Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
// By Jessica 3 Comments
16 May
2013

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) by
Series: Harry Potter #2
Published On: June 2, 1999
Genres: ,
Source:

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does.

5 Stars

My favorite thing about this book is how we get to see that wizards and Muggles are much the same.  Mr. Weasley actually thinks that Muggles are fasinating and even “magical” in their own way.  It’s a nice little theme that I only picked up since it was my third time reading it.  It’s a subtle contrast to the “Muggle-born” hate the goes along with the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.

And enter Lockhart – the fun, semi-villain.  He’s fun to make fun of and laugh at but I think he represents a villan that we are more likely to encounter in real life or even become ourselves if we’re not careful.  He’s selfish, vain and will do anything to get ahead including hurting others.

Honestly, this book gave me chills when I first read it. I was not expecting what I considered to be a “kids” book to be scary. I had to finish it in one night so I could sleep.  If I didn’t find out how Harry got rid of the voices talking about blood and killing, my subconscious would have no way to fight back in my nightmares.  I have nightmares about everything.

The magical world J.K. Rowling has built is so fantastic and unbelievably real that it makes me ask questions like, “Why is Peeves physical when ghosts are not and why is he afraid of the Bloody Baron?”  And I seriously want an answer.  There is no level of detail that is too much in my mind.  I must know all the things about Hogwarts.  And oh how I love Professor Binns.  He’s the ultimate old and boring teacher (another thing that Muggles sadly have, too).

I really can’t get over how very relatable this book is to kids.  It deals with the big and small struggles that kids go through every day.  It shows how the characters deal with unfairness and how tedious and boring school can be.  And Harry really acts like a kid  - he doesn’t tell Dumbledore important things in the fashion of any kid who is afraid.  Who as a kid didn’t tell their parents something even though they knew they should?

After reading it for the third time, it’s fun to pick up on the foreshadowing that I missed.  I’m noticing that Ms. Rowling often disguises important things as jokes or just another detail to make the world more interesting and colorful.  Ooh I just get chills when they figure out who Moaning Myrtle is.  See? She’s important although at first she appeared to just be a colorful character to annoy them in the bathroom.

I can’t end this review without the best quote of the book:

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

- J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (p. 333)

Content Rating: Mild, for talk of killing and blood, some scary scenes, and some mild swearing.

About J. K. Rowling

JK Rowling

J K (Joanne Kathleen) Rowling was born in the summer of 1965 at Yate General Hospital in England and grew up in Chepstow, Gwent where she went to Wyedean Comprehensive. Jo left Chepstow for Exeter University, where she earned a French and Classics degree, and where her course included one year in Paris. When her marriage ended, she returned to the UK to live in Edinburgh, where “Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone” was eventually completed and in 1996 she received an offer of publication. The following summer the world was introduced to Harry Potter.

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Posted on: May 16, 2013 1:00 am By Jessica Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , , , 3 Comments
// By Jessica 1 Comment
8 Feb
2013

Book Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1) Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1) by
Series: Pivot Point #1
Published On: February 12, 2013
Genres: ,
Source:

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. . . . With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

5 Stars

The world in Pivot Point seems like the kind of world that Lois Lowry would write about. It seems contemporary but there is a small paranormal twist to the whole thing. And by paranormal I mean “real” paranormal mind powers and not like werewolves and vampires and crap like that. Everyone has mental abilities and powers in the small world Addie lives in.

Addie is faced with a choice of continuing to live where everyone has mental abilities or living in the “normal” world. You get to see each of the choices play out in alternating chapters. It was absolutely fascinating to read.

This whole book was written with a lot of personality. I liked the dictionary definitions at the beginning of each chapter. They were funny, witty and gave clues to which reality the chapter was about. I’m convinced that Kasie West is a genius. She doesn’t just tell two completely different versions of the future – she intertwines them in very clever ways. I couldn’t put this book down all the way until the perfect, heart-wrenching ending.

The characters were all very well done.  Her best friend, Laila, is snarky but likable.   And Addie is my definition of a hero – brave, honest, and willing to sacrifice to keep the ones she loves safe.

Do not read this book alone – you will want someone to talk to after you are done with it. Witty, perfect, awesome – a must read. My only complaint – I have to wait for book two.

Content Rating: Medium, for some language, very brief violence and a non-graphic mention of sexual assault.

I read an Advanced Reading Copy for this review. 

About Kasie West

Kasie West

A stay-at-home mom of four children, three of them girls, ranging in age from twelve to four, Kasie West hears lots of melodramatic versions of large-than-life events. She graduated with a BA in liberal studies, with a strong focus on linguistics and psychology, from Fresno State University. She lives in Fresno, CA.

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Posted on: February 8, 2013 3:15 pm By Jessica Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , , , , 1 Comment
Book Review: Everbound by Brodi Ashton
// By Jessica 12 Comments
21 Jan
2013

Book Review: Everbound by Brodi Ashton

Everbound (Everneath #2) Everbound (Everneath #2) by
Series: Everneath #2
Published On: January 22, 2013
Genres: , ,
Source:

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

Nikki Beckett’s living a borrowed life, and she doesn’t know what to do with the guilt. Desperate for answers, Nikki turns to Cole, the immortal bad boy who wants to make her his queen — and the one person least likely to help. In this enthralling sequel to Everneath, Brodi Ashton tests the bonds of destiny and explores the lengths we’ll go to for the ones we love.

5 Stars

Spoiler free even if you haven’t read the first book in this series. 

The tone that I adored from the first book is back.  The opening line, which I loved, just sets the tone so well.

“It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.  Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” – Joseph Campbell

Nikki is going on an adventure to get something back that she lost in the underworld called the Everneath.  It took me a minute to get reoriented in the world again, but I slipped back in easily after a few pages even without rereading the first book.  I positively flew through this book in one sitting.  The journey through the underworld and the task she wanted to complete felt impossible the whole time and kept me just glued to the pages.  The layers of the underworld that she travels through were different in a chilling and alien way.  This is one of those books where the foreshadowing was spot on.  I thought I was all smart and I knew everything that was going to happen.  Then the bombshell of an ending hits and I’m still in awe.  Brodi even put the clues in there of what was going to happen at the end and I missed them all.  It gives me chills just thinking about it.  I feel like she deserves a round of applause for that ending.

Cole is a sexy, modern, teen version of Hades.  He’s likeable yet sneaky and dark and I can’t ever totally trust him. My only complaint about the whole book was a few things that were taken too literally.  The “kicking” element of the story was just a little to literal and weird for me.

Overall, don’t miss this stunning retelling of Persephone and Hades.

Content Rating: Medium. There’s not really any language or suggestive scenes, but they are essentially trekking through hell….

I received this book for review from the author, Brodi Ashton (from a contest on her blog), in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, I was not paid to write this review and all the opinions expressed are my own.  I read an Advanced Reading Copy for this review. 

 

About Brodi Ashton

Brodi hi res author pic

Because of two parents who were Greek myth geeks, she grew up thinking the latest fashion trends were inspired by Aphrodite, and a good conversational opener was, “So, which mythological character do you most resemble?” She lives in Utah with her two young boys, who still have no idea why she’s at the computer all the time. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

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Posted on: January 21, 2013 8:47 pm By Jessica Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , , , , 12 Comments
Book Review: The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes
// By Jessica 2 Comments
16 Jan
2013

Book Review: The World of Downton Abbey by Jessica Fellowes

The World of Downton Abbey The World of Downton Abbey by
Published On: December 6, 2011
Genres:
Source:

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

Millions of American viewers were enthralled by the world of Downton Abbey, the mesmerizing TV drama of the aristocratic Crawley family–and their servants–on the verge of dramatic change. On the eve of Season 2 of the TV presentation, this gorgeous book–illustrated with sketches and research from the production team, as well as on-set photographs from both seasons–takes us even deeper into that world, with fresh insights into the story and characters as well as the social history.

5 Stars

To watch Downton Abbey is to watch a way of life slowly die with an epic story and it kind of reminds me of Gone with the Wind.  The best part of the TV show is the personal look into the servants’ and nobilities’ lives from the early 1900s and how they interacted with each other.  You really feel transported to the time period and all the characters are interesting and likable yet flawed.  Like any loyal fan would, I bought this book because it had the words “Downton Abbey” on it.  I figured I would love it.  I did and I got more than I expected.

This was more than a behind-the-scenes look at the actors and the locations.  Jessica Fellowes takes history and facts from a time period that is kind of overlooked and just makes that time period come alive.  You get to go on a journey to see how essentially Jane Austen’s time became the world we live in now. She made me care about where the term “weekend” came from and why the Dowager Countess was so baffled by it.

Here are a few of the fascinating morsels that I learned:

  • The whole family will come down for breakfast except the lady because married women get breakfast in bed daily. (Breakfast in bed for Mother’s Day anyone?! Now I feel ripped off because it was just something they got EVERY DAY.  I’m seriously doubting that our modern world is “better.”)
  • You get to see the beginning of things that have survived to modern times like cornflakes from America.
  • Country Houses were being torn down left and right after WWI until The Victoria and Albert Museum had an exhibition called “The Destruction of the English Country House” that saved them.   (That sounds like the most boring exhibit ever but now I’m depressed that I missed it.)
  • Cora’s back story is from a trend during that time of American women coming to England and marrying English lords.  Cora was based on woman in real life named Lady Curzon from the book “To Marry and English Lord.” (Okay, I have to admit that I did not notice Cora was American until I read this book.)

I adored reading all the history and the real life inspirations for the show.  The pictures are beautiful.  The actors give insight into their characters.  You get to read about everything from clothing, family, and society to war and change.   It’s a look into an era that is really the beginning of our modern world and the death of a way of life that had been around for a very long time. This book was the perfect companion to my favorite show.

Content Rating: None.

About Jessica Fellowes

Jessica Fellowes

After graduating in philosophy from the University of Edinburgh, she was a journo on the Mail on Sunday, mainly writing about luxury lifestyle nonsense, celebrity interviews and a gossip column with Celia Walden. Then she went on to be deputy editor of Country Life magazine before leaving to be a freelancer for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times Style and The Lady, amongst quite a few others. Wanting to do something different, she started writing books – she recently finished her fifth book, The Chronicles of Downton Abbey. (Photo credit: Beatrix Jacot de Boinod)

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Posted on: January 16, 2013 1:40 am By Jessica Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , , , , , 2 Comments
Book Review: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
// By Jessica Leave a Comment
28 Nov
2012

Book Review: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet #2) Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet #2) by
Series: The Giver Quartet #2
Published On: January 24, 2006
Genres: ,
Source:

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The Short, Sweet, and Spoiler-Free Blurb:

Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever. Every reader will be taken by Kira’s plight and will long ponder her haunting world and the hope for the future.

5 Stars

Spoiler free even if you haven’t read the first book in this series. 

Gathering Blue is about an orphan girl, Kira, with a gift of dyeing and weaving threads. The community and the characters are completely different from The Giver. The story feels nothing like The Giver until you get to the end, where Lois Lowry ties the two books together in a beautiful way.  And yes, you get to find out at the end what happens to Jonas. I liked contrasting this society with that of Jonas’s from The Giver. In some ways this community is worse off because there is poverty, hunger and no education. But in some ways this community is better than Jonas’s because there is color, personality, deep family love, and some freedom. Not a lot of freedom, but some.

I loved the naming system in this world. I found it very creative. How many syllables your name has is a status of how old they are. I loved how beautiful the writing was. Lois Lowry is a master and making you turn the pages. With every page you get a sense of something else being not quite right (as she said at her signing) and that’s what kept me glued to the story. She goes into a lot of depth of what the main character is thinking and feeling which I loved. The story sucked me in all the way until the ambiguous ending. I have a feeling she likes those… :) She said at her signing that she likes leaving things up to the imagination.  If the ending is done right, I say that I have to agree.  And Lois knows how to end it just right. I found this book to be another powerful story from her about family and love.

Content Rating: Everyone

 

About Lois Lowry

62_credit Matt McKee

Lois Lowry is known for her versatility and invention as a writer. She was born in Hawaii and grew up in New York, Pennsylvania, and Japan. After several years at Brown University, she turned to her family and to writing. She is the author of more than thirty books for young adults, including the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader.s Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, NUMBER THE STARS and THE GIVER. Her first novel, A SUMMER TO DIE, was awarded the International Reading Association.s Children.s Book Award. Ms. Lowry now divides her time between Cambridge and an 1840s farmhouse in Maine.

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Posted on: November 28, 2012 1:00 am By Jessica Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: , , , , Leave a Comment
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