A Daring Book Challenge

Yet another one! Callista is hosting A Daring Book Challenge based on booklists at the end of The Daring Book for Girls (which I still have to read!)

I'm choosing Track 1 - Read one book from each category from June 15/08 to February 15/09.

Here they are:

1. Girl Classics: Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery

2. Other Favorites: The Hoboken Chicken Emergency by Daniel Pinkwater

3. Sci Fi and Fantasy: The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain, book 1) by Lloyd Alexander

4. Girl and Her Horse: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

5. Fairy Tales: Beauty by Robin McKinley

6. Girl Detective: The Secret of the Mansion (Trixie Belden series) by Julie Campbell

Review: Persepolis

Persepolis: the story of a childhood by Marjane Satrapi
3 stars

Book description: Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's . . . memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

My thoughts: This was an interesting book. Graphic novels are not really my thing, but I found it an interesting way to combine history and autobiography into a story. Graphic novel memoirs are all the rage these days and I think this one led the charge.

It was a bit of a jolt for me to realize that Satrapi is only 5 years older than I am, but thinking about it, of course the Islamic Revolution happened when I was a little kid - it's not ancient history at all. And I actually wrote a research paper on the Islamic Revolution in high school, so I had a bit of interest in the subject and I learned more. For example, I wasn't familiar with the history of the Shah, how he was son of a soldier who wanted to overthrow the emperor and create a republic. I had thought he was a traditional king, "chosen by God" - as Marjane is taught in school.

I enjoyed the parts about her trying to be a "normal" teenager - wanting to wear jeans and listen to pop music. She seems to have been very fortunate that her parents were so progressive (my favourite part was them smuggling in Kim Wilde and Iron Maiden posters from Turkey for her) and that they were able to see far enough ahead to realize the best thing was to send her to Europe.

The stories that make up this book range from informative to funny to heartbreaking. Satrapi comes off as a very smart child who took to different doctrines - religious or political - with great zeal. Apart from the teenager-hood stuff, I found her rather hard to relate to.

While I don't necessarily agree with the uber-superlative reviews given to Persepolis by people like Philip Pullman and Gloria Steinem, I can see how this is an important book and I found it interesting, if not really my thing.


Other reviews:
Somer at SomeReads
Bethany at B&b Ex libris

(If you've reviewed this book, feel free to leave a comment and I'll add you to the list.)

Review: Mudbound

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
5 stars

Reasons for reading: Southern Challenge II; book club

First line: "Henry and I dug the hole seven feet deep."

From the inside flap: "When Henry McAllan moves his city-bred wife, Laura, to a cotton farm in the Mississippi Delta in 1946, she finds herself in a place both foreign and frightening. Laura does not share Henry's love of rural life, and she struggles to raise their two young children in an isolated shotgun shack with no indoor plumbing or electricity, all the while under the eye of her hateful, racist father-in-law. When it rains, the waters rise up and swallow the bridge to town, stranding the family in a sea of mud.

As the McAllans are being tested in every way, two celebrated soldiers of World War II return home to help work the farm. Jamie McAllan is everything his older brother Henry is not: charming, handsome, and sensitive to Laura's plight, but also haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, comes home from fighting the Nazis with the shine of a war hero, only to face far more personal—and dangerous—battles against the ingrained bigotry of his own countrymen. It is the unlikely friendship of these two brothers-in-arms, and the passions they arouse in others, that drive this powerful debut novel. Mudbound reveals how everyone becomes a player in a tragedy on the grandest scale, even as they strive for love and honor."

My thoughts: The word to describe this book is gripping! It kept me up past 1:30 in the morning. For some reason I was often reminded of East of Eden, probably because of the two brothers, the terrible father, and the farm.

This book made me feel things physically. The first descriptions of the way blacks were treated in the Jim Crow South made me feel hollow inside and when they got much, much worse, I actually felt sick. When the worse, worse thing happened, my hand flew to my mouth, which is exactly what happens to Laura when she hears about it. I felt heartbroken for Laura, first when she felt like a rejected spinster and then when she had to move to the horrible farm (Jordan really makes you see and feel and smell the oozing, everywhere mud) and then I felt anger at Henry that he made his wife and children live that way. I felt Laura's hatred of the racist, chauvinistic, just plain mean Pappy, too.

The story is told from many points of view (Henry, Laura, Jamie, Ronsel, and his parents), which in the hand of a less talented author could be confusing and annoying, but every one of them has their own distinct personality and take on things. It also really lends itself to the theme of where a story begins and what could have been - the "ifs" of life. Laura points out early on that "Even if you start with "Chapter One: I Am Born," you still have the problem of antecedents, of cause and effect." For example, the McCallans and the Jacksons probably never would have met if For example, the terrible events that happen at the end of the story can be traced all the way back to plain Laura still being single in 30's and marrying Henry, who was still a bachelor in his 40's and was desperate to own a farm.

Oh....I can't do it justice!! Read this excellent book and see for yourself!

(Or check out my pal Vidalia's much better review here.)

Review: Till the Cows Come Home

Till the Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens
3.5 stars

Reasons for reading: Holiday Challenge - June is Dairy Month; Mysteries list for Triple 8 Challenge

Book description: "Stella Crown works hard and loves her life. She runs her own dairy farm with the trusted help of longtime assistant Howie, rides her Harley on the weekends, and has enough friends to suit her just fine. But on her twenty-ninth birthday, things start to change. A neighborhood child dies from a strange and threatening illness, a string of mysterious disasters place Stella and her farm in peril, not to mention her friend Abe showing up with a new woman on his arm, creating confusing emotions all around. Electrical outages, flooded barns, and cows running loose in the countryside are bad enough, but when her livestock begins turning up dead, Stella knows someone, or something, is out to get her.Though doctors quickly announce the discovery of the neighbor child's cause of death, another child dies before they can declare victory over the illness, sending the community into a state of near panic. While trying to solve the mystery behind her own troubles, Stella begins to think she alone might hold the answers to the children's deaths. Striking out on her own, afraid to trust anyone -- friends, neighbors, or the gorgeous stranger she's fallen for -- Stella must find her enemy before anyone else, including herself, ends up dead."

My thoughts: This was a very intriguing mystery - the crimes ranged from fairly petty to heinous and just when it seemed like the culprit had been found, something else popped up. I can see why it was nominated for the Anthony and Agatha awards.

Stella Crown is a great heroine - dairy farmer, biker, fiercely loyal to her adopted family and her farm, but lonely and vulnerable under her tough exterior. I love her tattoos - a cow skull on her neck and To Thine Own Self Be True on her arm - the combination really sums Stella up.

Stella was orphaned as a teenager, but she's fortunate to have an extended family in the Grangers - a large clan of sons and their Ma who treat Stella as one of their own. And she has Howie, her farmhand who has been on the farm since she was born. Their relationship is a special one - beneath their gruff exteriors, they love each other, though they're not very good at showing it. The title is actually something he says often to Stella (or rather "Princess" - which seems to be only a partly sarcastic nickname) - that's how long he'll be with her to help run the farm.

Two of my favourite places to visit are big on dairy - Washington (WA's Dairy Women make the best state fair ice cream sandwiches ever) and Minnesota (where the dairy princess gets her likeness carved in butter), so I was interested in the dairy farm setting. I couldn't quite imagine what type of crime was going to take place there, it seems like it would be a pretty untroubled location. Little did I know!

There are some very welcome funny parts, too - most of them involve cow urine or excrement, unsurprisingly. I think my favourite scene is the one where Stella takes her biker friends, in full leather gear, to intimidate the person she thought was responsible for sabatoging her farm.

There are several sequels and I think I'll check them out - unlike the cozy mysteries I've been reading of late, everything isn't all tidy at the end. The mysteries are solved, but Stella's life is basically in the manure lagoon. I hope things turn around for her in both the farming and the romance departments.

Get to know Stella and her farm - you won't be disappointed.

Happy Blogiversary, Valentina!

Valentina's blog is one year old and to celebrate, she's offering us presents! How nice is that?? 3 lucky folks will receive a copy of a book she's reviewed during her bloggin' year. Head to her blog to see the details.

Review: Cease to Blush

Cease to Blush by Billie Livingston
4 stars

Reasons for reading: saw a good review for it somewhere; New-To-Me Authors list for Triple 8 Challenge

From the publisher: "Vivian is late to her own mother’s funeral. Wearing a skintight lipstick-red suit, Vivian stands out like a pornographer’s dream amongst the raven collection of West Coast intellectuals mourning the untimely death of the famous feminist Josie Callwood ... When she opens a trunk in her mother’s basement, Vivian discovers that Josie wasn’t who she seemed – and that she had a flaming sexual past more exotic than anything Vivian has been able to pull off. Chasing the lies her mother told her, Vivian sets off on a road trip in which memory, reality and imagination collide to recreate the kaleidoscope world of America in the sixties. In disbelief and dawning admiration, she follows her mother’s trail through the Vegas nexus where movie stars, pop singers, strippers, politicians and the mob mingled, where the Rat Pack ruled and girls were arm and eye candy. As she uncovers her mother’s true story, Vivian ends up confronting her own sexual lies and spiritual evasions. Billie Livingston’s fine novel leads us to consider the nature of our hidden desires – and to question whether the sky would really fall if we admitted our true needs and ceased to blush."

First line: "As we pulled up to the curb I could see them a little ways off, gathered around the grave like long black shadows."

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. Don't be put off by the ugly, typically Canadian cover (there's a nicer green one with showgirl's legs). I feel bad to admit it, but this high praise went through my mind at one point - "This is so interesting - it doesn't seem like a Canadian book!" I know, I'm a terrible Canadian, but I find most CanLit so dreary. In my book club it's gotten to be a cliche - pretty much every Canadian book we read either has at least one rape (if not several) or at least a dog getting killed. It's like it's not acceptable for Canadians to write a non-depressing book, one that isn't bleak or all about the vast, inhospitable landscape.

Cease to Blush wasn't shiny-happy, but it had a fascinating amount of detail about the Rat Pack, the Kennedys, and the 60's. I've always been intrigued by the 60's (and the Rat Pack) and this book made me want to learn much more. Vivian slowly uncovers the truth about her mother by finding people who knew her, in particular her former roommate, stripper Annie West, who has a bunch of letters that Josie (who went by Celia Dare) wrote her in the 60's. Vivian fills in the blanks in her imagination, writing out detailed versions of what she thinks happened. These revelations are interspersed with snippets of 60's history (sometimes just paragraphs of key words), which Vivian voraciously researches at the same time.

Vivian's life, which wasn't all that together while her mom was alive, goes completely off the rails with Josie's death (and with the help of Vivian's would-be Internet porn mogul boyfriend, Frank). Vivian has to learn the truth about her mother in order to come back to her true self. I actually found the title a bit ironic - to me it seems that Vivian comes back to herself once she does learn to blush a bit, or at least to accept that she doesn't have to be the ultimate f***able woman that her boyfriend and casting agents say she should be.

A very interesting and entertaining book.

Review: Princess Academy

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
3.5 stars

Reasons for reading: Have heard great things about Hale's YA books; Young Adult Challenge

Book description: "Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates."

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would at first. It's actually a great fairy tale. At first I thought it was going to get too fantasy-ish for me, when Miri was trying to learn the mysterious "quarry-speech" but it turned out to be just magical enough without going overboard. Miri is just the kind of girl you want in a story like this - spunky, clever and braver than she realizes. And it's not just a simple. Among other things, it explores family relationships, social class, secrets, the value of education and, in particular, the longing to belong.

The mountain setting, the goats, the feisty girl, and the boy named Peder (close enough!) reminded me of Heidi. It had that feel, of a story from another time. And it wasn't as "princessy" as I'd thought - I think even boys would like it (if they could get past the title and the girl on the cover) - with the quarrying, the bandits, and the rats, there's something for everyone!