Good Girls Aren't (Always) the Fun Ones

Published:  July 1st, 2014

The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher

By: Jessica Lawson

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13:  9781481401500

In 1860, eleven-year-old Becky Thatcher is the new girl in town, determined to have adventures like she promised her brother Jon before he died.  With her Mama frozen in grief and her Daddy busy as town judge, Becky spends much of her time on her own, getting into mischief.  Before long, she joins the boys at school in a bet to steal from the Widow Douglas, and Becky convinces her new best friend, Amy Lawrence, to join her.

Becky decides that she and Amy need a bag of dirt from a bad man's grave as protection for entering the Widow's house, so they sneak out to the cemetery at midnight, where they witness the thieving Pritchard brothers digging up a coffin.  Determined to keep her family safe (and to avoid getting in trouble), Becky makes Amy promise not to tell anyone what they saw.

When their silence inadvertently results in the Widow Douglas being accused of the graverobbery, Becky concocts a plan to clear the Widow's name.  If she pulls it off, she just might get her Mama to notice her again and fulfill her promise to Jon in a most unexpected way...if that tattletale Tom Sawyer will quit following her around.

Review

       I have to admire Jessica Lawson's ingenuity.  As both a fanfic author and reader, I can more than respect a well thought-out "what-if" scenario.  So, the switch in the personalities of Sid and Tom, along with the inclusion of Sam Clemens would have been more than enough to draw me in as a potential reader.  Add in the fact that Becky Thatcher is actually the mischievous protagonist in this one, with Tom and Sid as side-characters, and you have me hooked like a large-mouth bass!  Even with all of that aside, I actually really enjoyed this book!  This is exactly the kind of book that I loved as a child, with a daring and adventurous heroine, well-drawn side characters (friends, family, etc.), and a rollicking plot full of fun.  Becky has just moved to a small Missouri town with her parents, almost a year after the death of her much-loved and admired older brother, Jon.  Becky's Daddy is busy being the town judge and has to deal with notorious thieves, the Pritchard brothers, on the loose and her Mama is sunk down into her grief, with no time for Becky.  So she has plenty of time for mischief!

     There are some sly allusions to the original stories by Mark Twain, especially with Sam Clemens as a stranded riverboat pilot, waiting on a part for his ship, and gathering material for stories he likes to write.  Becky becomes friends with Sid Sawyer, almost immediatly puts the tattling Tom (brother of Sid) on her revenge list and is mostly just happy to make some friends and have adventures.  But when attempting to get grave dirt for "protection spells" against the Widow Douglas (a known witch), so that the girls can win a five-dollar bet to take something from her house, they get into more trouble than they can handle!  They stumble upon a grave-robbing and barely escape with their lives!  Becky has to decide whether being grown up means telling the truth and accepting punishment, or having adventures - or if she can possibly do both.  I love the writing style of Lawson in this book!  Unlike Twain, the dialect isn't so heavy that you have a hard time reading it.  It's still there, but not as thick.  Also, there are some beautiful prose passages and Becky, is a loveable heroine who never once got on my nerves.  Overall, I would recommend this even to people who just like historical fiction with a sense of humor, even if they've never read Mark Twain.  You'll still like it, I promise.  Or as Becky and Amy would say I "vow" it! :D

Favorite Quotes:

--  'I found my way to the riverbank.

"Hello, Miss Issipi," I said.  "You're looking awful pretty this morning, with that fog coming off your water.  You're going your way and I'm going mine."  I tipped my hat, but the Miss ignored me.  I didn't mind a bit, though.  I liked the river real well.

...I stared at the Miss, watching the first bit of sunlight make flashes on the water.  I wondered if Jon up in Heaven could see those flashes, if he'd met Jesus at all, and if he'd put in a good word for me.'

--  "Kiss my grits," I swore.  "That brother of yours has done it again."  I hit Sid's shoulder.

Joe spit on the ground.  

"How'd he find out, that sneak!"  Though he sounded mad, I could tell Joe was as worried as the rest of us.

   "I thought I saw Tom when I was putting out your flames," I told Sid.  "Probably told Aunt Polly that I tried to set Mrs. Douglas's house on fire."

   "Who's Mrs. Douglas?" Joe asked.  His face wrinkled up like when Dobbins asked him a math question.

   "You can go to jail for doing something like that!" Amy cried.

   And the widow might go to jail for grave robbing, I thought.  Maybe we'll be stuck in the same cell.

VERDICT:  4/5 Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*

More Conspiracies, Draped In Petticoats

Expected Publication:  November 5th, 2013

Curtsies and Conspiracies (Finishing School #2)

By: Gail Carriger

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13:  9780316190114

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won't Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

Review

     When we last saw her Sophronia had just managed solve a mystery about a stolen device and a traitor within her school for girls training to be assassins/spies (and debutantes).  With a penchant for curiosity Sophronia is in trouble again, this time because she has become entangles in another mystery surrounding a valve that has malfunctioned in the school's testing machine - and why they are going to London.  The harmless class trip to see an event with a dirigible may not be everything it seems, especially when Sophronia uncovers some shocking things while sneaking through the teacher's quarters, eavesdropping and using situations to her advantage.  With the help of her friends Soap, Vieve, Dimity, Sidheag, and Agatha can she figure out what's going on before it's too late.  Also, when will Lord Felix Mercer learn to take a hint, that she is just not interested?  And what is Monique planning now, that could direly affect everyone aboard the ship?

     Don't mistake me: I enjoyed this book, just as I did the first one in the trilogy.  But I feel that it's written more for established fans of Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series than newcomers.  The feel of it is very established, in that I went in feeling like an outsider looking in through my little bookish lens.  Those kinds of books don't necessarily make a new reader feel like they are very easily approached.  That said, Sophronia is an amusing, precociously nosy young girl who has found her niche in training to be a spy, even if the horrendous debutante training is necessary right alongside it! :)  I found her to be very loyal, genuine.  I love her curiosity; there is nothing worse to me than lack of curiosity on the part of a heroine in a weird/off-kilter situation.  Don't you want to know what's going on?  Sophronia always wants to know, and it gets her into trouble sometimes.  When the teachers announce the progress report results of each girl out loud, Sophronia was ostracized which made for an interesting plot twist.  A decent portion of the novel is spent with Sophronia trying to solve the latest mystery all on her own mostly (with only help from boiler room friend Soap and inventive, little scamp Vieve).  It definitely helped the reader, as well as Sophronia, to realize that she is at her strongest when she has the help of her friends.

     Carriger also introduces the possibility of a love triangle between Sophronia, Soap, and semi-racist, classist (but entirely charming) rich Lord Felix Mercer.  It's an interesting dynamic to say the least.  Sophronia is only just starting to realize her own identity as person old enough to feel romantic interest in another.  Soap is from the opposite end of the class spectrum, works for her school and is of a different race as well.  Yet Soap challenges her and keeps Sophronia grounded in reality.  He's a true friend and she values him for it - precisely the reason she's trying to avoid anything beyond harmless flirtation.  She knows it would most likely lead to heartache.  Felix Mercer is intelligent in entirely different ways, has loads of social connections and is within reach societally.  But his family is also prejudiced against supernaturals and has opinions opposite of her on their civil rights.  It's the beginning of  a fascinating inner-struggle on the part of Sophronia to stay true to herself.

      The main storyline about the mysterious valve, the habits and politics of vampires, the attempted kidnappings of Sophronia's friends Dimity and Pillover, and the further exploration of everyone's true loyalties was really well carried out.  I did find myself losing interest a few times when it started moving fairly slowly, but it picked up again so I kept going.  I was not disappointed and liked the way the book resolved, even if there were a couple of lingering questions still to be answered (I assume in the final installment of the trilogy).  Overall, I had fun and got to stop thinking for a couple hours - and Carriger managed to keep me by staying light on the steampunk, of which I am NOT a fan.  I would recommend it to fans of supernatural adventures and spy stories (more middle grade than YA in my opinion), but I still feel fans of the adult series this is an off-shoot of would be better suited to truly fall into effusive declarations of love with it.

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is November 5th, 2013.*

No Chains To Oppress Me

Published:  May 14th, 2013

The Caged Graves

By: Dianne K. Salerni

Clarion Books

ISBN-13:  9780547868530

17-year-old Verity Boone expects a warm homecoming when she returns to Catawissa, Pennsylvania, in 1867, pledged to marry a man she has never met. Instead, she finds a father she barely knows and a future husband with whom she apparently has nothing in common. One truly horrifying surprise awaits her: the graves of her mother and aunt are enclosed in iron cages outside the local cemetery. Nobody in town will explain why, but Verity hears rumors of buried treasure and witchcraft. Perhaps the cages were built to keep grave robbers out . . . or to keep the women in. Determined to understand, Verity finds  herself in a life-and-death struggle with people she trusted.

Inspired by a pair of real caged graves in present-day Catawissa, this historical YA novel weaves mystery, romance, and action into a suspenseful drama with human greed and passion at its core.

Review

     Verity Boone has spent the majority of her life living with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins and now that she is 17 years old her Father finally wants to bring her home.  After corresponding with Nathaniel, a young man she has never met but who her Father approves of, Verity becomes engaged and travels back to Catawissa, Pennsylvania, the place where she was born.  Her Father is always out in the fields and she never sees him.  Plus Nate, her fiance, seems like a completely different person than the man she got to know through his letters.  Feeling alone and unwanted, Verity latches onto a mystery surrounding her Mother and Aunt - and why their graves are caged in and outside of the cemetery's consecrated ground.  Discovering her Mother's diaries only gives Verity more questions, even when it looks like no one is going to answer her.  With whispers of witchcraft and legends of buried treasure, things quickly escalate into a deadly situation in which Verity may not make it out alive.  Can she solve the mystery, get her Mother and Aunt moved into the cemetery where they belong and figure out where her heart truly lies before it's too late?

     I was expecting some tame historical fiction novel, with an easily solved mystery thrown in.  What I got instead was a truly suspenseful tale of Revolutionary War treasure, murder and intrigue in a small town in Pennsylvania.  I liked Verity a decent amount and thought she was definitely a catalyst for interesting events.  But I got annoyed with her indecision in regards to Nate, who she literally drops everything for at the beginning of the novel and decides to marry sight-unseen.  She chooses to make some snap judgments about his real personality and starts flirting with the Doctor's apprentice Hadley (because he pays her more attention).  I liked Nate and thought that she was way too harsh on him for not being her exact ideal.  Their romance when she starts to realize how wrong she's been though is super cute.  I loved the mystery aspect of this novel.  It's centered around Verity's love for her Mother, and her inability to let the past go - but in a good way.  She's questioning things that everyone else has just accepted, all to honor her Mother's legacy.  The revelation of what really happened was believable, heartbreaking and freaked me out, all at once!  I won't say anymore cause I don't want to ruin the progression of the mystery as it unfolds, but it won't be at all what you're expecting.  

     The sideline story with the 'lost' treasure fit into the plot nicely and gave more action to the story that wouldn't have been there otherwise.   My favorite relationships in this book though weren't the romantic ones.  I loved the interactions between Beulah (the housekeeper) and Verity, they were so entertaining as they battled for kitchen control!  I also liked how easily and happily she interacted with Nate's older sisters, who welcomed her with open arms.  But the sweetest relationship for me was the awkward, but loving one between Verity and her Father, who has no idea how to really connect with his almost grown daughter.  Their connection and it's gentle awkwardness was sweet and convincing.  I liked that Salerni didn't make them get along and be super close automatically.  It's a very true-to-life relationship, which I appreciate as a reader.  I did like the fact that the author got the idea for the caged graves from real life, it made the mystery that much more interesting and her attention to historical detail and accuracy made me super happy.  Overall this was different from any book that I've read recently, especially my other historical fiction reads.  I truly enjoyed it, the book was well written and engaging with only some minor flaws that barely proved a distraction.  I'd highly recommend it.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published on May 14th, 2013.*

Little Women, India Style

Published:  September 6th, 2012
Little Women In India
By: Jane Nardin
New Dawn Publishers, Ltd
ISBN-13: 9781908462077

In Jane Nardin’s debut novel, we have a lively and witty updating and reimagining of Alcott’s classic, interspersing the standard Victorian female preoccupations of housekeeping and husband-hunting with less usual activities such as escaping mutineers and learning how to make charcoal. Nardin’s Little Women are more than Alcott’s pilgrims in progress; they are recognizably modern. . . . Readers will find this an interesting, well-paced novel with likeable and energetic characters.

Susan Ang, author of The Master of the Rings: Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien and The Widening World of Children’s Literature

Nowadays, Abe Lincoln fights vampires and Mr. Darcy is the least of Elizabeth Bennet’s problems, what with zombies and all. Could Little Women in India compete with that? Absolutely! It's fun, insightful and crammed with illuminating information. These sisters live a frugal life, with romance and a growing social consciousness, in colonial India--19th century Little Women with 21st century values.

Review

 

     Imagine what the classic book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott would be like, if instead of being set in America, was set in India during Victorian times and British occupation?  Also what if the sisters' ages were switched around a little bit?  Throw in an uprising of the impoverished people of India, and you have Nardin's novel.  It was extremely interesting to me to read this, and compare it to the original novel.  Being British and having grown up in India DID alter the personalities of the once-familiar May (a.k.a March) girls quite a bit.  Catherine (Jo) is the oldest, then comes Jane (Meg), Elizabeth (Amy) and Fanny (Beth).  Once I had figured out who was who, I spent the majority of the novel watching them grow and change, into less selfish and more socially concious individuals.  They all began to think of more than husband hunting when the rebellion broke out and they were forced to flee to a poverty stricken village to hide from the rebels (who were skewering any English, including women and children).  I went into this book not knowing much about the politics of India in the late 1800s and I was given quite the education, in a very enjoyable way.  It did seem to take about a third of the book before the action picked up, but once it did it was constant and thrilling.  The one thing that confused me very much throughout the book, was the humor.  I felt like Nardin was poking fun at the original characters from Alcott's novel and as a result made hers into something of a caricature.  It gave me a struggle when I tried relating to them, or even liking them at all.  I did appreciate the self-righteousness of the original book when it was sneakily pointed out, but it did take something from her re-telling that to me was crucial.  But because of how absolutely well done the setting, history and descriptions were, I found myself ignoring the characters' more stupid moments.  All in all and enjoyable book and I would recommend to both fans and detractors of the original work! :)

 

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published on September 6th, 2012.*