Rory Stewart walked through India, Pakistan and Nepal in 2002, a time that was very unstable given the events of 2001 and the subsequent war. He decided that he wanted to walk through the heart of Afghanistan as well. He met with a lot of bureaucracy, but he was eventually given permission to undertake his Continue Reading…
Graceling by Kristin Cashore: Book Review
I’m having a hard time summarizing this without either giving away the story or making it sound like something it’s not. Katsa is a fighter with almost supernatural abilities. This is the story of how she grows into her power and herself. Not the greatest summary, but at least it doesn’t sound like a book Continue Reading…
Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris: Book Review
Marigold and Christian are living out their happily ever after, but they aren’t perfectly happy. Little spats and hurt feelings have started creeping in. Could Olympia’s evil be influencing their lives? And what about the rumors of a woman who washed up in a village downstream not too long after their wedding? It can’t be Continue Reading…
Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin: Book Review
I don’t even know where to start with a synopsis for this book, so I’ll just skip that. I have a feeling that the reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars shows more about what I’m lacking than about what the book is lacking. I felt myself on the verge of a huge epiphany Continue Reading…
Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris: Book Review
My seven-year-old cousin and fellow lover-of-all-things-fairy, Natalie, convinced me to read this by reciting the cover blurb to me: “Part comedy, part love story, part everything-but-the-kitchen-sink.” What fairy tale fan could resist that? Not this one! I loved that the defining characteristics of the characters weren’t their beauty or lack thereof. Chris is intelligent, kind, Continue Reading…
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer: Book Review
Mary “Jacky” Faber is an orphan in eighteenth-century London. She actually came from a good family, but when both her parents died of illness, there was nowhere for Jacky to go but the streets. Luckily, she made her way into one of the gangs of street orphans, groups of children who watch out for each Continue Reading…
The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted: Book Review
Elizabeth is an intelligent young woman growing up within the constraints of Victorian society. To make matters worse, she is “the maid’s daughter.” After her mother and the owners of the house where she worked died, Bet is taken along with the heir, Will, to live with Will’s uncle. Bet is treated as something between, Continue Reading…