Review: A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz

A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz 

Release Date: October 2010 

Publisher: Puffin 

Age Group: Children’s Middle Grade 

Pages: 256 

Source: Borrowed from Library 

Series: A Tale Dark& Grimm (#1) 

Other Titles in the Series: In a Glass Grimmly (#2), The Grimm Conclusion (#3)

Summary (goodreads.com): In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.

Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.

My Review:

I wasn’t sure at first what to think about this book. Other than the cleverly written story of Hansel and Gretel’s “real” story, the narrator is the most fascinating aspect of the novel. The narrator comes in to warn readers that the action will become quite graphic and that if there are children listening to presumably the adult reading the story out loud that they should leave. I think that this is at once brilliant and highly confusing because A Tale Dark & Grimm is a children’s book. The narrator is quite right to butt in with these warnings, however, because the story does get very graphic at times, so much so that I was getting grossed out and I’m 21. At first the combination of the violence and the warnings confused me. Why write a children’s book that you tell children not to read?

I have this habit of reading the author’s acknowledgements halfway through reading the novel because at that point in most novels I become curious about the life behind the person whose imagination the novel sprung from and it was in Gidwitz’s acknowledgements that the reason behind the narrator clicked. He said “to trust that children can handle it. No matter what ‘it’ is.” And then a light bulb went off inside my head and it all made sense, at least to me it did, it’s probably obvious to anyone else who reads it. The whole point of this story is to tell the “real” versions of fairy tales, not the toned down lesson teaching Disney versions that are so popular today (not the Grimm versions either, actually, but not because they’re violent, but because there was more to them as this book suggests).  It’s dumb to assume that children can’t handle violence. Should they personally be subjected to the horrors of the novel? Absolutely not, but there is no real harm in exposing them to the violence in fairy tales. At most they have a few nightmares, but at least they know a little about the world and with fairy tales there’s also the added bonus of being able to also expose children to moral lessons that can only be learned after violence. I should mention that on the back cover of the novel the suggested age is 10+ which I think is far. My nephew is ten and he was exposed to way more violent things than this novel long ago through TV and video games. I think it all depends on the kid reading the book.

As for the story that the narrator frequently intrudes upon I really liked it. I liked how instead of just taking the traditional story of Hansel and Gretel and making it his own, Gidwitz took those characters and weaved them though other tales as well. It is an utterly original redo of Grimm’s fairy tales. It has an equal balance of being horrific and humorous. Hansel and Gretel are characters that a kid (or an adult) will love to root for! I recommend this book to everyone who likes fairy tales!

~Laura!

Collection: Bookmarks- Signed

Bookmarks

Signed Collection

The bookmarks in this small collection are some of my most prized possessions. They are all signed by the authors. 

My Signed Bookmarks, Part 1

 Pictured:

• The Candy Shop Wars by Brandon Mull- I got this bookmark signed when I went to TBF 2012, it's a scratch and sniff bookmark as well!
• Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey
• The Archived by Victoria Schwab
• The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
• The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater

My Signed Bookmarks, Part 2

Pictured:

• Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace
• Delcroix Academy by Inara Scott- I got this bookmark signed when I went to TBF 2012, this one is cool because Scott is from my hometown!
• 3 Brookehaven Vampires by Joann I. Martin Sowles 
• The Pull of Gravity by Gail Polisner- I got this bookmark signed when I went to TBF 2012, this one is signed near the cute little mouse!

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my signed bookmark collection!

If you'd like to see more of my bookmarks, check out the bookmarks label! 

~Laura!

Thoughts From Places Spotlight: Buffalo’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade (2014)

My Experience at Buffalo’s Large St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

Why do many Buffalonians go out in the freezing cold to watch a bunch of drunk people wearing green walk down the street? Because it’s tradition.

Despite growing up in Buffalo, surrounded by Irish culture, I had never really paid attention to any of it because I'm not Irish. This year in part because of the turn my blog has taken and because of the History of Buffalo class I’m taking I decided to start paying attention.  My best friend Anne and her family are American-Irish who are proud of their past. They go to the large Delaware Avenue St. Patrick's Day parade every year and they let me tag along.

I have never seen so many people wearing so many different shades of green. They wore green pants, shirts, hoodies, coats, scarves, headbands, shoes and hats! So many Irish hats! I saw green caps, warm hats, hats with shamrocks, with the flag, with a Guinness logo, cowboy hats, golf hats, and so many top  hats, some were black, some were green, lots had buckles, many had red beards attached! Hats seemed to be the most common way of expressing oneself at the parade. I saw a lot of plaid and at least 50 men wearing kilts on the sidelines. I saw one man dressed up as a bottle of Guinness and I could also tell that he had had a few himself by the time I saw him.

Many people participating in the parade were dressed up as well. Many members of the bands wore kilts; some of the marchers wore long black peacoats with top hats, sashes and canes. There were several troops of traditional Irish dancers and a couple breeds of Irish dogs marching as well. I counted at least 6 people dressed up as St. Patrick. There were a few leprechauns ranging in age from 10 to 50, and bagpipes and traditional Irish dancers galore! A lot of the Delaware Avenue Parade seemed very stereotypically Irish to me though, from the multiple pots of gold and the giant box of lucky charms.

I figure that if I were to go to a St Patrick's Day parade in another city I would see all of that, too. However, our parade is different for many reasons. As the parade went on I noticed that a lot of the marchers were from unions. There were the iron workers, the craft workers, the heat and frost insulators, the sheet metal workers, and more. A sign on one truck said "keep the middle class unionized." Not long after a woman behind me said that it was "nice to see the unions out." It seemed appropriate that the unions were out celebrating an Irish holiday, especially when one considered that when the Irish first came to Buffalo in the early 1800s there would have been no way they could have unionized. Several local celebrities were also marching, including the major newscasters, Mayor Byron Brown, and Congressman Brian Higgins.

Anne and I during the Parade!
(I am in fact wearing green underneath all those warm clothes.)

Another thing that made our parade a Buffalo parade is that every truck honked out the ever familiar “Let's Go Buffalo” cheer and that every single person shouted it back at the top of their lungs. Personally, I don't think that the parade celebrated St. Patrick's Day so much as it celebrated the Irish's history in Buffalo. I overheard one man say that he “honestly thinks that the Parade is the best part of Buffalo!”

I can see now why many Buffalonians, Irish or not, go out every year to the Parade. Everyone is Irish in Buffalo during St. Patrick’s Day weekend!

If you would like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Buffalo one year, you can check out this parade on the Sunday before March 17th, or the smaller, more historical parade in the Irish First Ward on that Saturday. You can also check out the Irish Center on Abbott Road, or hit up one of the many Irish pubs that will no doubt be serving Corned Beef and Cabbage that weekend. 

~Laura!

Review: The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin

 The Blackhope Enigma by Teresa Flavin

Release Date: August 9^th, 2011

Publisher: Templar Books

Age Group: Children’s- Middle Grade

Pages: 304

Source: Borrowed from the Library

Series: The Blackhope Enigma (#1)

Other Titles in the Series:  The Crimson Shard (#2), The Shadow Lantern (#3)

Summary (from jacket flap): For centuries, Blackhope Tower has remained an enigma. Rumors abound that skeletons have been known to mysteriously appear in the middle of a labyrinth found in the most famous of its rooms− the Mariner’s Chamber.

When fourteen-year-old Sunni Forrest visits the tower and watches as her stepbrother, Dean, disappears, seemingly into the painting itself, she goes in search of him− and finds herself drawn into the heart of the enigma.

My Review:

I seem to really only want to read books about kids and art lately so this book fit that topic perfectly. I really liked this story. I especially liked Sunni and Dean’s relationship while they were in the painting and how they behaved. Sunni is 14 whereas her little stepbrother Dean is 12, what I liked is that they acted like kids their age would do in a situation like that. They panicked a bit, they were sad and scared and mad, they bickered a little, Dean was annoying about things little boys are annoying about (such as gross food even though any food in their situation would be better than nothing and yet he still complains like a kid would), and Sunni handles herself with the grace that can only be learned through dealing with little brothers.

I liked the whole concept of the story, as well. I liked the idea of magical paintings that by walking a labyrinth while saying a password would take you inside of it. I liked the layers of the painting and the characters Sunni, Dean, and Blaise found there. I liked the technical aspects behind the layers of the painting as well, such as the top layer being quiet and unfinished and the hallways in between layers being white like canvas. It was the little details that Flavin added to her story that made it so good. Everything in the novel was thought out and executed very well. This book just drew me in from the very beginning and it was hard to put down. It’s a fast paced read that will keep you guessing. 

~Laura!

Thoughts From Places: Niagara Falls, NY (2009)

My Trip to Niagara Falls, NY

Before 2009 I had never been to the Falls. When I told my best friends this they immediately started planning a day trip because they thought that it was ridiculous that I hadn’t been even though we live approximately 25 minutes away from one of the world’s greatest natural wonders. 

We started off the day by getting there in one piece. This was the first time my friends and I had gone on an adventure together and we took a slightly scenic route getting there after we took the wrong exit, but we did get there!

Since the main goal of this trip was for me to SEE the Falls we didn’t do the really touristy things. We saved the classic Niagara Falls experiences, such as the Maid of the Mist or the Cave of the Winds tour, for another time.

First we went and walked over to the Falls. The vantage point from the American side isn’t as good apparently as the Canadian side, but it didn’t matter to me, it was still amazing. I couldn’t believe that so much water could go that fast. I could just see the power rushing down the river and then down the Falls. I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to see it.

Next we went walking through Niagara Falls State Park (because we could only stare at a bunch of water for so long no matter how magnificent). We went in autumn so the trees were changing and everything looked picture perfect.

Can you spot the Bride?

Our goal was to go to Goat Island because we thought the name was funny. On the walk there we saw a wedding party taking pictures in the woods. We didn’t know they were there until we met them at Goat Island but when I looked at the photos I had taken on the walk there I realized that I had accidently got a photo of the bride as the photographer was about to take her photo!

Goat Island wasn’t actually as exciting as its name suggests, it was just more woods but we did follow a black squirrel for a while and my friends ventured onto the rocks while I stayed safely on the path just in case they met their dooms.

We also went to the Niagara Falls Hard Rock Café. It was the first time I had gone to one of those as well. It was exciting to see all of the rock n’ roll memorabilia that the Hard Rock Cafés house. Anne and I have since visited the Cafés in NYC and Baltimore, it’s become our tradition. To wrap up our day we went to the Niagara Fashion Outlet, where Rachel tried on a $400 hat and I was convinced we were going to get arrested for even looking at something that expensive let alone trying it on!

I don’t think I can ever fully express to my friends how much this trip meant to me. It was this, among many other instances, which caused me to believe that they would be my best friends forever. I mean who else would plan an adventure to Niagara Falls just because their friend hadn’t been yet. I am so glad that my first trip there was with them (coincidentally the three of us went back to Niagara Falls a couple years later to visit the Niagara Aquarium and we plan to go to Canada this year so I can see the Falls from the Canadian side too. The Falls will always be our go to place for adventure)!

 ~Laura!

Review: Austenland by Shannon Hale

Austenland by Shannon Hale 

Release Date: May 29^th, 2007 

Publisher: Bloomsbuy USA 

Age Group: Adult 

Pages: 197 

Source: Borrowed from Library 

Series: Austenland (#1) 

Other Titles in the Series: Midnight in Austenland (#2) 

Summary (goodreads.com): Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen;or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

My Review:

I’m really not sure how I feel about this book. It was okay, but definitely not what I expected. I think the main reason this isn’t my favorite book is that I really disliked the main character Jane. She complained all the time about how much she wanted to stop liking Mr. Darcy. I think the plot and Jane’s character would have benefited from her learning to accept herself for who she was early on in the book instead of just complaining about it ever other page.

The premise of Austenland is for Jane to go to this Austen themed resort to kick her Darcy habit. I could tell that the author was trying to make Austenland seem as horrible as possible so that no one would ever want to go there and to ensure that Jane would hate all things Austen by the time she leaves. Austenland sounded horrible. Actors were paid to make customers fall in love with them, which is so cruel. I’ve always thought that something like Austenland would be fun, but I never imagined the gentlemen to be paid actors, I thought they would be guys looking for their Elizabeth Bennets just like girls go looking for their Mr. Darcys (and those guys DO exist).

However, I really did like that last few chapters. I liked who Jane ended up with. I wish that Jane could have ended up with him halfway through or that the book was longer so that we could have seen more of their relationship outside of Austenland. I liked that Hale didn’t just reference Austen in the novel either. A few times she mentions the Bronte Sisters’ works as well which because I have read them I understood and appreciated (however, if I hadn’t read those books and was reading Austenland solely for Austen I might have thought I had somehow missed a few of her novels).

From a slightly different perspective I think I would have really liked this book. You should read it though because this is all just my opinion and I can’t speak for you, dear reader. I would recommend this to fans of romantic comedy, Regency England, and of course Austen. If you’ve read Austenland and liked it comment below and tell me your favorite parts!

~Laura!