The Angel's Game

by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, translated by Lucia Graves
4 Stars
Setting: Barcelona, Spain
531 pages
Published 2005

Ellie's Review
This was a surprisingly good book! I really enjoyed the writing - the language is beautiful and Zafon is simply talented. Graves did a wonderful job translating the novel from Spanish.  On top of that, the plot is really, really good. It's nicely dark and twisted but nothing to give me nightmares.


Book Summary
In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city’s underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner.

See Ellie's Review of Zafon's novel The Shadow of the Wind.

Eragon (Inheritance #1)

by Christopher Paolini
4 Stars
Young Adult, Fantasy
503 pages
Published 2005

Ellie's Review
Eragon is a fun and exciting fantasy book including magic and dragons. Even though this is for young adults, the plot was complex enough to keep my interest. This is a very creative book and I was excited to read the others in the series.  However, the second book, Eldest, just did not hold my interest.  I saw the movie Eragon after reading this book and was disappointed at how cheesy the film was - the book is a lot better.

Book Summary
When young Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his adopted family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of inescapable destiny, magical forces, and powerful people. With only an ancient sword and the instruction of an old, mysterious, hermit storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a Emperor whose evil and power knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands….

Author Information
Christopher Paolini was raised in the Paradise Valley, Montana area. Home schooled for the duration of his education, Paolini graduated from high school at the age of 15 through a set of accredited correspondence courses. Following graduation, he started his work on what would become the novel Eragon the first of a series, set in the mythical land of Alagaësia.

In 2002, Eragon was published by Paolini International LLC, Paolini's parents' company. Paolini created the cover art for the first edition of Eragon, which featured Saphira's eye. He also drew the maps on the inside covers of his books.

In Summer 2002, the stepson of author Carl Hiaasen found Eragon in a bookstore and loved it, and Hiaasen brought it to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. Knopf subsequently made an offer to publish Eragon and the rest of the Inheritance cycle.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith
3 Stars
Classic, Historical Fiction
493 pages
Published 1943

Ellie's Review
I learned a lot about the early 1900s in Brooklyn and what struggles families encountered, so I'm really glad I read this book. However, I felt that while the subplots painted a fuller picture of the time, they were too numerous and meandering.

Book Summary
The beloved American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a poignant and moving tale filled with compassion and cruelty, laughter and heartache, crowded with life and people and incident. The story of young, sensitive, and idealistic Francie Nolan and her bittersweet formative years in the slums of Williamsburg has enchanted and inspired millions of readers for more than sixty years. By turns overwhelming, sublime, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolans are raw with honesty and tenderly threaded with family connectedness -- in a work of literary art that brilliantly captures a unique time and place as well as incredibly rich moments of universal experience.

Best Friends Forever

by Jennifer Weiner
3 stars
Setting: USA
368 pages
Published 2009

Ellie's Review
This is a nice, chick-lit novel that is great for when you don't want to think too hard.  It's a great book to read at the beach.

Book Summary
Addie Downs and Valerie Adler will be best friends forever. That's what Addie believes after Valerie moves across the street when they're both nine years old. But in the wake of betrayal during their teenage years, Val is swept into the popular crowd, while mousy, sullen Addie becomes her school's scapegoat.
Flash-forward fifteen years. Valerie Adler has found a measure of fame and fortune working as the weathergirl at the local TV station. Addie Downs lives alone in her parents' house in their small hometown of Pleasant Ridge, Illinois, caring for a troubled brother and trying to meet Prince Charming on the Internet. She's just returned from Bad Date #6 when she opens her door to find her long-gone best friend standing there, a terrified look on her face and blood on the sleeve of her coat. "Something horrible has happened," Val tells Addie, "and you're the only one who can help."

The 101 Dalmatians

by Dodie Smith
4 Stars
Children's, Classic
Setting: England
184 pages
Published 1956

Ellie's Review
The 101 Dalmatians is a splendid story from dogs' perspective.  Even though I pretty much have the Disney movie memorized, this plot had enough differences to keep my attention. It's very witty and enjoyable especially if you fancy dogs.

Book Summary
Pongo and Perdita have a litter of 15 dalmatian puppies. Cruella De Vil takes a fancy to the puppies and tries to buy them from their human owners, Roger and Anita. Cruella wants to get ahold of those puppies, as well as more puppies, to make herself a lovely dalmatian skin coat. Cruella hires some thugs to kidnap the puppies and hold them at an abandoned mansion. Now Pongo and Perdita must use an animal communication system to help find all the puppies.

See Ellie's review of I Capture the Castle, also by Dodie Smith.

Cry, the Beloved Country

by Alan Paton
5 Stars
Setting: South Africa
320 pages
Published 1944

Ellie's Review
I think this is my favorite novel I've read lately! This is a wonderful story that is beautifully written. The themes are universal, yet I also learned so much about South Africa. I listened to the audiobook, and the lady performing it has a beautiful voice and made the African words come alive (if I read it, I'm afraid I would have skipped over the foreign words and not heard their beauty).

Book Summary
Cry, the Beloved Country stands as a singularly important novel in twentieth-century South African literature. A work of searing beauty, Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set against the background of South Africa and a people driven by racial injustice. Unforgettable for character and incident, it is a novel of love and hope, courage and endurance, born of the dignity of man.

The Giver (The Giver #1)

by Lois Lowry
4 Stars
Young Adult, Science Fiction
304 pages
Published 1993

Ellie's Review
Wow, I really liked this book. I was surprised by how deep it was since it's a juvenile novel. This will have me thinking for a while.

Book Summary
In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be.

Newbery Medal Award 1994

Bel Canto

by Ann Patchett
4 Stars
Setting: South America
318 pages
Published 2001

Ellie's Review
While I felt it dragged a bit about 1/3 through the book, when I finished it I was actually sad it was over. In all, I really enjoyed it. Patchett spun an interesting tale about various individuals being thrown together in a high stress environment.

Book Summary
Somewhere in South America at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of terrorists breaks in, taking the entire party hostage.

Washington Square

by Henry James
4 Stars
Classic, Historical Fiction
Setting: New York
240 pages
Published 1880

Ellie's Review
I really liked this book and look forward to reading other Henry James works (this was my first read). He's a male Jane Austen.

Book Summary
The shy and sweet daughter of a well-to-do physician, Catherine Sloper seems destined for lifelong spinsterhood until the sudden appearance of a dashing suitor who proposes marriage. Her adored father suspects the would-be fiance of fortune-hunting and threatens her with disinheritance, forcing Catherine to choose between lover and father.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

by Katherine Howe
4 Stars
Historical Fiction, Witches
Setting: Massachusetts
371 pages
Published 2009

Ellie's Review
This is a captivating modern-day novel that flashes back to the Salem witch trials. Were those charged really innocent? If you enjoy historical fiction surrounding the Salem witch trials, I think you would like this book as it has a bit of a different twist on what happened.

Book Summary
Interweaving two narratives, one set in 1991 and one set three centuries earlier, Katherine Howe's debut novel is a marvel of invention and historical reconstruction. The author employs her training as a historian to vividly depict the realities of 17th-century Salem, dramatizing the plight of the unfortunate victims as they fall prey to the mania of their accusers. But it is the leap of imagination by which she connects Connie to to that distant past that turns The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane into a bewitching reading experience.

Stardust

by Neil Gaiman
4 stars
Fantasy
250 pages
Published 1999

Ellie's Review
Great story! Even though I saw the movie a couple years ago, I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook, which was actually read by Neil Gaiman - his British accent and pronunciation of all the funky names added a lovely dimension to the story. Stardust was a fun way to get into the Halloween mood.

Book Summary
Stardust is an utterly charming fairy tale in the tradition of The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story. Neil Gaiman, creator of the darkly elegant Sandman comics and author of The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, tells the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. One fateful night, Tristran promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the Wall that stands between their rural English town (called, appropriately, Wall) and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted flea market that is held every nine years (and during which, unbeknownst to him, Tristran was conceived). But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love. His adventures in the magical land will keep you turning pages as fast as you can--he and the star escape evil old witches, deadly clutching trees, goblin press-gangs, and the scheming sons of the dead Lord of Stormhold. The story is by turns thrillingly scary and very funny. You'll love goofy, earnest Tristran and the talking animals, gnomes, magic trees, and other irresistible denizens of Faerie that he encounters in his travels. Stardust is a perfect read-aloud book, a brand-new fairy tale you'll want to share with a kid, or maybe hoard for yourself. (If you read it to kids, watch out for a couple of spicy sex bits and one epithet.) --Therese Littleton

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
4 Stars
Historical Fiction, WWII
Setting: Guernsey
274 pages
Published 2008

Ellie's Review
This was a delightful read - the authors did a great job with creating a novel solely from letters amongst the characters. I learned new things about what Europe went through in World War II.

Book Summary
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

Authors' Information
Mary Ann Shaffer worked as an editor, a librarian, and in bookshops. Her life-long dream was to someday write her own book and publish it. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was her first novel. Unfortunately, she became very ill with cancer and so she asked her niece, Annie Barrows, the author of the children’s series Ivy and Bean, as well as The Magic Half, to help her finish the book. Mary Ann Shaffer died in February 2008, a few months before her first novel was published.

Shanghai Girls

by Lisa See
4 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: China, California
309 pages
Published 2009

Ellie's Review
Shanghai Girls had a great plot mixed with interesting Chinese traditions and history. I learned a lot while being hooked on the story. This is my favorite Chinese historical fiction book I've read so far!

Book Summary
In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.

Bitter is the New Black

by Jen Lancaster
3 stars
Nonfiction: Memoir
Setting: Chicago
398 pages
Published 2006

Ellie's Review
Jen Lancaster is a really great writer! I almost gave this 4 stars. It is very entertaining, and she did a great job of poking fun at herself.

Book Summary
This is the smart-mouthed, soul-searching story of a woman trying to figure out what happens next when she's gone from six figures to unemployment checks and she stops to reconsider some of the less-than-rosy attitudes and values she thought she'd never have to answer for when times were good.

Inkheart (Inkheart #1)

by Cornelia Funke
3 stars
Children's, Fantasy
Setting: Italy
548 pages
Published 2003

Ellie's Review
I was excited about the book in the beginning and the middle, but by the end I was ready for my next book. It was nice, but I don't think I'll read the others in the trilogy.

Book Summary
Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Friday Night Knitting Club (Friday Night Knitting Club #1)

by Kate Jacobs
3 stars
Setting: New York
352 pages
Published 2007

Ellie's Review
Nice chick lit. For some reason, I had a hard time getting really excited about the book or characters - I'm not sure why. This wasn't a page-turner for me but was nice. I won't be reading the sequel.

Book Summary
Walker and Daughter is Georgia Walker's little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club was started by some of Georgia's regulars, who gather once a week to work on their latest projects and to chat-and occasionally clash-over their stories of love, life, and everything in between.

The Help

by Kathryn Stockett
5 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: Mississippi
451 pages
Published 2009

Ellie's Review
This is a great novel set in Mississippi during segregation; the three narrators (two black maids and a white young lady) give a neat perspective of that time and place. I came away from it knowing I need to not judge people so quickly as I never know what they're going through or who they really are. I also had a sense of pride that some people will speak up against something they know is wrong even when the consequences can be very dreadful. While this book did have some very serious themes, quite a few light-hearted stories were threaded through.

Book Summary
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

Fablehaven (Fablehaven #1)

by Brandon Mull
4 stars
Young Adult, Fantasy
Setting: USA
351 pages
Published 2006

Ellie's Review
I'm excited about this series! For most of the book I wasn't too fond of one particular character (so I liked this less than Artemis Fowl or Harry Potter), but I really liked the ending so it's up to 4 stars. This is a young adult fantasy, complete with fairies and other mystical creatures.

Book Summary
For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite. Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken — Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good — powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.

Bridget Jones's Diary (Bridget Jones #1)

by Helen Fielding
5 star
Setting: UK
271 pages
Published 1996

Ellie's Review
I laughed out loud so much in this book! This is a great fluffy, chick book, but I liked the heroine better than I did in the Shopaholic series. I could definitely relate to Bridget in so many of her ideas and wacky situations. I love the parallels to Pride and Prejudice throughout.

Book Summary
Helen Fielding's devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton launched a genre and transcended the pages of fiction to become a cultural icon.

The Glass Castle

by Jeannette Walls
4 stars
Nonfiction: Memoir
Setting: USA
288 pages
Published 2005

Ellie's Review
Wow, this is a crazy memoir. I couldn't put this book down! It makes me look at families and people a bit differently now. I especially liked the insight gained about some homeless people.

Book Summary
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Emma

by Jane Austen
4 stars
Classic, Historical Fiction
Setting: England
474 pages
Published 1815

Ellie's Review
Emma is a great read, but I think Pride and Prejudice is still my favorite Austen. This did have wonderful character development.

Book Summary
Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.

My Sister's Keeper

by Jodi Picoult
4 stars
Setting: USA
448 pages
Published 2004

Ellie's Review
This book was really enjoyable - I liked all the characters and the subplots. I had expected an insanely deep book but was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was to read. Of course, the main plot was very deep but I didn't find it depressing. Unfortunately, Picoult used an insurance story in the beginning that I'd heard tons of time since I used to work in insurance - it's a cliche for me, and I didn't like that she used it. I definitely want to read some of her other books!

Book Summary
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate -- a life and a role that she has never challenged...until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister -- and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

The Uncommon Reader

by Alan Bennett
3 stars
Setting: England
120 pages
Published 2007

Ellie's Review
This is a very quick and easy read that's also humorous. It's a cute plot about the Queen of England getting hooked on reading.

Book Summary
The eponymous reader of Alan Bennett's good-natured novella is none other than England's own Queen Elizabeth, who pursues her incorrigible corgis into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, discovers the world of serious literature, and forsakes her duties for the pleasures of obsessive reading. Guided by a former kitchen employee, Her Majesty dives headlong into the works of Thomas Hardy, Marcel Proust, Nancy Mitford, and other literary icons -- while distressed advisers, fearing a constitutional crisis, scheme to divert her from her newfound passion.

The Heretic's Daughter

by Kathleen Kent
4 stars
Historical Fiction, Witches
Setting: Salem, Massachusetts
332 pages
Published 2008

Ellie's Review
The Heretic's Daughter is a great historical fiction book about the Salem Witch trials. It grabbed me from the beginning, especially since the author is a descendant of the characters. However, the ending was sad. Of course, I knew it would be, but I kind of like happy endings.

Book Summary
Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived.

Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.

A Painted House

by John Grisham
3 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: Arkansas
384 pages
Published 2000

Ellie's Review
Not Grisham's normal law suspense book, this book was different and good. It's an easy, meandering book that's a nice read but not one that is a page-turner.

Book SummaryUntil that September of 1952, Luke Chandler had never kept a secret or told a single lie. But in the long, hot summer of his seventh year, two groups of migrant workers — and two very dangerous men — came through the Arkansas Delta to work the Chandler cotton farm. And suddenly mysteries are flooding Luke’s world.

March

by Geraldine Brooks
4 stars
Historical Fiction, US Civil War
Setting: USA
304 pages
Published 2005

Ellie's Review
I loved the writing and the plot was very interesting. However, some scenes describing the treatment of slaves were hard for me to read. If you enjoyed Little Women, I think you'd like this story of the March father while he's away from his family.


Book Summary
An extraordinary novel woven out of the lore of American history-by the author of the international bestseller Year of Wonders.  From Louisa May Alcott's beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has animated the character of the absent father, March, and crafted a story "filled with the ache of love and marriage and with the power of war upon the mind and heart of one unforgettable man" (Sue Monk Kidd). With "pitch-perfect writing" (USA Today), Brooks follows March as he leaves behind his family to aid the Union cause in the Civil War. His experiences will utterly change his marriage and challenge his most ardently held beliefs. A lushly written, wholly original tale steeped in the details of another time, March secures Geraldine Brooks's place as a renowned author of historical fiction.

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2006

Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen
3 stars
Classic, Historical Fiction
Setting: England
409 pages
Published 1811

Ellie's Review
I enjoyed this book, but it's not my favorite Jane Austen. Since I wasn't a big fan of one of the male characters, I wasn't too excited about a female character falling in love with him. Other than that, the contrast between the two sisters was really interesting. This made for a good book club discussion.

Book SummaryMarianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens
4 stars
Children's, Classic, Fantasy
Setting: England
86 pages
Published 1843

Ellie's Review
I have seen the play many times but enjoyed the book even more! If you can find an illustrated copy, read that version. This was a help to get me into the Christmas Spirit.

Book Summary
A miser learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.

The Good Earth (House of Earth #1)

by Pearl S. Buck
4 Stars
Classic, Historical Fiction
Setting: China
385 pages
Published 1931

Ellie's Review
After the initial 100 pages, I was hooked on this book and really enjoyed it. I'm glad I read this as it's a classic, but I'm sad I wasn't able to attend my book club's discussion as this has a lot to talk about. I haven't read the other books in the series.

Book Summary
Wang Lung, rising from humble Chinese farmer to wealthy landowner, gloried in the soil he worked. He held it above his family, even above his gods. But soon, between Wang Lung and the kindly soil that sustained him, came flood and drought, pestilence and revolution....
Through this one Chinese peasant and his children, Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life, its terrors, its passion, its persistent ambitions and its rewards. Her brilliant novel, beloved by millions of readers throughout the world, is a universal tale of the destiny of men.

Pulitzer Prize for Novel 1932

Tuesdays with Morrie

by Mitch Albom
3 Stars
Nonfiction: Memoir
Setting: USA
212 pages
Published 1997

Ellie's ReviewI liked this book, but I was expecting to be blown away due to the rave reviews I've always hear.  This held some good wisdom from a dying man to a young man, but it wasn't spectacular.

Book SummaryMaybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly 20 years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - Morrie visited Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live. This is a chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.

Holes (Holes #1)

by Louis Sachar
3 Stars
Children's
272 pages
Published 1998

Ellie's Review
Holes is a fun juvenile book to read - I saw the movie quite a while ago and liked it too. This has some good messages on crime and punishment and racism. I loved the Sideways Stories from Wayside School series also by Louis Sachar when I was younger.

Book Summary
Stanley Yelnats is unjustly sent to Camp Green Lake where he and other boys are sentenced to dig holes to build character. Stanley learns the warden has them digging holes for something else- but what?

Winner of the Newbery Medal 1999

The Alchemist

by Paulo Coelho
4 Stars
Setting: Spain, Egypt
167 pages
Published 1988

Ellie's Review
The Alchemist is a quick read with some powerful messages that I think everyone would like (even my dad liked it). This was my second time reading it, and I learned different things than before. From this read, I'm trying to live in and enjoy the present rather than living in the future or past.

Book Summary
This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom points Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find wordly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transformation power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

Rebecca

by Daphne du Maurier
5 Stars
Classic
Setting: England
441 pages
Published 1938

Ellie's Review
I absolutely love this book! It reminded me of Jane Eyre since it's a romantic suspense novel set in the past.

Book Summary
Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Life begins to look very bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Maxim de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding Mrs Danvers.

The Pilot's Wife

by Anita Shreve
3 stars
Setting: USA
292 pages
Published 1998

Ellie's Review
Good book - I like the author's style. This is not amazing, but it's a good read.

Book Summary
News of Jack Lyons's fatal crash sends his wife into shock and emotional numbness. The situation becomes even more dire when the plane's black box is recovered, pinning responsibility for the crash on Jack. In an attempt to clear his name, Kathryn searches for any and all clues to the hours before the flight. Yet each discovery forces her to realise that she didn't know her husband of 16 years at all. Shreve's complex and highly convincing treatment of Kathryn's dilemma, coupled with intriguing minor characters and an expertly paced plot, makes The Pilot's Wife really takes off.

The Red Tent

by Anita Diamant
3 stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: Middle East
336 pages
Published 1997

Ellie's Review
I liked the book, but it took a while to get into. This was a good read for book club as we had a lot to discuss, but I thought the author could have cut out a lot of the sexual stuff. I was interested by the possible other sides/explanation of some Old Testament verses that tell of some crazy stuff.

Book Summary
The Red Tent is the story of Jacob's daughter, Dinah, and Jacob's four wives, who all served as Dinah's mother at some point in time. Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah all bring their own unique gifts and influences to bear on Dinah's life. As Diamant explores the trials and triumphs of ancient women, she brings a foreign yet beautiful world to life as seen through the emotional filter of Dinah's eyes. This lush, evocative tale transcends time and brings new life to the Old Testament, lending a feminine touch to the mighty word of God.

Night (Night #1)

by Elie Wiesel, translated by Marion Wiesel
5 Stars
Nonfiction: Memoir
Classic, WWII, Jewish
Setting: Germany
120 pages
Published 1958

Ellie's Review
Wow, this is an incredible account of Elie Wiesel's time in concentration camps as a teenager. It's a must read. I haven't read the other books in his series (Dawn and Day), but I should.

Book SummaryA terrifying account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an agonized witness to the death of his family...the death of his innocence...and the death of his God. Penetrating and powerful, as personal as The Diary Of Anne Frank, Night awakens the shocking memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again.

Hope's Boy

by Andrew Bridge
5 Stars
Nonfiction: Memoir
Setting: USA
320 pages
Published 2008

Ellie's Review
Wow, this book really opened my eyes to the foster care system. This memoir takes you through Andy's experience and is very open and honest. In the last few years I've been reading books about bad things that occur in other countries (Iran, Afghanistan), but this opened my eyes to bad things happening here in the US. Andy is a great author.

Book Summary
From a disastrous decade in foster care to Harvard Law School and beyond: this is the profoundly moving memoir of one boy who beat the system.

Eat, Pray, Love

by Elizabeth Gilbert
4 stars
Nonfiction: Memoir
Setting: USA, Italy, India, Indonesia
334 pages
Published 2007

Ellie's Review
Elizabeth Gilbert needed a break from life after a divorce, so she traveled in search of herself. This is a good read about a woman's search for pleasure (eating in Italy), spirituality (meditating in India), and a balance between the two (loving herself and others in Indonesia). It'll make you want to eat gelato, meditate, and hang out with medicine men. You don't have to agree with Gilbert's way of dealing with her divorce, but reading about her year abroad is quite interesting.

Book SummaryIn her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want--husband, country home, successful career--but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence.

P.S. I Love You

by Cecelia Ahern
4 Stars
Setting: Ireland
512 pages
Published 2004

Ellie's Review
I haven't seen the movie based on this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It's definitely chick-lit. Luckily, this wasn't as depressing as I thought it might be.

Book Summary
Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed.

Floating in My Mother's Palm

by Ursula Hegi
4 Stars
Setting: Germany
192 pages
Published 1990

Ellie's Review
This is an interesting book about a girl growing up in Germany post-war. It's more like a collection of short stories of people in the town than a novel with a continuous plot.

Book Summary
Floating in My Mother's Palm is the compelling and mystical story of Hanna Malter, a young girl growing up in 1950's Burgdorf, the small German town Ursula Hegi so brilliantly brought to life in her bestselling novel Stones from the River. Hanna's courageous voice evokes her unconventional mother, who swims during thunderstorms; the illegitimate son of an American GI, who learns from Hanna about his father; and the librarian, Trudi Montag, who lets Hanna see her hometown from a dwarf's extraordinary point of view. Although Ursula Hegi wrote Floating in My Mother's Palm first, it can be read as a sequel to Stones from the River.

Wuthering Heights

by Emily Bronte
4 Stars
Classic, Historical Fiction
Setting: England
464 pages
Published 1847

Ellie's Review
This is a great classic to read as you'll then be in on inside jokes the pop up all over regarding the characters of this book. It's an interesting read but does not give you the "warm, fuzzy feeling" afterward though. You won't relate very much to any of the characters, hopefully (since they aren't very likeable).

Book Summary
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte's only novel, is one of the pinnacles of 19th-century English literature. It's the story of Heathcliff, an orphan who falls in love with a girl above his class, loses her, and devotes the rest of his life to wreaking revenge on her family.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini
5 Stars
Setting: Afghanistan
448 pages
Published 2007

Ellie's Review
This was a fascinating book that helped me understand Afghanistan a little better. I love how it shows that each culture, country, and religion has good and bad people. I am very thankful for my life and my husband!

Book Summary
A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years, from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding, that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives, the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness, are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1)

by Orson Scott Card
4 Stars
Young Adult, Science Fiction
324 pages
Published 1985

Ellie's Review
Normally I wouldn't touch science fiction book like this (it seems like something my brothers would have enjoyed more growing up), but I picked it up for a book club and really liked it! If you loved The Hunger Games you should look into this book. Interestingly enough, this book was an influence for Stephenie Meyers even though it has no vampires or werewolves.

Book Summary
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

by Lisa See
4 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: China
269 Pages
Published 2006

Ellie's Review
This was a really interesting book that delves into the practice of foot binding. I prefer Lisa See's novels to Amy Tan's, so if you haven't read anything from See you should if you're interested in Chinese culture.

Book Summary
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, or "old same," in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she has written a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. They both endure the agony of footbinding and together reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

The Other Boleyn Girl (The Tudor #2)

by Philippa Gregory
4 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: England664 Pages
Published in 2001

Ellie's ReviewThis is the historical fiction book about Anne Boleyn's sister, so of course you learn all about Anne's marriage to Henry VIII. It has a couple naughty sex scenes, so be warned. I'm glad I read this book before going to Scotland as it helped me picture what went on in some of the castles and great halls we visited. This is a page turner! I read this novel before any others in the series, which was fine as it stands by itself.

Book Summary
Two sisters compete for the greatest prize: the love of a king. When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands. A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years #1)

by Gregory Maguire
4 Stars
Fantasy
406 Pages
Published in 1995

Ellie's Review
I hold a special place in my heart for the Wicked Witch of the West since I portrayed her in my kindergarten play (unfortunately I wasn't allowed to paint myself green). Then from the front row I saw Wicked on Broadway with Idina Menzel and Joey MacIntyre. After seeing Wicked three additional times, it's still my favorite musical, and my dog is named Elphaba (Elphie for short).

Now that I have fully disclosed my prejudice, I can say that I really liked this book. It is very dark compared to the Broadway show Wicked, but very interesting. This is quite deep and looks at religion and politics, which is something the musical didn't really get into. I thought about it for a long time after reading it, which means the book influenced me in some way (always a good sign). History is always skewed, and each story has multiple versions. You'll definitely never look at The Wizard of Oz the same again! The book contains a couple perverse sex scenes, just to warn you. I'm not sure if I'll read the next book in the series Son of a Witch.

Book Summary
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? Gregory Maguire has created a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again.

I Capture the Castle

by Dodie Smith
5 Stars
Historical Fiction
Setting: England
352 Pages
Published in 1948

Ellie's Review
This is a wonderful romantic, chicklit book that is a bit like a more modern Pride & Prejudice. I love it every time I read it!

Book SummaryI Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. By the time she pens her final entry, she has "captured the castle"— and the heart of the reader— in one of literature's most enchanting entertainments.

Author InformationDodie Smith's most famous book was 101 Dalmatians.
Book Club Questions

• How might readers have responded differently to the novel at the time it was first published? Why does the novel continue to appeal to readers today as it did in 1948?
• Why do you think Dodie Smith chose the form of the diary to tell the story of Cassandra and the Mortmain family?
• Beyond a few spare descriptions, Smith tells us little about Mortmain’s novel. What do you imagine Jacob Wrestling to be about?
• A voracious reader, Cassandra compares her situation to that of the Bennets in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. How would you compare the situation of the Mortmain sisters to that of the Bennet sisters?
• Why does Mortmain encourage Cassandra to be “brisk” with Stephen? What does this book have to say about class in mid-twentieth century England?
• What is the meaning of the book’s title?
• What does the book say about English preconceptions of Americans and America and vice versa?
• How does the book reflect society’s changing views toward women during the first half of the 20^th century? How do the women in this novel view the roles and opportunities open to them both in the family and in the world at large differently?
• Over the course of the novel, Cassandra comes to seem less a child “with a green little hand” and more a young woman. How is I Capture the Castle a story of Cassandra’s coming of age?
• The description of Rose on page 1 says she is “very bitter with life.” If Cassandra were to write another journal, do you think she would describe herself this way now?
• Page 11 reads, “I think it worthy of note that I never felt happier in my life—despite sorrow for father, pity for Rose, embarrassment about Stephen’s poetry and no justification for hope as regards our family’s general outlook.” How has Cassandra changed by the end of the book? Will she be able to feel happy and content again?