Historical

Book Review: Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine

Author
Whelan, Gloria
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

A great, rolling doggerel accompanies this story about finding a way to allow the queen to enter the sea without any part of her being “seen!” Funny and factual, this will be a fun read for you and yours.

Reviewer's Name
Kristin Brown

Book Review: Under a Painted Sky

Author
Lee, Stacey
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

I really enjoyed this book because it was such an adventurous and suspenseful story: just my type. The main character in this story goes through so much I know I could never endure myself, but she kept pushing through it all and made it out all right. There were so many surprising things in this amazing book that happened that I never would have guessed.

Under A Painted Sky was probably the best book I've read this year. Like all books, it had a little blunder here and there, but overall I absolutely loved it.

Reviewer's Name
Adelaide R.

Book Review:To Kill a Mockingbird

Author
Lee, Harper
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

Although it was a little hard for me to get into this book, once I did I was hooked. This book is about Scout, a 7 year old girl who is dealing with the hardship of her father having to defend a black man of rape in the 1940's. Along the way, Scout and her brother Jem meet Dill and they spend their summers together. Dill wants to get Boo Radley to come out of his house, and in the end, he does. With this book is the message to put yourself into others shoes to see how they feel. A classic book, great for anyone.

Reviewer's Name
Alex

Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo

Author
Dumas, Alexander
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas is a fantastic whirl-wind of unforgettable characters and interweaving story-lines that left me awestruck and yearning for an even deeper glimpse into this world of treachery, romance, adventure, and mystery. This book is as deceivingly witty as it is over-flowing charisma and has nestled its way to a special place in my heart as one of my favorite novels of all time.

The novel starts out with a scenic over-look of an Italian waterway in Marseilles as it carries along a lofty ship named Pharaon with one passenger in particular who is unlike any other named Edmond Dantès. A dashing young and honest man dawning with potential who has just returned with news that will change the course of his life, and the lives of many others, forever. He is falsely accused of traitorous activity and is sentenced to life on a prison located on an island off the coasts of Marseilles forcing him to leave behind his family, his friends, and the love of his life Mercédès. This marvelous tale unfolds within the walls of this prison and among its outer-walls as Dantès attempts to make a dashing escape with a kind mannered preacher. But, this is only the beginning of his tale. As the life of Dantès unfolds, so does the life of the many others who have been lucky enough to fall into his life.

This novel is truly unforgettable as it follows not only the life of Edmond Dantès, but also the lives of his lover, best friend, family, and even his partners from his shipping company. Filled to the brim with treacherous plots, revenge, heartache, mystery, and pirating; it also contains young love, faith that knows no bounds, and families filled with the knowledge that blood truly is thicker than water.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to fall in love with not only a menagerie of unforgettable characters, but to a reader who is looking to fall head-first into a world that they will find themselves cherishing forever.

Many blessings and happy reading : ),

Reviewer Grade Level 11.

Reviewer's Name
Haley J.

Book Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author
Lee, Harper
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee may strike your perception as a seemingly uninteresting story. The book tells the tale of two young children in a sleepy Alabama town, and at face-value, the plot does not garner much intrigue. However, I was in the same situation when I was required to read this book in the spring of my freshman year at high school.
Indeed, while at first the story seemed boring, as I continued to carry on with reading, every turn of the page immersed me ever further into Lee’s timeless story.

As a reader, you share the emotions felt by Jem and Scout, two young siblings, as they learn the nuances of life in the prejudiced American South during the early 1900s. Not only was their community weakened by the economic collapse of the Great Depression, but also sickened by the bitter contempt felt among whites and blacks.

In the beginning of the novel, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and her brother Jem innocently play games with their friend “Dill” and enjoy life in Maycomb with their father, Atticus. During this time, they have little to no apprehension of the racial tension hanging in their society, but when their father, Atticus Finch, who works as lawyer, openly chooses to defend an African American in court, trouble arises.

Jem and Scout undergo a number of personal developments during the course of the novel. While at first, they carry with them a genuine and child-like innocence, the court trial their father has taken on exposes them to the racist indignity felt by their fellow community members. Jem and Scout struggle to balance their conflict between the social norms of Maycomb and the morals their father has instilled in them. With the trial’s end, Jem and Scout are lead to discover the imperfections of their society, and the ways with which they are forced to deal with them. As the reader follows along, they not only watch Jem and Scout change, but they too themselves are shaped through Lee’s captivating story.

Overall, I enjoyed most aspects of the book. Although some scenes I felt were a bit plain and unprogressive, these minor flaws were overshadowed by the powerful themes Lee expresses through the story. If you haven’t already read To Kill a Mockingbird, I would certainly give the novel a try. If not for the genuine enjoyment of reading the story, try this novel to feel the powerful emotions stirred from Lee’s literary masterpiece.

Reviewer Grade: 10

Reviewer's Name
Ethan M

Book Review: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Author
Winters, Ben H.
Rating
3 stars = Pretty Good
Review

After struggling my way through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I thought perhaps the next entry in the “Quirk Classics” line of books would be better. After all, it had a new co-author (alongside Jane Austen) and replaced the almost cliché zombie trope with the lesser-seen sea monster framing. Unfortunately, I once again found myself struggling through the archaic language of Austen’s time. Not only that, but I felt there was far too much talking and way too much nonsense, and that wasn’t even about the sea monsters. I’m starting to suspect that I just plain don’t like Jane Austen’s writing.

Half of the book is practically filled with young women swooning over eligible bachelors, learning that these bachelors are engaged or married, and then becoming depressed because of this revelation. If they spent less time gossiping and more time communicating, perhaps they wouldn’t have these problems. Of course, I realize that this was probably an artifact of the era in which the original Sense and Sensibility was written, but it all seems pretty “senseless” if you ask me. Speaking of senseless, this book certainly delivers on a lot of it, when it comes to the violence of the sea monsters.

As was the case with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I feel Austen’s prose holds back the potential for a much more interesting story. Practically steampunk in its underwater cities and rudimentary diving systems, if this book was an original story, I think it would have been much more interesting to read instead of having to slog through another Jane Austen novel. Of course, most people probably wouldn’t have picked up such a novel, because they wouldn’t know what it’s about. Modifying a Jane Austen story merely gets readers in the door, but it seems like a lazy solution to gain sales instead of a way to create an engaging narrative.

Another attempt at fusing Jane Austen with unnecessary violence, I give Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters 3.0 stars out of 5.

Reviewer's Name
Benjamin M. Weilert

Book Review: Go Set a Watchman

Author
Lee, Harper
Rating
3 stars = Pretty Good
Review

Part of the problem of releasing a sequel to a beloved book 55 years later is a lot of other books have been written in between them. Consequently, there have been successful books written with some of the exact same plot and motifs, thus making the sequel feel like a rip-off instead of the other way around. In the case of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, I found myself drawing plenty of comparisons to Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (2009).

While I felt the time-frame of Go Set a Watchman to be somewhat ambiguous, most of the similarities between it and The Help were in their heroines. Both were southern-born-and-raised women who smoked, were outsiders, and weren’t going to stand for racism. And while the main character of The Help did something about it, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch merely fell apart at the realization that everyone around her, including her closest family, was racist. Unfortunately, this makes for a pretty thin storyline, which was why defining moments from the last twenty years of Scout’s life are interspersed to fill in some of the character development. I almost wish there was a little more time given to the changes left unexplained in the 20-year interim, like what really happened to Scout’s brother.

Despite its weaknesses, Go Set a Watchman does share some similarities with its predecessor, and not just in setting and characters. While I was about ready to completely brush this book off as another version of The Help, the monologues at the end of the book really made the read worth it. Much like the courtroom arguments for a man’s innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), the soliloquies of these characters were deep and probing and really made me think about my place in a society with its current racial tensions.

An adequate extension of its predecessor, I give Go Set a Watchman 3.5 stars out of 5.

Reviewer's Name
Benjamin M. Weilert

Book Review: Stone Fox

Author
Gardener, John Reynolds
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

I liked Stone Fox because it's about a boy who has a very sick grandfather who is sick so he has to save him but no one knows why. Then Willy finds out why, it was because they were bankrupt and Willy enters a race which will get him $500.00. Willy races against the greatest dog-sled racer on earth. I liked the book because it was really exciting and intense at parts.

Reviewer's Name
Joseph S.

Book Review: Raymie Nightingale

Author
DiCamillo, Kate
Rating
4 stars = Really Good
Review

The best way I can describe Raymie Nightingale is to say that it is a book you can fall into. Kate DiCamillo is a master of characters and story, and Raymie Nightengale is no exception. This author weaves magic through words. We enter Raymie’s life mid-stream; she is ten years old and floundering a little. Through some new, strong friendships, she discovers strength in numbers – and in herself. The subject matter might be a bit much for some. Raymie’s dad has “run off” with a dental hygienist. But DiCamillo is never heavy-handed with the details and navigates the discomfort with aplomb.

Reviewer's Name
Kristin

Book Review: The Breadwinner

Author
Ellis, Deborah
Rating
5 stars = Bohemian Rhapsody Awesome!
Review

This book is very interesting because it talks about a girl who has always lived in the middle of a war in Afghanistan where all women and girls can't go outside unless the have a note from a male or a male accompanies them outside, well for this girl named Parvana her life changed when her father was arrested and the only other male in her family was her baby brother!!! Big problem huh??? Well the only solution her family found was for her to dress as a boy. Read about this amusing book called The Breadwinner.

Reviewer's Name
Kimberly