The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo

Summary: Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.

And then, one day, he was lost.

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle — that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

My Review: Edward Tulane is a porcelain rabbit who thinks very highly of himself and very little about those who care for him. One day he is separated from the little girl who loves him and his perspective begins to change. Edward is now on a journey from one home to another where he learns the power of love.

I read this book aloud with my children. While the language was a bit advanced for my 4 year-old, it was about right for my 7-year-old. With a bit of explanation both children thoroughly enjoyed the tale. As we read I received many requests for "just one more chapter". Together we had a great deal of fun trying to predict Edward's next journey after we closed the book for the night. The writing was detailed enough to keep both children enthralled with limited illustrations. The few illustrations that were included were absolutely beautiful.

Edward's ultimate journey was in the discovery of love, what it means to love others more than you love yourself. A good lesson overall. Deep in emotion, parts of this book had me reading all choked up. The ending left me with goosebumps and had both kids begging for more.

My Rating: 5 Stars from the kids, 4 stars from me - Either way, I'm sure we will be reading it again soon.

If I had to sum it up in one phrase it would be: A charming tale of a porcelain rabbit who discovers what it means to be loved and to love in return.

Twilight Tours - George Beahm

Summary: Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series has become a genuine phenomenon in pop culture, approaching the popularity of the "Harry Potter" series. In 2008, 10,000 pilgrims descended on Forks, WA, the town of 3,100 people that is the setting for the books. After the fall 2008 release of the record-setting "Twilight" movie (which made more than $70 million in its opening weekend alone), many more fans are expected to arrive in Forks in 2009. "Twilight Tours" is a photographic guide to this mystical place. Included are 90 photos composed by noted photographer George Beahm, who also contributes the accompanying text. The pictures range from moody scenic shots of the rain forest and nearby tribal lands described in the four novels to photographs of the actual high school, police station, saltwater beach, and a certain vintage red pickup truck. (Image and summary from Powells.com)

My Review: I know. I know. I'm slightly embarrassed for even reviewing this on here. You're probably thinking I'm loony for reading this. Maybe I am. I am honestly interested in seeing the once-never-heard-of town of Forks, Washington at some point. Some of that curiosity stems from being from the Pacific Northwest, but admittedly it's also from reading the books. Aren't you at all curious to visit the rainiest city in the continental United States? (Technically it's Quillayute, WA. That's between Forks and La Push, in case you needed the reference point.) I'd also like to walk around such a small town, one with only one stop light and soak in the slower pace of life related in this book.

A majority of Twilight Tours is images, which is nice if you have no way of actually touring Forks, Washington. If you're interested in going to Forks and don't want to miss any of the points of interest simply because you aren't familiar with the town, this is a book to buy before your trip. But considering Forks really isn't very large, I think you could easily tour Forks thoroughly without a previewing a tour book. Of the written commentary, much of it recaps what is in the Twilight Saga, making sure you understand the significance of each site. I felt like it was a bit too much of a review and not necessary to a tour of forks unless you didn't read the books or read them so fast you wouldn't remember any of the sites. Still, the pictures are nice and it piqued my interest to visit a little more.

Rating: 3.5 Stars. Nothing spectacular, but it was interesting.

Sum it up: A mix of Twilight-Saga summary and pictures comprising the town of Forks, Washington and the surrounding areas.

Matchless - Gregory Maguire

Summary:

Each year, National Public Radio asks a writer to compose a story with a Christmas theme. In 2008, Gregory Maguire offered a new twist on a classic tale, reinventing the Hans Christian Andersen classic "The Little Match Girl."

When the story was first translated from Danish and published in England in the mid-nineteenth century, the match girl's dying visions of lights and a grandmother in heaven were often interpreted as metaphors of religious salvation. In Matchless, Maguire adds a different dimension to the story, intertwining the match girl's tale with that of a young boy, Frederik, whose own yearnings are the catalyst for a better future for himself and his family. Maguire uses his storytelling magic to rekindle Andersen's original intentions and to suggest transcendence, the permanence of spirit, and the continuity that links the living and the dead. Publisher comments as posted on Powells.com

My Review: First things - before reading this review, but more importantly, the book you should familiarize yourself with the story of "The Little Match Girl." The easiest way to do so is by watching this short Disney peice - The Little Match Girl.

The beauty of this book is its pacing. Though the content of the story is at minimum, young adult level, it is a short, quick read and told with one or two sentences a page, accompanied by a simple illustration. If it were printed out with no page breaks I would have begun skimming immediately - thats the curse of a speedy reader. However with this story the process was much more cathartic and delightful. Read a few words, glance at the picture, turn the page; repeat. I realize now that perhaps this is why I liked "Tale of Despereaux" as well. Telling a story with few words takes infinitely more talent than using as many as possible.

I was unfamiliar with the Hans Christian Anderson story this tale was based on but after brushing up on my fairy tale knowledge I think that the original story and this expanded version merge seamlessly, although in a heartbreaking way. The story has the typical Maguire-esque crisp realism, colored with sadness as well as hope.

My Review: 4.5 stars

In one sentence: Its not the usual sugarplummy Christmas story but rings true if your life is filled with both heartbreak and hope.

The Life O'Reilly - Brian Cohen

Summary: On the outside, Nick O’Reilly has it all: a high-flying legal career, financial security, and an expensive apartment overlooking Central Park. Having grown up in a working-class family, it has always been Nick’s dream to make something of himself. But at the age of thirty-six, after several years of sacrificing his personal life for professional gain, Nick begins to question his future and consider the mark he wants to leave on society both professionally and personally. He is facing the penetrating question, “What is my legacy?

After being chastised in the press for turning a cold shoulder to the community, Nick’s firm calls upon him to help rehabilitate its image by handling its first pro bono case. Nick is asked to represent Dawn Nelson, a domestic violence victim who is fighting for custody of her young son, Jordan. A far cry from Nick’s specialty of defending the misdeeds of Corporate America, it is up to Nick to set Dawn and Jordan on a path to a better life. But Nick gets much more than he signed on for as Dawn forces him to reassess his life choices. Only when Nick finally realizes what is truly important in life does he face his toughest–and possibly final–challenge: a battle for his own survival.

My Review: "In the tradition of Nicholas Sparks......". That was what caught my attention about this book. What I discovered is that this book, though similar to Sparks work in many ways, stands just fine on its own.

O'Reilly has been in corporate litigation for a while, long enough to have doubts about the career path he has chosen. With no free time and no family in which he would spend it with if he did, he begins to question how he thinks. This is amplified when he takes his first pro-bono case to help out the firm's image with the media.

The case introduces him to Dawn, a mom about to enter a custody battle with her EXTREMELY abusive ex-husband over their young son, Jordan. As Nicholas exposes himself to the reality of this woman's world he is driven to not only help her and her son, but rediscover what his life is meant for.

I loved that this book, has a good "message". It was heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once, however, I did find it lacking a certain depth. I cannot for the life of me identify why I feel this way. I just didn't connect to the story and it's characters the way I have in other similarly plotted novels. The writing is well done, and I felt like I couldn't put the book down. But once I was done, I didn't miss it the way I do a truly moving book. I was actually kind of happy to be done, not because I did not enjoy it, but because I was so emotionally drained.

I think Cohen will use this book for a launching pad for a lot of wonderful novels. He is obviously good at what he does. I just can't put a finger on why I did not connect. It is almost frustrating for that reason alone.

My Rating: 3 Stars

Sum it up: Heart strings weren't just pulled, they were tugged on and tugged on until they were completely detached.

(This book was given to us to review. Boo-yah. Free books rock.)

Best Books of the Noughties

What are the Noughties, you ask? Apparently it's the time span between 2000 and 2010. Ya know, eighties, nineties, and noughties. Anyway, I saw this post on AbeBooks and just had to pass on their best book picks for the last decade. Many of them have been reviewed on our site as well. Check their list out here.

FTC Schme-FTC

Hello RFS Readers,

I wanted to appraise you all of a teensy change we'll be making to the blog as of today. The FTC has ruled that we have to let you know if we are reviewing a book that was given to us by an author or publisher. You can read the legal mumbo jumbo here if you'd like...or the condensed version here.

Most of the books we read come from the library, but occasionally we do get contacted by someone who wants to send us a free book. BLISS! Right!?! Now, I'm not going to say "no" to a free book, but we do promise (see sidebar) that we will review all books honestly, regardless of whether they are given to us by Simon & Schuster, purchased at a local bookstore, or checked out at the library. We might be flattered by free books, but we can't be bought!

So from now on, you might occasionally see a little something in our review that says "this book was given to us for review" which essentially means it was sent to us by a publisher or author. Rest assured we will continue to give a no-holds-barred review even if it was written by our own mothers (okay, probably not then...but at all other times).

Hope we can still be friends,

The RFS Reviewers