Fifteen-year-old Hannah has always loved the sea. Always. But not until now has she been getting sick away from the sea, like she's allergic to being far from the sea! She first experiences this when a religious catholic couple adopt her and bring her to Louisiana, a state with absolutely no bodies of water except for a few small creeks. Hannah starts getting a terrible rash, and strangely enough, little sea crystals start flaking off her skin. The couple, alarmed, bring Hannah to the local doctor to see what is wrong. The doctor is also bemused and takes a few crystals with him to show a more professional doctor. Hannah does not want him to take anything, and quickly takes the crystals back without him looking, replacing it with something else.
Then, Hannah asks if she can go back to the orphanage where the sea is close and alive. The couple, seeing this poor girl suffer, immediately return her to the orphanage to be adopted by someone else who resided a little closer to the sea.
Luckily, Hannah's chance came when the Hawley's, a wealthy Boston family, brings her to their house as a maid. There, Hannah learns the difficulties of being a maid, and also gets a good taste of what it's like to be rich.
Mr. Wheeler, a painter who comes to paint the Hawley girls, senses something strange about Hannah, something that is bothering immensely. Hannah notices a touch of regret in his eyes, and maybe, just maybe. sadness.
Soon, Hannah realizes she has something special about her, which no other girl has. Unfortunately, she does not know what it is, but what she does know is this, it has to do with the sea.
To discover what occurs next, read this book! You might recognize this award winning author, Cathryn Lasky. She has wrote a numerous amount of books, including a popular children's series called The Guardians of Ga'Hool and the YA book, Hawksmaid. These are both also very amazing books, like this one. Hannah has successfully suceeded in drawing all it's readers in, and not without cause. I lobe this exquisite mix of fantasy and romance, and I'm positive you will too.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein
I've read other books by this author, one being Ophelia. I love the way Klein plays with her characters and plot, giving a little spark to all her books. This book, I've got to admit, has the most spark. It's about a girl named Cathrine living in the Elizabethan times, in England.
Cate was only five years of age when her father died, leaving her an orphan.(her mother had died during childbirth) She was left to live with her selfish aunt, who worked Cate to her death. One day, Cate was washing the floors when a mail carrier came in, claiming he had a letter to her from the queen, Queen Elizabeth. Cate, stunned and delighted, opened the letter to discover the queen requesting Cate as one of her ladies in waiting! This was a great honor indeed, and Cate's aunt could not disobey the queen.
So it was settled, Cate was to reside at the castle as one of Queen Elizabeth's ladies in waiting. There, she met the haughty Frances, a friendly girl named Emme, and lovely Lady Anne, one of Queen Elizabeth's most highly prized ladies in waiting. Although Cate loved and respected the queen very much, she also noticed that the queen was, in a way, very unkind and selfish. Also, she discovered that the queen had a false kind of beauty, using loads of face powder everyday and instead of just leaving her hair be, Elizabeth insisted on using wigs upon wigs. Cate was ashamed to have her respect for the queen decrease so much, but there was so much to the queen that she had not ever known until now.
Then, Sir Walter Raleigh entered the stage, and Queen Elizabeth soon discovered that Cate and Sir Walter were lovers! The queen, green with envy, has Cate banished to the island of Roanoke in the New World, and so has Raleigh all to herself.
Cate, desperate to see Sir Walter, is very unhappy at the island, and longs to go back. However, when Cate meets a friendly Native American called Maneto, her view of everything completely changes, and finds herself rethinking Sir Walter's values. Would a hero be cooped up in Queen Elizabeth's castle, not doing anything? Would a hero let his lover suffer, and not take action? No, this cannot be, therefore Cathrine Archer came to the decision that this so called, "hero" must be a coward. Kate's real hero was somewhere else, far, far from England.
To find out this, you must, I am happy to say, read the book. (Yes, I know, cliffhanger!) This book has the perfect mix of history and romance, giving a good taste of reality but at the same time shadowed closely with a touch of fiction. I highly recommend this if your doing some kind of report on Roanoke Island, or Walter Raleigh. You'll get information in a interesting and compelling fashion. Of course though, I also recommend picking this book up at the library and reading it for no specific reason; it's amazing! If you like this book, I also highly suggest reading Ophelia, another masterpiece by Lisa Klein. Well, enjoy! :)
Cate was only five years of age when her father died, leaving her an orphan.(her mother had died during childbirth) She was left to live with her selfish aunt, who worked Cate to her death. One day, Cate was washing the floors when a mail carrier came in, claiming he had a letter to her from the queen, Queen Elizabeth. Cate, stunned and delighted, opened the letter to discover the queen requesting Cate as one of her ladies in waiting! This was a great honor indeed, and Cate's aunt could not disobey the queen.
So it was settled, Cate was to reside at the castle as one of Queen Elizabeth's ladies in waiting. There, she met the haughty Frances, a friendly girl named Emme, and lovely Lady Anne, one of Queen Elizabeth's most highly prized ladies in waiting. Although Cate loved and respected the queen very much, she also noticed that the queen was, in a way, very unkind and selfish. Also, she discovered that the queen had a false kind of beauty, using loads of face powder everyday and instead of just leaving her hair be, Elizabeth insisted on using wigs upon wigs. Cate was ashamed to have her respect for the queen decrease so much, but there was so much to the queen that she had not ever known until now.
Then, Sir Walter Raleigh entered the stage, and Queen Elizabeth soon discovered that Cate and Sir Walter were lovers! The queen, green with envy, has Cate banished to the island of Roanoke in the New World, and so has Raleigh all to herself.
Cate, desperate to see Sir Walter, is very unhappy at the island, and longs to go back. However, when Cate meets a friendly Native American called Maneto, her view of everything completely changes, and finds herself rethinking Sir Walter's values. Would a hero be cooped up in Queen Elizabeth's castle, not doing anything? Would a hero let his lover suffer, and not take action? No, this cannot be, therefore Cathrine Archer came to the decision that this so called, "hero" must be a coward. Kate's real hero was somewhere else, far, far from England.
To find out this, you must, I am happy to say, read the book. (Yes, I know, cliffhanger!) This book has the perfect mix of history and romance, giving a good taste of reality but at the same time shadowed closely with a touch of fiction. I highly recommend this if your doing some kind of report on Roanoke Island, or Walter Raleigh. You'll get information in a interesting and compelling fashion. Of course though, I also recommend picking this book up at the library and reading it for no specific reason; it's amazing! If you like this book, I also highly suggest reading Ophelia, another masterpiece by Lisa Klein. Well, enjoy! :)
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
You all have probably heard of the popular Japanese anime, Howl's Moving Castle, but what you probably haven't heard is that the movie is based on a book, not by Hayao Miyazaki as you think it would be though. I think the book is very well written, filling in all the blanks in the movie. (no offense, but it was a little hard to understand the movie, although it was cute) If you don't already know the overall plot, I'll explain.
The story begins with a girl named Sofie Hatter who lived in the town of Chipping, England. Sofie's sister, the beautiful Lettie, was a headstrong, independent sort of girl who couldn't stand people telling her what to do and what not to do. Mr. Hatter owned a small hat shop in town. When Lettie and Sofie were children, their father remarried to his youngest shop assistant, Fanny. Just two years later, Martha was born. Unfortunately the three girls' father died just a year after Martha was born, giving Fanny the chance to own the hat shop. All three girls grew up to be pretty, strong-minded women. When the girls turned into women, Fanny decided it was time to send them off to their own life. Martha she sent to live with a close friend who practiced magic, and Lettie she sent to work at a nearby bakery. Sofie, the eldest of all the three was left to own the hat shop because Fanny was remarrying (for the two-thousandth time) Sofie spent most of her time working in the back of the shop, sewing the hats. Her life was pretty dull until one day, the infamous Witch of the Waste visited Sofie's hat shop and turned Sofie into a ninety-year-old woman. Sofie, desperate, ran away from the hat shop and went up to the hills to collect herself. There, Sofie discovered a castle, and surprise, it was literally Howl's moving castle! The castle was basically a big piece of junk that lumbered from place to place constantly. Wizard Howl, the handsome owner of this castle, had a reputation for luring young woman to love him, then stealing their hearts. However, rumors are rumors and always shall remain rumors, so this was not necessarily true. Sofie climbs aboard this "castle" and discovers that it's run by a fire demon named Calcifer. She also meets Howl's young apprentice, Michael. Add a weird creepy turnip head, a rusty old guitar, and a old pair of shoes.
This book will definitely keep you on your toes. I also suggest watching the movie after reading the book, so you can see the differences more clearly. Both book and movie are amazing in their own cute little way though :) Lovely little mix of fantasy, humor, and romance. Two thumbs up definitely!
The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
I was browsing through the YA section in the library, and I picked up this book. It was as if the book was begging me to pick it up and read it. :) This is a perfect example of a book that would catch my eye. A wonderful mix of fantasy, mystery, and romance. Perfect. The book starts out with a princess named Nalia who is talking to her best friend, Kiernan. She is called by her parents (the king and queen) to talk with them. Sixteen-year-old Nalia is pretty surprised because her mother and father rarely call on her.
Once she comes to them, they reveal to her a terrible secret that has been kept confidential for a long, long time;she is not the princess. In fact, she was just a common girl. The reason why she was standing for the princess was because the princess had a prophecy revealed to her when she was born.
The prophecy foresaw that the real princess was to die at age sixteen. To prevent this from happening, the king and queen decided to get a girl just like her, and after sixteen years return the rightful princess to the castle. This, of course, was all quite upsetting to Nalia, whose real name was Sidna. She would lose the life she knew, the best friend she knew, her "parents" she loved; she would lose everything. And she did, instead moving to a small quiet town to live with her aunt. Sidna's real father was a weaver, and he had died some few years ago. Sidna's mother had left her father a while ago as well, so of course Sidna was left with her strict, skeptical aunt. She did not do very well in that small town, and especially when a certain friend of her's deceived her into thinking he loved her. Sidna was sick and tired of everything. The last straw came when Kiernan came to visit her. She was so ashamed to have him see her in work clothes. Sidna lost her temper with him, and let him fly off back to the city.
The following day, Sidna told her aunt that she was leaving to the city. And she did. In the city, she was recruited to be an understudy to a woman to practiced magic, Aunt Varil. Aunt Varil tells Sidna she has special magic powers, probably passed down from her father. While at the city, Sidna discovers something that could change the course of the royal family's history forever. The true princess that had come to take Sidna's spot, Princess Nalia, was not the princes at all! To find out what happens next in this compelling mystery, I highly suggest you read the book. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.
Once she comes to them, they reveal to her a terrible secret that has been kept confidential for a long, long time;she is not the princess. In fact, she was just a common girl. The reason why she was standing for the princess was because the princess had a prophecy revealed to her when she was born.
The prophecy foresaw that the real princess was to die at age sixteen. To prevent this from happening, the king and queen decided to get a girl just like her, and after sixteen years return the rightful princess to the castle. This, of course, was all quite upsetting to Nalia, whose real name was Sidna. She would lose the life she knew, the best friend she knew, her "parents" she loved; she would lose everything. And she did, instead moving to a small quiet town to live with her aunt. Sidna's real father was a weaver, and he had died some few years ago. Sidna's mother had left her father a while ago as well, so of course Sidna was left with her strict, skeptical aunt. She did not do very well in that small town, and especially when a certain friend of her's deceived her into thinking he loved her. Sidna was sick and tired of everything. The last straw came when Kiernan came to visit her. She was so ashamed to have him see her in work clothes. Sidna lost her temper with him, and let him fly off back to the city.
The following day, Sidna told her aunt that she was leaving to the city. And she did. In the city, she was recruited to be an understudy to a woman to practiced magic, Aunt Varil. Aunt Varil tells Sidna she has special magic powers, probably passed down from her father. While at the city, Sidna discovers something that could change the course of the royal family's history forever. The true princess that had come to take Sidna's spot, Princess Nalia, was not the princes at all! To find out what happens next in this compelling mystery, I highly suggest you read the book. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.
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