Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest

I was at second and charles ( a book store near us) and they were having a sale, buy 3 fiction books, get 2 free and I found this as one of my free ones. This story is about a brother and sister whose parents die and they have to go live with their aunt in a remote norweigan village next to a forest. They are forbidden to go in the forest which, of course, only makes it absolutely positive that all the main characters will enter. They find that what they thought was a dark place filled with evil creatures is actually a confused place oppressed by a tyrannical leader.
For storytelling this book gets 10/10. I adore the different fantasy creatures created in these pages and how each one has changed during this strange time in the forest.  The truth pixie in particular had me rolling around in bed laughing. In originality it gets a 7.  During the first couple of chapters where the brother and sister get sent to their aunt and told about the forest I was sure this book was just another Fablehaven and was already tired of reading it. Also, there is one character who is missing at the beginning of the book and it is incredibly apparent where they are and how they will be revealed from the beginning of the book.  However, things were not as played out as I thought. There were twists and deaths and a horribly gruesome turn where Samuel gets turned into a rabbit and meets the friends of the rabbit he ate a couple days before.  I was simultaneously loving it and thinking 'what is happening?'.
Basically, this book has a lot of character and interest but you have to make an effort through the first couple of chapters. If another Samuel Blink novel (yes, there are more, nothing is a stand alone story anymore :(  )  were to end up on my desk I would read it but I don't think I will search out any more of these books.

Boy and The BFG by Roald Dahl

When my fiancee Charles and I started dating we started reading out loud to each other. It's a way to be intimate and a sure way to spend time with that person being vulnerable. When we saw that the BFG was being made into a movie naturally we both wanted to reread the book first and what better way to read the same book then to read it aloud to each other. 

This book was more magical and delightful than I remembered.  The BFG is constantly use crazy words like fribscottle and snozzcumber which I love (Charles pointed out this is probably because I use words like that all the time, in fact I told him I was rememerabling about this book right now). Sophie is practical and good-hearted. I loved how composed the queen made herself when she met the giant, inviting him to dinner, which gave us the hilarious scene where the butler has to climb a ladder to serve the giant his plate. Charles said it was good but was not as thrilled with it as I am (baffling, completely baffling). He also never reads children's books and loves nonfiction so perhaps that has a bit to do with it. 

We are both especially excited about the movie now and maybe I will add another little paragraph after I go see the movie. Two thumbs up from Carolyn and Charles! Also, we highly recommend reading this book out loud;  with your children, your significant other, or even your friends. The crazy words and short chapters make it fun and always leave you wanting more. 

I picked this up from a book sale prior to deciding to read the BFG with Charles. Roald Dahl was I believe the first time I ever discovered you could choose a book by the author (rather than the colorful cover or the title/plot line) and expect it to be good. Also, in a time filled with Junie B. Jones and Nancy Drew Roald Dahl led me into  a new world of fantasy, so I was ecstatic to now get a chance to learn a little more about this author I love. 

Boy is short stories from Roald Dahl's childhood. He was quite a prankster when he was younger and remembered quite a few due to the punishment he received for some of those pranks. He went to an English school because of his fathers wishes, but his whole family travelled back to Norway for the summers. His childhood inspired more than a few of his books, too.  

This book is extremely short and mesmerizing. I took it on a vacation to folly beach, I started reading and didn't put it down until I was finished and quite sunburnt. Nonfiction is usually not my thing but Roald Dahl unsurprisingly makes it captivating. 

Princess Academy

When I was younger I loved to read. I was part of the Battle of the Books team for my school in 4th and 6th grade and every new book was a treasure. Of course toward the end of middle school and beginning of high school I went through that phase everyone goes through of despising books. They were just a means for answering questions in school, just words to be ceaselessly analyzed.  The way I got back into books was finding one of my Battle of the Books reading list. I was immediately filled with the warmth and happiness that those books brought me and after rereading one or two I started reading more  and more again.

All this to say that books in the children's section are where it's at. I never go to a book store without browsing the children's section and usually picking up a Newberry award winner or two. 

Princess Academy is one of those books that makes me excited to read again. It's a quick, fascinating, and honest story. The book was made to capture and hold the attention of young readers ( it captured my attention as well ) but it trades none of its literary prowess.   The story is about a young girl who lives in a small secluded village that has been chosen as the birthplace of the new princess. All the girls in the village must go to a princess academy to get ready for a ball in which they will meet the prince and he will choose his bride.  When written like that it almost seems boring but with a slight fantastical element of quarry speech, bandits and the struggle between wealth and the happiness of home it is anything but. 

The ending was also a surprise, (unlike a teen fiction book I am in the middle of but I already know the ending to, but I'll get to that in a couple posts) and it reminds me of one of my absolute favorite children's book Sahara Special which is also about a girl finding a way to belong.

A quick, happy and marvelous read. 

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

I have always wanted to be part of a book club. Unfortunately due to lack of interest or lack of a routine I was never able to. My mom, however, has a wonderful group of ladies that she goes to book club with. I remember when I was younger they all read  Wicked and then had a party to discuss it where all the drinks (alcoholic and otherwise) and snacks were green. So when my mother brought me this book and said I would like it I was unsure. But when she told me her book club had just read it I said okay let me have it. I will read my way vicariously into your book club.

I was extremely happy with the results. Normally I don't like to read books or watch movies about musicians, they seem to be somber documentaries or else a horrible cliché about being relevant which I don't enjoy.  The new movie Never Stop Never Stopping does a great job of making humorous everything I dislike about musician stories, mainly being that the story seems more about drugs and the struggle to stay popular than about music. Again I will say MOSTLY because I know there are some excellent stories out there which happen to actually about music, and this book is one of them.

 

Frankie Presto is a fictional musician who lives a tragic life, one terrible fortune to another. He meets with numerous real musicians which constantly makes you question which part is real and what steps into fantasy. He also has some slightly fantastical guitar strings who last a long time and turn blue as he changes the lives of people around him. His musical life is never about relevance, he dips into drugs at one minimal point in the story but overcomes them. It is definitely sad, I cried multiple times in this book so if you are looking for a happy-go-lucky story this is not the one for you. But the actual music, you can almost hear it through the words. It's a beautiful story and I would recommend it.

And while I was reading this book multiple people saw the cover and said "Oh I love Tuesdays with Morrie". Then I had  to explain it wasn't that book.  But with all the love I heard I went out and bought that to read, so it is on my book pile.   I bought it on a trip to South Carolina where my boyfriend proposed to me this weekend so even if it's not as lovely as everyone says I know it will hold a special place on my book shelf.