Sorry....

I am so sorry that I haven't blogged in ages as I have been reading more, sewing more and cooking more. Sadly, this means that it is harder for me to remember what exactly happened in the books I have been reading. So just for a short while I am going to be writing very brief reviews about the books I have been reading; what they are basically about, what I thought about them etc. So here goes....

Triss by Brian Jacques

Triss is one of the books in the Brian Jacques series called The Redwall Books. This book is telling three stories at once that all link into one another in the end; the story of Triss and her friends escaping slavery of the evil ferrets, the creatures of Redwall Abbey searching for a mysterious place near their Abbey and two creatures that have decided to sail the seas. This is an excellent  and very interesting book. I give it a 9 out of 10.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights is an amazing book by the great author, Emily Bronte of the Bronte sisters. It’s such a shame that she didn’t write more novels as this one was fantastic. I tried to read it about a year ago but got bored of it but now I have no idea how I could think that as it was excellent. For most people, I know, this is a novel that you have read many times, so I hope that if you have never read it you will want to by the end of this review.


This novel was set in 1801 and written in 1847, so obviously some of the language is difficult to understand (especially Joseph’s – the servant – way of speech). This story is about how a man called Mr Lockwood is hoping to buy Thrushcross Grange from Mr Heathcliff and howe he learns all about the story of the people of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.

Mr Lockwood learns some of the story from the young lady - Cathy - of Wuthering Heights diary but mostly from Nelly Dean – the servant of Trushcross Grange and previously Wuthering Heights – who says the whole romance happen before her eyes a couple of years before the book is set.

The story is about the love between Cathy Earnshaw and her orphan adopted brother, Heathcliff. As children the two were play-mates even though Cathy’s elder brother Hindley tries his best to make Heathcliff’s life a living nightmare, just because he is quite below their station.

When the children grow up Cathy rejects Heathcliff of his offer to marry, she wishes to marry him because she loves him so dearly but she knows that she must not marry him because he is so below her. Instead Cathy marries a very rich man, Edgar Linton, who lives in Thrushcross Grange a house near her own.

Mr Heathcliff is determined to have his revenge and to win Cathy back whatever he must do. He torments the servants and inhabitants of Wuthering Heights as he believes it is their faults that Cathy did not love him, even though they had nothing to do with it.

Edgar’s sister soon falls in love with Heathcliff when he comes to visit Cathy and they eventually elope together. So how will this sad and sorry tale end? Will Heathcliff ever get his revenge? Read this fantastic book to find out.

This book is full of revenge, passion, need and greed and it shows the bad and evil side of love and what it can make you do. I think that this is an excellent book and if you haven’t read it, which I very much doubt, I advise going and buying or borrowing one from your local library very soon and find out what you are missing out on! I think that anybody twelve plus could read and enjoy this book. I give it a ten out of ten.

Pirates by Celia Rees

Pirates is a fantastic book by the excellent author, Celia Rees. Full of action, suspense and finding your true love, this an excellent book for girls and boys from about the age 10-11 plus.


This book is about two characters, Nancy Kington, a merchant’s daughter and Minerva Sharpe,a slave.This novel is set in 1724, when pirates and slavery were both common. Nancy had always lived in Bristol, England, and when the book is set she was nearly sixteen. She was secretly promised to a young man called William who worked in the Navy. Meanwhile, at the plantation in Jamaica, Minerva, was living a harsh life as a slave.

One day Nancy’s father (who owned a slave plantation in Jamaica) died leaving Nancy’s future in charge of her older brothers. Nancy soon found herself on one of her father’s ships, bound for Jamaica. On the journey she made some friends with the first mate, Broom, and the ship’s surgeon, Graham. When she finally gets to Jamaica she is sad to leave them but will she ever see them again?

When Nancy got to her father’s plantation, she realised how horrific the conditions the slaves lived in and how they were forced to work or they would get severe punishments. Then she discovers something a lot worse in her opinion at least, her father had left the plantation to her, meaning that the slaves belonged to her and they were all branded with her initials.

Then, Nancy met a slave of about her age - Minerva- and her mother - Phyllis -, who are her personal slaves. They were meant to help her get dressed, make her meals and so on. However, Nancy didn’t believe in slavery so she did everything with Minerva and Phyllis as if they weren’t slaves. The three of them carried on this way until Nancy’s elder brother informs her that she must stop that "behavouir" or there would be bad circumstances for her, Minerva and Phyllis.

On her sixteenth birthday Nancy had to go and visit a man that her brothers and father decided she should marry, a horrible Brazilian man called Bartholome. He gave Nancy a ruby chocker and earrings, that look as if someone has cut her neck and she is bleeding and the earrings look like drops of blood, Phyllis urges her to get rid of them as they are evil and having dark and evil spirits in them, but Nancy secretly keeps them.

Then Nancy has a crime on her hands so she, Minerva, Phyllis and another slave called Thomas, run away to join the maroons (run-away slaves). They live there until one day the pirates come to trade, led by Broom (the first mate of the ship Nancy came on). Broom became a pirate when his ship got captured by them and he joined them eventually becoming captain. Broom, being a just pirate agreed to let Minerva and Nancy join his crew dressed as men as long as the rest of the men agree. So, Nancy and Minerva live the life of piracy befriending the other pirates and going on many adventures.

Can they find their true loves and not be captured by the law? Read this amazing book to find out. I give it 10 out of 10.

Cuckoo in the Nest by Michelle Magorian

This is a fantastic book by the same author who wrote the wonderful novels Goodnight Mister Tom and Back Home.

This book is set in 1946 – 1947. This novel is about how a boy of about seventeen is desperate to become an actor in a real theatre. He used to work in a paper mill with his father until he got sacked, he must get a job as an actor but will anyone take him on?

While Ralph does his best to get the job of an actor he must hide this ambition from his father. Ralph’s father doesn’t approve of the theatre and they already get into enough quarrels without getting into that one – again. It was a struggle for Ralph to get into the theatre every Friday night without his father knowing, never mind this.

Since the theatre isn’t willing to take him on unless his father supplied them with one-hundred pounds and his father would never agree to pay that money, even if they did have it, Ralph must find some other job. He finds one at one lady’s house, as a gardener. Before long Ralph is helping with something to do with her family as well as with her garden. He also makes very good friends with her daughter when she comes to stay.

Ralph still must be as close to the theatre as possible, so he starts to help out every Saturday night clearing the props from the stage after the show. He finds himself falling in love with the assistant stage hand, who unfortunately for him is engaged. Whilst doing this he still tries to get the job as an actor.

So can Ralph keep this up while not letting his argumentative father catch on what is going on? He must also look after his stressed mother, put up with his annoying aunt, whinging cousin, determined to work but still to young brother and his very clever twelve year old sister. Will he ever get a job as an actor? Will anyone ever find out about his love to the Assistant Stagehand? And will he ever get the chance to meet his favourite actor, Basil Duke? Read this amazing book to find out.

This is a truly excellent book and I recommend it to anyone eleven plus. I give it an eight out of ten.

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Ballet Shoes is a fantastic book by Noel Streatfeild. Noel Streatfeild wrote many children's novels which include: White Boots, Dancing Shoes and Theatre Shoes or Curtain Up as it was originally called as well as many others. However, in my opinion Ballet Shoes is the best of them all as it is heart-warming and a beautiful novel and I read it frequently. It is a story that lasts with you forever.

GENRE

The book does not fall into a certain genre. We could say that it was a novel about learning how to be a theatrical performer. Also trying to live like a family with very little money was interwoven into the story as well as many cases of right and wrong.

PLOT

This story is about three sisters - Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil. They were not sisters by birth but by adoption. Gum (Great Uncle Matthew) was an avid fossil collector until he fell off a mountain and needed to get a wooden leg, meaning that he couldn't collect fossils any longer. But Gum still carried on exploring, coming back occasionally to bring some unusual presents for his grown up great niece - Sylvia Brown - and her old nurse, Nana. These presents weren't exactly what they expected as they were babies who needed help.

However, Gum left, leaving Sylvia and Nana to look after Pauline, Petrova and Posy. Gum put five years worth of money in the bank, but he claimed he wouldn't be gone that long anyway. But Gum did not live up to his word and he was away for much longer than he said he would be, meaning that the money in the bank eventually ran out. As the house they lived in was gigantic, the family decided to ask for boarders. The boarders that came not only brought money but they also pleased everyone. The first were Mr and Mrs Simpson who had a marvellous car - which wasn't that common as the book was set in the 1930s pre-World War II - this excited Petrova as she loved cars and aeroplanes. Then came Theo Dane who brought along her gramophone that the children loved to dance to. The final pair of boarders were two retired female doctors - Doctor Jakes and Doctor Smith, who used to coach people for exams, specializing in literature and mathematics.

Since there was such a little amount of money Pauline and Petrova had to be taken away from their school as it was too expensive. Sylvia attempted to teach them but she didn't really know how and she was terrible at maths - which was incredibly difficult as Petrova was a genius at that particular subject. So the two doctors and Sylvia came to an agreement that the doctors would teach the children themselves. They wanted to do this because even though they liked retirement they missed teaching.

To also help, Theo, who worked at a school that taught children how to act, sing and dance - The Children's Academy of Dancing and Stage Training - offered the three girls the chance to go to The Academy to help them with their futures. The Academy also let children - once they had reached the age of twelve - to perform on stage and earn money for it. Sylvia did not want the children to go to the The Academy if they were going to earn money, as she thought it was wrong to earn money from an adopted child. However Nana made Sylvia see sense because Pauline and Posy would probably end up on the stage anyway. (Pauline loved to act and Posy's mother was a ballet dancer and Posy had inherited the love and talent for dancing from her).

So the children went to The Academy, Pauline shone out in all of the acting classes and as expected, resulted in appearing on stage for principal parts numerous times. Posy shone out in the dancing classes and was personally coached by the head teacher of The Academy, Madame Fidola, (who was a Russian ballet dancer). Posy was better at dancing than children much older than her and with a lot more experience than her. Petrova, on the other hand, loathed going to The Academy but she didn't dare tell Sylvia in case she upset her and they needed the money so desperately.

To the children Sylvia was not called by her real name but Garnie, this is because Nana thought it was improper for the children to call her Sylvia. So in the end they decided on "Guardian" but as the children were very young when this was decided they could only say "Garnie" so the name was born.

The story in this book is about struggling through as a "family", trying to cope with very little money and acting and dancing. It is also about how loyal sisters can be to each other and that children can be very responsible, even at a young age.

Every birthday or special occasion the Fossil sisters made a vow: "We three Fossils vow to try and put our name in the history books because it is our very own and nobody can say it's because of our grandfathers."

CHARACTERS

The three main characters in this book are Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil.

Pauline

Pauline was the eldest of the three sisters. Gum rescued Pauline when a ship that he was on sank leaving very few survivors. Sylvia decided on the name Pauline as Pauline, like St Paul, was rescued from being drowned.

Pauline showed a talent for being an excellent actress and as soon as she was twelve and could earn money she was getting principal parts in plays.

Pauline was very pretty with blonde hair and blue eyes and she always looked perfect.

Although Pauline was so fantastic at acting, sometimes fame went to her head, thinking that everybody was below her because she had the main part in a play. However she soon learnt her lesson. Pauline learnt a lot about Shakespeare and about how to act from Doctor Jakes.

Petrova

Petrova was the middle child out of the three. Her father and mother were both Russian and Petrova was born there. Unfortunately both of Petrova's parents died when she was a baby, so Gum took her back for Sylvia and Nana to look after.

Petrova was quite plain with dark hair and eyes. Petrova wasn't as pretty as Pauline or Posy and when Nana first saw Petrova she remarked "We'd better hope this one has brains because I can see who's going to be Miss Plain in my nursery." However, Sylvia always thought she looked more interesting than the other two.

Luckily Petrova did have brains and was the cleverest out of the three sisters. She was excellent at mathematics and when Sylvia taught her Petrova was always far ahead of her. Petrova loved cars, aeroplanes or any vehicle and she often understood how they worked.

Petrova was the only sister who detested going to The Academy. This was probably because she had always acted more like a boy than a girl and also because she wasn't any good at dancing, singing or acting. The only thing that Petrova really enjoyed doing was helping at Mr Simpson's garage. She would spend hours there tending to cars.

Posy

Posy was the youngest of the three sisters and also very cheeky. She often spoke before she thought about it and she was often acted spoilt or too ambitious.

Posy's father died when she was a baby and her mother couldn't afford to look after her, so she asked Gum to look after her daughter. She also gave Posy a pair of ballet shoes as she was a dancer herself. Posy was already named by her parents before going into Sylvia and Nana's care.

Posy - just like her mother - was an excellent dancer and she was so fantastic at it that Madame (who was in charge of The Academy) taught Posy everything herself. This was a great honour at The Academy and nobody as young as Posy had ever had this opportunity. Posy often showed off about her ability to dance and this annoyed Pauline and Petrova on many occasions.

SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE

This book is mainly set at Gum's house, Cromwell Road, London and at The Academy.

Gum's house

According to Pauline, Petrova and Posy, Cromwell Road was the longest road in all of London and as they often had to "save the penny and walk" this annoyed them a lot. Gum's house was quite big and was full of the fossils that he collected over the years. Downstairs was reserved for Cook and Clara - the servants. The nursery and the children's bedrooms were where Pauline, Petrova and Posy spent most of the time that they were at home. Nana and Sylvia had their bedrooms and there were individual bedrooms for most of the boarders.

The atmosphere in the house was often quite loud and busy and there was always a few people in the house at a time. The atmosphere of the house was also often quite friendly.

The Academy

The Academy was three buildings all built together to form one in the middle. There was a pupil entrance, a guest entrance and a staff entrance. Even though the book is often set at The Academy we do not learn a lot about what it is like as a setting or the atmosphere. However, in my opinion, I think that The Academy is quite a busy and loud place where something is always going on.

COMMENT

This is a fabulous book and I would recommend it to any girl from about ten or eleven upwards. Noel Streatfeild is a fantastic author and she made me feel like I was best friends with characters in this book. I give it a ten out of ten.

Some books that I have read

Sorry that I haven't blogged in ages......... but I have been busy doing a lot of things so this is just a quick post telling you which books I have read recently and will be reviewing before long.

The books that I have read are:

1. Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
2. The year the gypsies came by Linzi Glass
3. Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
4. Cuckoo in the Nest by Michelle Magorian
5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
6. Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach
   
7. Triss by Brain Jacques
8. The Wind Singer by William Nicholson
9. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson
   
10. The Secret Countess by Eva Ibboston
11. Vedigris Deep Frances Hardinge
    
12. I was Jane Austen's best friend Cora Harrison

I think that I may have forgotten a few books that I have read because I have been reading so many and have been struggling to keep track of them!

Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer

Why Shoot a Butler? is a fantastic murder mystery book and I really enjoyed it as it constantly kept me guessing. This book was written in about 1921 so the things that happen and the language is a bit different from today.
The book starts off when the main character, Mr Frank Amberly - who is in his twenties - is going to visit his aunt, uncle and cousin, when he gets lost on the road after taking a "short-cut". He stops for directions when he sees a car with a woman standing outside of it. Inside the car, it turns out, is a dead man, and the woman - Shirley - is carrying a fully loaded gun.

It turns out that the dead man is the butler of Mr Amberly's cousin's - Felicity - best friend's step-brother - Basil Fountain. Basil's uncle died a little while before the book is set leaving everything (including the house with the butler in it) he owned to Basil. However, the dead butler had left behind a lot more money than a butler would normally do.

Can Mr Amberly work out who did it while other murders and crimes are going on. With midnight excursions chasing criminals, balls, break-ins and wills this book is excellent and if you like a good murder mystery you'll love this. I give it a 9 out of 10.