Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

18 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, General, Historical, Junior Fiction Tags: , , , ,

Published: November 1st 1985
Goodreads badgePublisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pages: 144
Format: Book
Genre: Historical/Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Doomed to – or blessed with – eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

Tuck Everlasting is a novel by Natalie Babbit and is set in the summer of 1880. This is a great story about a young girl Winnie who lives opposite the woods, dreams of adventure and stumbles upon a great secret. Being only ten years old she greets things and thinks things through as a child and is quick to access and accept those around her. I love it when authors write children protagonists, and all characters really, to match their ages. There is something great about reading a book and while it may seem illogical and a bit strange as we read, you know it is because it is through the eyes of a child and that is how they think and react. What makes Winnie great also is the era in which she lives. She has the child’s mind but she had the 19th century society influence as well.

While Winnie is trying to have an adventure she meets the Tuck family. This is where the curiosity begins because we are given two conflicting sides. This is soon replaced with a new curiosity as we get to know the Tucks better. Once Winnie is introduced to Mae, Angus, Miles and Jesse, it is from that moment she has her own little adventure all to herself.

The Tuck’s are a very decent family, you can tell the era which they come from in their speech and lifestyle, nothing special in particular about them on the outside. Jess and Miles are young men who like to travel and be adventurous while Mae and Angus are happy just being together. When Winnie stumbles upon the Tucks they are so bewildered and yet glad to have found her and they treat her as one of their own almost instantly, Jesse especially. I did find it a little odd that this seventeen year old boy was so attached and fond of a ten year old. I understand how she was smitten, him being bronzed, curly haired and being “even more beautiful up close” but he practically proposes to her. But aside from that it was a good story, it didn’t go where you thought it would which was a good thing I think. There was surprises and twists and in such a short book that was quite well done.

This was made into a ok movie starring Alexis Bledel of Gilmore Girls fame, but having read the book I think there is slightly more to enjoy in the book. In my mind, and a lot of the time I think I am right, the book trumps the movie. Sometimes they are both as bad as each other, but a lot of the time books come out on top. One of my favourite moments is when you discover a movie you liked was originally a book. Either I will track down the book to see the changes, or hope that it was better, or sometimes, like Hugo, you want to find out if it just as spectacular. I have to say Babbit’s book definitely trumps the movie in this case, but only just. With credit to the film a lot was similar.

Babbit’s idea is not new by any means but they people she placed around this idea were, and they were real and honest people who did not choose this life and were doing their best to protect people from it. It is an honourable and heartfelt book that makes you think, but even without reading anything into it, this story is simply about a little girl who has this wonder in her life and where that wonder takes her. It is as simple as that.

Wander Home by Karen A. Wyle

16 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, General Tags: , , ,

Published: October 10th 2012
Goodreads badgePublisher: Karen A. Wyle via Smashwords
Pages: 373
Format: eBook
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Death is what you make it. . . .

Eleanor never wanted to leave the daughter she loved so much. The overpowering urge to wander — to search, without knowing what she sought — drove her away. She left little Cassidy in her family’s loving care. But Cassidy and the others died in an accident before Eleanor could find her way home.

Now, they are all reunited, in an afterlife where nothing is truly lost: places once loved may be revisited, memories relived and even shared. Surely this is a place where they can understand and heal. And yet, the restlessness that shaped Eleanor’s life still haunts her in death — and now, she find herself dreaming of a man she never met. 

Somehow, she must solve the mystery of her life — or none of them will be at peace.

Note: I was given a copy of this book by the author to review

Wander Home opens with a great description of a day at the beach, and instantly we get a sense of something different. Wyle doesn’t stop the story to explain though, she just keeps the scene going, choosing her moment to tell us about it, not when we ask for it. I have known many an author to do this to readers and I have to say I rather like the mystery if there is a chance it gets revealed to us later.

There is no real surprise this book is about death and the afterlife, Wyle’s preface tells readers that it is set in the afterlife, but the way she has chosen to write about it gives it a new perspective, and does actual make you forget this is supposed to be death. In that sense there was a Lovely Bones feel about it all. There was no connection to earth like Susie Salmon had, yet the ability to change “heaven” to be what you wanted and see people you once knew or even wanted to meet was similar. Not to lessen the impact of Wander Home mind you, it has been very well constructed as a reality and through description and detail it adds depth and truth.

We are first introduced to Cassidy, her grandparents Sarah and Jack, and her great grandmother Amanda playing on the beach. We are given no real answers about what is going on, not only regarding their situation, but also to the rules of this reality. You can only assume that this is how the world works and accept it, and then hope it is going to be revealed later on. The initial mystery does not remain long as the arrival of Cassidy’s mother Eleanor starts a chain reaction of clarification. As things are explained to Eleanor, we too are given an explanation. This is often the case, we learn as they learn. In well written stories it makes the necessary information parts smoother without the need of long paragraphs where entire worlds are broken down for reader understanding before the story can continue.

The story is engaging in as much as you want to find out more about the world, and find some answers to your own questions, such as where everyone else is. When I stopped to finally go to bed I found myself wanting to return in the morning to see where this intrigue lead me, always a good sign in a new book. The focus on this single family makes you wonder where everyone else can be. However these questions are answered further into the book and you soon realise, once you have a greater understanding of how the world operates, just how complex yet simplistic is actually is.

Once you see that this afterlife is filled with people from everywhere and every time, it is interesting to see how they live their lives. We are told that sleep in unnecessary, though people still enjoy it, but whether food and drink is required is unclear. There seems to be a lot of conversations involving and revolving around food which sparked my query, but there are multiple other unnecessary things that people did as well. Humans, I think, like having structure. In a world where you can be whenever and have such freedom everyone still manages to fall into the same systems they know.

There is a society of sorts in this story, no matter how surreal or fantastical, and people relive and do what they enjoyed in life. People make things and they work, whether they need to or not. People teach, people create, and there are markets and festivals where money is exchange more as recognition of a job well done for the creation than anything else. People buy chairs from a craftsman when they could conjure one themselves.

In that sense there is a lot to make you forget it is anything like death. Is this the point? Again we come back to <i>The Lovely Bones</i> idea, “heaven” was what you made it, places are created and shared and remembered because of what people did and how they lived. The entire world is made up of the memories of the humans who live within the world. In that sense it is rather philosophical, at the very least poetic or something.

Wyle does have a very poetic way of writing, some of her descriptions are really well written, and even the seemingly non-important details are not neglected. Her vocabulary is also very advanced, I found that I had discovered three new words by the end of the book: contrapuntal, sartorial, and atavistic; all of which I had never heard before and all of which are fantastic words. There is a great quote in there about reading as well: “[Reading] let you climb inside of people – even though they were made up people – and end up understanding humans, in general, a little better.” I think this is yet another great understanding of the power of reading. Another one of my favourite lines was “Kindly allow me the prejudices of my time”, for some reason I thought that was a very eloquent line; it really stood out to me.

The ideal Wyle has created is highly alluring. If only there was a realm, in life or death where you could change, relive, feel, think, and be in any age you wished. Young and playful, old and wise, it is an interesting concept, especially the ability to relive old memories with exact detail whenever you pleased, emotions included and everything. Though if anything it should make you appreciate the fact you can do most of those things now, instead of spending you time wishing and waiting for it to be possible later on. Not to get swept up in the promise of an ideal and instead live while you have the chance.

Through Eleanor’s narrative we realise that things may not be as simple as it first appeared. Just when we think we finally have figured out the world we are given new information that is mysterious, and being mysterious to the characters themselves makes it more intriguing. Initially we see alternating views between members of the family but as the story progresses it is clear Eleanor becomes the driving force in the story. This was not a bad thing, while the story was still being introduced we get a lot about the other characters and their histories, and despite the focus being around Eleanor’s story a lot more, we still learn about the other characters, they are not forgotten.

Overall it was a good read, it was different and imaginative. Wyle manages to capture family dynamics rather well and the relationships between family members whether it is husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, or the wisdom of a great grandmother to a child. Despite the nature of the topic it is not a complicated read, though there are a few minor adult themes. Whilst reading I did find a few spelling and name errors but I have since been informed by the author that these issues where in fact not mistakes, but rather deliberate conscious actions; either way they do not distract from the story. There are no jarring sentences and the detail and description of the locations are more than enough to compensate minor mistakes. And on a side note, there is a discussion about whether the Hanging Gardens ever existed; by chance I read an article this morning that concluded there is strong evidence that they never did. So there you go.

Through the Looking-Glass (#2) by Lewis Carroll

08 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, General Tags: , , , ,

Published: June 25th 1998
Goodreads badgePublisher: Oxford University Press
Pages: 133
Format: Book
Genre: Fantasy/Literature
★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

Nothing is quite what it seems once Alice journeys through the looking-glass, and Dodgson’s wit is infectious as he explores concepts of mirror imagery, time running backward, and strategies of chess-all wrapped up in the exploits of a spirited young girl who parries with the Red Queen, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and other unlikely characters.

Since we did Wonderland of course we had to do the sequel. I do not really have any preference between the two, there are favourite moments in both. I think the problem is Wonderland is much more well known, and the parts that  have been borrowed from Looking-Glass are mistaken for being in Wonderland which is a shame. This second Alice book is set a few years after the Wonderland adventures; Alice looks older and Dinah has grown and has kittens of her own. Through the Looking-Glass takes Alice into another strange land that begins when she walks through the mirror into Looking-glass House.

Unlike Wonderland there is a lot more structure to the world.
The absurdities and irrationalities remain, but the land is set out like a chess board, and the characters Alice meets are players on the board. When Alice meets the Red Queen she gives Alice and the readers a summary of what is going to happen through the rest of the book. Since the world is divided into squares she tells us that at the Seventh Square Alice will meet the Knight, and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum at the fourth. You do tend to forget that it is a chess game as you read but the rules of the game are woven throughout. Alice is given the position of the pawn and therefore is only allowed one square at a time. The goal, like chess, is to get to the other side unharmed.

The way Carroll has constructed the Looking-Glass world is amazing and there has been a lot of thought put into this to replicate the game. This book also has one of my all time favourite poems in it: The Walrus and the Carpenter. I first fell in love with this poem from watching Harriet the Spy of all things, and I often wondered how you could have ceiling wax, and what it actually was. That is until I learned about sealing wax that was used in letter writing. It made slightly more sense, but in terms of the poem not a whole lot changed. There is the Jabberwocky poem, but the best has to be the Walrus and the Carpenter. Carroll weaves these poems though the novel, just as he did in Alice in Wonderland, and once again accompanies them with stunning black and white drawings.

This new land does confuse Alice a bit more in certain areas but she recovers well. There are a lot of familiar characters such as the talking flowers, Tweedle Dee and Dum of course, and a few others that are less well known but very funny indeed. The ending is once again instantly devoid of any mystery. I think Carroll likes to demonstrate that imagination of a child rather than give us a wonderful world that could be true or could not be. He does not leave anything unclear. However there is a moment with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum where they remark whether Alice is within the dream of the sleeping Red King or whether he is in her dream. That is as far as the analysis of the world gets.

I do think if you are going to read Wonderland you have to read this as well. If you came to these book as a fan of a movie – even the Disney one, it will be good because a lot of book two was used in the Disney film and some of one character’s attributes were transferred to other people; you may find your favourite character was not actually who you thought. If not for that reason than simply because it is a strange and peculiar book that somehow manages to make a lot of sense while still being strange but very enjoyable. If you love the absurd than this will be great, but it is not so bad as to cause any confusion, Carroll does restrain himself in that sense.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

07 Feb 2013 2 Comments

by Amy in 5 Stars, General Tags: ,

★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

Happy 201st Birthday Mr Dickens! Yes, not as glorious as the 200th but what can we do. I have chosen A Christmas Carol as the token birthday review post because it is a glorious little book. I have read a couple others of his but my opinion of Bleak House is not one wants to read about on such a joyous occasion, and for many years turned me off reading any more I am afraid. We will slowly come back to him because I understand he is wonderful but sometimes you need a long break to recover. Much rather stick with the ones that make me smile for now.

Let me just start by saying I adore this book. Absolutely adore it. Ever since I was a kid I have loved this story, and while I may not have had the real book to begin with, some of the film adaptions are fairly awesome as well, though there are some exceptions. A Christmas Carol is about a man called Ebeneezer Scrooge who hates everyone and loves money. Every one knows this about him and every one dislikes him for it. The focus of the narrative is that one Christmas Eve Scrooge is given the opportunity to change his ways with the help of an old friend, whether he likes it or not. When the clock strikes one is when it all begins.

Dickens starts the story already filled with mystery and intrigue and you are instantly drawn into the story. People say that this story is about the true meaning of Christmas and how important it is to love your fellow man and it is, but there is also the simple pleasure and fascination in seeing how a person’s life and actions, and how others around him behave, influences and changes him.

There are supernatural elements to this certainly and it is done in such a good way and so cleverly. In an attempt to change Scrooge’s behaviour, he is forced to visit the past, present and future, each having a particular influence on him. There are classic quotes taken from this book and Dickens has done an excellent job in not making the story seem rushed, unbelievable or too extravagant. It has just the right balance to create realistic characters who are detailed and have depth, but also, as he is great at, creating a world that is so reflective of the era and the true Victorian life. There is a lot more explained in the novel than in the film versions, you get a deeper insight into how Scrooge became who he was. This I think does not necessarily make you pity him, but you understand why he is what he is; though that really offers no excuse to his actions either.

This story has probably been adapted into every television show or movie in some way, shape or form, but for all of its over exposure it really does never get old. I think there is nothing really wrong with going to a book from a film, some instances it could work out well. If you have seen the movie and you go ‘I rather enjoyed that, oh there’s a book is there. Let’s see if it is just as good’, well then that’s great. Because there are so many variants of this film that cover from Mickey Mouse, The Muppets, Mr Magoo, The Simpsons, not to mention included in a range of television shows, you are certainly going to get exposed to this story in some form, and if that directs you to the book than what harm has it done. I know at the end of the Muppet Christmas Carol Mr Dickens himself (aka Gonzo) tells you to read the book if you enjoyed the film.

I make a point of reading the book every December and I could reread this book a million times over and fall in love with it every time. A true classic, and I think despite the setting it is a timeless and wonderful story.

Alice in Wonderland (#1) by Lewis Carroll

06 Feb 2013 1 Comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, General Tags: , , , ,

Published: June 25th 1998
Goodreads badgePublisher: Oxford University Press
Pages: 111
Format: Book
Genre: Fantasy/Literature
★   ★   ★   ★   ★  – 5 Stars

Journey with Alice down the rabbit hole into a world of wonder where oddities, logic and wordplay rule supreme. Encounter characters like the grinning Cheshire Cat who can vanish into thin air, the cryptic Mad Hatter who speaks in riddles and the harrowing Queen of Hearts obsessed with the phrase “Off with their heads!” This is a land where rules have no boundaries, eating mushrooms will make you grow or shrink, croquet is played with flamingos and hedgehogs, and exorbitant trials are held for the theft of tarts. Amidst these absurdities, Alice will have to find her own way home. 

In recognition of Lewis Carroll turning 181 last month I feel a review is in order of the glorious Alice in Wonderland. I know this is a book that has been turned into so many movies and television shows (41 at last count according to Wikipedia), but the only one I see as being even remotely similar (that I have seen) is the Hallmark telemovie Alice in Wonderland starring Tina Majorino as Alice with a host of stars including Gene Wilder, Whoopi Goldberg, Christopher Lloyd and so many more.

When I studied this book at Uni I discovered that Carroll based Alice on someone he knew; much the same way J.M Barrie did for Peter Pan. Alice Liddell was the 10 year old sister of a friend of Carroll’s and he’d became a good friend to the family. He liked her a lot and he told the story of Alice in Wonderland (then Alice’s Adventures Underground) for her and her sisters. I found this website that gives a nice history about the book which is really quite interesting, and I think it would be much better than me telling you because I would become distracted in the fascinating history and not review the actual book. Plus trying to remember a university class almost five years ago may not do it justice. The edition of my book actually has a long introduction that tells the story, but it is not really necessary whatsoever to know.

I always loved this story, and when I read it growing up I liked the absurd nature of it. I am certain I did not understand half of the things I did as I got older, which personally I think is half the fun. There is a quote by Clifton Fadiman that states When you reread a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there was before. . Whether it is about the book or yourself it doesn’t matter, I think learning something about yourself each time you reread something is just as wonderful. You can see how you have changed since the last time, in one of those small ways that you don’t notice until your attention is brought to it.

Carroll has written this book in the style that a young girl would, she is trying to remember all the proper etiquette she has be taught but she also thinks like a young girl which then reflects in her actions. The story opens with Alice being bored by her circumstance and her sister’s inability to read anything interesting that has pictures and dialogue. What I do remember discovering upon one of my later readings was that there is also a brother, so while I knew there was the older sister no one remembers she had a brother as well. Again, not important but still rather interesting.

As the narrator Carroll speaks to the readers on the odd occasion, especially during the rabbit hole sequence. He addresses readers as Alice falls which works well when you are reading to yourself but also lends itself to the fact it was initially an oral story. Everything Carroll describes does not seem as outrageous as it actually is; when he writes about growing larger, rabbits in waistcoats and singing griffins it seems perfectly natural. There is an accepted reality that Wonderland brings that is so absurd around every corner that you don’t question it. If there had been more real world similarities I think the absurd ones would stand out a lot more.

Aside from all the strangeness in this book the most strange is watching as this young girl eats and drinks everything she finds. Though one of my favourite quotes is “if you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.” Something in the matter of fact way Alice approaches this world is part of the joy I think. She is very understanding and accepting of her circumstances, she is driven by her curiosities more than anything which explains away a few things, the need to know outweighs thinking about consequences. This comes more from her being such a young child than anything else I think, and perhaps in part who she is a person. She does have faltering moments where she struggles to remember who she was, as she recites the lessons and what she knows Alice attempts to assure herself she is who she thinks she is. So in that respect Wonderland does begin to affect her.

Two of my favourite characters and scenes have to have been the Mock Turtle and the Gryphon. There is nothing in that scene I love more than the other; it is funny, clever, sweet all at the same time. What is great about Carroll, like Dahl, is that there are songs and poems within the story. The songs the Mock Turtle and Gryphon sing are beautiful and a lot of fun. In terms of creating characters Carroll is an expert at creating varied and unique figures that contrast Alice well, and also manage to suit the Wonderland world ideally without making them generic and all the same. He starts us off simply with a rabbit in a waistcoat and then slowly drags us further from the world we know until we reach the Queen of Hearts who is playing croquette with flamingos. In between we get mad tea parties, caucus races and not enough pepper, all of which makes it a joyful and amusing journey.

Each character offers a lot of wisdom to Alice as she passes through Wonderland. The Duchess, the King, the Cheshire Cat are just some of the many who offer strange and seemingly confusing advice that is somehow profound in their own ways. The irony is of course that Alice offers no moral to readers, it is simply a tale of wonder and adventure. The Duchess herself says that ‘Every thing’s got a moral, if only you can find it.’ That is why this book is so great, there is no need for morals, it is what it is and what it is is a strange mix of absurdity and nonsensical actions that make up a bizarre series of events. Why read any deeper meaning into it and spoil the fun?

The ending I know has caused some issues to some people but I don’t really mind it. I think there is nothing wrong with how Carroll has finished the book. There is a sense that it is open to interpretation but I also think that it depends on who you look at: Alice or her sister. Since the sister was not there and has the rational mind of someone who reads books without pictures and dialogue, perhaps she is trying to justify Alice’s story, unable to believe it is true. It is something I think you have to make up your own mind about when you read it for it is the only way you’ll know.

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