Book Review: The Gilded Age

Author: Lucinda Gray

Publication Date: August 2, 2016

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. BYR

After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns. Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can't accept that her brother's death was an accident. 

A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There's a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham. Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother's killer claim her life, too?

John frowns, and I know he isn’t fooled. But, tapping his horse smartly with the reins, he does as I say. I am, after all, the lady of Walthingham Hall.

“You won’t catch me going outside after dark again,” one mutters. “Not now that the Beast of Walthingham has claimed another.”

The Beast of Walthingham preys on the wicked, they say…

Then I see the gaunt, dark figure watching me silently from the other side of the rise.

For the month of October, I am trying to read books that are either gothic themed or have a creepy storyline. This book had a very gothic feel, but in the end fell short for me. The main character Katherine, along with her brother, come into a huge fortune when a relative suddenly passes away. When they move to Walthingham Hall they are impressed by a lavish and grandiose lifestyle, far different from they have ever known, but their lives are soon changed because of the mysterious and even fatal occurrences that happen in and around the manor. The novel had all the necessary elements to be a spooky, haunting read, but it lacked something that I find very pivotal for a novel to be at the top of my shelf: characterization.

Katherine was not what I expected in a female heroine. She was a very flat character and was not characterized very well. The mystery fell flat for me as well. I had the “who-dun-it” figured out about halfway through, and I was pretty disappointed when I realized there were not going to be any more interesting twists and turns. The setting was absolutely magical; the estate was gothic, creepy, and everything you hope an 19^thcentury manor would be. The story line sounds perfect for Halloween, but the plot left me wanting more and left me unsatisfied by the end of the book.

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National Coming Out Day 2016

National Coming Out Day is the celebration of people coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, an ally to the LGBTQ community, or something else-however you want to define yourself. In coming out, you can increase the representation of LGBTQ people in your community, reduce the silence which can help perpetuate negative stereotypes and hatred because there's no-one to speak out against them, or to remind perpetrators that queer people are real, and everywhere, and not some other alien concept. It can also help you just be happier with yourself and acknowledge who you are for you.

photo credit: trec_lit MmmmmMmmm via photopin (license)

For some people, due to their personality and their surroundings and other things, this is easy. For others, it's difficult.  But there's  books about it, both by showing characters who do so, or by helping you deal with it yourself.  (I'm sorry this preface was not meant to be  this serious in tone but it just happened that way).

Coming out isn't the be-all and end-all of a queer person's life. But it's also kind of a thing that happens whenever you meet new people and you need to judge whether they're going to accept you if the fact that you want a girlfriend ever comes into conversation, or (more likely) when you want to correct them about you getting married to a man.

I'm not especially a fan of books with coming out as the -only- plot line. I live in very liberal societies, where everyone I know of is accepting or at least tolerant, and I've come to expect more exciting things from my books.  But then they can be necessary for those who aren't comfortable comfortable in their societies or to themselves, or who don't know how to go about doing so, or who want reassurance that it won't be awful. Also, they are useful to particularly focus on how different societies may treat people coming out. And like any story, they have the  potential to be amazingly told, and 

Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Will I ever write a post about lgbtq books that doesn't feature Simon? Probably. But today is not that that day. Cute, with some excellent points about coming out in the emails between Blue and Simon, and overall giver of happy feels.

All of the Above by Juno Dawson
This one proves that labels aren't always necessary, which is an important thing to note if you're trying some on for size. In addition, overall giver of intense feels, and a few pieces of brilliant poetry.

Read Me Like a Book by Liz Kessler
Featuring a few queer people in varying stages of outness to themselves and society, I liked following Ashleigh's journey, and the way it resolved. In addition, loved seeing other people's different issues in life, issues I don't see much in YA.

This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson 
Non fiction, an advice guide, written in a fun friendly style not just about coming out, but about love, sex, friendship, discrimination, and other things for everyone.

This post was kind of a mix of everything and I know I missed off books at some point. Comment below- what books would you recommend with coming out as a theme?

Also, if you are coming out today, at all, or especially for the first time, remember only do so if you're safe and happy to do so- and may it all go well!

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Book Review: The Thousandth Floor

Author: Katharine McGee

Publication Date: August 30, 2016

Publisher: HarperCollins

Series: The Thousandth Floor # 1

New York City as you’ve never seen it before.

A thousand-story tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the future, where anything is possible—if you want it enough.

Welcome to Manhattan, 2118.

A hundred years in the future, New York is a city of innovation and dreams. But people never change: everyone here wants something…and everyone has something to lose.

Leda Cole’s flawless exterior belies a secret addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have touched.

Eris Dodd-Radson’s beautiful, carefree life falls to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart.

Rylin Myers’s job on one of the highest floors sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will her new life cost Rylin her old one?

Watt Bakradi is a tech genius with a secret: he knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy by an upper-floor girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies.

And living above everyone else on the thousandth floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.

Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech luxury, five teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world. But when you’re this high up, there’s nowhere to go but down…

“Maybe that's all that praying was, she thought, just wishing good outcomes on other people.”

“Sometimes love and chaos are the same thing.” 

“If you aren't sure, then you definitely aren't in love.”

This book gave me the biggest book hangover ever. No book that I read after this one was going to compare and I knew that about halfway through. The premise behind this book was so enchanting and after seeing so many people rave about it on YouTube, I decided that I had to give it a try. The book was full of drama and I loved learning more about the tower; I hope that in the series we learn more and more about the different floors. I will say, without spoiling the novel, that the higher to the top you are the more money and power you have. I just loved the idea that all of New York was in this thousand floor tower and even the modes of travel to get from one floor to the next were futuristic.

My favorite thing about this book was all the different perspectives that we are given. We get to read from the point of view of about five or six different characters which makes the world all the more entertaining because they all come from different backgrounds. Each character has something very interesting to add the story and reading from the different point of views allow you to feel like you are reading more than one story wrapped into one. The ending of the book answered enough of my questions to be satisfactory, but of course I am anxious to know where things are going from here. This is definitely a great book to pick up for Fall!

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What I'm Taking to Uni

So this past few months, many exciting things have been happening for me, which have been better documented on instagram and twitter. I had another packed Edinburgh Fringe, full of brilliant comedians, poets, and theatre pieces. I've had some great times with my friends, which is just as well because we're now scattered across the country and the continent,  because we're all off to uni! I can't believe I was in Year 8 when I started this blog and I now I've got a place at my first choice university to study Classics and French, but hey, time flies!

Along the many bags of clothes and equipment I have packed before I move into the college tomorrow, obviously, I have books, and I thought I'd share what I'm taking. But first, exciting news... 

I got nominated, alongside Sally of The Dark Dictator, and Andrew of The Pewter Wolf, in the UKYA Blogger Awards for Champion of Diversity! Thank you for everyone who nominated me, in despite of the fact that my championing of diverse books, at least this past couple of years, hasn't really been via my blog, more in person- see my TEDx Talk on why you should read diversely, which I might vlog some day seeing as I'm not sure what happened to the footage, the We Need Diverse Books board we put up at my school that stayed in a main corridor for over a year, and anyone who has read Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda because they asked me for a recommendation and that's been my go to book to pass on. I hope to be able to step up both my blog and my promotion of a range of books in the future, and it's nice to have a little spur to do so. And congrats to everyone else who got nominated, in all categories! You can find a list of all categories and nominees here (until it gets buried when they tweet other things).


The main post is under the cut- the books I'm  taking-and hopefully keeping up there, if they fit on whatever shelving they give me!

My Course Books

The books that I'll be studying. I've read all the required bits, so here's a summary of what they're about  and what I thought of them.

• The Poems of Catullus, translated by James Minchie. My copy of this is falling apart, so I put it in a binder ring. I love most of Catullus' works-it's often funny or emotional or both- he crosses the line a lot though!
• Juvenal's Satires, translated by Peter Green. Using anecdotes, it reads like a long list of complaints about Roman society, pointing out all the various moral failings that have come through.
• En Attendant Godot (Waiting For Godot) by Samuel Beckett. It's a play of two men who are waiting for Godot. They contemplate life, meet a handful other people, and wonder why they do so. It feels like Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, a lot of talk, less things happening, good to study, probably boring to watch.
• Supplement au Voyage de Bouganville (Supplement to Bougainville's Journey) by Denis Diderot, I liked the depiction of Tahitan society, and also the way it contrast Tahitian and European society and ideals.
• The Poems of Propertius, translated by H. E. Butler, of which I read Book 1. Mostly love poetry, describing his relationship with Cynthia, but there's a couple of poems for friends too.  
• Essais (Essays), of which I read Des Cannibales by Michel de Montaigne, Again contrasting  European society with another. I liked the challenge of reading the 16th century French.
• The Satyricon by Petronius. A pair of lovers go wandering around the continent, meeting the weirdest of society. Ends abruptly, though probably due to losing the text, but the various episodes, satirising different figures in society, are...interesting.
• Cicero's Defence Speeches, of which I read Pro Caelio. Here Cicero is trying to defend Caelius against charges of violence andmurder, which he does by presenting Caelius as a young man of outstanding virtue, even if he has made some mistakes, and by presenting Clodia Metelli, whose evidence would be important to the case, as a whore. It's funny in some places, misogynistic in many more, and is basically blaming a woman for anything a man does wrong.
• The Aeneid by Virgil. Following Aeneas, a Trojan noble who flees Troy after its defeat, as he wanders, searching for a new place for his people to settle down. A fair bit of travelling gives way to some really graphically battles. I have a lot of love for Camilla, the warrior woman who's featured in book 11.
• Phedre by Jean Racine. The mythological story of a queen who falls in love with her stepson and the husband/father's rashness is presented here in a play. I enjoyed the rhythm of this as I read this aloud, and I liked how it didn't completely villainise Phedre (ok, the blame all shifts on to the Nurse but I feel Phedre gets presented in a worse light in Euripedes' and Seneca's versions so it's nice she gets a little more sympathy here)

Supplementary Books 

Books kind of relating to Classics and French, but not directly relevant (this term)- intended for when I want to do something different but also feel productive! 

• Les Femmes Savantes by Moliere
• Les  Fleurs de Mal by Charles Baudelaire
• Les Mains Sales by Jean Paul Sartre
• World Mythology by Mark Daniels
• Bisexuality in the Ancient World by Eve Cantarella
• The Latin Love Poets by R.O.A.M. Lyne
• Frangine by Marion Brunet (and then I can finally give this back to Caroline- sorry for keeping this so long!)
• Goddesses, Whores, Wives, & Slaves by Sarah Pomeroy

Fun Books

The ones that will be for pleasure, for review, and for hopeful enjoyment!

• The Hypnotist by Laurence Anholt. Set in 1960s America, this historical thriller plus hypnotism looks intriguing.
• Life: A User's Manuel by Georges Perec. I picked this up for the title. I'm hoping for good things from the many many characters.
• The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. I haven't read Everything, Everything yet either, but I've heard lots of people enjoyed it.
• Girl Trouble by Carol Dyhouse. A looking at how society perceives women and what they do throughout the 20th century.
• Daughters of Time - A History Girls Anthology. I love how there's a range of time periods the women at the centre of each story is drawn from, and a range of things they do. 
• The Genius and the Goddess by Alduous Huxley. I got this as a surprise gift, so I don't know what to expect. I didn't mind Brave New World, and I'm hoping i like this as much as I did that, or more.
• As I Descended by Robin Talley. This is the one book I've been waiting for all year, and I'm slightly scared to read it with such high expectations (lesbian contemporary Macbeth!). I'll get to it soon though.
• Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Between Shades of Grey was such a beautiful book, I have high hopes for this one as well.
• Unspeakable by Abbie Rushton. A mute girl falls for the new girl. I remember getting excited for this, but never getting round to it.
• The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch. I love this fantasy series with the detailed world building and the clever characters (especially the ship of lady pirates introduced in book 2). I also hear we get to meet the main character's lost love in this book, something I've been waiting for.

I know I'm being very overoptimistic with my for fun books here, considering I have eight weeks and a lot more reading I'll get once I'm there, but at least I won't be running out of things to get through!  What books would you suggest I get through first? And what would you take from a packed to-read shelf to last you for a couple of months?

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Book Review: Ghostly Echoes

Author: William Ritter

Publication Date: August 23, 2016

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Series: Jackaby # 3

Jenny Cavanaugh, the ghostly lady of 926 Augur Lane, has enlisted the investigative services of her fellow residents to solve a decade-old murder—her own. Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, Detective R. F. Jackaby, dive into the cold case, starting with a search for Jenny’s fiancé, who went missing the night she died. But when a new, gruesome murder closely mirrors the events of ten years prior, Abigail and Jackaby realize that Jenny’s case isn’t so cold after all, and her killer may be far more dangerous than they suspected.

Fantasy and folklore mix with mad science as Abigail’s race to unravel the mystery leads her across the cold cobblestones of nineteenth-century New England, down to the mythical underworld, and deep into her colleagues’ grim histories to battle the most deadly foe she has ever faced.

Some corners of the city, I was coming to find, were always dark, as if to spite the sun.

“Send your expenses to my office, Miss Rook. You two are on the case.”

Jenny Cavanaugh was dead, and she wasn’t happy about it.

There is so much to love about this series. Firstly, it is perfect for Halloween and got me in the mood for all things spooky and supernatural. The series contains so many loveable characters and while eerie and haunting at times, there are added bits of humor thrown in to provide comic relief. In this third and most dark installment of the series, our investigators, Jackaby and Abigail Rook, are finally able to investigate the death of their favorite ghost, Jenny Cavanaugh. I found it so interesting that Jenny’s cold case was brought to light and I was thankful that so many questions I had have now been answered. This cast of characters is not one that you will forget easily. They are all unique and special in their own way. I was up way past my bedtime reading this one!

I am unsure what to think about another book. I am reading a lot of reviews where people seem to believe there will be more, but I have also heard talk that this book will be the last in the series. Either way, this is not a story that you want to miss out on. Like I said, these books are perfect for the spirit of Halloween, and this third book in particular has been the spookiest of all. There were times where I was unsure that I was going to be able to keep reading at night. William Ritter had me squinting my eyes, scared for what I would read next. I am so pleased with this series; I can honestly say that it gets better with each and every book!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for my honest review***

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Theatre Review- Macbeth, performed by Act Three Theatre

Title: Macbeth

Writer: William Shakespeare

Performed by: Act Three Theatre

Major cast: Josh Beecham, Ned Walkely, Simon Morgan

Seen at: Paradise in the Vault, Edinburgh Fringe
Summary: An exciting new take on William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Using the original language but set in a young offenders’ prison, it is bold, fast-paced, and performed entirely with a cast of three.

Review: The story of Macbeth is performed by three actors and set in a modern young offender's prison. I wanted to see this show because Macbeth, multiroling, and a vastly different setting to its original-what more could I ask for?

We open with Macbeth holding a titlecard/ID card, presumably having a mugshot taken, then an opening physical sequence with some impressive stage fighting to set the scene. Then the play develops in its new setting, where guards are witches and kingship is represented by a dressing gown and a paper crown.

The setting works well for the most part, prison hierarchies being a good new setting for kingdoms, and the costumes suited the production, but I did wonder where is Malcolm going when he announces leaves for England, if he's meant to be locked up.

The cast are all really good. My favourite thing about it though was the doubling, because, while necessary with three characters, makes some good links between the characters- Simon Morgan playing both Duncan and Banquo, the two direct victims of Macbeth's ambition, Ned Wakely playing both Lady Macbeth and Banquo's murderer (I know they kept Macbeth's line "Be innocent of the knowledge", but it just got me thinking of how cool it might have been if they'd kept the implication that she killed Banquo), and also Josh Beecham saying the Doctor's words in the sleepwalking scene, while still (I think) being Macbeth, adding a different, kind of caring, spin on him.

I don't know if it was intentional, but the lighting in the "Is this a dagger I see" scene and the banquet scene made the actors' eyes look black, demonic, which went well with those scenes.

The editing of the script is amazing. I think we ended slightly before the advertised hour, but the major plot points were all conveyed. Also, so much love for the delivery of "Birnam" just before the attack on Macbeth. The twist and wordplay and cleverness of getting around the prophecy was just...yes.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a fast, intense version of Macbeth.

Links: Company

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Book Review: Root, Petal, Thorn

Author: Ella Joy Olsen

Publication Date: August 30, 2016

Publisher: Kensington

In this beautifully written and powerful debut novel, Ella Joy Olsen traces the stories of five fascinating women who inhabit the same  historic home over the course of a century—braided stories of love, heartbreak and courage connect the women, even across generations.
 
Ivy Baygren has two great loves in her life: her husband, Adam, and the bungalow they buy together in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Salt Lake City, Utah. From the moment she and Adam lay eyes on the  home, Ivy is captivated by its quaint details—the old porch swing, ornate tiles, and especially  an heirloom rose bush bursting with snowy white blossoms.  Called the Emmeline Rose for the home’s original owner, it seems yet another sign that this place will be Ivy’s happily-ever-after…Until her dreams are shattered by Adam’s unexpected death.
 
Striving to be strong for her two children, Ivy decides to tackle the home-improvement projects she and Adam once planned. Day by day, as she attempts to rebuild her house and her resolve, she uncovers clues about previous inhabitants, from a half-embroidered sampler to buried wine bottles. And as Ivy learns about the women who came before her—the young Mormon torn between her heart and anti-polygamist beliefs, the Greek immigrant during World War II, a troubled single mother in the 1960s—she begins to uncover the lessons of her own journey. For every story has its sadness, but there is also the possibility of blooming again, even stronger and more resilient than before…

Relieved to take a break from the sad twist in my own tale, I was more than eager to consider hers.

He was picturing his home freshly built, his wife a young woman with a baby on her hip. He was pondering 1944.

She smiled and leaned into him. “Yes, this house has harbored its fair share and it’s still standing. Surely it can handle you.”

This book is such a charming, cozy read. The book starts out with Ivy Baygren and her sudden bout of grief because of her husband’s unexpected passing. She tries to work through her husband’s passing by working on the sweet, little house that they purchased together. As Ivy works in and around the house she and her husband shared together, she starts to wonder about the history of the house and others that lived in it before her. Ivy finds small mementos left by other females that have lived in the house from 1913 onwards. As readers, we get a peek into the lives of each of these women. The story is told from alternating viewpoints and each character is just as crisp and carefully written as the last.

Each of the women who lived in the house had such interesting stories to share. I was so excited to get to a new chapter for each woman so that I could continue their stories. This book is so magical in its delivery. All of the lives you will read about are enchanting and personable; you won’t be able to put this book down. There are many emotional parts of this book. You will feel the same pains as the characters and you will find yourself rooting for their happily ever afters. I was so enthralled by how eloquent and completely endearing this book was that I struggled to put it down. I even woke up early one morning just to read some more!

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Kensington in exchange for my honest review***

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