Jane Austen in Scarsdale

Jane Austen in Scarsdale

By Paula Marantz Cohen

St. Martin's Press, 2006. 275 pgs. Adult Fiction

Summary:
In this modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, Anne Ehrlich is a high school guidance counselor who, thirteen years before, was persuaded by her grandmother that her boyfriend Ben wasn't a good choice for her. She's never been able to forget about him, and when his nephew transfer to Anne's school, she finds herself face to face with Ben once again--and finds that her feelings for him have never died. However, Ben has a fiancé, and Anne is certain he won't forgive her for how things ended between them.

My opinion:

This is a clean read and a fun modern version of Persuasion. Even those who aren't familiar with the original will still enjoy the plot line.It's an easy, breezy read that's perfect for an afternoon of light reading.

3 stars.

Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt

Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell
By Cricket Rumley
Egmont, 2011. 298 pgs. Teen fiction

Troublemaker Jane isn't exactly the typical participant in Bienville, Alabama's Magnolia Maid Pageant, but since her beloved grandmother asks her to try it and Jane is trying to connect to her deceased mother (the Magnolia Maid queen in her day), Jane gives it a go, and surprisingly, is one of the finalists. That means she has to join four other girls in being a true Southern belle, complete with a hoopskirt and sweet Southern manners. However, bickering between the girls, plus the barriers Jane has put up around herself due to a painful past, make it even more difficult than Jane anticipated.

This a fun, fluffy read, good for a lazy afternoon. At the same time, it has some deeper and more serious aspects, such as lessons about friendship and dealing with family disappointments.

3 stars. Pretty frequent examples of underage drinking, but no sexuality and only minor language.

Entwined

Entwined
By Heather Dixon
Random House/Listening Library, 2011. 10 sound discs (ca. 71 min. each). Teen fiction

When the queen dies, the king puts the entire household into mourning. His twelve daughters, who love to dance, are determined to find a way to keep dancing, and magic allows them a way. They find a secret passage to a forest where they can dance. However, the Keeper there seems to have dark secrets, and Azalea, the oldest of the princesses, must find a way to free her family from his grasp before it's too late.

I like the setting and the world described in this story, as well as the language (although I got really, really tired of the words skirts, crinolines, and cravat by the end of the book), but I had a harder time with the plot and the characters. I guess my main problem is that I was never really sold on the girls' need to dance. Keeper is creepy, and I don't understand why they ignored that to go dancing. Maybe someone who dances would understand, and I don't, but honestly, where's their sense of self-preservation? Or common sense? Or any inkling that they might be in danger? Since I didn't buy the need to dance, that made it hard for me to get into the rest of the story, because (for a disbelieving reader like me), they either seem really dumb (which doesn't endear them to me) or really young (which makes it hard to accept that the three oldest have romantic entanglements, because they seem too young and therefore the gentlemen pursuing them seem icky for pursuing them and gives the reader an unsettled feeling during the reading). I wonder if I would have liked the book better than the sound recording; although the narrator was good, the sheer time it takes to listen to a book (instead of being able to breeze through reading it in a matter of hours) gave me lots of time to notice and ponder things I didn't like, whereas if I'd read it, maybe I would have been more swept into the story.

3 stars. Clean read.

Ruby Red

Ruby Red
By Kerstin Gier
Henry Holt and Company, 2011. 330 pgs. Teen fiction

Gwen's family has a history of time traveling, and everyone thinks that her cousin Charlotte will be the next time travel, but it turns out to be Gwen instead. Charlotte, in anticipation of her role, has been given all sorts of training to help her blend in when she visits the past as well as an introduction to the secret society that protects the secret of their time travel and the machine that lets them control where they travel. Gwen doesn't have that training and is somewhat at a loss as to what is expected of her. She has a time-travel companion, handsome Gideon, who quickly makes it clear that Gwen is not his type and pretty much beneath his notice, and her mother warns her not to trust anyone, so Gwen is pretty confused as to what's going on and who is even telling the truth.

This is an exciting start to a new series; I like the time-traveling elements (although, I'm not quite sure I understand all of it, so I hope Gwen gets enlightened a little more in the next book so I can understand more as well), and Gwen is a good protagonist. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

4.5 stars. A really, really little bit of language, but otherwise, this one's clean.

Persuasion

Persuasion
By Jane Austen
Oxford University Press, 2004. 249 pgs. Adult Fiction

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth fell in love, but Anne's father, a vain, shallow man who is overly hung up on appearances, money, connections and social class, won't approve the marriage. Anne's deceased mother's closest friend also discourages the match, and Anne is persuaded to end their engagement. Now, the Elliots are running up debts and have to economize; they rent out their estate to the Crofts--Captain Wentworth's brother-in-law and sister--and Captain Wentworth, recently returned from sea and now distinguished and wealthy, comes to visit. He and Anne barely speak, neither acknowledging their previous engagement. Captain Wentworth seems to be taken with another young lady in the neighborhood, and soon, Anne realizes her true feelings for him.

I'm not sure why I never bothered to read this book before; I enjoy Jane Austen, and I liked this one, although not as much as some of her others. Still, I like the idea of second chances and both Anne and Captain Wentworth are likable, although I wish we got to see a little deeper into both of them. Still, I'm not sure you can go wrong with Jane Austen.

4 stars.

Divergent

Divergent
By Veronica Roth
Katherine Tegen Books, 2011. 487 pgs. Teen fiction


Chicago is divided into five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). Each faction exemplifies the behaviors and attitudes that they think will most benefit the world and combat the problems of human nature. As teens reach a certain age, they are given an aptitude test that tells them which attributes they have, followed by a ceremony where they choose which group to remain with for the rest of their lives. Most people have one dominant attribute, but Beatrice Prior, who has been raised by her Abnegation parents and community, isn't sure she's selfless enough to stay with that faction. When her aptitude tests reveals that she has multiple dominant attributes, meaning she is divergent, she must choose which faction to join--as well as hide the fact that she's divergent, as she's been warned that her life depends on no one finding out her secret. Tris makes her choice, changing her name along with her alliances, and as she trains for her new faction, she struggles to know who to trust and starts to fall in love but also realizes that everything could be ripped away but a group that is ready to overthrow their way of life.

Some books just hook you, and some don't. For me, this one definitely did. I think this has the potential to be the new Hunger Games--the trilogy that everyone has to read and can't stop thinking about. With an intriguing dystopian world, engaging characters, action, adventure, romance, and more, there's not much that this book doesn't have. I will say that I thought the end of the book, where we see the conflict really unfolding, as the rebel group begins rolling out their plans, went by to quickly for me and was actually too easily resolved. Obviously, there's going to be a lot more going on in the next books, but I would have liked to see a little more in this one, as it all plays out in a matter of a few hours. On the other hand, Tris's training and personal growth and conflicts were explored in much more detail and over time, so the juxtaposition just made the larger, societal conflict seem glossed over. Still, I'm hooked, and I can't wait to see what happens next! A great choice for anyone who liked The Hunger Games, dystopia, romance, action, or kick-butt characters.

4.5 stars. As far as language goes, I think this one's pretty clean. There's a lot of violence, though. Sexuality is minimal; there's some kissing, a little sexual tension, and a discussion of how two characters might possibly at some point in the future if they're ready, sleep together.

P.S. (3/26/12) I listened to the audio version of this book last week. I was a little apprehensive at first, since I know a bad narrator can ruin a good book, but , I was quite satisfied with the narrator. Very well done.

Lost in Shangri-La

Lost in Shangri-La
By Mitchell Zuckoff
HarperCollins, 2011. 384 pgs. Adult Nonfiction

In May of 1945, a popular activity at the U.S. Army base in Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, was taking flights to see "Shangri-La," a remote part of the island, completely isolated, surround by mountains and rain forests, with thousands of native inhabitants. Although others had completed this trip, for one group, it didn't turn out so well. When their plane crashed, twenty-one soldiers and WACs died--but three survived. Margaret Hastings and Kenneth Decker, both badly wounded in the crash, and John McCollum (whose twin died in the crash) lived but they were in a remote area of the world, wondering if the natives were cannibalistic, if the Army would be able to evacuate them, and if gangrene would lead to emergency amputation. The Army was able to parachute medics and other soldiers in to help the survivors, but they still didn't know how to get them out.

This is an engaging true story, which, although published for adults, would likely appeal to teen readers interested in WWII and survival stories. (I will say, though, there are pictures of the native men, who traditionally wore penis gourds and little else; some readers might not want to skip the photos.) The details about the survivors as well as the natives are interesting; the rescue was a little less dramatic than what I thought it would be, based on both the dust jacket and the chapters leading up to it, but still, it moves well and is an engaging piece of nonfiction.

4 stars.