Collection: Pride and Prejudice (Part One)

Pride and Prejudice

Seen here are the spines of my 10 copies of P&P.

I collect copies of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Why? Because I love everything about it: the story, the characters, the language, the message, and the sheer number of different covers. Pride and Prejudice is timeless.

Pictured:

• Dover Publications Inc., 1995.
• Cover harkens back to famous "Peacock Cover" of 1894 which was illustrated by Hugh Thomson.
• Personally, I like this colorful version better than Thomson's (but I wouldn't say no to owning his)!
• Penguin Group, 2005. (Notes by Viven Jones)
• Published to celebrate the movie starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen. 
• This was the copy I first read. My best friend forced me to go see the movie and I fell in love with it, so I read the book and fell even deeper. 

Pictured:

• Signet Classic, 1996. (Introduction by Margaret Drabble)
• This cover features Jane Elizabeth, Countess of Oxford painted in 1797 by John Hoppner. This information did not come the back cover or copyright page as it should have, however. All the back cover says is that it is from the Tate Gallery in London. So I went to their online catalog and searched through hundred of painting until I found her. 
• I bought this at a thrift store because a) it was a different cover, and b) someone annotated it. Maybe for school, maybe for fun, I'll never know but it excited me. I have yet to read the notes though. 
• Bantam Dell, 2003. 
• This cover features Miss Rosamond Croker (detail) by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1827). This information was found on the copyright page along with thanks to the Albright-Knox Gallery for the use of it. The Albright-Knox is in my hometown!
• I bought this copy to annotate myself. I also found a post-it on the last page that says "-men want beauty, money, status, connections, materialistic objects. -women didn't have career. men were to work and make money."
• Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003. (Introduction and notes by Carol Howard)
• This cover features a close up of Berthe Morisot from Edouard Manet's The Balcony (1868).

Pictured:

• Pocket Books, Inc., 1941. 
• Cover shows vibrantly colored Elizabeth and Darcy, illustrator not known. The edges of the book are also red like the endpapers. 
• This is the oldest copy I own at this moment for sure.
• Books, Inc., Year Unknown 
• Year Unknown, but not for lack of trying. From the little information I could get about the "Art Type Editions, The World's Popular Classics" series is that there are a lot of books in it and not a single one has a copyright date. I can't find a single bit of information on the publisher or when they printed this series of books. Some say 1900 or during the 40s, when another says 1964. This book's age will remain a mystery for now.
• My Aunt gave me this book along with a bunch of other books she found of my grandmother's and it is my only hard cover edition of P&P.  
• Scholastic Book Sources, 1968. (Introduction by EM Halliday)
• The green and blue seemingly watercolor painting on the cover is not given an illustrator anywhere in the book.I like how calm this cover is. 

Pictured:

• Pemberly Digital in association with DFTBA Records, 2013. (Forward by Hank Green)
• This is my favorite copy of P&P because it is the Lizzie Bennet Diaries Edition along with my LBD DVD set which I purchased through the Kickstarter.
• The artwork on the cover is by Valeria Bogado who was discovered on DeviantArt by Hank after she drew some fanart for The Fault in Our Stars by Hank's brother John. 
• It has an awesome forward by Hank Green, vlogbrother and co-founder of the series, that is prefaced with a photo of him, and the actresses who play Lizzie, Jane, Lydia and Charlotte in the webseries. It also has a four page spread of the best LBD stills.
• Evensen Creative, 2014. (Introduction, Annotations, and Artwork by Erika Svanoe)
• This is the companion edition to Marrying Mr. Darcy: the Pride and Prejudice Card Game. It was made to explain the inspirations behind the game that Erika created. 
• I have yet to read this edition, but since playing the amazing card game, that I helped fund with it's Kickstarter campaign, I am really excited about it.

This is the first part of what will probably become an ongoing series of posts showcasing my collection. Seen above are ten different editions of Pride and Prejudice, I think with every 5 new editions I collect I will post another blog showcasing those copies. 

~Laura!

Review: Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Release Date: September 2013

Publisher: Tor

Age Group: Adult

Pages: 364

Source:  Borrowed from Library (will buy soon)

Summary (goodreads.com): A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.

 Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

 In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

My Review: 

The Dear Ms. Victoria Schwab has once again captured my imagination with her brilliant story. What I love about Vicious is that there is no clear cut “hero.” She takes the hero vs villain and turns it on its head. Is the villain the so called “hero” killing those he deems unholy? Or is he the one who went to jail? Does it matter that the jailed is trying to stop the “hero” of the tale? What makes a villain the bad guy anyway?

Vicious is exploring the morals behind making supervillians and superheroes, between life and death. Whether playing God to become more than one’s self is morally correct. The story is told through multiple points of view, each offering a different insight into the dilemma of superpowers. Through these points of view each character gets their say on whom exactly the villain is. The story of Victor and Eli, of Serena and Sydney, of Mitch are all slowly unfolded through the flashbacks and it allows the reader to wonder constantly about who is good and who is bad. In the end it is up to the reader’s own sense of morals to decide who is right: Victor Vale or Eli Ever.

This is a completely original, unique, and complex masterpiece. It is an “on the edge of your seat adventure,” with characters and ideas so complex and addicting that they get inside your head and stay there long after the novel ends, Vicious captivated me like only a Victoria Schwab novel can. 

~Laura!

Thoughts From Places: Baltimore, Part Two (2013)

My Trip to Baltimore!

The view of the Aquarium and the WTC

After the taxi brought us back from Fort McHenry we were walking around the Inner Harbor. There we saw this huge piece of seemingly scrap metal on display in front of a museum. It was twisted and burnt, just before I walked up to the sign I realized what building I was in front of: Baltimore’s World Trade Center. So that piece of metal in front of it was a piece of New York’s WTC, a bit that survived the 9/11 attack. I thought it was so strange to see it outside in the elements in the middle of Baltimore’s harbor instead of in a museum (like the other bits I had seen at the American History Smithsonian).

The licorice Harry and I

Next we went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, which was amazing. There was so much to see. The unbelievable sights began before we walked in the door. The museum is covered in a 2 story serpent, there’s a 10,000 lbs. granite ball balanced on 1/8 inches of water and a mini cooper covered in over a million Swarovski crystals. We saw exhibits on the royal jewels, an enormous penny made of pennies, and a phoenix made of old cds and dvds. There was a portrait of Heath Ledger as the Joker comprised completely of different colored “such a shame” phrases, a junk mail portrait, a clockwork fish, a t-rex made of pop-tart foil, and a brick from the St. Valentine’s massacre wall. We walked a tightrope a foot from the ground (I got about 25% across), through a kaleidoscope hallway and a room full of famous buildings made of toothpicks.

Matchstick Hogwarts and the Hagrid Shawl

But the very best things were about Harry Potter. They had an optical illusion knitted shawl with Rubeus Hagrid, look at it from the front and you will see nothing, but from the side the Keeper of the Keys smiles back. There was a portrait of young Harry Potter made of licorice. But the most impressive of the entire museum and worth the $18 admission price alone was the to scale “miniature” matchstick marvel by Patrick Acton: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry made of over 500,000 matchsticks. It was immaculate. It had literally everything, the towers, the windows, the Great Hall, the Boathouse. I took a picture of every single inch of the thing. It was massive and perfect. The attention to detail still astounds me a year later. I marvel at the extent people will use their talents for things they are passionate about.

For me the main point of this trip was to see as much of Edgar Allan Poe as possible. While planning it was also pointed out to me that there was a pub devoted to James Joyce too. I like to think of these two things as what got me started as a Literary Tourist and as such each of these adventures will have their own blog posts! (They should be posted on BWE in November and will be linked here and here as soon as it is available.)

The stubborn eel and in the upper right corner you can
see it's feeder desperately trying to catch him

On the third day of our trip we went to the National Aquarium. That place was a labyrinth of wildlife. I can’t even say of fish because they had a rainforest exhibit filled with birds, reptiles and even a monkey or two. The building itself is amazing. They had so many different sections that we actually missed the Australian bit (which still saddens me because I didn’t get to see a puffin). Connecting floors and areas they had conveyor belts like in the cartoon the Jetsons, except these didn’t just go horizontal across the floor but slanted up like flat escalators. They had a whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling in between the floors and walkways with windows to see the harbor. If you adore turtles like I do then this was the place for you they had several different kinds. 

A dolphin looking smug because
he just did a pose for a fish

If jellyfish are more your thing look no further they have a room full. If you are a shark fanatic they had an entire multi-story room full of them for you. In that tank they also had a mischievous eel that kept swimming away from the diver trying to feed it from the bucket. That eel wanted nothing to do with food, he was more interested in her chasing him, and he put on quite the show. They also have a dolphin show. We didn’t go to the show but caught a bit of the handlers playing with the dolphins while also trying to teach them tricks (honestly, the dolphins were more interested in playing which was fun to watch).

That small orange and green figure is me.

After we left the Aquarium after a few hours wandering around happily watching fish, we walked down the road a bit to the Star-Spangled Banner house, the home of Mary Young Pickersgill, the woman whose gigantic flag inspired Key to write our anthem at Fort McHenry. The house was cool, but self guided with cellphone calls so it wasn’t all that interesting. I should have did more research. If I had known more about her I might have been more interested in her home. They did have a scale façade of the flag though covering the stairs of the information center next door. That thing was insanely, mind bogglingly big.

Me inside the steampunk B&N

Anne loves visiting the Hard Rock Cafes wherever she travels so we checked out the Baltimore one and as I went to the restroom I saw Chris Daughtry's pants and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz’s bass which was so cool and unexpected that I had to take a picture with it.

The last thing we did on our trip was visit the Barnes and Noble near the Hard Rock. My B&N in our mall is pathetic compared to that thing. It is housed in a converted power plant and the escalators were clear so the gears inside were visible giving it a very steampunk feel. It was so cool that it had two floors and an aquarium in the Starbucks. I would have never left, given the chance.

I loved Baltimore and would love to visit the city again. It gave me a wanderlust that I cannot seem to satisfy. 

To read more of the first half of my Baltimore Adventure, click here!

~Laura!

Review: Jackaby by William Ritter

Jackaby by William Ritter

Release Date: September 16^th 2014

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 304

Source: ebook from Publisher via Netgalley

Summary (goodreads.com): Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

My Review:

The character of Jackaby is what originally drew me in to this quick, fun, whimsical book.  He has the personality that encompasses some of my favorite fictional people. He has an attitude that combines any regeneration of the Doctor in that he will investigate anything out of the ordinary and commands attention, but instead of aliens he investigates fairy creatures, such as banshees, shapeshifters, ghosts, and brownies, like Arthur Spiderwick and he does it all with the deductive abilities of Sherlock Holmes. At one point Jackaby’s ghostly companion, Jenny remarks to his new assistant, Abigail that “for a man who professes to be entirely rational and scientific, he can’t seem to steer clear of the impossible and magical" (125). He commands not only the curiosity of those around him in the story but of the reader as well. Because of Jackaby’s huge presence it is almost easy to overlook the narrator, Abigail. To do so would be a discourtesy because Abigail commands a respect from me personally in that she knows that more than anything that she wants adventure and travels halfway across the world by herself to get it. She’s a great protagonist because she is funny, intelligent, practical, adventurous, inquisitive, and persistent. I loved Abigail’s first adventure with Jackaby. It’s a good, light mystery full of supernatural oddities and great side characters. The setting of New Fiddleham, especially Jackaby’s very strange house quickly wormed it’s way into my heart as did all the unique, crazy characters. I truly hope there will be more books for Abigail and Jackaby. I sense a new favorite in this that I will wish to read over and over again for years to come. 

~Laura!

Thoughts From Places: Baltimore, Part One (2013)

My Trip to Baltimore!

Baltimore Skyline seen from our water taxi

In May 2011 and 2012 my friend Anne and I travelled to Rochester to go to the Teen Book Festival (see pictures here) but in 2013 we weren’t able to go because of school. We still wanted to go somewhere to celebrate being done with our junior year of college. After a while of deliberation we chose Baltimore. We planned and planned. It was the first trip I had ever taken without my parents or a school group and I was beyond excited.

The dots of Northumberland in case you
thought I was kidding

On the several hour drive to Baltimore, Anne and I amused ourselves by singing loudly to Disney songs, finding silly road and town names, and counting how many different state/foreign licenses plates we could find (about 25 including Guam, Quebec and Ontario).  While still in New York we passed windmills, hills, so many trees and a sign advertising a sea serpent (which we will visit one day I hope). When we crossed into Pennsylvania though Jane, our GPS couldn’t find us. I learned then that tom toms hate the hills of PA and just kept telling us to turn around as soon as possible. It was then that I should have realized that Pennsylvania was strange place. We passed signs that said “beware aggressive drivers” and one with an Amish horse and buggy crossing and low and behold I looked to my right where there was an actual horse drawn carriage with an Amish man at its wheel. We passed through a town called Northumberland where they take tailgating so seriously that they painted giant white dots on the street with signs demanding that each car is two dots apart. And it seemed like the state went on forever. It was between us and our adventure. It was almost as if it knew that so it S T R E T C H E D to make sure we would seemingly never reach Maryland.

Baltimore's train

We finally did reach Maryland and our hotel at about 3:13 pm. Originally, we hadn’t planned doing anything that day but since we arrived earlier than expected we used the rest of that day to go on a custom tour of Poe’s Baltimore. Driving through Baltimore was kind of insane. I think the whole city is made of “Left Turns Only.” It took forever to get anywhere because one wrong turn meant a half hour or more trying to make our way back through the sea of left turns when one RIGHT turn would have solved our problem. It was also weird to see their train that goes parallel with traffic.

For me the main point of this trip was to see as much of Edgar Allan Poe as possible. While planning it was also pointed out to me that there was a pub devoted to James Joyce too. I like to think of these two things as what got me started as a Literary Tourist and as such each of these adventures will have their own blog posts! (They should be posted on BWE in November and will be linked here as soon as it is available.)

Fell's Point as seen from the water taxi

For dinner that first night we tried to find the James Joyce Pub and after that failed we ended up at this place called Potbelly’s Sandwich Works. They were only open for another half hour or so but that was enough time to eat. They had a “Buffalo” chicken sandwich with “real” Frank’s hot sauce and blue cheese so being from Buffalo I decided to get that; a little piece of home in Baltimore. I found it hilarious that the advertisement for the sandwich had the phrase “real Frank’s hot sauce” duh what other sauce would you use? When I ordered it the girl behind the counter said she had tried it once and said that “it actually wasn’t good at all.” She was floored when I told her that I was from Buffalo which is why I wanted to try it. She went on to apologize and ask if we really put blue cheese on our sandwiches, which to my knowledge no one here actually does but we do dip our wings in blue cheese so it makes sense that if a shop is trying to recreate the famous Buffalo dish in sandwich form that they would, I just told her yeah though. I’m proud of being weird (the sandwich was great by the way).

Fell's Point sign

According to the original plan for the second day we were going to go to the zoo, but the night before we axed that idea because they didn't have any animals that we don't in Buffalo and decided to go to Fort McHenry instead. This was mainly because we felt it was imperative to make use of Baltimore’s water taxi system. We woke up early the next day and headed to the free continental breakfast in our pajamas, we were the only ones in them though. Oops.

We got to the Aquarium’s water taxi stop on the harbor at about 10am and rode to Historic Fell’s Point. We were only able to go for 15 minutes in between taxis but it was worth it. The shops were like row houses and the signs were vintage, so it was if we had stepped back in time. The roads were still uneven cobblestones as well (so of course I got my foot caught in between some) which lead to the authenticity of the whole place. I was disappointed that we could only stay for those 15 minutes I could have spent the whole day there. I was most upset that we couldn't go find the "The Horse You Came In On" Saloon which was the last place Edgar Allan Poe had been seen drinking before his death. I'll just have to go back one day.

Hobbit Hole like shelter!

Next we rode to Fort McHenry, the famous fort where during the War of 1812 Francis Scott Key wrote the US’s National Anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner. When we went there was just a normal flag flying which was okay because the fort itself was amazing. It was so large. There were these huge cannons everywhere and shelters that looked for all the world like hobbit holes. Anne and I went into a bomb shelter and a storage area. Everything seemed to be on a massive scale there. It was also shaped like a giant star and the view of the harborside factories was pretty cool. I wish I had studied up on more of the history though so I could really understand the historic significance of the place other than the anthem.  

That little purple dot is me! That cannon was HUGE.

Honestly though the whole time there I really just wanted my dad to be there. He would have had something to say about every single bit of it. He would have been giving a running history of everything. To honor my dad being at home and not with me I stuck my head in a cannon because that’s what he does every single time he sees one.

Read part two of my adventure in Baltimore here!

~Laura!

Review: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Release Date: July 1^st 2014 (my birthday!!)

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 256

Source:  Borrowed from Library

Summary (goodreads.com): Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

 The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

 I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

 All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig. I am looking for the things that are buried.

My Review:

This book is special. From the summary it seems as if the book is narrated by a ghost and it is and it isn’t. We spend the whole book wondering who this ghost narrator is and by the time the reader finally realizes who the ghost is it is too late. This book was almost overwhelmingly sad for me. The prose is beautiful and haunting and sad in an almost hopeless way. The Vanishing Season is intriguing and wonderful despite that sad. It is brilliantly composed with layers upon layers of memories infused on one little street. The characters are so well written and flawed and hopeful that they could be real, they could be living on your street right now. Without giving away the plot there isn’t much more to say, but I encourage you to read this if you’re looking for something different. 

~Laura!

Thoughts From Places Spotlight: Mount Vernon, VA (2010)

My Trip to Mount Vernon!

Mount Vernon

I don’t remember when or why we decided to go to Mount Vernon, home to our first President George Washington, but I’m glad we did (and not just because it was in National Treasure 2).

The Statues of the Washingtons and grandkids.

When you first go into the grounds of Mount Vernon there is this beautiful archway with what I’m assuming was probably a guard house or something of that nature. Above this arch is a painting of the mansion. I stood there looking at the painting and wondering how much the actual mansion today would look like the bright portrait. To my delight when the mansion came into view I realized that the painting could have been completed the day before for that was how close the actual physical house looked still to this day.

A staircase on the grounds.

Before we went into the mansion we went into the information center. Here they had life size statues of George (age 53), Martha (54), and their grandkids “Washy” (4), and Nelly (6). I don’t know why, but I adored those statues, they were very domesticated. And then there was this practically to scale doll house version of Mount Vernon. That thing was amazing and it MOVED. When we first went over there we circled the (huge) doll house and saw the house’s outside walls and then the back wall just came DOWN. It showed the perfect to scale miniature of the house we were about to see. My mom loves doll houses, and my grandma used to make them so this was an unexpected delight for my mom and we stayed there for a while looking at it. I actually remember the doll house more than the actual mansion. It was worth going there just for that doll house.

One of the paths on the grounds

We then went on the tour of the actual mansion then. We couldn’t take any photos inside though and I think that’s why I don’t remember much of the tour or anything. I am very visual when it comes to trips. When I go on a tour I tend to remember the story of the thing if I take a picture of it while it’s being explained but because I was prohibited from doing so almost everything has left my head. I do remember that the rooms were very brightly painted, that they were quite small for a mansion so big and that the beds were tiny because people were smaller then.

A breezeway connecting the new
 and old parts of the mansion.

I do remember a lot of the grounds though because not only was I allowed to take pictures, they were also extraordinary. Everything was very symmetrical, planned out, and just absolutely astounding. The landscaping was very ordered. According to one of the signs Washington took the symmetrical organization of English gardens and applied it to the America’s natural wilderness. He really liked designs to be balanced and I particularly appreciated this because so do it. But it’s not all straight either there are winding, curving paths that guide visitors to these ordered places (and of course they are balanced as well). We didn’t see all the grounds though because there are like 8,000 acres or something like that. To do Mount Vernon properly one must take a full day or maybe even two. I mean, this place even has its own forest!

The Lower Garden

The top of the tomb.

We did what we thought was most interesting and close. We saw the out buildings like the stables, paint cellar, his carriage house and the necessary. There were a lot of animals there as well because it is still a farm. We also saw his tomb which I liked. It was a large brick enclosure with a iron, gated door. It was in a very peaceful place and there was an air of elegance to it. I wish I would have thought to take a picture in front of it but alas I did not. I guess that just gives me a reason to go back again. 

The view from the porch of the river.

One of the best bits of the grounds was the view from the mansion’s back porch. It overlooked the Potomac River. There were chairs lined up on the porch for the visitors and as my parents, G., and Daisy were sitting up there I ran down the lawn a bit to take a picture of them sitting there. It sums up my trip. My mom was on her phone (probably sending a picture of the view with a “haha I’m here, you’re not” to facebook), dad and Daisy were looking very confused at what I was doing, and poor G. looked exhausted and amused.

One of Martha's exhibits in the museum.

There was a fabulous museum about Washington as well on the grounds. Washington was such an amazing man, not just as the first President, which in itself took a heck of a lot of guts (he set the precedent for every single person who takes the job after him). He also had a good sense of humor and humility. I am pleased that his home has remained for future generations to see it. The museum was quite complete too, with wax figures of him doing the most memorable things such as being the General of the Continental Army and being sworn in as President. They had a lot of paintings and artifacts. They also had a good collection of Martha Washington’s things as well because, of course, Mount Vernon was her home, too, including one of her dresses.

One of the most memorable bits of this visit had nothing to do with Washington. At lunch (which was kind of cafeteria style) we had picked our food and then we went to pay for it. Dad went to pay for the bill for all of us (me, dad, mom, G., and Daisy’s) but G. was 3 steps ahead and had already bought ours. I think that’s when dad decided that a) G. was not an ax murderer and b) he started a war of paying for things. For the rest of my trip, dad and G. were trying to race each other to cash registers. It was pretty hilarious for us girls to watch.

Needless to say I could probably talk about just the grounds of Mount Vernon for a long time. There was so much to see in just the tiny bit we did. I would love to spend a week there and just explore. Maybe one day I will.

~Laura!

Review: Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto

Release Date: August 26^th 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 320

Source: ebook via Netgalley

Series: The Ghost House Saga #1

Summary (goodreads.com):  After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother's country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger…

Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander's past love, Isobel. And she will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who threatens to take him from her.

To stop Isobel, Chloe must push her developing abilities to their most dangerous limits, even if it means losing Alex forever… and giving the hungry dead a chance to claim her for their own.

My Review:

I don’t normally pay attention to the reviews on goodreads until after I read and form my own opinions about a book but this time I happened to notice how harsh the reviews were before I read Ghost House. They were unnecessarily horribly cruel which just goes to prove that while reviews are sometimes useful one should make their own opinions. This book sounded really good in the summary and it was, really good I mean. It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite series, The Mediator by Meg Cabot in that a girl can see ghosts and has feelings for one. However, beyond that they really cannot be compared for they are two separate series.  

Ghost House is a fast, slightly cheesy, but still very entertaining read. I have realized that I have two settings while reading a good book: so good I savored it and went slow so I could stay in the world longer and so good I read it really quickly because I just can’t stop reading. This was the latter. It was compelling not only because of Chloe’s relationship with Alex but the ways Isobel was trying to compromise their relationship. It was a story set both in the past and present through flashbacks and visions. I also really liked the setting of the English countryside. I liked how real this book was without the ghost aspects. It’s about a family that is dealing with the grief of losing someone they all love dearly. The secondary characters made this book really good though. I loved Chloe’s relationships between her grandma and her brother. I liked the amateur ghost hunters Mavis and May who knew along that something was happening.  I was also quite pleased when I discovered (or hunted down the information) that this was a first in a new series. Just before the end of the book I was okay, but slightly disappointed that this was a standalone (or so I thought) and then I read the last page and just FLIPPED OUT mad that this was the end of a standalone! I read this on my kindle and kept pressing the next button thinking that there was an epilogue. Thank the stars for goodreads and their ability to tell me that it is a series. Overall, if you liked The Mediator and similar ghost stories you will enjoy this book, I know I did. 

~Laura!

Llama George in Downtown Buffalo (Part 1)

Llama George in Downtown Buffalo!

One day on a lunch break Llama George and I explored Downtown Buffalo. 

I'm sure we'll do it again one day because there is so much to see which is why I labelled this part one!

Llama George visits the Central Library

Llama George visits the outside of City Hall

Llama George taunts one of the lions on the McKinley Monument

Llama George and the Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Lafayette Square 

~Laura (and Llama George)!

Review: This Star Won’t Go Out by Esther Earl

This Star Won’t Go Out by Esther Earl

Release Date: January 28^th, 2014

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Pages: 431

Source: Preordered during the Project for Awesome 2013

Summary (goodreads.com): A collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Photographs and essays by family and friends will help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her.

My Review:

I have so much to say and I know none of my words will come close to what Esther’s words deserve. I am kicking myself for not taking notes while reading this particular book. I had so many things to say and yet now in front of this blank document none of them will come to me.

I pre-ordered my copy the moment I learned that Esther’s parents were putting together this collection. It has taken me most of the year to read it to no fault of the book or author but because I needed the courage and strength to read Esther’s words. I never knew Esther, most people who love her and this book haven’t either, but that hardly matters. Esther Earl will be in the hearts of every nerdfighter and reader of this book for as long as they are alive to remember it.

I learned a lot about Esther from this book. I learned a lot about myself and the world around me as well. Esther, though I never met her, has taught me lessons. One of the most important things that came from reading this book was actually not to deify people. Esther seemed to be afraid that with all the attention she was getting near the end of her life because of her friendship with John Green that people would think that she was special and she didn’t feel like she deserved that because she didn’t think she was. She didn’t think she was because she had cancer and she was dealing with it. It was this thinking that, to me, makes Esther special in her own way. Esther wasn’t perfect but she was one of a kind special.

My favorite part about this is actually Esther’s unfinished story, Anderaddon. It is about these creatures called Ebitillies (cousins of hedgehogs) and Ebitties (beaver-like creatures). The draft focuses on Docknel the king of Anderaddon who is trying to solve a riddle. This story is amazing. Esther had such an ear for dialogue and accents! I don’t think I will ever find a story that I long for more of. She had promise and although she didn’t get to finish this story she has become a successful author through This Star Won’t Go Out. Here’s praying that Esther is continuing to write up in Heaven because I will definitely be searching for the rest of Anderaddon when I arrive.

I should also add that I am really quite surprised and pleased with the format of this book as well. For a publishing company to put this much effort into a memoir of a young girl is heartwarming. This Star Won’t Go Out is huge and heavy and colorful and wonderful. Every page is in color, it is color coordinated according to the section and who is writing. It has so many wonderful family photos, photos of the famous Make-A-Wish sleepover, of Catitude chats, of Esther, of her drawings. There are copies of her actual journals so the reader can see her handwriting and she how much love she put into every letter. I am so glad that the physical book is worthy of Esther. 

Read This Star Won’t Go Out.

Read it, cry, and remember.

Read it and listen to Harry and the Potters.

Read it and tell your family and friends you love them.

Read it and then make someone else read it.

Read it and go buy a wristband to support TSWGO.

Read it and remember Esther.

Read it and DFTBA. 

~Laura!