle school days and my obsession with The Baby-Sitters Club series.  This is one of those series that was pivotal both in my reading growing up, but in my real life as well.  My friends and I (all avid readers of this popular series) actually put together our own abbreviated version of the club.  We all went to this tiny private school, and several of our parents were staff at the school, forcing us to spend many hours together at the school building waiting for them to finish.  Along the same lines, many families in this tiny school had little ones of their own.  As us 10-12 year old's were all obsessed with baby's and small children we were the perfect group to get baby-sitters from, especially when they just needed watching while the parents were actually on site at the school.  Anyways we took our job as kid watchers very seriously and used the Baby-Sitters Club books as manuals and guidebooks in our quest for perfect child care.  When we were not actually baby-sitting, we were busy reading the books, watching the tv show/movie, and trying to decide who was a Claudia and who was a Mary Anne.  Flash forward more years then I care to admit later and even now, when I take care of the shorties, I still think about these books.  Now I kind of want to grab one and read it real quick...Happy Reading Everybody!

“Sometimes Costs Are Made To Be Borne.”

Hi folks, as promised a lovely rambling about a book I got to finished on my vacation.  Let's start hard and heavy with the newest installment in the Harry Potter world...Harry Potter and the Cursed Child story by J.K. Rowling script by John Tiffany and Jack Thorne.  I picked this book up as soon as it came out, so excited to get back into my beloved wizarding world that I couldn't wait until I left and promptly curled up and read the whole book in one sitting!  How did I feel about this latest entry...first, as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

First of all the book is written in play/script form so it is right of the bat a bit different from the novel style soooo...yeah. Also if you have not read the books this will make absolutely no sense whatsoever so I'm gonna assume you have read them or watched the movies.  Our story starts off years after the last book left off.  Harry Potter is now grown and he and his wife Ginny are at platform 9 3/4 to drop of their son's James and Albus for their train trip to Hogwarts.  Albus is concerned that he may be put into Slytherin and Harry tries to put his mind at ease.  Once on the train Albus makes fast friends with Scorpius the only son of Draco Malfoy and his late and beloved wife.  Albus is sorted into Slytherin, but he does not mind as it means being in the same house as his best friend Scorpius.  Albus who has a rocky relationship with his father, who is still known as the Boy Who Lived witnesses an elderly Amos Diggroy try and convince Harry to use a Time Turner to go back in time and save his son Cedric from being killed.  Harry who is the head of Magical Law Enforcement informs Amos that all the Time Turners were destroyed back during the battle at the Ministry of Magic.  Amos does not believe him and rails at what he considers the pointless death of his son.  Albus feels like he understands Amos's point of view, that his father does not listen and act to other people when they come to him.  Amos's niece and caretaker Delphi gets together with Albus to try and convince him to find a Time Turner.  Albus enlists the aid of Scorpius and the trio decide to use their patchwork Time Turner to keep Cedric from dying.  The first attempt is at the first task in the Tri-Wizard tournament.  They keep him from getting his wand, 'causing him to lose the first task.  Meanwhile back in the present, the boys parents start to look for the boys.  Harry talks to the painting of Dumbldore in his office and comes to the conclusion that he needs to seperate Albus from Scorpius.  The boys return to the present and realize that their meddling had some unintended consequences and still did not result in saving Cedric.  Harry's decision to separate Albus from Scorpius pretty much ends their father son relationship and Delphi convinces the two boys to reconcile and try to save Cedric again.  They go back and this time humiliate Cedric to keep him from winning the second task.  When the Time Turner sends them back to the new present Scorpius realizes that Albus is nowhere to be found.  In fact the whole world has changed for the worse.  Voldemort now rules with a person called the Augury as his second in command.  Harry Potter has died because a humiliated Cedric turned to the dark side and killed Neville at the battle of Hogwarts, keeping Nagini alive.  Scorpius finds Snape (yay Snape!) and convinces him of who he is.  Snape takes him to this version of Hermione and Ron who help him go back in time once more.  Scorpius pretty much stops all the changes from ever happening.  Through out all of this we watch Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny and Draco all work through their various issues.  Harry especially has to come to terms with everything that happened in his childhood and how it now affects his relationships with his own kids, especially Albus.  Delphi comes to hear Albus and Scorpius tell her about the changes that happened every time they tried to save Cedric and how it was impossible.  Delphi seems oddly interested in the future in which Voldemort and the Augury rule together.  The boys then glimpse a tattoo on Delphi's back of an Augury, a type of wizard bird that tells of tragedy.  Turns out that Delphi claims to be the child of Voldemort and Bellatrix and has been using the boys to try and find a future that she can be with her father.  She forces the boys to use the Time Turner to go back to the day that Voldemort killed Harry's parents.  Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Draco use a hint that Albus left for them to find where and when the boys are.  They go and find the boys.  They figure out that Delphi is going to keep Voldemort from trying to kill Harry, therefore not being cursed and retaining his strength.  They trick Delphi into a trap and they all return to a restored present.  Delphi is taken to Azkahban and life returns to somewhat normal.  Albus and Harry talk and start the path to repairing their relationship.  Albus and Scorpius remain friends and life gets better.

World Building - The book/script is set in the very well established world of J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter and since she wrote the original story the world is still there and still intact.  The fact that the story makes extensive use of the Time Turner and most of the action takes place in Hogwarts and other familiar settings gives a sense of going back.  The world building in this particular story probably works best for people who have read the previous books as it depends on this fore knowledge to help build the world.  It is the same magical, complicated and complete world that J.K. Rowling worked so hard to build for us.

Story - The story was pretty cool.  I loved that idea of exploring the future of a boy who had done so much in his childhood/young adulthood and now has to cope with being a fairly mundane adult.  The story of his son integrated very well as a brand new story that was still in the same vein as the previous ones.   I felt the story got a bit bogged down in with the multiple Time Turner trips, Harry's story, Albus and Scorpius's story, Delphi's story and everything else shoved into a short space and wanted it to be a bit more streamlined, but the over all idea was pretty good.

Characters - This story had a weird mix of familiar characters in a new place in their lives and all new characters.  I think I liked the new characters better then the older ones.  I loved Albus and Scorpius and their awesome friendship.  I liked how they were different from any of the previous characters in the older books and had their own identities.  For the most part I liked how the adult Harry was developed with his anxiety over his children, his coming to terms with his childhood, how different his life must be now.  I was a bit disappointed in Ron and Hermione.  Hermione came across as an exasperated, harried overly busy person and Ron was relegated to a goofy background character who was completely diminished from the brave and loyal every man I remember from the books, so that was a bit sad.  Overall I preferred the new characters to the old in this story.

Editing - Since this was a theatre script it read very different from the original novels and that has to be kept in mind when talking about the flow of this story.  It is broken up a lot more then in a regular book making the story a bit hard to follow on occasion as it has to skip around to get all the characters to the places they need to be.  That being said, as mentioned in the story section I felt that there was too many stories that were trying to be told in the same space which made feel a bit frenetic and bogged down all at the same time.  There is also very little immediate background given, with the authors assuming that the audience/reader has prior knowledge of the other books.

Fatherhood - I found the most prominent theme in this story was the relationship between father and child.  Mothers played a role, but it was the fathers that really took center stage in this book.  I liked how all the different varieties of relationship were explored.  The main one of course being Harry and Albus and the difficulty they had in understanding each other.  Harry still struggling to justify his own life had no idea how to deal with a son who was both very different and eerily similar to himself.  Draco and Scorpius had one of the sweetest relationships, especially considering the dominating relationship that Draco had with his father, the love and affection he (eventually) show's his beloved son is even more poignant.  Even with Delphi, I got the feeling that her actions were not done to bring about a dark world, but to try and have some sort of relationship with her own father in any way possible.

Time Turners - As much as I felt that the Time Turner bit was used a bit to heavily, I did like that it showed just how well Ms. Rowling knows her own world.  I thought that it was awesome to see that a world was so complete that the author could change one seemingly small aspect of it and then be able to follow the change through so thoroughly.  When time travel is used as device it can become confusing and a bit deus ex machina, but the subtle simple changes leading to logical and yet far reaching implications was pretty masterful and I very much appreciate the thought that went into it.

Return to Childhood - For many of us who read the Harry Potter as it came out, waiting in line for the newest installment then ignoring any and all responsibilities to finish each book before the inevitable spoilers came out, this book was throw back to that insane feeling of awesome.  Reading the book as an adult, seeing the characters we grew up with as adults, reading adventures of their kids to our kids and nephews kind of brings home the full circle of how beloved this series is.  It is a weird mix of nostalgia, anticipation and melancholy, a realization that everybody, even the Boy Who Lived has to grow up and be some sort of adult.  I'm not really sure how to describe the feeling, but I know it is shared by my fellow "adult" Harry Potter fans.

Overall Impression - I am very very very glad to have read this book, I loved that it was in a completely different format, and I am now dying to see it performed.  It was a lot of fun to go back to a beloved world, it's been a blast discussing it with my fellow HP fans.  The book is not a home run, but it is a solid and acceptable entry into the Harry Potter Universe.  I give it a 7 out of 10 love potions and recommend it to anybody who loved the HP series and can't wait to read the next installment.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight

Usually when I need to give my brain a break I go to my childhood favorites.  This time I picked up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.  This book has always appealed to me for many reasons, not the least of which is the idea of endless chocolate.  Ready to go on a wild ride?  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Charlie Bucket is a very poor boy who lives with his parents and his four bed bound Grandparents in a tiny drafty house.  They subsist mostly on cabbage soup with the occasional bite of bread.  They are a loving family though and do there best to help each other survive.  Grandpa Joe tells little Charlie the story of Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory that had to shut its doors to the public due to all the spying going on.  Grandpa Joe tells Charlie that one day the factory started up again, with mysterious workers helping Wonka produce sweet wonders...but the gates remained closed and locked.  One night an announcement goes out that in five random Wonka chocolate bars are golden tickets that will allow a person into the Wonka factory.  Obviously the world is vary excited and a run on chocolate bars ensues.  The first person to find a golden ticket is the gluttonous Agustus Gloop, a little boy who won't stop eating.  Next is the very spoiled Veruca Salt who obtained her ticket when her father paid his peanut shellers to open candy bars instead.  Charlies birthday happens and he gets his traditional chocolate bar which sadly contains no golden ticket.  The third ticket goes to the annoying, gum chewing Violet Beauregarde and the fourth to the television and violence obsessed Mike Teavee.  Grandpa Joe figures out a way to get Charlie another chocolate bar, which again holds no ticket.  Mr. Bucket loses his job at the toothpaste factory and the family begins to starve.  Charlie finds a dollar bill on the way home and uses it to buy chocolate (smart boy) he wolfs it down and buys another and lo and behold GOLDEN TICKET!  The long anticipated day arrives and the five winners along with their parents (except Charlie who just brings Grandpa Joe) arrive at the factory to meet the mysterious Willy Wonka.  They are greeted by a funny little man in a green had and purple velvet coat who promptly brings them inside the wondrous factory.   The first stop is my personal favorite, a huge meadow area where EVERYTHING is edible and made of candy! How cool is that ?!?  The best part is the chocolate river running through it.  Here we lose our first winner when Augustus Gloop falls into the river while drinking the chocolate and is sucked up the pipe.  Here we also meet the Oompa Loompa's, small weird colored guys who sing mean, yet insightful songs about our wayward winners.  The remaining people get into a fantastic boat and go hurtling down the chocolate river past many tantalizing doors stopping in an experimental room where our next child leaves us.  The gum chewing Violet grabs an experimental piece of gum and turns into a giant blueberry.  New up the nut sorting squirrles who decide Veruca is a bad nut when she try's to get her greedy little hands on one, bye bye Veruca.  We are now down to Mike TeaVee and Charlie Bucket.  Mike requests something TV related and Wonka takes them to a room where he is transmitting chocolate by radio waves to televisions.  Mike gets himself miniaturized when he jumps in front of the camera to get on TV.  We are now left with just sweet Charlie Bucket and his grandfather.  Willy Wonka then reveals that the whole point of the competition was to find an heir to his factory.  He offers it to Charlie, telling him the whole family can move in.  The book ends with Wonka telling Charlie to press a special button on the glass elevator that hurls them to Charlies home where they pick up his family to start a better life.

World Building - The book is a semi-fantastical novel mostly set in this awesome chocolate factory.  The world is fairly contained and more hinted at then shown.  There is a huge scope for people to fill in details and use their imagination to make the factory anything they want it to be.  My favorite spot is the meadow and chocolate river as it makes my imagination explode.

Story - The main story was pretty straight forward, a cautionary tale for children.  This is the type of story that tells you if you behave you can inherit a chocolate factory :-)  It also had a good punch of humor and straight up crazy which is always a plus for me.  Keeping in mind that this is an old school MG book I think the story kept a good balance between cheeky and a morality tale.

Character - The main characters were all pretty stock style characters, but this was done on purpose to illustrate a point, so I will give the kids a pass on this one.  I do however love Veruca Salt not for any real reason, I just do.  I also really enjoy Grandpa Joe's spunkyness and his ability to take quiet Charlie on this great adventure.  Of course my absolute favorite character is Willy Wonka. Just his name makes me smile, but what I really love is his sheer eccentricness.  He is the perfect mix of creative, dreamy, responsible, compassionate, logical and bat sh*t crazy.  I love everything about him.

Editing - This was a pretty simple and straight forward book told in a simple and straight forward way.  Not a lot to say about the editing other then it was fine.  Also there a bunch of really weird, scary yet fitting illustrations by Quentin Blake that add the perfect touch to this book.

Parents - The children in this book all had very obvious flaws that caused their downfall, but what I thought was interesting and very cool was that the book was very clear that the reason the children had gotten as bad as they were was the fault of the parents.  We see multiple times where the parents could have brought their precious darlings to heel, but instead indulged and defended them.  It's good to know that the author at least knew where bad kids come from...bad parents.  In contrast Charlie's family was responsible and loving and had trained Charlie so well he didn't even need his parents at factory, instead he go his spunky Grandpa Joe.

Imagination - I like how this book inspires imagination.  There are a couple well explained rooms and candies, but most are just hinted at.  I like this because it gives the reader a chance to imagine what all the different things could be, or look like, or taste like.  The lay out of the book also hints at almost endless possibilities, making this a great book to read with your kids or nephews and nieces or whoever because it leaves a ton of open ended conversations.  Even the "punishments" that the naughty kids get are creative, and in the end not permanent.

Movies - I can't mention this book without talking about the movies.  There is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder as the title character, and the later Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp at Willy Wonka.  Now I adore Johnny Depp and I know that to some degree Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is more faithful to the book, but I mostly find it a tad too creepy for my taste.  The Gene Wilder version on the other hand is one of my favorite movies ever!  While it definitely does not follow the book word for word it most definitely keeps the spirit of the book to the fullest extant.  It will probably come as no surprise to anybody that my favorite scene is the World of Pure Imagination song/scene.  Also I feel that Gene Wilder captures the person of Willy Wonka perfectly.

Overall Impression - I very much enjoy this book, I feel it is entirley age appropriate, not overly complicated or angsty and is perfect for reading with a younger person.  I feel it encourages conversation and imagination and pretty much recommend it to everybody.  I give it 8 out of 10 everlasting gobstoppers and am now going to go watch the movie and eat some chocolate.  Happy Reading Everybody!!!

Nostalgia For The Old Reading Days

I've been lucky enough to have some extra reading time last week, and it kind of makes me nostalgic for my younger years.  I miss the years that when I was done with homework and chores that I literally had nothing I had to do other then read.  My parents were big on limiting the TV and other screen time, leaving me a TON of time to read.  My best memories of this time of year are going to the library with the family, picking up a stack of books and racing home to finish chores.  I would then take advantage of the perfect weather to curl up in my Mamma's amazing backyard (which helping to create and upkeep was part of the chores I had to finish) on the big swing in the late afternoon/early evening.

The air was full of apple blossoms (or little green apples depending on what month it was), the ocean and growing things.  There was always a breeze and the mountain panorama completed the idyllic scene.  Now I know this all sounds a little to perfect, but there were seriously enough nights like this to stick very clearly in my mind.  Now to be fair, I still have an awesome reading chair by the porch doors that overlook an impossibly picturesque river AND I am now allowed to add wine to my reading drinks, so my reading time is still pretty awesome.  It just feels like now I have so many obligations and distractions...some of them my own fault (stupid Netflix, Xbox, and computer games!).  I think what I miss the most though is the sheer abandon that I had when I was younger, I could pick up a book and lose all track of time, not coming up for air until one of my parents or siblings hauled me to bed...where I usually continued reading.  Now, even when all my stuff is done and I am in one of my designated reading periods in the back of my mind real life tends to intrude.  I'm not complaining per say, just reminiscing...Happy Reading Everybody!

364 Presents

I found it!!!!!!  I have been searching for this particular book for YEARS!!!!!  I remember reading it one year when I was about 10 years old, but never saw it again.  I couldn't remember the name of it, and the only description I could think of was so vague that about a zillion Christmas books came up when I searched for it.   Eventually success was mine and this year I am the proud owner of a library copy of The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenny Overton.  Did it live up to my childhood nostalgia?  Let's find out, but first as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Most of us have heard the Christmas Song The Twelve Days of Christmas, but to refresh your memory and for reference, here it is.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas

my true love sent to me:

12 Drummers Drumming

11 Pipers Piping

10 Lords a Leaping

9 Ladies Dancing

8 Maids a Milking

7 Swans a Swimming

6 Geese a Laying

5 Golden Rings

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

In this book we get a potential back story for this song.  Annaple (who was christened Anne, but changes her name with frequency depending on her mood.) is a romantic town girl who in the course of taking care of her father, sister and two brothers, tends to become highly distracted and moody.  She dreams of being a goose girl, or waking up to a piped serenade, and all other manner of silly things.  To this end she vows to only marry if her future fiancee can come up to her romantic standards.  Enter Francis, a rich tradesman who wants to marry Annaple, and is well liked by her and the family, the only problem being he is not "romantic enough for her.  The siblings help Francis out by giving him idea's that Annaple has mentioned as romantic, e.g. love birds, swans, pipers and such.  Francis takes this advice to heart and starts off with a bang by presenting the romantic Annaple with a partridge in a pear tree.  Annaple loves the gift and all seems well.  Francis however, being the business man that he is, is not ever content with buying just one of anything and turns out to have bought a dozen partridge's and their pear trees.  Thus starts a daily parade that is added to every morning.  Annaple becomes very embarrassed and inconvenienced (honestly, where does one keep over a dozen French Hens who refuse to lay eggs), even though Francis thoughtfully supplies coops, food and other necessities.  This continues all the way through the twelve days of Christmas, until Annaple finally relents and marries the now suitably romantic Francis.  She is happy, Francis is happy, their family is happy and they all live noisily ever after.

This is a quick read and I still love it.  It has a story and characters, but more then that it also has history and customs that have long since faded away.  I enjoyed learning about celebrating an English Christmas back in the pre-colonial days, and the addition of many ancient carols made it even better.  There was a true sense of joy and celebration in this book that I miss in a lot of the more modern books that insist on adding some element of angst or bittersweetnes to their story.  For such a short book the characters were very well done, all unique and all with their own sense of self.  There really is not a whole lot to say about this book.  It is a very straight forward story, with songs, humor, and history.  The feel of the holiday season comes through very strongly and it will sit on my shelf to be read with yearly frequency.  I recommend it for anybody who loves the holidays, likes to see how other people celebrate Christmas or just enjoy a bit of humor.  You can read this book at any age, and it would be a fun one to read out loud to the younger ones.  I give this book an 8 out of 10 maids a milking.  Just for fun, here is what Annaple and her family ended up with by the end of the 12 days of Christmas.

12 -Partridge in a Pear Tree's

22- Turtle Doves

30 - French Hens

36 - Calling Birds

40 - Gold Rings

42 - Geese a Laying

42 - Swans a Swimming

40 - Maids a Milking

36 - Ladies Dancing

30 - Lords a Leaping

22 - Drummers Drumming

12 - Pipers Piping

For a total of 346 Gifts...

What is your favorite carol/song orgin story?  What is your favorite Christmas nostalgia story?  How excited am I to finally find this book?!?  

Quirky Or Weird...Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Finished a book recommended to me by a friend the other day.  The book means a lot to her and so I read it with her in mind, I have to say she has wonderful taste in books :-) (love you little redhat).  The book is called The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, who later wrote it into a movie by the same name.  It was a lot different then what I was expecting (in a good way) and I am glad I read it.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

The book is written as letter by the main character Charlie to an unknown correspondent.  It covers his life from the end of middle school into his second year or so of high school (apx ages 12-15ish).  He tells his unknown correspondent that he is using an alias and that he has changed the names of people because he wants to protect his anonymity and just needs somebody to listen to him.  He never gives geographical locations or addresses so the unknown correspondent can never respond back. Charlie tells us of two instances in his past that have very much affected his present, the suicide of his friend Michael, who was one of Charlies only friends.  The other is the death of his beloved aunt Helen when he was younger.  These two occurrences figure heavily into Charlies thought pattern through out the book.   As the book progresses we learn about Charlie and how he see's the world.  He is a bit odd and quirky if you understand that stuff, but comes across as weird to outsiders.  He is pretty much friendless as he starts high school, but is taken under his English teachers wing when his love of books comes to light.  His teacher gives him many books to read and encourages him to participate in life instead of just observe it.  Charlie becomes friends with Sam and Patrick, step-siblings who are seniors in high school.  Charlie is instantly smitten with Sam, but she gently sets him down.  Patrick is gay and is secretly dating the star football quarter back.  We watch as Charlie finds his place among the special group, all the while trying to figure himself out.  Several incidents happen both good and bad and Charlie learns more about himself, his friends, his family and society in general.  Through out the book Charlie battles what I can only call depressive episodes, he has a history of needing help from mental professionals and knows when he is slipping.  Near the end of the book, after most of his friends graduate, leaving him feeling alone, he has a pretty sever episode that lands him in the hospital.  Here we learn that his beloved aunt Helen had actually sexually abused him as a young boy and he has been repressing the memory ever since.  It is not clear if this is what caused the depression, or if he already had some issues and this just made it worse.  In the end his family and friends are all there for him, making him believe he can continue on.

This book is set in 1991, which gives it a bit of a nostalgic feel for me, and must seem odd to some of the younger people reading it today.  I think this works because it adds to the main characters feelings of isolation, when the only way to reach somebody is on a land line phone, a letter, or in person, you tend to feel much more of an absence when people you love are gone.  In this world of 24/7 connected communication I think we forget that it wasn't always like this.  Not that a person cannot feel alone today, it is just a different type of alone.  I enjoyed this book for the most part.  It had a cast of characters that I would have probably hung out with if I went to that school, which makes it very easy for me to identify with...even if I haven't been a teenager in a really long time :-)  I like that the book was about a bunch of non-conformist kids, not bad kids, not popular kids, not delinquent kids, just different kids who thought in a different way.  This book resonates with me because I was one of those different kids in school.  I am lucky and usually had a group of friends who if not as different as I was, were more then willing to go along with my weirdness, or quirkiness, or psychosis, or whatever it is you want to call it.  In this book The Rocky Horror Picture Show  (which I love, but my Hubbin hates) becomes the place/show that this group of kids can form around, which again I identify with completely, instead of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, my

friends and I all had a thing for various plays and musicals to center ourselves around.  I know that several times this book has been under fire for its portrayal of sex, alcohol and drugs, but I thought they were fairly accurately portrayed, in there use and in the consequences of doing/using all three.  I know sometimes as adults we want to pretend that only the really bad kids do any of that stuff, but the reality of it good, bad or otherwise is that way more kids use all three to varying degrees then we might think, and in some ways a book like this needs to have them in it to come across as genuine and honest.  In regards to Charlie, I sometimes felt he came across a lot younger then he his actual age.  Acting more like a 9-10 year old then a 14-15 year old boy.  Again, not sure if this was some sort of mental thing, or just his personality.  I liked that while he had issues, and he was a "wall-flower" that he did find his own brand of happiness, that he found other people who understood that listening to a certain song at a certain time can make one feel infinite.  I liked that through all of the weirdness and issues of being a teenager that he always had hope, always found a way to find like minded people.  This book could have gotten very dark, and in parts it does take a somber turn, but for the most part I felt like it was a book telling all of us weird kids that it was ok, that there are other weird people out there, and there are good times to be had.  In regards to my friend who loaned it to me, I think I was reading this through her eyes a bit as well, which in this case added in even cooler dimension as I felt like I was reading it as two people and was able to get even more out of the book then if I was just reading it through my own perspective.  I am now excited to see the movie, even though I'm not 100% sure how they are going to portray it on film, but I have heard good things about it.  I recommend this book for anybody who was the weird kid in school, who knows that being different can be hard, but not necessarily bad, or is nostalgic for walking down the school halls without a cell phone in your back pocket.  I give this book 8 out of 10 Transexuals from Transexualvania.

What book reminds you most of high school/middle school?  What kind of kid were/are you?  Am I using a lot of / today?

Drums And Dragons

Hello all, how are you?  I'm a wee bit tired from various shifts at various stations, so please forgive any non-normal incoherancies.  I realized as I was rereading my beloved Haper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffery, that I had neglected to ramble about the final book in the series, Dragondrums.  I am here to remedy that egregious oversite (I'm in a big word mood today).  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

If you can remember back to the second book in the series, our heroine Menolly makes friends with the precocious Piemure, who not only befriends her, but assists in the feeding of her nine fire lizards.  Piemure is gifted with a beautiful soprano voice and the is currently rehearsing his role as the Dragonwoman Lessa in a new performance.  Unfortunately our little scamps voice breaks and he is sent to the drum towers until his voice settles.  Piemure's mischievousness proceeds him, and the older apprentices haze him to an unfair degree.  To compound this problem, Menolly, Sebell and Masterharper Robinton decide to use him as their special apprentice.  Piemure travels with the two journeymen to various holds and sees first hand the havoc the Oldtimers, and the not so wonderful Lord Holder Meron can cause.  Eventually Piemure's fellow apprentices play a trick that goes to far and results in Piemure in the infirmary with a head injury.  This convinces Masterharper Robinton to pull him from the drum heights and make him exclusively his apprentice until his voice settles.    Piemure is sent with Sebell to a gather (which is like a festival or fair) at the hold of Lord Meron, who is deathly ill, yet refuses to name a successor.  They also learn that the hold has an unusual number of fire lizards given out to pretty much everybody.  After discovering that most of the dragon lizards are the lesser greens, and the Lord Meron is secretly trading with the contentious Oldtimers, Piemure steals a queen fire lizard egg and hides in a shipment going to the Southern Continent.  Piemure ends up on the Southern Continent and hides until his egg hatches and he impresses the little queen Farli.  He also "adopts" an orphaned runner beast that he names Stupid.  Menolly and Sebell meanwhile have had a quiet and subdue almost romance through out the book, which culminates in one of the bestest, most simplest, most tender, most perfect declerations of love ever!  This all happens while they search for Piemure.  Eventually everybody finds each other and Piemure is made a drum journeyman of the Southern Continent.

Like the other two books, this one is a simple story compared to the more complex world of the main series.  This book however is easier to read if you have at least read the first two books in the original Dragonrider series.  This book also puts Menolly, who was the main character in the first two books into a secondary role.  As for my personal feelings on this book, they are mixed.  On one hand I miss having Menolly be the main character and I miss the more micro story telling of the first two books.  I do however like seeing some of the other holds and halls, and having Piemure travel around lets us see a lot more then we have in previous books.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the romance between Menolly and Sebell.  It is so natural and understated.  None of this giant declarations, or misunderstandings, or love triangles.  It is just basic love between two quiet, yet passionate people.  I really can't give you specifics on what get's to me so much about these two, but they are in my top 10 of literary couples.  I think it may be because it seems so real and not EPIC and STAR FATED, it just is.  I also like that the love story is just a subtle simple fraction of the whole story.  I was sad to see this trilogy end and always am a bit biased against this book for being the last one, but in the end it is just as good as the first two and the trilogy as a whole will forever be a favorite of mine.  I give this book 8 out of 10 bubbly pies.

What love story do you love the best?  Should a trilogy/series stick with the same main characters or branch out?  Will I ever find a new love like this trilogy?

Anne With An E

Hello all, I hope you are all getting ready to enjoy a wonderful weekend.  I know I am, I get to spend it in New York!!!!!!  The weather here is amazing and springlike and that of course means it is time to drag out my spring books (finally!)  This year my first spring book is an oldie but goodie, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  This book has been a favorite of mine for years and may be the reason I have an undying love for red hair.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

We'll get through this synopsis pretty quick as the book is less of an overall story then it is a bunch of incidents tied together, but here we go.  Shy and quiet Matthew and his stern old maid of a sister Marilla Cuthbert have decided to adopt a little boy to help with all the work at Green Gables.  Now that both siblings are getting on in years they think it is the best possible solution.  They send word via a friend and off Matthew goes to pick up their new boy, but imagine his surprise when instead a bright, imaginative chatter box of a girl awaits him instead.  He brings her home and after a bit of thought he and Marilla decide to keep her.  Almost instantly this poor little orphan red-head who insists her name be spelled Anne with an E gets herself into trouble.  The first sign of her over the topness comes when Mrs. Rachel Lynde, a well meaning, sharp tongued gossip calls Anne, homely and ugly and Anne flies of the handle.  Her apology turns out to be the most elaborate and eloquent speech anybody in little Avonlea has probably ever heard.  She meets her

life long bosom friend Diana Barry and quickly engages this sturdy girl in her imaginary games...sometimes to the point of belief.  They start school together and Anne is humiliated by Gilbert Blythe, a boy in her class who calls her Carrots, because of her hair, causing the temperamental Anne to break a slate over his head.  This and a later completely unfair punishment by a crappy teacher cause Anne to study from home.  During this time Diana is invited over to tea, that Anne is allowed to supervise on her own.  This results in Diana getting drunk when she accidental drinks three glasses of current wine instead what she thought was raspberry cordial.   This latest incident causes the strict Mrs. Barry to ban Diana from being friends with Anne.  Anne goes back to school and soldiers on.  Winter comes and Diana's little sister comes down very sick while her parents are out of town and Anne's quick thinking saves her life and allows her friendship with Diana to be restored.  As Anne grows up, her scrapes become less childish and more of a personal nature.  There is the never ending feud with Gilbert Blythe for top marks in class, her dream of reciting on stage, and a new found ambition of getting through Queens, a school that certifies teachers.  Anne wins the coveted scholarship, but ends up delaying college when her dear Matthew dies, leaving Marilla alone to run the farm.  Gilbert gives up the Avonlea school so Anne can stay at Green Gables, this has the pleasant side effect of finally becoming friends with Anne. Thus ends the first book of our little red headed dreamer.

Of course there is much more to this book, but with the way it is written it is just one incident after another that flows right into the next.  I love the Anne books, especially this first one. I identify with Anne so much, the day dreaming, the love of pretty things, the reading, the horror of the plain and ordinary, the imagining.  Everything about this little girl speaks to me.  I remember first reading these books when I was about 8 years old and thinking "this girl is me....I wish I had red hair".  Now I wasn't a poor orphan, I had two

wonderful parents and a whole ton of siblings, but sometimes when I had to do chores I would pull an Anne and pretend I was :-)  This book is simple,sweet and beautiful and I love reading it any time I am down in the dumps.  Even the sad parts (which are very few and very far between) have a bittersweet wistfulness to them that cannot destroy the positive affect these books have on me.  My only teeny tiny complaint is that it can be a bit repetitive, going back over what was just written and reminding the reader, but it is something I can live with.  I love that Anne is adventurous and smart and at the same time just wants to be pretty and have pretty things.  She is sweet and kind and a chatterbox (my nickname growing up) and impulsive and I love her like she was my bosom friend.  I recommend this to any body down in dumps, or just wants a sweet simple book.  I give it 8 out of 10 carrots
What was one of the first book characters you identified with?  Have you ever changed your appearance to mimic a beloved character?  Does it surprise you at all that I am an incessant chatterbox?

Riding The Rails

Spent the day with the Hubbin riding the rails around the Virginia area.  There is something a bit old school romantic about a train, something old fashioned and adventurous that I love.  I very much associate trains and reading.  There is nothing better then clickity clacking down the tracks with the scenery flying by and a good book in your hands.  I don't know why reading on a train is better then reading on any other mode of transportation, but it is.  I think I associate trains and books together so strongly because so many of my favorite books begin (or sometimes end) with a train ride.

The Chronicles of Narnia- Most of the books in this series have a train ride somewhere in them.  The four children go to the country side in the first book on a train.  In the second and third book a train station is a starting and ending point and of course in the last book a train is the ultimate end.  So many trains!

Anne of Green Gables- Anne (with an E) describes her train rides in such an imaginative, romantic, whimsical way that one cannot help but associate a spring time ride on the train with our favorite carrot top.  Today's train ride through the blossoming tree's brought her to mind.

The Boxcar Children-One of my childhood favorites a group of  four children (the magic number) live without adult supervision in a box car.  This of course inspired me to drag my three younger siblings around looking for our own train living situation...until Mamma called us home that is.

Pollyanna-Our little ray of sunshine both arrives and leave her book on a train, marking the start of a new adventure each time.  I must admit I had many visions of being carried to and from a train through a crowd of admirers after a horrific, yet heroic accident...what can I say, I have always been a drama queen.

Harry Potter-Of course we can't forget the Hogwarts Express, perhaps one of the most wonderful and magical modes of transportation.  The only problem with reading about the Hogwarts train is that I am very disappointed when my train does not have a trolley full of cauldron cakes, pumpkin juice or Droobles best blowing gum.

I am very happy that I got to have my little reading adventure today.  The weather was perfect, the seats were perfect, the book was perfect, the company was perfect.  All in all a very refreshing, nostalgic, reading type of day.
A word of caution, I am starting a 60 hour shift at the station so Monday's post may be late, incoherent or non exsistant, but I shall do my best.

What is your favorite mode of transportation to read on?  Do you think trains are nostalgic or out dated?  Does the very idea of reading while moving make you sick?

Mary "Meanie McMeaniehead" Poppins

Hello All!  I have a thing for old children's books, they tend to be very different from the sweet, sanitized books we read our kids today.  A lot of these books have been made into movies that have also toned down some of the old fashioned disdain people seemed to have for their children, to the point where most people have never actually read or heard the original stories.  One that is getting some attention right is Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers.  There is a Disney movie version made famous by the wonderful Julie Andrews and a new movie out (which I have yet to see) about how the story went from a book about a vain, snarky nanny to a movie about a sweet, loving singing nanny called Saving Mr. Banks all of this served to catch my interest enough to read the original story.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD.

This book is more of a collection of stories strung together then it is a true singular story.  Essentially the Banks children, Jane, Michael and the baby twins John and Barbara are in need of a nanny and who should come floating in on her parrot handled umbrella but Mary Poppins.  She waltzes in and whisks the children away on several adventures including tea on the ceiling, mediating between a spoiled dog and his overprotective owner, a strange after hours party at the zoo and dates in chalk drawings.  All the while our favorite nanny is actually (excuse my language here) kind of a bitch.  She is constantly being mean and rude to the children, especially the older ones, denying that their adventures ever happened.  She is also very very very vain, constantly looking for reflective surfaces to admire herself in, she also has a penchant for fine clothes, always buying something new.  The book ends with Mary Poppins leaving without even saying goodbye, just ditching the kids in the middle of the day and flying away with no warning, or nanny lined up or anything.  The parents are actually the nice ones in this book, even if they are a bit flaky and you kind of feel bad that they end up in the lurch they are in.  And that is the end of book one.

I know not a very detailed synopsis, but it is a pretty short book.  I loved reading it and love how snarky and borderline mean Mary Poppins is, a far cry from the spoon full of sugar version in the movies.  This seems to be a thing back in the day, they had no problem having authority figures be...well not very nice, but always for the good of the children.  It is nice to see kids expected to behave and to be loved and disciplined in an appropriate manner.  I would love to see what would happen if you tried to publish a book like this now a days, cries of cruelty would abound, yet the children in the books loved their nannies and had many adventures and learned many lessons with them.  I would recommend this book to anybody who misses the old days, like to read about other era's or is just looking for some entertainment.  I give this book 7 out of 10 snakeskin belts.

What old children's story surprised you when you finally read it?  Is it ok to be snarky to kids?  Which versions do you prefer?  I really like kids I swear it!

12...No Wait 15...Wait Nope 17 Children (Soon To Be 18)

So…technology…it kinda sucks sometimes.  My computer is actually down right now so I am writing this offline on a different computer and hoping I can copy and paste it over shortly…of course if you are reading this that means it worked, if you’re not then I am just another crazy lady typing to herself.  All of these stupid tech issues make me nostalgic for the simple days when all I needed was a library card and a good book to make me happy.  In this vein I decided to hunt down some of the old books I enjoyed as a child.  One such book was/is called Mrs. Purdy’s Children by Ruth Loomis.  I had a hard time remembering the name of this book and then I had an even harder time tracking down a copy to buy.  I eventually found a copy to buy from the Ulysses Township Library in Ulysses NE.  I am now doubly thrilled, one to finally find a book from my beloved childhood and two to have the added bonus of it looking and smelling just like the one from the library I used to read as a child, that’s right total sensory experience here folks.  Mrs. Purdy’s Children is an older book, first published in 1970 which makes it about 20 years old the first time I read it.   Despite its slight datedness I still love this quirky little story.  As always Spoilers Ahead!

Mrs. Purdy has 12 no wait 15 no wait 17 children, yep that sounds about right 17 children.  Lucky for Mrs. Purdy her children are all capable responsible people who have worked out their own way of running the house hold.  We have the older children Henry Jr., May, April, Willy, Ernest, Connie, Lancelot, Galahad, Emily, June, Sue, and another boy whose name I could never figure out.  They help take care of the little ones, Sweden, Jimmy, Erica, Heathcliff and again another one I never quite got the name of.  All of these children live in a house that has many improvements invented by their father before he went on a prospecting trip to Alaska.  Mrs. Purdy works at the local Sweete Shoppe to help provide some extra income and is much beloved by most of the townsfolk as well as her family.  Parental supervision is at a minimum, with Mr. Purdy being in Alaska for the last couple years and Mrs. Purdy working, it falls to the children to maintain their own order.  Surprisingly they have come up with a pretty good system using General Meetings and a rotational chore chart things get done in a pretty efficiently.  Oh yeah, they also get a lot of help from a

mysterious plant they call a roanoke, named after Roanoke VA where it originated from.   This plant, which has grown to epic proportions is the basis for all of the Purdy's food, they can make roasts from the roots, stews from the leaves and the most wonderful cakes, cookies and pies from the flowers.  Every once in a while the roanoke will pop out a special pod that blooms into an honest to goodness baby...yep kind of like Cabbage Patch Kids.  This is where the confusion of just how many Purdy kids there are comes in.  Mrs. Purdy is elected Mother of the Year by the local committee and the family receives all sorts of goodies. Mrs. Purdy takes it all in stride and continues with her life as normal, including welcoming another roanoke baby into the family.  The children all vote on a name for the baby (which ends up being Ceres) and try and explain her to the committee when they come to the house.  After a disastrous interview with the oblivious Mrs. Purdy, the committee decides not only to take away her title as Mother of the Year, but to investigate her as well.  This results in the children putting on a demonstration involving all of the towns children to reinstate their mother as Mother of the Year.  In the midst of this chaos Mr. Purdy comes home and helps calm the sea of disorder.  Eventually Mrs. Purdy is reinstated as Mother of the Year and all is well.  Mr. Purdy insists on destroying the roanoke, claiming he cannot even keep track of the 17...now 18 kids that he has.  The family agrees, but Sue and Willy find a cutting planted in a secret spot in the back of the garden and agree to keep it secret.  The children all live wildly and happily ever after.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this book.  The biggest factor for me is its nostalgia value which is huge.  Growing up I loved stories about big chaotic families...'cause I lived in a big chaotic family. Also I may or may not have checked every seed pod I saw for babies :-)  I still love all of the little time saving devices that Mr. Purdy put in the house.  I love that he feels the need to get away from his giant family on occasion.  I love that Mrs. Purdy is willing to let her kids run the house and each other and I love that the kids have come up with a democratic,  surprisingly fair and effective way to keep the chaos under control.  I love that each of the kids has their own personality and I love how this book just lets the kids be kids.  It is an old book, it is a bit dated and a bit simplistic, but I still love it.  If you are looking for a quick, fun read this is a great pick...if you can find it.  I give it 8 out of 10 roanoke babies.
What book holds a huge nostalgia factor for you?  What would you name your 18 kids?  What would you do if you left with 12 kids and came home to 18?

Then VS Now

As I continue my nostalgia kick, I have noticed an interesting change in how I read these cherished nuggets from my past.  As I read them I have started picking up on things that went completely over my head when I was younger (the hazards of having a reading comprehension level apx 8 years more then my actual age) or I notice subtleties that probably never occurred to me at age 7.  It makes for a very interesting reread experience.  I am not talking about my beloved classics that I read once a year, as much as I love and adore them my Chronicles of Narnia, Little House on the Prairie, and Lord of the Rings, they get read so often that I have grown up with them and my opinion and what I get from them is pretty much set in stone.  No I am talking about the books and series that I devoured and loved as a kid, forgot or put aside as I grew older
and am just now picking them back up.  Some stand the test of time like Peppermints in the Parlor which while a bit simpler then I remember is still a solid story that I would recommend to any young reader.  Others like the SVH series are just so atrocious on what it teaches impressionable young girls that I could not in good conscious recommend it to anybody under the age of 21.  I find it interesting to see what bugs me now that never bugged me before, certain attitudes and especially relationships drive me bananas.  I was never an overly romantic teen, I was fairly pragmatic about boys (and girls) and knew full well that fairy tale loves were just that, fairy tales.  That being said, I still did not see a problem with most of the relationships I read about, especially in YA books, now when I go back and read them I see the same problem I still see today, a controlling boy who is just doing "what is best" for his girl, and the girl, who even if she is supposed to be strong, falls for this overprotective oaf, thank God my Daddy taught me better then that.  I also see a lot of social, racial, and just moral issues that seemed to have been glossed over or accepted in some of these older books, that while I may not have agreed with them as a youngster, I accepted them in the course of the story.  Now of course I take to my blog in outrage over these things.  Of course it is really hard to get over the nostalgia factor, as much as I kind of hated rereading Double Love SVH or rolled my eyes over my recent skimming of one of the BSC books, I can't help but be transported back to when and where I was when I was reading these books.  They also had the added bonus of being written at the pace of about a dozen a year, and at the rate I was reading, this helped keep my voracious appetite for books under control.  I also have to consider that the source of most of my books was my local library which did not get in books at the rate of your friendly neighborhood bookstore.  Growing up with very little money, the library was my source for most things literary (with a healthy injection from my parents whenever they could).  I blazed through their supply of books in a heartbeat and started rereading at an early age, just to have something in my hands.  The librarians were great at setting aside any new book that came through the door for me.  This is why as awful, or simple, or "not my current taste" some of these old books are, I will always have a soft spot for them, and hey as I am rediscovering some of these oldies are actually long forgotten gems just waiting to be rediscovered.  So I am off to read, reread, and discover new and old loves. Happy Reading Everybody!

What books have you rediscovered recently?  What books are you appalled to have loved so much?  Are books just way too much a part of my thoughts?

Double Trouble

As you may have noticed I have been on a hard core nostalgia kick.  I knew when I was in trouble when I had the urge to read a Sweet Valley High book...don't judge me :-)  I used to read them back when I was in middle school (having outgrown them by high school) and  remember rolling my eyes at them even then.  That being said I still devoured them all the way through the weird and disturbing super specials when they got into the 100's.  It took me a while to hunt down the original first book, they have rereleased them with "updates" which I will rant about shortly, but I wanted to read the originals in all of their early 80's glory. I'll give you a quick synopsis and then we can ramble on about it.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD.

Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are perfect size 6 blond haired, aqua eyed, perfectly tanned 16 year old identical twins who live with their lawyer mother, interior decorator father, and college student brother in Sweet Valley, California.  We know the Wakefied twins are beautiful because we are told this in apx 85 of the 182 pages of the book.  Elizabeth is bookish, smart, a wanna-be writer and a complete pushover.  Jessica is wild, vibrant, spoiled and has a few diagnosable mental disorders.  We start our story with Elizabeth mooning over Todd Wilkens the oh so handsome captain of the high school basket ball team.  We learn that it sounds like Todd maybe, kinda of sorta likes Elizabeth in that way too, you know likes likes her. Unfortunately for Lizzy, her twin has decided that she is in love with Todd. Jessica pulls all kinds of hijinks to get Todd to notice her, all the while feeding him stories about Elizabeth's supposed popularity and lack of time for Todd.  Elizabeth notices the two of them together and decides to swallow her feelings for Todd so that her sister can be happy.  Meanwhile she decides to bury herself in her writing when she is assigned to write about a court case between the uber new and rich Fowlers, the uber old and rich Patmans, and the school on the matter of who can use the land the football field is currently on. The twins dad is one of the lead lawyers for this case and it causes him to spend a lot of time with the beautiful and recently divorced Marianna West.  This of course sends the Wakefield children into all kinds of unfounded speculation on the possibility of their father having an affair and leaving their mother.  Todd makes the unforgivable mistake of not worshiping the ground Jessica walks on for every waking second so she decides to go out with the bad boy Rick Andover.  Rick has dropped out of school, has tattoos and drives fast cars, and has now decided he is into Jessica.  Jessica being the brilliant person that she is agrees to go with Rick and ends up in the
middle of a bar brawl when she objects to his pawing of her person.  She is brought home by a friendly police officer who mistakes her for Elizabeth which is of course seen and heard by the school gossip. Now in Jessica's very minimal defense, she did not now the gossip had overheard, so she had no way to correct her.  The next day EVERYBODY at school (without the help of cell phones, Facebook, or any type of social media mind you) is talking about Elizabeth's bad boy encounter. Todd gets all self righteous and decides he can never forgive her for what she has done, even though he has barely spoken to her before the incident, does not actually know what happened, and is getting all his information second and third hand.  More hijinks ensue, and Elizabeth is devastated to be pegged as "the bad girl".  Jessica eventually confesses it was her that the gossip saw and promises to fix it for Lizzy.  She admits to Todd that it was her, but his head is so far up his own ass that he thinks that Jessica is just trying to cover for Liz and he asks her to the dance.  Elizabeth is asked by the class clown Winston Egbert, who has been in love with Jessica since grade school.  Through out the dance, Todd cannot keep his eyes off of Elizabeth, pissing of the royal and all wonderful Jessica, who of course must have her revenge.  After the dance Jess tells Liz that Todd tried to take things further then she wanted to go and almost would not take no for an answer...yep...awesome.  Todd calls Elizabeth the next day, condescendingly telling her he "forgives" her for her actions with Rick...which never happened...and even if it did there is nothing to be sorry for, she was the victim...anyways Elizabeth still thinking that he attacked her beloved sister coldly shuns him, quit possibly one of the only reasonable things she does in this book.  The family also finds out that Steven (the college brother, who is also impossibly handsome) is dating Tricia Martin, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, this sends Jessica into another manic depressive spin, but more on that later.  Eventually Stevens parents sit him down and tell him it is ok for their special little guy to date that girl with the druggie sister and drunk dad...as long as she doesn't have any of those problems.  The family all ends up getting their stories straight, Steven gets his girl, the Wakefield parents are obviously not getting a divorce, and all is almost right with the white upper middle class world.  Of course we must have one last bit of chaos, so Rick essentially kidnaps Jessica and Elizabeth and is saved by the heroic, if judgy Todd.  Elizabeth and Todd actually have a conversation, work everything out and end up in love.  Elizabeth tries to talk to Jessica about all of the heinous stunts she pulled, but Jess turns on the waterworks and Liz caves.  Elizabeth gets a bit of revenge by getting Jessica thrown into a pool, but that is it after her dear sister tried on several occasions to ruin her life.  And that my friends is the first installment of the soap opera that is Sweet Valley High.

Oddly enough I actually have a lot to say about this little gem, there is just so much that is horribly horribly wrong about it, yet it is some how still oddly appealing.  Anyways lets jump right in.  First off let us address the travesty that is updating books. Don't do it, just don't.  Books were/are written in certain eras and most of the appeal of the book is in some ways its datedness, I don't want to read about the twins using Facebok, or being a perfect size 4 (so so so so so so wrong)!  I want my perfect size 6 (also wrong, but in a different way), I want my Dairy Burger, and I want my land line phone gosh darn it.  Ok so now that is out of the way lets talk about our leading ladies.  Growing up I always knew that these two girls were not in any way realistic at all, and I was all of 12 when I started reading these, that being said, I always identified more with Jessica then Elizabeth, if for no other reason then Elizabeth was such a wussy pushover!  In pretty much every instance Elizabeth caves, to her parents, her teachers, her friends, but mostly to Jessica, whom she adores with an unhealthy devotion.  The relationship between the two girls if very one sided, with Jessica getting almost all the benefits and Elizabeth thrilled when Jessica is bored enough, or in enough trouble to use her. Elizabeth very rarely gets the upper hand in any situation, yet oddly enough is portrayed as extremely popular and well liked.  This lack of self confidence comes into play in her choice of boyfriend, not to get to deep into a mass produced, soap opera of a book, but her choice of Todd as a boyfriend is a bit messed up.  He gets all high and mighty and judgmental, feeling like it is within his right to make her miserable over an event that he has decided is wrong.  Never mind that he does not even have the facts, that he has never even really talked with Elizabeth and gotten to know her, nope doesn't matter, if Mr. Handsome Captain of the Basketball Team and Judge and Jury of Sweet Valley High School makes up his mind that Elizabeth is a dirty dirty whore then she is to be cast aside and shunned...unless he decides to forgive her and pretend it never happened.  Ladies this is NOT the guy you want to be dating, you will always be worried about pissing him off, you will be apologizing for everything, even if you are not wrong, and God forbid you ever have an

opinion that differs from his, seriously potential bad juju here.  This however seems to be right up Elizabeth's alley as the put-upon, wishy washy giver upper.   Moving on to Jessica.  I will give Jessica an under the table high five for figuring out how the people around her work and using it to her advantage.  She is conniving and border line evil, but she knows how to get what she wants. I think I have always like Jessica because she felt like a more honest character, one who knew she was the standard of 1980's all American beauty and had no issues using that to her advantage.  She is quick on her feet and seems to be able to turn any situation to her advantage, you go girl.  She also seems to be suffering from some sort of manic depressive disorder. She has some very extreme emotional swings, and not all of them are attributable to scheming manipulations.  The number of times she goes from genuine sobbing, to elation and back down to depression actually indicates the need for some kind of therapy and diagnosis.  I won't even get into the various class, race, and morality issues that are so prevalent in this (and the other books), I will save that rant for later books, because my darling readers I will be reading more of these.  Now that I have started I can't stop, so I will be hunting down the best/worst examples in the series and hiding them under my bed (that is where all my guilty pleasure books go) and every once in a while pulling one out to eviscerate just for fun.  I hope you have enjoyed my trip down memory lane and my obvious enjoyment in ripping this book to shreds.  This book teaches us that it is all about the looks, and barring that the money, where if you are conniving and manipulative it is ok if you are 5'6 size 6, blond and blue eyed, you can be a complete push over and still get the overbearing judgy guy, and that in the end all your first world problems will be solved, I give this book 2 out of 10 school newspapers for new readers (especially the 10-16 crowd) and an 8 our of ten red Fiats for nostalgia/guilty pleasure reads.
PS if you want some great snark/nostalgia combo check out these posts, I waste way to much time on these!
Are you a Jessica or and Elizabeth?  Do you wonder why I read these just to rip them apart?  What is your nostalgic guilty pleasure?