Book Review: Flame of Resistance

Title: Flame of Resistance
Author: Tracy Groot
Release Date: 2012
Genre: historical fiction, romance, Christian, drama
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: adult fiction
Age Group: 18+
Awards: Christy Award

Summary
When Tom Jaeger's plane is shot down over France, he is rescued by members of the resistance group called the Flame and nursed back to health by a sweet old grandmother named Clemmie.
Greenland, the leader of the Flame, eventually forms a plan. Tom looks like the perfect German, so why not send him undercover? A few changes are made, and Tom finds himself going undercover to a Germans-only brothel to gain intel from Brigette, the woman who runs the house. Tom's not the least bit comfortable with this situation, but as long as all they have to do is sit and talk, he eventually gets over it.
But when the mission is compromised, will everyone managed to escape alive?

Word of Warning

•  As mentioned above, there is a brothel. The author is very careful to carefully dance around anything descriptive, almost making sex itself a dirty thing (which was wrong).
• Girls are catty.
• People get hurt, get captured, and die.
• Torture.
• One young woman is captured and tortured, raped, and left for dead.
• This is a war. Germans are horrible (though not all, as we soon learn). People die, people are starved, people are driven to horrible things just to survive. They ignore others and let them take beatings, they sell themselves into prostitution, etc. There is no sugarcoating here.

My Thoughts
The book was good. Well done, even. I enjoyed it, and I was hooked. The pilot is a compelling character, as is Clemmie, and even Brigette. It's a sad story, but a good one, and I think it sheds light on the truth of a horrible time in history that is far too often sugarcoated by our historical fiction. Well done, Groot. Well done.

Book Review: Legion

Title: Legion
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Release Date: 2012
Genre: Adventure, drama, sci-fi
My Rating: ****
Official Rating: adult fiction
Age Group: 12+

Summary
"My name is Stephen Leeds, and I am perfectly sane. My hallucinations, however, are all quite mad."
Thus begins a mind-bending adventure in which we meet Stephen Leeds' hallucinations, or aspects, as he calls them. He's a brilliant man and essentially what happens is he has different characters in his head. One's a SEAL, one a therapist, another a history expert, then there's the one who speaks Hebrew...and so on until he has nearly all 47 rooms in his mansion filled.
Of course, no one can see or hear these aspects except Leeds, but he still gives them actual space, and thankfully so does his faithful butler Wilson.
Leeds is a recluse, hiding away from the scientists who want to figure out his "condition" but when a woman presents to him an interesting mystery, he agrees to go to Israel to try to solve it.
Afterall, why not try to find a camera that can take pictures of the past?
Well, one reason could be the terrorist group that wants to use it to destroy all major world religions. Or that could be a motivator. Either way, Leeds is off to Israel!

Word of Warning
Very few problems with this book. I think it's not put in children's or YA fiction just because it's not structured or targeted as one, but I think it really hits the three major areas (children, YA, adult) rather well.

• Language: damn, "oh my God", and bastard. Each time these are used (as rarely as it is), one of the aspects kindly warns "Language!"
• Terrorists. They attack, blow a car up, capture major characters, and torture/beat a man almost to death before shooting him. They also cut off his hand (but that's done before we meet him).
• Speaking of shooting, there is an aspect, J.C. (the SEAL) who is practicing his aim by shooting at a picture of bin Laden. He tends to request "Can I shoot him?" quite often, but I'm not entirely sure he's serious. He does come in handy when the terrorists are in the heat of a battle.
• Essentially, Leeds murders about five people in self-defense, but it's complicated by by the fact that he attributes this to J.C.
• The goal of the terrorist group is to prove all major world religions wrong. This is nicely contrasted by another character who is trying to use the camera to prove Christianity (more specifically Catholicism) true. And it's not that this character doubts it, it's that he wants to prove it to doubters.
• One of the aspects is very impressed by the man's persistence in remaining a serious scientist and a faithful Christian (probably Catholic). While this is really great, the aspect spends a few moments making it sound like these two things actually don't go together and should in a normal world compete. Eventually the aspect tries to conclude that they can work together, but the conclusion is a little weak when put up against his speech before it.

My Thoughts
It's a fast read, really only about 84 pages, mostly dialogue since Leeds spends a good amount of time talking to his aspects. It's fun, watching a character talk to compartmentalized information in his head that is manifested as characters. Plus the adventure is a fun, fast-paced story that isn't too complicated to follow but just enough to make you think, and just when you thought you had it, turns out you didn't.
And Leeds knows his aspects aren't real. He also thinks he can't live without them. But there's a mysterious woman who was teaching him how to control them, and himself, to get his life back into order. And he's torn between how much he loves life with his aspects, and knowing that he really needs something more from life, and something needs to change.
With something this easy and enjoyable to read, I can say two things: I'm off to find the rest of the series, and I'm interested to see where Leeds goes next.

Book Review: Naughts & Crosses: a thriller

*****MATURE CONTENT WARNING*****

Title: Naughts & Crosses: a thriller
Author: Malorie Blackman
Publication Date: 2001
Genre: romance, thriller, discrimination, racism, tragedy, British literature
My Rating: *
Official Rating: fiction (adult)
Age Group: 18+

Summary
Callum McGreogor is a Naught, a "blanker", and he's white. That means he's at the bottom of the social ladder, as in, the very bottom of the social ladder. Sephy (Persephone) Hadley is a Cross, a "dagger", and she's black. That means she's at the very top of the social ladder, and since her father, Kamel Hadley, is headed toward being prime minister, well, she's at the very top of the social ladder.
In true Shakespearean fashion, the two fall in love. And as with every Shakespearean tragedy, things fall apart.
First it's Callum's attempts to attend a Cross school. He's let in, but really, did anyone expect him to be welcomed? Then his sister Lynette's demise. Father and brother joining the Liberation Militia, and the bombing of a local mall. An arrest. A hanging.
And let's not forget Sephy's attempts to reach her best friend. She tries to talk to him at school--and gets beaten up by the other Cross girls. Her mother has a drinking problem. Her sister hardly speaks to her. Her father has affairs and an illegitimate child and will do anything to remain in the favor of the public.
With everything working against them, and with society changing their views of reality, will Callum and Sephy make it, as a couple, or even as friends?

Word of Warning

• Mrs. Hadley drinks and is almost constantly drunk. Her daughter also takes up drinking.
• Mrs. Hadley overdoses on sleeping pills. One theory is she attempted suicide, but the majority believe she just did it for attention.
• Broken families. Lots of conflict between husbands and their wives, and many mentions of separation and divorce.
• The Liberation Militia will stop at nothing to defeat the Crosses. Bombings, kidnappings, murder. And their recruits? They are asked to do horrible things, twisting their minds to hatred and nothing else.
• Mr. Hadley is one of those lying politicians who carefully constructs a public image we've heard so much about in the media as of late.
• A young woman is mentally unstable. Later, when she seems to recover, she commit suicide.
• A man is hanged. Another man is electrocuted when he tries to escape prison (this quite possibly was a suicide as well.
• Violence. Racism. People saying and believing horrible things.
• Sephy's genuine attempts to bridge the gap between her family and Callum's are scoffed at and she is scolded by Callum's family as well as her own. Later, the author tries to convince the reader she did these things to make herself feel better--and nobody's buying that explanation. This just negates all her actions and frustrates the reader.
• Kissing. And I'm not talking a chaste kiss between a good couple. I'm talking drunken kisses, desperate and passionate kisses, all in first person. It's the kind of kiss that, shown in a movie, makes the viewer squirm uncomfortably and wish it was over.
• An unmarried couple has sex, and while the scene cuts out at the last possible second, it still gets rather graphic. In addition to that, it's all wrong. The girl cries. This happens while she's being held prisoner by the LM. She becomes pregnant. Everyone (except baby's father) urges her to have an abortion, but she refuses.
• A young man is accused of rape (see above described scene). He and the girl both insist it wasn't rape (though honestly, I think there is an argument for it actually being rape). People won't drop this issue and the word keeps getting brought up again and again. It is harshly dealt with.

My Thoughts
I wasn't sure about reviewing this one, because I don't want to sound racist. The reason I gave it one star is because the idea behind the story was important. Discrimination is a reality, in all sorts of realms, and I'm not talking about just racism.
Do I agree with what the author did here? No. Was it interesting? Yes. She flipped what society is calling its norms, and quite honestly, it wasn't any different for me to read it this way than it would have been to read it the other way around. It was an interesting idea though.
But I didn't like the execution of it. I didn't like the characters. The dialogue was incredibly painful, as was the narration. The writing style in general was painful. And this was no thriller.
I read this book for a class, and I started reading it very early on because I could only read a few chapters at a time before needing to stop. Not because it was heartbreaking. Because it was annoying to read.
It was a good idea. It was poorly executed, to the point of it being incredibly hard to read. I'd be interested in seeing this done again, but done well.

Book Review: The Club of Queer Trades

Title: The Club of Queer Trades
Author: G. K. Chesterton
Release Date: 1905 (pre-conversion)

Genre: mystery, adventure, humor, morals
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: fiction (adult)
Age Group: 12+
Students' Rating: "confusing but funny"

Summary
A collection of G. K. Chesterton's writings about Basil Grant, this novel is more episodic than the classic novel we are used to. It revolves around men belonging to the Club of Queer Trades, where one must create an entirely new way of earning an honest living in a way that has never been done before. Basil Grant, likely a precursor to Fr. Brown, left his job as judge long ago, apparently having gone crazy. Now, he wanders about England with his brother Rupert (a mockery of Sherlock Holmes) solving apparent mysteries that, well, aren't nearly as mysterious and criminal as they appear.
 
Word of Warning

• Mention of opium
• Mention of adventures that involve going to different countries and killing animals for sport
• Fist fights
• Apparent danger, prisoners
• Some slightly immoral businesses. Not immoral along the lines of inappropriate, but immoral as in not morally right.
• There are lots of things that simply have to be interpreted a different way for them to be understood as not crimes but merely interesting ways of living.
• Basil is a mystic and stargazer (among other random things)
• Characters smoke

My Thoughts
Think the beginnings of Fr. Brown and Manalive. It's got enough misunderstandings, moral and philosophical murmurings, quirky characters, ramblings, bashing of others' ideas and authors (Darwinism, Doyle, etc), and Chestertonian-ness to be amusing and full of insights. These are fun little capers that are just quirky enough to keep you smiling and reading. Sure, there's a lot going on, and it's not the best of Chesterton's writings, and it doesn't hold together well. But it's still a fun read that can be thought provoking.
At the very least, it's very, very interesting to watch what new methods of work/income GKC can come up with. There really is no end to this guy's imagination.

Book Review: The Bees

Title: The Bees
Author: Laline Paull
Release Date: 2015
Genre: fiction, biology...I'm really not sure what to call this one
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: adult fiction
Age Group: 18+
Awards: Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction (Shortlisted)

Summary

Flora 717 is born into her hive just as every other Flora is born--she climbs out of a cell, shakes herself dry, and is ready to work. Just like all the other bees.
Except Flora is, well a Flora. That means she's at the bottom of the bee-list. She's a cleaner of the hive. But a Sage decides to try an experiment and moves Flora up to the nursery where the young bee learns to tend to the babies.
That was a big mistake.
Flora gets smart. She learns how to blend in with any of her sisters, the Sage (priestesses), the foragers, and butting heads with the Teasel. Plus, she befriends a Drone, the most disgusting and self-absorbed member of the hive.
Yes, Flora is dangerously resourceful--and she's a mutant. But one day her ability to move from class to class becomes a real threat. One day, she falls in love with motherhood.
And one day, she realizes something horrible: the Queen is sick.

Word of Warning

• This book is incredibly brutal. Bees and wasps are torn apart and murdered in various ways. Spiders prey upon the bees and suck their lives from them. It's the brutal reality of the animal world like we've never seen it before. The violence is not glorified, and is treated appropriately, but can be disturbing.
• The Drones. They're disgusting and self-centered and just, yuck. Their sole desire is to mate with a Queen (and once they do so, they die). We get a rather stark description of this processes. It's detailed and graphic but strangely non-sexual. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the way the material is treated is more factual and scientific than anything else. It's weird and disturbing to remove romance and anything beautiful from that kind if intimacy. I think that's what bothered me most about this discussion. I realize these are animals, so of course you have to remove that, but I hadn't realized how messed up it sounds.
• The Sisters' (bees) religion kept reminding me over and over of a Pagan/misunderstanding of Catholicism mashup. I never could pin down if the author was trying to mock Catholicism or not. The Sisters have ranks, priestesses, a library with books in it that they revere, and a Queen Mother that they worship above all else. They gather for Devotion once a day and their prayers sometimes sound similar to the Hail Mary prayer. It was really disconcerting.

My Thoughts

Wow. Having grown up enchanted by creepy crawlies and other creatures, I knew pretty much all the factual information in this book. But there is a huge difference between knowing the facts and seeing them in action. I'd never really thought of these facts in the form of a story--at least, not realistically.

Life in the hive is confusing and full of blind followers. It's brutal. It's disgusting.

But it's the life of a bee.

And I honestly enjoyed this book. I found it hard to put down. The writing style was haunting and the story was stunning.

Wow. That's just about all I have to say about this one.

And yes, that may be a purposeful paraphrase of Mr. Slinger in Kevin Henkes' Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse. Because I do enjoy a good picture book, and I have my childhood favorites that I will never forget. Like The Poky Little Puppy.

Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Author: Mary Ann and Annie Barrows
Release Date: 2008
Genre: historical fiction, letters, romance, British literature, WWII
My Rating: ****
Official Rating: adult fiction
Age Group: 16+

Summary:
Juliet is a young writer in London trying to get back on her feet after the war. Her house was bombed and she is living in a little apartment. While a truly successful writer during the war, she doesn't want to write about those things in that style anymore. It was trivial and careless, a much-needed distraction for her readers at the time. But now she wants to write about something better.
And she's having a horrible time finding something to write about. Eventually, she gets in touch (quite accidentally) with the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a group of people in Guernsey whose survival stories from the war are unfortunately common, and yet unique in that they are their own people. She greatly enjoys her correspondence with the Literary Society and eventually goes to visit, thinking maybe at long last she has found the subject for her book, if only she can find the proper structure.

All written in the form of letters.

Word of Warning

• There is mention that one of the characters is homosexual. This is glossed over for the most part.
• Children born out of wedlock.
• Kisses. One of my favorite parts of the novel is when one letter-writer confesses that she caught two people kissing in the parking lot with loosely closed lips. It's my favorite because this is proposed as a huge scandal. There's just something very beautiful and innocent and right about that, and it's something it's been along time since I saw.
• People suffered during the war, which we knew. They had barely enough to eat and constantly lived in fear. While not graphic, and not at all depressing, there is no shying away from the facts.
• One woman is sent to Ravensbruck where she died. We get small glimpses into this life. Mentions of beatings, solitary confinement, a woman freezing to death, and dog attacks (though the dog attack part is skimmed over quickly).
• Orphans. Death. Bombings (mentioned, as this is after the war so they are no longer happening).

My Thoughts
This is a gem of a novel. Its composition being entirely of letters was particularly interesting for me as a reader. It was a very unique and wonderful way to approach the story. Letters are sent to an editor, a best friend, the people of Guernsey, a suitor, secretaries, and many other characters. Most of them center around Juliet and are more often than not sent to or from her.

It's a fascinating little story, actually. Gripping, but not in the way that has you sitting on the edge of your seat. It's a sort of comfortable grip, as though you have something sweet to return to at the end of the day before bed.
But this is about World War II, you might remind me. That was a horrible time. It's not a "fascinating little story" that is sweet.
But it was. It was gentle, did not shy away from reality, and had a beautiful glimmer about it all the same. In no way did I feel that it had neglected the horrors of the war. I honestly think it was more touching than those horror stories of the terrible things that happened (though those have their place as well).

Wonderfully done, Shaffer and Barrows. Well-crafted. Structure, wording, the characters--it all worked together to create a gem that I will keep on my bookshelf forever.

Book Review: The Scarlet Pimpernel

Title: The Scarlet Pimpernel
Author: Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Published: between 1903-05 (that's a bit unclear)
Genre: action, adventure, romance, historical fiction, war, politics
My Rating: *****
Official Rating: Historical fiction (adult fiction)
Age Group: 14+ (for reading difficulty. It's probably appropriate, though not much appreciated, for 10+)

Summary
Horrible things are happening in France. All those who once had power are being tracked down and killed at the guillotine.
There is, however, a man in England who will not stand for this. He is known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel, and he will do whatever it takes to rescue French aristocrats before they lose their lives.
But Chauvlin, one of France's best, is going to track down that man, and he is going to bring him back to France, and that man will pay dearly.

"They seek him here,

They seek him there,

Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.

Is he in heaven or is he in hell?

That demmed elusive Pimpernel!"

Word of Warning

•  The biggest challenge I see with this book is that it's considered a classic, and is written as such. This means as far as reading goes, it can get a bit long, it can get a bit confusing. It also has French words in it that are not translated.
• One of the nobles tends to favor the word "demmed"
• Blackmail.
• Kidnapping.
• Two men are hit on the head, knocking them unconscious. There is little to no drama in this scene and everyone is fine.
• A young man was beaten for sending a love note (know this is before the French Revolution, so the note was probably appropriate for any eyes) to an aristocratic young woman. This all happens in the past, before the book begins.
• Parents are reported as dead (in the past). One man's mother apparently went insane.
• People are in danger of being killed quite often, but this is more of a theme and less of a dramatic reality (such as one would get if there a knife or gun in play).
• A main character is beaten brutally by soldiers. This scene is narrated by a woman who can only hear the man's cries but cannot see the beating.

My Thoughts
The Scarlet Pimpernel and the Virginian--my two biggest literary crushes.
Both married.
But once upon a time, Stacy and I found the English language particularly constricting and redefined/clarified "crush" as an attraction to the God-given beauty and goodness in another human being, and a desire to partake in it (of course, that lead us to creating a whole bunch of "crush" subsets, but that's irrelevant).
Yes, I know neither of those characters is a real human, but they were created in the image of humanity and given beauty and goodness by an author who (whether knowing or not) was influenced by God.
My point? My point is that this is a fantastic book about fantastic adventures undertaken by a truly awesome character.

On a more literary note, it's interesting that the author chooses to tell the story from the perspective of a character who is not the Scarlet Pimpernel. It makes it especially tricky to really figure out who is and also pin down the personality of that character. But it's very well done and, honestly, a brilliant choice.

Fun Facts
This being a book my British Literature students read, I did more research on this book than I usually do. Might I add that this (and Prisoner of Zenda) were very popular among both the boys and the girls?
Interesting things about the author:

• Hungarian immigrant to Britain.
• Wrote short stories of a woman working for the Scotland Yard, similar to Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, these stories never took off.
• Novelist, playwright, and artist
• Her crime stories were based on real-life instances
• Happily married woman with one known kid. This son (John Montague Oczy-Barstow) wrote  a book titled The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel (also known as "The Gay Adventurer") which is meant to be the biography and family history of the man who is the Scarlet Pimpernel. He published this under the name John Blakeney, and his mother wrote the forward.

Interesting things about the book:

• Often seen as the inspiration for today's espionage heroes (think James Bond, Jack Ryan, etc), as well as our dual-identity superheroes (Arrow/Oliver Queen, Flash/Barry Allen, Batman/Bruce Wayne, Superman/Clark Kent--hopefully I didn't ruin any of these for you).
• Originally written as a play. The Baroness's husband helped with the writing.
• Sequels were not as popular.

Book Review: The Silent Governess

Title: The Silent Governess
Author: Julie Klassen
Genre: Romance, Christian, Regency
My Rating: ****
Official Rating: Adult fiction
Age Group: 18+

Summary: Olivia Keene wants to be a teacher, but when she saves her mother's life through a violent act, things change. Fleeing her home town in obedience to her mother, Olivia encounters various friendly and unfriendly people before she is captured by the gamekeeper of the Brightwell Estate. It seems she has overheard a rather confidential conversation between Lord Brightwell and his son, Lord Bradley.
Lord Bradley has his own problems to deal with. He's too much of a gentleman to leave Olivia in a jail where she has been assaulted, but too careful to set her free with the information she knows about him--information he himself has just discovered and isn't quite sure how to come to terms with. The solution is simple: hire Olivia as the under nurse for his cousin's young son and two stepchildren--requiring her complete silence of course. But the problem gets bigger still. Olivia is a charming girl and the servants, and everyone around her, truly enjoys her company whether or not she can speak. That's not really a problem, since Lord Bradley has limited contact with his servants.
No, Lord Bradley has to deal with threats of violence, the possibility of losing his inheritance, and falling in love with the silent under nurse.

Word of Warning
Please note that I did not originally intend to review this book and so did not take notes as I usually do when reviewing a book. This means I may have missed some of the smaller things which should go under this section. By giving the bigger problems, and providing the age rating of 18+, I do not believe anything I may have missed with be a problem. I apologize for not being as thorough with this review as I usually am.

A few small things first:

• A man brings his young daughter to the bar and has her show off by adding or multiplying big numbers. She enjoys this and he is able to encourage men to bet on this, winning money off her talent.
• A man is hit with an iron poker from the fireplace over the head. He lives.
• A fire nearly kills a small child and a man is injured (not seriously) in his rescue attempt.
• Olivia is choked by a man attempting to rape her.
• A young woman accidentally walks in on a man bathing (she sees only his upper body).
• Lord Bradley is obviously attracted to Olivia, physically as well as her character. Most, if not all, descriptions of physical attraction are sweet and handled well (this is a Christian romance novel, after all).
• A young woman is attacked by wild dogs thought to have rabies. She hits her head on a rock and is bitten by one of the dogs.
• A young man stands in a doorway, watching a young woman sleep with a child in her arms. His excuse is that he is helping the child's older sister look for him (the child) as she was worried that he was missing. While this excuse is true, the fact that he stands there at all and is clearly enchanted by what he sees is a bit uncomfortable.
• A man is wrongly accused of embezzlement and nearly sentenced to death.
• Lord Bradley orders Olivia to remain silent even after she recovers her voice, to protect his reputation. He also forbids her from talking to the outside world without his approval, and various other small measures to keep his secret safe. Eventually he begins to trust her and finally he apologizes for treating her in such a disrespectful manner.
• It is commonly understood that servants are not allowed to marry other servants from the same household. Also, if a young women (servant) becomes pregnant, she is let go by the household and, if lucky, given a bit of extra money before being sent out into the world to fend for herself and her unborn baby.
• A young man is constantly flirting with servants and even the young woman everyone understands is intending to marry his cousin. He also squanders his money while away at college.
• Squandering of money, gambling, drinking (mentioned and sometimes a key part of a minor character's arc).
• A few rather sweet kisses.

Now for the bigger things:

Olivia escapes attempted rape more than once. A man forces her to kiss him (she promptly punches him in the eye). Sometimes she is rescued, other times she has to fight her way free.

The entire story revolves around illegitimate children. A woman who is unable to give birth adopts the child of another young woman (who was raped) who dies after giving birth to her son. A few more honorable men in the story confess to having love affairs with women other than their wives (often servants) and regret their actions, realizing the actions were not out of love for the women involved. Others do not confess or regret it, but the more honorable ones do this for them.
 
My Thoughts
The last time I actually finished a Christian romance novel was, well, I can't even remember when. Basically, novels which revolve mainly around romance, especially overly-preachy ones, drive me up a wall and I usually end up throwing them at the wall. It's just not my thing.
But I finished this one in less than a week. It's a sweet story and the romance, as well as the Christian aspect, are skillfully woven in between two mysteries and various other small plot points. Lord Bradley is not perfect and though Olivia boarders on being so, even she has her moments.
It was refreshing. And I can assure you I am off to see if I can find any more books by Julie Klassen. I'm very glad I rescued this book from the pile of books in my friend's bedroom. And I'm glad she let me rescue it and didn't keep it for her own bookshelf.