Bellagrand (Book Review)

Title: Bellagrand       
Author: Paullina Simons

Publication: William Morrow, hardcover, March 2014

Genre: Historical Fiction   Setting: 20th century

 

Plot:  Bellagrand is a sequel to Sons of Liberty (which is likely a better starting point for new readers than this book) and written as a backstory to Simons’ bestselling trilogy, which begins with The Bronze Horseman.  In Sons of Liberty, blueblood and Harvard educated Harry Barrington met a beautiful Italian immigrant, Gina Attaviano.  They eloped prior to Bellagrand and, disowned by his wealthy Brahmin family and unable to hold a job, Harry continues and escalates his involvement in radical politics while Gina takes on the most menial jobs to support him and her infirm mother. 

Someone is Watching

My younger sister gets an email from the school library every time her six year old checks out a book.  This would have infuriated me as a child because I liked reading books adults often thought were too old for me.   I remember three specific incidents:  in third grade I was reading The Fellowship of the Ring, and although my mother had read The Hobbit to my middle sister and me I suspected she might think this book was too scary or over my head[1] so I kept it tucked in my desk drawer with a red felt pen I used to write down an occasional vocabulary word.  On Teacher’s Night, Mrs. Freilich[2] exposed my secret to my parents!  I think my mother was amused and my father reclaimed his pen (which were apparently banned at school, although no one had told me) but I certainly never trusted her again.

The next year my parents were duly waiting their turn behind a husband and wife they knew very slightly.  These people were complaining that someone in the class had given their daughter an extremely unsuitable book.   Somehow my mother guessed it was me and waited apprehensively to see what it had been. Then Miss Barnes said audibly, “Maybe Suzanne wasn’t quite ready for The Secret Garden but it is a lovely book she will enjoy some day.”   See, I was just helping her improve her mind!   Miss Barnes and I did not always see eye to eye but she read aloud often and introduced me to some wonderful books:  On to Oregon, The Black Stallion, and The Phantom Tollbooth (this latter became such a favorite I chose it to giveaway in World Book Night last year.

Later, in seventh grade, at a new school where the library contained little new fiction but was full of Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, and religious-themed books like Miracle at Carville, I discovered Anya Seton and became entranced by her masterpiece, Katherine.   I must not have been very good at concealment because, thinking the book was very racy based on the cover, I hid it under my pillow where my mother, innocently changing the sheets, found it.  I came into my room to find her curled up with John of Gaunt, and she happily told me she had read that book the year she finished high school when it was serialized by the Ladies Home Journal.   The only remonstrations I ever got from her regarding my choice of books was her desire that I would not race through an author too quickly, denying myself the pleasure of anticipating a delightful read. 

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[1] My mother would not have been totally wrong.  I had read Carolyn Haywood’s book, Primrose Day, the previous year, which features an English girl named Merry (and inspired my interest in evacuation stories).  As a result, I thought Tolkien’s hobbit Merry was a female hobbit.  There were plenty of male possessive pronouns but I airily dismissed those as typos and wondered about a possible romance between Merry and Pippin for some time.   I paused in my reading when Gandalf fell in the Mines of Moira and did not return to the Lord of the Rings until I turned 11 or 12.

[2] She already had a conflict of interest issue that had been unaddressed.  She had previously taught the other first grade section and one of her students, Laura Rabinowitz, who later attended Brown, was a flower girl at her wedding.  Fourteen months later, Mrs. Freilich began to teach third grade and Laura was in our class!  Favoritism resulted.

The Accident (Book Review)

Title: The Accident
Author: Chris Pavone

Publication Information: Crown Publishers, Hardcover, 2014

Genre: Suspense 

Plot: When New York literary agent Isabel Reed receives the manuscript of a potentially bestselling book, it causes incredible danger for anyone who reads it because it reveals a damaging secret of a powerful media mogul.  For Isabel, in addition to fearing for her life and those she has involved, an added element is that she guesses the identity of the anonymous author. 

Pilgrim Footprints on the Sands of Time (Book Review)

Title: Pilgrim Footprints on the Sands of Time
Author: Sylvia Nilsen

Publication Information: LightEye Editions, paperback, December 2013  

Genre: Historical Fiction

Setting: 12th century Europe

Plot:  William Beaumont, a fulling miller’s son, is an ambitious but unsophisticated young man, whose dream is to study medicine at a university.  When he catches sight of Alicia Bearham, niece to the nobility, he falls madly in love.  Surprisingly, Alicia returns his feelings, and even more improbably, her family – far from warning him to keep his distance – invites him to accompany them on a pilgrimage to Spain.  Her family is unfortunately connected to one of the men who murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, and must expiate its guilt (although Henry II, who instigated the crime – “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” - escapes significant punishment) in order to regain its reputation.  William and his companions experience many adventures and dangers in France and Spain before returning to England.

Audience: Fans of Judith Merkle Riley; armchair travelers; those planning or dreaming of a pilgrimage.

My Impressions:  I was attracted to this book by the cover, which has a Pre-Raphaelite look despite its 12th century setting, and the author’s obvious passion for pilgrimages.  I was reminded of a book called Mount Joy by Daisy Newman I read many years ago about a young woman who leaves a college like Radcliffe to go on pilgrimage (until I looked it up on Goodreads moments ago I didn’t recall she also traveled to Santiago de Compostela).  In fact, I was surprised to read that pilgrims still travel to Santiago de Compostela in huge numbers (250,000 in 2010); I had thought there were more obvious destinations such as Rome and the Holy Land.

I did feel strongly the manuscript needed an editor.  The anachronistic language was very jarring and could easily have been avoided (“Hey, Will, are you alright?” “Still fancy her, do you?” “Is this why you’ve been so insecure about us?” and so on.  The concept of a medical “internship” may have existed in the 12th century but not by that name, and at one point I swear the characters went to lunch!).  William was more interesting when passionate about healing than when infatuated with Alicia.  Their rhapsodic utterances to each other were repetitive.

However, Sylvia Nilsen is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her subject.  She has been the editor for a travel guide publisher and her company, amaWalkersCamino, takes small groups of pilgrims on the Camino Frances pilgrimage route in Spain.  She also walked from Paris to Spain to do the research for this book.  For more information on Sylvia Nilsen, please visit her website.  You can also find her on Facebook.

Source:  I received this book from the HistoricalFiction Virtual Book Tours and urge you to stop by the tour to learn more about the author and see what other bloggers had to say about this book.  

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Monday, February 24
Review at Flashlight Commentary
Spotlight & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Tuesday, February 25
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Thursday, February 27
Spotlight & Giveaway at Kinx’s Book Nook

Friday, February 28
Guest Post at A Bookish Libraria

Monday, March 3
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Guest Post at Mina’s Bookshelf

Tuesday, March 4
Review at Historical Fiction Obsession
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

Wednesday, March 5
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book

Thursday, March 6
Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book

Friday, March 7
Review at Reading the Ages

Monday, March 10
Review & Guest Post at Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, March 11
Review at The Most Happy Reader

Wednesday, March 12
Spotlight & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Thursday, March 13
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Friday, March 14
Interview at Layered Pages

Monday, March 17
Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, March 18
Interview & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, March 19
Guest Post at Kelsey’s Book Corner

Thursday, March 20
Review at From L.A. to LA

Friday, March 21
Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Thanks for stopping by!

Stillwater (Book Review & Giveaway)

Title: Stillwater
Author: Nicole Helget

Publication Information: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, hardcover, 2014, ISBN 0547898207

Genre: Historical Fiction      

Setting: 19th century Minnesota

Plot: Clement and Angel are twins left at a small orphanage in the frontier town of Stillwater, Minnesota.   Angel, adopted by a wealthy local couple, is the victim of Munchausen by proxy syndrome, while her brother, Clement, left cruelly behind at the orphanage, is cared for by the headmistress nun and an elderly Indian, Big Waters.  Stillwater Home for Orphans is also an important stop on the Underground Railroad, and even as a child Clement becomes involved in the transport of this precious commodity – human lives.   Davis, the son of one unfortunate runaway slave, is taken in by the kindhearted women in Stillwater’s brothel, The Red Swan (their antics provide some humorous relief to the dark depiction of frontier life).  As the three children grow up, their lives remain connected although Angel’s marriage causes heartbreak to Davis, causing him to enlist with Clement in the Stillwater Guard of the First Minnesota (shades of Emily Webster’s grandfather!).  Depiction of life in the Union Army makes even the turmoil of Stillwater seem like a picnic.

Good Field, No Hit - Duane Decker's Beloved Blue Sox (Book Review)

As Michelle Nolan comments in Ball Tales, Duane Decker's "Blue Sox stories, originally published from 1947 to 1964 and reprinted into the early 1970s, are among the most cherished and best remembered sports books of the baby boom generation."  The books follow the fortunes of thirteen baseball players trying to make their major league fortunes through various challenges.  I found them at the John Ward School library, introduced them to my brother, and more recently shared them with my nephews.  I was delighted to hear that my eldest nephew Christopher had submitted a book report on the first book in the Blue Sox series - which I thought you would enjoy:

Good Field, No Hit

Have you ever played baseball? Have you ever played some heads up hustling baseball? Johnny Madigan has played in the bush leagues for six years. Six loooong years. Sportswriters everywhere have tagged him, Good Field, No Hit, for the way he guards third base, but his complete and utter lack of power at the plate. Johnny’s kid brother, Buzz, Is always convinced that someday Johnny will make it to the big leagues. Johnny is not so sure. This is why when the Blue Sox pick him up Johnny, it is like a dream come true. 

The Blue Sox are in desperate need of a third baseman, as their other one is washed up and over the hill. On the hard-hitting Blue Sox however, sometimes being a good fielder is not nearly enough. Especially when competing with a 6”4”, 250 pound, maniac named Mike Marnie, who  has got more power than anyone in the majors. This same monster is only half as good with his defence at third, but the longball is all that matters to Jug Slavin, coach of the Blue Sox. It looks like Johnny is going down to the Bluefield Clippers, a Blue Sox farm team in the middle of nowhere, for sure. Ol’ Jughead was a power hitting shortstop when he played in the league himself. This is probably why he had eyes for the talent of Mike Marnie of Johnny Madigan. As for Marnie he is pretty sure of himself. He even goes out of his way to be a jerk to Johnny because, “No team could hold both players. There was simply too\ much bad blood between them. The club would split up into sympathetic fractions, and no coach could allow that. Marnie had kept it that way since spring training. It was a good move from his side of the fence, even if it was a dirty pool.”

Just before what Johnny believes is his last game in the big leagues, Buzz stops him at the gate to the field and tells him that he has a hunch, a certain hunch, that today was the day that Johnny will finally make it into the lineup. At the time Johnny just laughs. He isn’t laughing when Mike sprains his ankle and Johnny comes into his first ever MLB game. Johnny is the starting third baseman until Mike gets healthy again, but the question is, can Johnny prove once and for all that he, not Mike, has what it takes to be a starting third baseman in the MLB. All the signs point to yes. Until one day, out of the blue, Johnny is affected by the common disease, rabbit earitus. Or in better known terms, a heckler. Hecklers are a breed of human who take great joy in knocking certain athletes off their game. Will Johnny be able to handle the pressure?  

This story is a classic example of the scrappy little guy against the big mean, knuckleheaded guy with just the right amount of perseverance, and the importance of following your dream.

I can definitely relate to Johnny as I play third base on my little league team to. I know from experience that a team player in the dugout, is ten times better than a good player on the field. A team player unifies a team. A self-first player breaks one up. 

This compulsive, fast paced, and explosive, baseball themed book by Duane Decker is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Matt Christopher books. Sadly it is extremely rare, and the only copies on Amazon are $389.99. One of the best books in Duane Decker’s Blue Sox series, this book will delight readers of all ages.  

Thank you for being a guest blogger, Christopher!

Dominion by C. J. Sansom (Book Review & Giveaway)

Title: Dominion   
Author: C. J. Sansom

Publication Information: Hardcover, Mulholland Books (Hachette), February 2014

Genre: Historical Fiction   ISBN: 0316254916

Plot: Imagine if England had surrendered to Hitler.  In Sansom’s dark and convincing alternate history, it is 1952 and Germany is ruling England while Winston Churchill is hiding out from the authorities, encouraging a British Resistance. Newly recruited to the cause is David Fitzgerald, who has been surreptitiously passing along information obtained from his government job.  He kept his involvement from his wife whose family are ardent pacifists but that has created distance in his marriage, already strained by the death of their child.  When David’s Oxford friend Frank is committed to an asylum, both the Americans and Germans learn that Frank holds the key to a secret that could result in devastation to the whole world.  Only David can be trusted to rescue Frank, and as his cover is blown, he and his cohorts desperately try to escape with German agents in hot pursuit.

What to Read in a Blizzard or During the Long Winter

My part of Boston got about ten inches of snow yesterday so it's the perfect time to recommend some winter favorites!  These are books that would make you feel the cold even if it were a warm July day.

Children's:

Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik (illustrated by Maurice Sendak) - This is one of the first books I remember, and I can hear my mother's voice reading to me:  It is cold.  See the snow. See the snow come down.  Little Bear said, "Mother Bear, I am cold. See the snow.  I want something to put on."

Snowbound with Betsy by Carolyn Haywood - Several years before I encountered Betsy Ray, I had met this other Betsy, an outgoing girl with pigtails and (later in the series) a little sister named Star.  I read every book by Haywood several times and even named my Teddy Bear after a minor character.  In this book, a storm cancels school the week before Christmas and some travelers are stranded at Betsy's home.   

Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink - A father and two daughters, down on their luck, appropriate a Wisconsin summer cottage when their car breaks down.  The father tries to repair their fortunes by entering contests while teenage Minty yearns for a permanent home.  Along with Two are Better Than One, this is my favorite Brink.