Review: The Secret Garden

Here are my thoughts on The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett in one sentence: Not as good as I remembered it. Doesn't that suck?

For those of you who haven't read it, or read it so long ago you can't remember it: Contrary little Mary is sent to live with a relative on the Yorkshire Moors after her parents and household die in India. The spoiled girl has never even dressed herself and is quite friendless. But with the help of two boys, a gardener, and an abandoned garden, she becomes a new person.

Clearly, I have become a jaded, terrible person, one who can't even enjoy such a magical story. I felt terrible for Mary and was happy about her transformation - but found angelic Dickon to be annoying and Colin to be insufferable. That said, I loved this book when I was a girl so hopefully someday, if I read this to my little M, I'll be able to enjoy it through her again. Until then, I think I'm too old to enjoy this one.

Buy The Secret Garden on Amazon. Or do what I did, and download it free via Project Gutenberg.

2011 Pritzker

As you've probably heard by now, the winner of the 2011 the Pritzker Prize has been announced: Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. I am not too familiar with him, to be honest, but the images I've seen of his work are striking.

I have a feeling I posted this link last year, when they announced who won the Pritzker, but I think it bears repeating:
Architecture Is a Team Sport: So why do they award the Pritzker Prize to just one person?

Review: The Order of the Odd Fish

Before I even start the review, I'll make a disclaimer that my sister gave me The Order of Odd-Fish and it was written by a friend of hers, James Kennedy. I don't think I've met him, though, so no bias here. Moving on...

Jo Larouche, age 13, was found as a baby with this note: This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a dangerous baby. Despite the warning, Jo leads as normal a life as possible with her eccentric Aunt Lily- until she's transported to the bizarre world of Eldritch City. There, now installed as a member of the Order of Odd-Fish, Jo learns the truth about who she is and why she has to confront the Belgian Prankster, who is either a villain or the world's scariest comedian.

When my sister gave me the book, I didn't know what to think, actually. The cover was cute but strange, the title was definitely offbeat and the first chapters decidedly weird. It was, no doubt, an odd book. But as I kept reading, I found myself pulled in, really wanting to find out who Jo is and how she will handle the truly awful circumstances thrust on her. Despite the bizarre trappings of the story, at the heart there is a sweet girl making difficult decisions in an unfamiliar context. I rather enjoyed it.

Buy The Order of Odd-Fish on Amazon.

Back!

Maternity leave has come to an end and I am back to work (part-time at first), so with it, I've decided to try to blog again. Starting Monday, I plan to post a review or two a week, plus other items of interest. I have no plans to post pictures of the baby here, however, so if you'd like to see more of her, please find me on Facebook instead. Or drop me an email and I'll be happy to go on (and on!) about how adorable and perfect she is.

Announcing...

We are happy to announce that our daughter, Baby M, was born at 9:21 AM on November 29th! M weighed 9 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. We are all healthy and happy, and enjoying getting to know each other.

Review: Rampant

I loved unicorns when I was a little girl. I was convinced - 100% convinced - that somewhere out there, unicorns were real. I remember going to see the circus one year when they were showing a unicorn. Despite the skepticism around me (from my older, wiser sister), I was sure that this was proof that unicorns were real. I don't know when I finally grew out of this belief, but I was probably much older than I should have been.*


Given this, it's actually surprising to me that it took me this long to get around to reading Rampant by Diana Peterfreund.

Astrid Llewelyn has always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one attacks her boyfriend — ruining any chance of him taking her to prom — Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient Cloisters the hunters have used for centuries. However, all is not what it seems at the Cloisters. Outside, unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from bone-covered walls that vibrate with terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to her growing attraction to a handsome art student ... an attraction that could jeopardize everything.

Did I like it? Absolutely! The book was much darker than I expected - the unicorns were really bloodthirsty, the battles with the girls were high-stakes, and the threats from outside were disturbing. But Astrid and the other girls were take-no-prisoner heroines and I loved reading their story. I can't wait for the sequel.

Buy Rampant by Diana Peterfreund on Amazon.

* So, obviously, Team Unicorn, people. Team Unicorn all the way. And in case you have no idea what I'm talking about: Zombies vs. Unicorns.

Review: Life from Scratch

Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford is about a woman starting life over. Rachel Goldman feels helpless - she's divorced, on leave from her unsatisfying job, and lonely in her little NYC apartment. She doesn't even know how to make an egg! So she starts at the beginning: she will learn how to cook and venture out on a few dates. To her surprise, the blog she writes to track her progress is a hit. But life is complicated and Rachel can't make herself forget her ex as easily as she can teach herself to make dinner.

This was a really charming, sweet read. Rachel is a likable heroine and the author has done an good job of making her and the other characters - even the Latin love interest (I pictured Javier Bardem!) - fully fleshed out, while keeping the tone very light. I also liked the structure of the book, with snippets from Rachel's blog at the beginning of each chapter (though I was surprised that the author didn't incorporate recipes into the book as well - maybe that would have been overkill, but it would have fit).

While Life From Scratch isn't a heavy book, it is an endearing story that I think many readers will enjoy. I look forward to the promised sequel when it comes out.

Buy Life from Scratch by Melissa Ford from the publisher, at B&N.com or on Amazon.