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More prejudice... or not enough?

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Well, YA lit is very hit or miss, and this YA was not a hit for me. The central plot of Austen's Pride and Prejudice is simplified and the lesson is learned - first appearances can lead us to hasty judgements that time and perspective do not bear out. But how this connects with a 15 yo girl gaining acceptance with the in-crowd is a little less clear.
The characters were inconsistent- acting 13 one minute 28 the next. Do 15 year olds on a school trip to London really get told to do whatever they want for the first 2 days, and then buy things in designer stores? The historical errors were a distraction (a governess {=teacher} for a 3 year old? a servant happily takes an extra day off because a house guest tells her to? breakfast being served in an English Duke's house?). The character's internal dialogue was very believeable, but since it was an insecure 15 yo girl, it was kind of annoying.
The author might do better to adapt JA to her own setting- which according to the jacket is dairy farming and rural Washington state. Or perhaps an Editor suggested adding the inconsistent glamour, in which case, they should back off. Truth is I will read almost anything to do with Jane Austen, but it doesn't mean I will like it.

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Ado or not to Ado

Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan by Paula Marantz Cohen


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Although this was a good book, I couldn't really get a grip on the main plot line- the grandma suddenly recalls a past life where she was Shakespeare's girlfriend. It seemed much more to me about a woman planning a bat mizvah and dealing with other challenges in her family. I wondered often if some of the characters were meant to be major or minor, and if parts were meant to parallel Much Ado About Nothing (and if so who was which character) like in her Jane Austen in Boca and JA in Scarsdale.
But these were distractions from which was really a light read with some funny moments, and characters that I grew to like.

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Prime reading

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Really excellent. Written from the prespective of a 15 yo special needs boy, who has decided to investigate an neighborhood crime, this book perfectly balances story with point of view. With direct language, it moves through coping to self discovery, from challenge to personal strengths. An unusual novel, it offers a great change from everything else, a glimpse into a different kind of intelligence.

Summer means travel

Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
An excellent, slow paced journey with one woman as she fulfills her quest to row herself down the Nile. As a single woman acting in mostly Muslim Egypt, she faces resistence and challenges peoples' perpectives. A special delight was her meeting with a group of young women. I loved the reflection on other's writings about the Nile, esp Florence Nightingale.

Thanks Christine for this find.


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Remember high school?

Dedication by Emma McLaughlin

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was surprised at the layers of story and perspective in what I picked up as a light read. The characters are well developed. Although many parts of the story took place in high school, it managed to not rely on simple stereotypes and victims. Relationships between the characters are realistically developed over time.

In all, I felt the ending(s) didn't quite work for me, it dragged on a little bit, so I didn't give it more stars. But I will read their other book.


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reading about writing

On Writing by Stephen King

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Excellent book, hard to categorize. Definitely non fiction, it is equal parts reflection on personal events that developed his writing(without really being a biography), ideas about what writing tools he thinks are important(without being a grammer text), and thoughts about how and why writing happens, drawn from reflections he had during his recovery from a nearly fatal car accident.

I found his style direct without inviting too much fake intimacy, and helpful without trying to assume a sense of dominating authority. I think all who read this could improve their writing.


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