Little House in the Big Woods

Author: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Harper Trophy, 1931
Pages: 238
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Based on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in the award-winning Little House series, which has captivated generations of readers. This edition features the classic black-and-white artwork from Garth Williams.

Little House in the Big Woods takes place in 1871 and introduces us to four-year-old Laura, who lives in a log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods of Wisconsin. She shares the cabin with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their lovable dog, Jack.

Pioneer life isn’t easy for the Ingalls family, since they must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But they make the best of every tough situation. They celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do their spring planting, bring in the harvest in the fall, and make their first trip into town. And every night, safe and warm in their little house, the sound of Pa’s fiddle lulls Laura and her sisters into sleep.

The nine books in the timeless Little House series tell the story of Laura’s real childhood as an American pioneer, and are cherished by readers of all generations. They offer a unique glimpse into life on the American frontier, and tell the heartwarming, unforgettable story of a loving family.

Review: An American classic and must-read. This book has stood the test of time like few others.

My mom first introduced me to Laura and this series when I was 7 or 8. She read the books aloud to my sister and I, one of each side of her on the living room couch. Now, I'm reading this series to my own daughters. It's imperative they fall in love with the Ingalls and Wilder families.

If you search this blog, you'll see that I have read quite a few books about LIW and I also wrote a paper on her in high school. Now that my daughters are older, I've mentioned to my husband that I'd like to see some of the Little House sites around the United States. He is receptive to the idea, so we'll see what we can do.

Little House in the Big Woods isn't my favorite book in the series. Laura never intended to make her life story a series and this book was to be one and done. Her writing style develops over the remaining books and it becomes clear that she knew additional books would be coming with each publication.

In case you're wondering, I think my favorite book is Little Town on the Prairie or By the Shores of Silver Lake. After I finish reading this series to my daughters, I'll make a definitive decision.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

Author: Kathleen Rooney
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2017
Pages: 304 / 8 discs / 9 hours
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: She took 1930s New York by storm, working her way up writing copy for R.H. Macy’s to become the highest paid advertising woman in the country. It was a job that, she says, “in some ways saved my life, and in other ways ruined it.”

Now it’s the last night of 1984 and Lillian, 85 years old but just as sharp and savvy as ever, is on her way to a party. It’s chilly enough out for her mink coat and Manhattan is grittier now—her son keeps warning her about a subway vigilante on the prowl—but the quick-tongued poetess has never been one to scare easily. On a walk that takes her over 10 miles around the city, she meets bartenders, bodega clerks, security guards, criminals, children, parents, and parents-to-be, while reviewing a life of excitement and adversity, passion and heartbreak, illuminating all the ways New York has changed—and has not.

A love letter to city life in all its guts and grandeur, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney paints a portrait of a remarkable woman across the canvas of a changing America: from the Jazz Age to the onset of the AIDS epidemic; the Great Depression to the birth of hip-hop.

Lillian figures she might as well take her time. For now, after all, the night is still young.

Review: I started the print version of this book and then somehow misplaced it and had to buy a book I no longer had in possession from the library. I had liked the few chapters I had managed to read, but didn't want to run the risk of losing another copy so I borrowed the audio book.

What. a. treat.

The author's writing style is almost lyrical and the narrator, Xe Sands, was perfect for the role. I enjoyed this audio book so much.

Alex and Eliza

Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Young Adult / Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2017
Pages: 368
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: 1777. Albany, New York. 

 
As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. 

Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country’s founding families, and even prouder still of their three daughters—Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival those of both her sisters, though she’d rather be aiding the colonists’ cause than dressing up for some silly ball.

Still, Eliza can barely contain her excitement when she hears of the arrival of one Alexander Hamilton, a mysterious, rakish young colonel and General George Washington’s right-hand man. Though Alex has arrived as the bearer of bad news for the Schuylers, he can’t believe his luck—as an orphan, and a bastard one at that—to be in such esteemed company. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history.

Review: This is a young adult novel, which the publisher states is children 12-17. I'd suggest 14 and up myself, but there's no content or language that would make it objectionable for a 12 year old to read if they wanted to.

I read this a fan of historical fiction and American History in general, not as a fan of the musical Hamilton (which I have not seen. . .yet). I liked it for the historical context. However, as fiction it took the author a long time to get from Point A to Point B, which was frustrating since we know how it ends - Alex and Eliza get married. I wasn't sure if this was a recommend or do not recommend for those reasons.

Note: This is the first book in a series, and I liked it well enough to give the second book, Love and War a try.

The Stolen Marriage

Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2017
Pages: 384
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.

The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.

When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love—and the life—she was meant to have?

Review: I've read several Diane Chamberlain novels over the last few years, and she never disappoints. My favorite was Necessary Lies, but this is right up there.

I didn't love the ending which is why I rate this at "only" 4.5 stars. Read it, you won't regret it.

Diane Chamberlain novels:
Necessary Lies
Summer's Child
Reflection

Caroline, Little House Revisited

Author: Sarah Miller
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2017
Pages: 384
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: In this novel authorized by the Little House Heritage Trust, Sarah Miller vividly recreates the beauty, hardship, and joys of the frontier in a dazzling work of historical fiction, a captivating story that illuminates one courageous, resilient, and loving pioneer woman as never before—Caroline Ingalls, "Ma" in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved Little House books.

In the frigid days of February, 1870, Caroline Ingalls and her family leave the familiar comforts of the Big Woods of Wisconsin and the warm bosom of her family, for a new life in Kansas Indian Territory. Packing what they can carry in their wagon, Caroline, her husband Charles, and their little girls, Mary and Laura, head west to settle in a beautiful, unpredictable land full of promise and peril.

The pioneer life is a hard one, especially for a pregnant woman with no friends or kin to turn to for comfort or help. The burden of work must be shouldered alone, sickness tended without the aid of doctors, and babies birthed without the accustomed hands of mothers or sisters. But Caroline’s new world is also full of tender joys. In adapting to this strange new place and transforming a rough log house built by Charles’ hands into a home, Caroline must draw on untapped wells of strength she does not know she possesses.

For more than eighty years, generations of readers have been enchanted by the adventures of the American frontier’s most famous child, Laura Ingalls Wilder, in the Little House books. Now, that familiar story is retold in this captivating tale of family, fidelity, hardship, love, and survival that vividly re-imagines our past.

Review: I was so excited and had such high hopes for this book, and I was disappointed on every level. The synopsis above details a book that could have been, should have been, but in reality states everything that it is not.

This is not a book about Caroline. It's a book about being a pregnant settler who ultimately delivers on the prairie.

There was no depth. Ma came across as joyless, regimented, and one-dimensional. There was too much focus on her pregnancy and sexuality. Very weird approach, and it just didn't work. This isn't the side of Ma, or at least not the only side of Ma, that readers want to know more about. Yes, it would have been unimaginably difficult to be pregnant and traveling by covered wagon. It would be awkward to have an unknown woman assisting at at child's birth. I think all women in 2017 can be grateful that we now have Kotex and Always available. Anyone who's given birth understands how painful and inconvenient letdowns of milk are. Caroline and Charles' love scene was unnecessary. Not tasteless per se, but wholly unnecessary. It also didn't feel a natural part of this book, but rather included because "sex sells."

Sadly, these underwhelming themes are what I'll remember about this book, if I remember anything. Some books should just not be published.

Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Random House, 2012
Pages: 320
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid--but his new classmates can't get past Auggie's extraordinary face. Wonder, a #1 New York Times bestseller, begins from Auggie's point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community's struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

In a world where bullying among young people is an epidemic, this is a refreshing new narrative full of heart and hope. R.J. Palacio has called her debut novel "a meditation on kindness" --indeed, every reader will come away with a greater appreciation for the simple courage of friendship. Auggie is a hero to root for, who proves that you can't blend in when you were born to stand out.

Review: I really enjoyed this book, but it did affect my mood. I found much of it to be sad and distressing, and I felt empathy, not only toward Auggie, but toward others in his life. I listened to it on my commute and couldn't figure out why my heart felt so heavy walking into work, and then I realized it was my choice of "reading" material. By the time I realized the impact, Wonder was having, I was too far into it to quit. I'm not sure reading the book would have made the same impact. For this one, audio is the way to go.

This was written for a juvenile audience, but the message is relevant for both children and adults. I could see this becoming required reading for middle school students.

Lately, I've noticed this is a hot book and I'm glad I can say I jumped on the bandwagon.

Secrets of the Lost Summer

Author: Carla Neggers

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: MIRA, 2012

Pages: 352

Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A wave of hope carries Olivia Frost back to her small New England hometown nestled in the beautiful Swift River Valley. She's transforming a historic home into an idyllic getaway. Picturesque and perfect, if only the absentee owner will fix up the eyesore next door.

Dylan McCaffrey's ramshackle house is an inheritance he never counted on. It also holds the key to a generations-old lost treasure he can't resist…any more than he can resist his new neighbor. Against this breathtaking landscape, Dylan and Olivia pursue long-buried secrets and discover a mystery wrapped in a love story…past and present.

Review: I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, and I find myself surprised to be giving it a "recommend" rating. While Dylan and Olivia's story was predictable, Grace's twist kept me going.

There are quirks that made me roll my eyes, but the story is there. Quirks such as referring to men as "swashbucklers" or "swashbuckling" and the term "treasure hunter." It's just so fantastical and rather silly.

Other reviewed books by Carla Neggers:

Red Clover Inn