Friday Book Report: Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati

Sara Donati’s novel, Into the Wilderness is the start of an epic saga about one woman discovering that the life she fought so hard to obtain in not exactly the life that she needed.  It is a compelling story of love and the willingness and resolve to achieve those unknown dreams inside each of us.  Into the Wilderness was published in 1998 by Random House Publishing Group.

In December of 1792, twenty-nine year old Elizabeth Middleton has just left the comforts of her English estate with her brother to join their father in an isolated village in upstate New York called Paradise.  Elizabeth is content as a spinster, and has dreams of opening up a school to teach the children of Paradise.  The secluded village in the wild forests of New York is like nothing she has ever seen before.  Her first day in Paradise, she meets a man unlike any she’s ever encountered.  Nathaniel Bonner is a white man that dresses like a Native American.  Known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives, he was raised by his father and the Mohawk Nation in the area.  After meeting Nathaniel, Elizabeth must confront the idea that perhaps teaching school is not the only reason she has traveled to the far and distant land. 

Determined to start the school her father promised upon her arrival in Paradise, Elizabeth didn’t realize how many obstacles there would be.  She wasn’t counting on her father’s scheming or the appearance of Richard Todd, the doctor of Paradise.  Without her knowledge, her father and Todd have come to an agreement that Todd would marry Elizabeth and in turn inherit the vast amount of land that Alfred Middleton has acquired.  Richard Todd’s sole purpose for marrying Elizabeth is to obtain Hidden Wolf, the Mountain where Nathaniel and his family have resided for 30 or more years.  Todd wants the Bonners and the Mohawk off the mountain, and he goes to great lengths to achieve this goal.  And so begins this captivating tale that takes Elizabeth through the wilderness of New York and Canada to fight for what she believes is right and to seize not just the goal she’s always had, but also the dream that she never thought possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Donati combines the history of 18^th Century America with a lot of wonderful storytelling to create an intricate and inspired historical fiction.  There is a lot going on in this book, but every storyline-no matter how big or small-seems to have a place and a reason for occurring in this novel.  Donati’s writing is beautifully done, and she sweeps you away into the wilderness of an emerging America.  She provides ample detail and description when needed, but pulls back and gets to the point when necessary.  It’s a rare gift for an author to realize when to be descriptive and when to be blunt.  Oftentimes I’ve read many books where the author illustrates too much and loses focus on the story, or an author will be too blunt and you never get into the feel of the characters or the story.  I never felt that way while reading this book.  My only real grudge is the ending and how certain storylines that took up the entire book where seemingly resolved too quickly to make room for more plotlines.  This is the first book in the “Wilderness” series, and it’s quite evident at the end with the emergence of the second books storyline.  I think I would’ve preferred to have left that bit for the second book only and let this first book finish in more depth what it started.  But having said that, Donati does merge the two stories together nicely and it doesn’t feel too disjointed.  I just needed something to criticize, and for me I could’ve done without the hint of book two at the end of this first story.

The characters are very well developed, and absolutely wonderfully written.  Elizabeth and Nathaniel’s love story is engaging and complicated, and Donati tells their story exquisitely.  The playful banter and rousing arguments between the two are written very well and you can feel the emotion coming through each page.  Elizabeth is a heroine with substance and a determination that oozes out of the book.  She is all English grace and propriety until the wilderness calls her, then she becomes like a mama bear; defending what is hers against any and all that attempt to trespass against her.  Her transformation throughout the story is developed and described flawlessly.  All the secondary characters have a depth to them, and you can really feel who they are and what their purpose is in the book.   All the characters have a complexity to them, and yet Donati is able to simplify who they are with brief yet descriptive sequences to allow the reader to really know each resident in Paradise.

I’m a big fan of historical fiction, and this book didn’t disappoint me in the least and so I give this book an A grade.  It’s a cross between Last of the Mohicans and Outlander, and there are echoes of those books (and a few characters from those books) in this story, but Donati’s story is original and enthralling.  There’s the enchanting love story of Nathaniel and Elizabeth, there’s suspense and drama to go along with heartache and humor.  And through it all, Donati balances it all out to create a captivating story that has only just begun. 

Friday Book Report: The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

Stuart Neville’s debut novel, Ghosts of Belfast is a dark and gritty story about the inner workings of the conflict in Ireland and the innocents who suffered because of it.  It was published in 2009 by Soho Press, Incorporated.

Gerald Fegan, a former IRA hit-man is being haunted night and day by twelve ghosts.  All Fegan wants is peace, and the only way to be rid of his ghostly followers is to kill the men who gave him the orders to kill these twelve innocent people.  As Fegan starts to work down the list, he meets a woman that could offer him some redemption.  Marie McKenna is an outsider in Northern Ireland, and many of the most powerful men in the area want her out of the picture.  Fegan must battle his own demons as well as keep Marie safe from the men that used to employ him.

This is a dark and violent book.  It’s got that edge to it that can make you wince while reading.  I was intrigued by the storyline; a haunted man trying to find absolution for his past crimes, but overall I just couldn’t connect with this story.  I think it was because it was just so dang bleak and it offered such little hope throughout the entire book.  Adding Marie did help some, but overall this book was full of shadows with not much light peeking through. 

This book also deals with the political conflict that has tortured Northern Ireland for decades.  I am not familiar with the whole socio-political workings that have embattled that part of the world, and so a lot of that was lost on me.  I think Neville tried to explain it for a novice like myself, but sometimes I think his Irish roots took over and he left out things that may be common knowledge to him, but not to the general reader.  There’s lots to do with gangsters and politicians and corrupt government officials, and as a whole just about everyone in this book is not a very nice person.  I found it really hard to care about anyone in this book, and so when the final battle at the end came, I wasn’t worried about our protagonists because it didn’t matter to me what happened to anyone.

I give this book a C grade.  While I don’t mind reading dark tales from time to time, I want them to have some glimmer of hope somewhere to balance out all the gloom and doom.  There were too many characters, and most were such terrible beings they were hard to read about.  I found myself torn between wanting to put this book down and take a break from the gloominess and just reading it straight through to get it over with.  To go with all the sad and miserableness in this book, there was way too much swearing for my sensitive eyes.  I understand these are all gangsters and awful, horrible men, but I thought the swearing was excessive and often times just put in because the author couldn’t think of something better to write.  This was not my type of book.  I think it will appeal to a lot of other readers, but it just wasn’t my style.  I try to read a lot of different genres and different authors to have a broader knowledge of the written word; but this time I should’ve stuck to what I like and passed on this book.  Like I said, this will appeal to a lot of readers; but if you’re like me and enjoy books that have a good balance of light and dark, I’d stay away from these ghosts.

Women's College World Series

I am a huge fan of College Softball.  Aside from football, softball is most definitely my favorite sport to watch, and it's even more fun to watch live.  Since Kansas State has not softball team, I am at liberty to cheer for any school I like, and I've been a big fan of Alabama Softball for about six years now, so every time the Crimson Tide are at the World Series I try to catch a few games live.  Luckily, the Women's College World Series is held every year in Oklahoma City, which means I can make the short drive a few times a year to watch some of the best teams in the country play the sport.  I usually go by myself (which I am a-ok with) but this year I thought Josh was old enough and would enjoy a day at the ballpark so I took him with me.  These are a few of the pictures of our day at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in OKC.

We arrived a little late for the games on Sunday, but we caught the last half of Arizona State vs. Oklahoma while we waited for Alabama to take on California.  Josh enjoyed eating all the ballpark concessions, such as hot dogs, soda, and some frozen lemonade.  I think all the food was his favorite part of the games!

The next game was the one I really wanted to watch:  California vs. Alabama.  If Alabama won they were going on to the Championship series versus Oklahoma, so we were cheering loud and yelling, "Roll Tide!" throughout the game.  By this time I think Josh was getting a little worn out from the sun and fun, but he's a trooper and managed to stick it out through all seven innings!

The Alabama Crimson Tide

Kayla Braud batting.

Kaila Hunt batting

Alabama celebrating after the win!

We even made it on ESPN!

 All in all I think we both had a really fun day.  I went back on Tuesday night to watch game 2 of the Championship series between Alabama and Oklahoma, and that was really fun especially since Bama won.  The whole trip was even better since Alabama won the National Championship, it was really cool to see those girls that I've watched and rooted for this whole year hoist up that trophy.  Now that softball is over for the year, I'm anxious for next season to get here!  I think Josh and I will try to make it a yearly thing and drive up for at least one game if we can.  I'm fully content watching the games by myself, but I know that sharing these experiences with my son make them that much better.  Well, this was our trip to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series!  I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as Josh and I enjoyed going!

Friday Book Report: Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan

The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan is a heartwarming story about the ability to triumph over tragedy, and that despite our fears; we can still affect those closest to us.  This book was self-published in 2011 and so far I have only seen it available in eBook format.

Mary McAllister spends nearly sixty years secluded in her white marble mansion overlooking the small town of Mill River, Vermont.  Suffering from social anxiety disorder after a horrible incident when she was just sixteen, Mary fears strangers and panics at the thought of venturing out into the world beyond her marble walls.   Her only connection to the outside world are the mail, television and radio and the friendship of an elderly priest that has known Mary since he performed her wedding Mass so many years ago.

Most of the residents of Mill River have never seen Mary, and find that the house and its owner an eccentric addition to the small town.  The marble house is a mystery to the town, but most view it as just another structure that adds to the personality of the quaint little New England village.  Many are curious about the inhabitant of the old marble structure but it isn’t until Mary’s death that the villagers of Mill River will finally understand what Father Michael O’Brien has known all along:  that although Mary was reclusive, she always knew and loved those of the sleepy town that she called her own.

This is a heartwarming story.  There isn’t much in the way of a plot, but it has feel-good written all through it.  It isn’t surprising this was self-published, because this book has no interest in tackling some of the more serious or thought provoking issues that other novels do.  But it’s an endearing tale, and if you have an eBook, it’s worth the price (I’ve found it for only .99 cents at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble) of downloading to read.

The story flashes back from the past, telling Mary’s heartbreaking story, to present in a remarkably coherent way.  A lot of flash back novels can feel disjointed, but Chan works from the past to the present wonderfully to tell the story she wants to.  The writing won’t overwork your brain, and in parts the dialogue between characters can get a little cheesy and feel forced, but overall Chan gets her point across.  There is very few unnecessary descriptions, which I found a great relief since I am not a fan of the overly descriptive writing about non-essential portions of books, and for the most part Chan is blunt and to the point in her writing. 

The story won’t overwhelm you, and it’s very predictable, but I don’t think Chan was focusing on trying to keep the secrets from being revealed until the end.  Instead, Chan concentrates on telling the story and illustrating how one woman can affect so many without them even knowing her.  It’s a story about overcoming tragedy and doing what you can to help your fellow neighbor as best you can.  Chan hints at some religious themes:  How can God let something bad happen to someone that is good?  When bad things do happen, do we turn away from God, or do we trust in Him and lean on our faith even more?  And while Chan mentions these themes, the book isn’t overpowered by them and in fact Chan leaves the interpretation of those ideas up to the reader, which was very nicely done on her part.  Instead of preaching, Chan puts the idea in the readers head and allows the reader to decide on their own.

There are a lot of characters in this book, but Chan does a good job of developing them all nicely and very few felt like they didn’t need to be in this book.  From the new hunky police officer to the dimwitted yet lovable Daisy, Chan describes them all very well and clarifies their role and their progression throughout the book.  I grew up in a small town, and Chan describes the inner-workings of the small town thoroughly and quite accurately.

This is an uplifting story, it won’t make you think too much, but it’s got just the right amount of emotion that will make you feel good after reading.  I give this book a B-, if only because it seems at times too overly sappy and the dialogue between characters could have been better written.  But it’s a nice story, despite all the heartache Mary goes through, she never forgets where she came from, and she never forgets those wonderful neighbors that have been a part of her life unbeknownst to them.  If you like the uplifting and positive type of stories, I’d recommend picking up this eBook, especially if it’s still only one dollar.  It may not have made me think about any serious issues, but it did make me feel good at the end, and that’s all I usually want out of a book.

Friday Book Report: Zombie's Don't Cry by Rusty Fischer

Written by Rusty Fischer and published in 2011 by Medallion Press, Incorporated; Zombie’s Don’t Cry is a science fiction teen novel.  In the small town of Barracuda Bay, Florida; Maddy Swift is your typical seventeen year old girl.  She has a best friend, but is otherwise relatively “invisible” to the rest of the high school crowd.  Until one fateful night turn her life upside down.

There’s a new boy in school, Stamp Crosby comes from Wisconsin and sits next to Maddy in Art class.  She’s already smitten with the boy, and when they bump into each other numerous times he gathers up his nerve to ask her to a party one night.  She sneaks out of the house to walk to the party but is unexpectedly struck by lightning.  When Maddy wakes up face down in a puddle, its hours later and she suddenly realizes her heart isn’t beating anymore.  She races home and does a few tests courtesy of the website, youmightbeazombieif.blogspot.com and realizes she’s dead; or rather, undead.  Now her self-absorbed best friend Hazel and the cute new boy that’s taken an interest in her aren’t the only things on her undead mind anymore.  While waiting for her order of lamb brains at the local all-night grocery store, she meets fellow students Dane and Chloe who soon realizes that Maddy is now undead just like them.  They become her guide into the new “life” of zombie and help her become acclimated to the zombie world and how to fit in with the Normals (living humans) and that there are indeed bad zombies called “Zerkers.”  It’s now up to Maddy, Dane and Chloe to protect the Normals from the Zerkers and prepare for battle at a Fall Formal that they won’t forget—as long as they “live” through it.

This book was one of those “Free Friday” selections from Barnes and Noble, otherwise I doubt I would’ve ever read it on my own.  It is definitely written more for teenagers, but I found I enjoyed it as well.  The first half of the book was great, it’s funny and humorous and the book doesn’t take itself too seriously.  I thought I’d be leery of Fischer telling the tale through the eyes of a seventeen year-old girl, but he actually does a really nice job with the tone, dialogue and language that a teenage girl would have.  His prose is witty and endearing and there were several instances where I found myself laughing through the first half of the book.  Maddy is your average teenage girl, and Fischer does an excellent job bringing Maddy and her new zombie status to life. 

But then comes the second-half of the book, and the tone completely changes.  It goes from silly and snarky and does a complete turn-around to try and make the book serious.  I understand that there has to be a big showdown between Zombie and Zerker, but the whole book awkwardly shifts from making light of zombies and becomes very solemn without the humor that made the book so charming to begin with.  I didn’t care for the shift of the mood of the book, but Fischer still does a good job with his new twist on the zombie mythology.  It’s different from the normal zombie genre and refreshing to a point.  Some of his secondary characters are underdeveloped (cute boy Stamp, for one) but his portrayal of Maddy is authentic and loveable. 

I’d give this teenage science fiction book a B-, I’d rate it higher but I didn’t care for the gear shift halfway through the book.  It’s laugh-out-loud funny in spots, and the new zombie twist is intriguing.  The ending is left open for sequels, and I’ll be interested to see where Fischer takes his zombies in later books.    There’s mild language and some zombie killing (of course), but nothing too hardcore and is suitable for teenagers aged 13 and up.   Fans of the zombie genre might get a kick out of this book, since this a new take on zombie’s and how they come to be - or, they'll hate that Fischer decided to create his own zombie mythology without paying homage to past zombie mediums.  I found myself in the former group, and thought a new take on the popular zombie genre refreshing and intriguing.

Friday Book Report: Front Porch Prophet by Raymond Atkins

Written by Raymond Atkins, The Front Porch Prophet is Southern storytelling at its best.  It was published in 2008 by Medallion Press.

Welcome to Sequoyah, Georgia where A.J. Longstreet was born and raised and is still carving out a living.  Sequoyah is your typical small, southern town; from the elderly neighbor that cannot drive to the trigger happy constable that shoots first and asks questions later.  The residents of Sequoyah aren’t just residents, they are a part of this town, and their roots are buried deep in the red Georgia clay.  Everyone has a story here, and A.J takes a trip down memory lane while battling with the ideas of mortality and the meaning of life.  His memories of the past and the people he’s known for years help him make one of the toughest decisions he’s ever had to face. 

Eugene Purdue and A.J. have been friends since childhood.  They’ve shared and done many a memorable thing together and sometimes have even gotten into situations better left forgotten.  After a falling out due to Eugene’s lack of responsibility and anger management, he reenters A.J.’s life with terminal pancreatic cancer and one big favor to ask of A.J.  He want’s A.J. to kill him when the time comes.  This is one favor that A.J. isn’t sure he can accept, and after a lot of reminiscing and soul-searching, A.J. has to decide if he can be the one to undertake this difficult task.

I really enjoyed this book.  Atkins brings the small town of Sequoyah to life with beautifully described characters, scenery and everything in-between that gives a small town its charm.  His storytelling is compelling, and while reading I felt like he was telling me the story instead of reading it.  I swear I kept hearing the narrator from “The Dukes of Hazzard” in my head every time Atkins took us to A.J and Eugene’s past.  There’s a lot of reminiscing in this book, and while most times I think it would detract from the overall plot, in this book it gave the characters a backstory that allowed for more depth and color.  It’s one humorous vignette after another, and although it can get a bit confusing going back and forth from past to present and keeping the timelines straight, I thought all the nostalgia this book displayed just added that touch of southern charm that makes this book as endearing as it is.

Sometimes the small town characters can seem a bit outlandish, but for the most part I think Atkins did a great job telling their story.  You could really envision Brickhead, the simple-man looking for love and the quirky Callahan family that named their offspring after their favorite authors.  I really loved A.J. and his wife Maggie (born Margaret Mitchell Callahan) and I wish Maggie was more involved in this story.  While Eugene may have been A.J.’s past, Atkins makes it very clear that Maggie is his present and future.  She is his rock, and despite everything else changing, Maggie is always there.  There are lots of secrets A.J. has tried to keep, but I loved that he always told Maggie everything, even the painful and heartbreaking ones.  A.J. doesn’t keep things from his wife, and I found that solidarity between them so admirable.  Personally, I was more interested in Maggie and A.J.’s story, but I think that has to do with me being a woman.  Men would find the random acts of stupidity Eugene and A.J. get into as young adults humorous and maybe even a little reminiscent of times long since forgotten.

I highly recommend this book.  It’s about life and death and everything in-between, but it’s not depressing, in fact it’s very funny and very well told.  It’s also about real relationships and all those people and the tiny decisions we make each day that make us who we are.  If you’ve ever lived in a small town (like me) this book will captivate you and you’ll find yourself reminiscing about the “good ol’ days” when life seemed less complicated.  I give this book an A- grade; it’s got stellar writing and a great story to go with it.  The characters are vivid and charming and the storytelling is some of the best I’ve read in a long time.  It’s humorous and uplifting despite the fact that death is eminent.  It’s does have some harsh country-boy language and I wouldn’t recommend for younger readers, but if you’re looking for a great Southern story about life, death and the decisions in-between I would suggest you pick up The Front Porch Prophet.  You won’t be disappointed, I certainly wasn’t.

Friday Book Report: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Sara Gruen’s novel, Water For Elephants takes the reader back in time when travelling circus’ arrived on trains, and any and everything went on to make the show a success.  It was published in 2006 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

Jacob Jankowski was just days away from taking his final exams and graduating Cornell with a veterinary degree when he learns that his parents have died in a car accident.  Grief stricken, Jacob returns home to identify their body and settle their estate; the problem is there is no estate to settle.  The Jankowski’s were late on their mortage payments and therefore the bank has taken over.  Jacob is left with nothing.  He returns to school to finish his exams, but instead he walks out of the classroom and wanders through the night before finally jumping on a train intent to roll away from this life and start over.  It isn’t until the next day he realizes he’s jumped on the train of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  A travelling circus.  With his almost degree as a veterinarian, he finds work with the show caring for the menagerie of animals.  Jacob also finds Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star and his life is never the same again.

With all the fuss involving this book, I was very hopeful when reading.  Sadly, I came away disappointed.  This book had so much potential and it just fell short, in my opinion.  I was intrigued with the story and the inner workings of a third-rate travelling circus, but I couldn’t connect with the characters.  Oh, there’s definitely a lot of action and it does get you to turn the pages, but once the pages are turned all you’re left with is just a book loaded with filler and no real depth.  It felt like all those action and suspense sequences took away from what should have been the real story, and it distracted me from trying to focus on Jacob and Marlena.  It’s a book filled with animal cruelty, human cruelty, murder, lust, explicit sexual encounters, and one circus catastrophe after another, and I thought all of that combined were just added for shock value and most of the times weren’t necessary to the overall plot of the book.  There’s no story or character development.  It’s incident after horrible incident and after a while I as a reader become numb and emotionless to all that was going on.

This is supposed to be a story about Jacob and Marlena and how they’re able to come together after all those obstacles aforementioned, and yet we don’t get any real dialogue between them so it’s hard to understand just how their relationship progresses from friendship to love.  Instead it’s brief conversations and simple explanations as to why they suddenly become attracted to one another.  Another beef I had is that August, Marlena’s husband, is so dastardly and cruel you don’t want to like him at all.  Yet, the author decides to give him a medical condition as an excuse for his behavior towards animals and humans alike.  Just make him bad, there’s no reason to justify his actions with illness.  You want him to be the villain so make him a villain, don’t make him into someone you kinda feel like you need feel sorry for.

This book flashes back from past to present, with a cranky old Jacob reliving his time with the Benzini Brothers while stuck in an assisted living home.  That would have been fine except I wish he was telling this story to someone, instead of reminiscing on his own.  There is a reason that ninety-something Jacob is in this book, and it becomes prevalent at the end, I just wish it was more of a “storytelling” prose instead of the clumsy first person narrative we get. 

The one bright spot in this book for me was Rosie, the charming pachyderm that wiggles into your heart after just one meeting.  I thought of all the characters, she was the most deftly explained and had the most emotion and development.  The scenes describing her performance with Marlena were the best part of the book for me.  There wasn’t much else I really liked about this book, but I did enjoy any scene that Rosie was in.  She was enchanting and if not for her, this book would’ve been one big bust for me.

After reading the book, I decided I’d watch the movie starring Reese Witherspoon.  I think I like the movie version better, even though I didn’t really love the movie either.  At least the characters of Jacob and Marlena talked to each other and had some real scenes together.  The animal cruelty and explict scenes were edited down to a PG-13 rating and it didn't feel like it was in your face the entire time (which is how I felt reading the book) and really only took up brief sections of the movie. 

I know a lot of people really loved this book, but it was not for me.  I never connected to any of the characters, the multiple shocking and horrible events thrust in throughout the book annoyed me, and I was frustrated that Jacob and Marlena’s story was never fully developed. I really wanted to like this book, and I really tried to like it, but for me, this book only gets about a C grade.  There’s a lot of harsh language, horrible animal cruelty, violence and explicitly graphic sexual encounters…this is not a book for teens.   Perhaps I’m just too picky, but Water For Elephants was a chore to get through and more often than not, I found myself hoping that this show would not go on.