Author: Ellen White

Year: 2002

Genre: Young Adult, History, Diary

Pages: 187

Series: Dear America

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? is the diary of Molly Flaherty, a 15-year old living in Boston during the Vietnam War. Molly tries to deal with her brother, Patrick, being a Marine (quick note: his story is in the My Name is America series, entitled: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty). Molly soon volunteers at a VA hospital all the while trying to figure out why the hell the US is invloved in Vietnam. She brings up many good questions such as asking why Communism is so bad. She goes on to reason, “Then I made things worse  by asking if we were over fighting Communism because we honestly think it’s a bad thing — or because the United States  just wants everyone to be exactly  like us, because  we think  we know best.” She then says that if the Vietnamese want to be Communism, then let them. She’s told later that while Communism may look good on paper (which it really does) it doesn’t exactly work in real life.

While World War II is my favorite, the Vietnam War era is my second favorite. There’s just something about protesting war and the hippies that make it all so interesting. I just wished that it went farther into the resistance movement of the war and the hippies (unless of course there is another Dear America book that deals with that, but I doubt it) I really liked this book and suggest it to anyone who enjoys this era as well.

Rating: 4/5

Author: Barry Denenberg

Year: 2001

Genre: Young Adult, History, Diary

Pages: 152

Series: Dear America

Early Sunday Morning is the diary of Amber Billows as she deals with moving from Washington, DC to Hawaii. Because of her father’s job (reporter) they move quite a lot and Amber starts a new diary every time her father tells the family that they’re moving. At first Amber doesn’t want to move since the school year has already started and she hates not getting to start a new school in September like all the other kids. Despite throwing a fit initially, she soon gets over it. After she and her family move, her life seems to move on. She makes a new friend, Kame, a girl of Japanese decent (of course). However, not long after the Billows family starts getting used to their new life in the US territory (Hawaii wasn’t a state yet), the Japanese  attack Pearl Habor. It’s not very long after the attack that Mr. Billows annonces that the family is moving again, thus the end of this diary for Amber.

I didn’t feel that this book was long enough. The story itself only being 132 pages out of the 152 (the last 20 pages being filled with information on how life was in 1941 and historic pictures like all Dear America books). The last entry is Christmas, only a few weeks after the attack. It would have been nice how Hawaii dealt with the life after the attack (longer than a few weeks). I personally felt that the whole thing was rushed. I mean, the story was still good, as it appeals to any girl who has had to move far away from her friends and family (myself included), particularly at a young age like Amber did. I suggests this book for anyone interested in Pearl Habor or the World War II era.

Rating: 3/5

Author: J.K. Rowling

Year: 2008

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Pages: 108

Series: N/A

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of 5 fairy tales for wizard children in the Harry Potter universe. Like Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this book is written not in the voice of Rowling, but the voice of her characters. Tales of Beedle made it’s first appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and is “translated from the Ancient Runes by Hermione Granger” and there is commentary by Dumbledore. 

Perhaps it’s because I kind of grew up or maybe the movies made me lose my love for anything Harry Potter, but I really didn’t care for this book. I found myself forcing myself into finishing it even though it’s only 108 pages. I don’t know, maybe it this would have come out when I was younger, Iwould have liked it, but meh…

Rating: 2/5

Author: Beth Levine

Year: 2002

Genre: Young Adult, History, Diary

Pages: 166

Series: Dear America

When Christmas Comes Again is about a girl named Simone, whose family is part of the New York Society, who decides to volunteers to become a “hello girl” (a switchboard operator) for the Army Single Corps during World War I. She decides to do something for her country after her brother leaves to fight on the Western Front. She deals with the loss that war brings as well as life in general.

Now where World War I history isn’t exactly my favorite period to read about, I did enjoy it. I did, however, feel that there were some parts that weren’t necessary to the story, I guess they could be called the “boring parts” as I found myself not really caring about what happened during these entries. It was juswt entries a little on the ordinary side. However, there were entries that I particularly liked. For example she talks about one when there was a fire and all the switchboard girls refused to leave their post even as the fire got closer and closer to them. It shows the dedication of the girls. Of course, there was a romance added to the story. While in France, Simone randomly runs into her brother and meets his friend, Sam. Despite having a rough start, the two begin to love each other. The ending was a little too sappy for me. Perhaps it’s the cynic in me.

Rating: 3/5

Author: Patricia McKissack

Year: 2004

Genre: Young Adult, History

Pages: 161

Series: Dear America

First of all, look past the fcat that on this book’s library catalog ID is “JUV FIC” and additionally look past the fact that it also has a sticker that says “5th Reading Level.” I read this book because I used to read the Dear America books series when I was younger. I like young adult and JUV FIC, so sue me. Either way, this book series is really good for those who want an easy quick read and adore historic fiction.

Look to the Hills is about a French slave girl named Lazette (nicknamed Zetti). She is the Companion of Marie-Louise Boyer (nicknamed Ree). Being a Companion (“That’s just a fancy word for slave”) means that Zetti basically grew up with Ree just to cater to her every wish. She is to go where Ree goes. Life for Zetti has been pretty good, the Boyer family treat her like one of their own. However, due to Ree’s father dying and her eldest brother having died in the New France (this is set during the French and Indian War), Her second oldest brother, Pierre, has inherited the estate. Unfortunately he’s not very good at it and has found himself in debt. In order to pay back this debt he gets rid of his servants and plans to marry off his sister to an old banker (nicknamed The Toad).

Ree plans an escape, tricking her future husband into buying Zetti from her brother. On the way to The Toad’s place outside of Paris, their carriage becomes ransacked. Turns out that it is Ree and Zetti’s friend, Saint George. The two girls set off to Spain, to Ree’s godfather. There they find out that Jacques (Ree’s eldest brother) is in fact alive. Ree becomes very determined to travel across the Atlantic to find her brother.

Once Ree and Zetti get to what was New France (it had been taken over by the British), they are separated because the British don’t find it proper for a slave to be treated like an equal to Ree. This is when the novel turns it’s focus from the journey to find Jacques, but to Zetti’s life. Not a lot of things happen until Pierre shows up and sees Zetti. Since she is technically he still owns her (money was never actually exchanged with The Toad), she is forced to go back to France with him. However, just in the nick of time, the settlers pull all their money together to buy Zetti from Pierre (later to be revealed with all intensions of selling Zetti to Ree). The books ends on a happy note, Zetti is freed by Ree and life goes on.

This was a pretty good book. It was interesting to see a different level of slavery that I’m used to hearing and reading about. Though it’s difficult to say how much creative liberty was taken by the author on the subject matter of Companions in France. It was a quick a easy read (it only took me a few hours). Read it if you’re bored or interested in historic fiction.

Rating: 3/5

Author: Jane Austen

Year: 1871 (Possibily written in 1794)

Genre: Epistolary novel

Pages: 64

Series: N/A

Lady Susan is novel written as a series of letters between the various characters. The main character, the widowed Lady Susan,  schemes to find not only her only daughter a husband, but herself one as well. She is selfish and flirtatious. At the beginning of the novel, she practically invites herself to her brother’s house (Churchill) after dropping her daughter, Frederica, off at a school. Frederica is despised by her mother, who actually encourages other people to despise the girl as wellHer sister-in-law, Mrs. Vernon, sees through Lady Susan’s front of being a proper lady. She wants to save poor Frederica from an unwanted match that her mother is in the process of arranging (to Sir James Martin). In fact, it comes to the attention of both Mrs. Vernon and Lady Susan that the young girl might be in love with Mrs. Vernon’s brother, Reginald. While Mrs. Vernon has no problem with it, Lady Susan is appalled since it is she who is scheming to marry Reginald. Eventually Reginald is told of Lady Susan antics (such as involving herself with a married man) and cuts off communication with her. Mrs. Vernon desperately seeks Frederica to come back to Churchill. Lady Susan agrees after influenza hits London. Weeks later, Lady Susan has seemed to marry Sir James Martin. It is implied that Frederica will marry Reginald at the end of the novel.

I really enjoyed this novel and found it easier to read than most Jane Austen novel. Though, the novel’s main character is Lady Susan, I found myself caring more about Mrs. Vernon and Frederica. If you haven’t read this novel, I encourage you to do so.

Rating: 4/5

P.S. Sorry for such the shit review, it’s been a while since I’ve actually written one.

A couple of factors that are different from this time last year.

1. I’m not longer a student. I finally graduated college in August.
2. This year I’ll be in the process of applying to grad school for creative writing so I need to read…a lot.
3. I feel like I’m more motivated. Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see.\

Anyway, yeah. Same as last year. I’ll try to be better about the updates.

P.S. the 2009 page isn’t up to date. I read a totally of 56 books last year. I would update it but I erased my list before I realized it. Oops.