It's a SCREAM!

WIN A $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE!

Would you like to win a $25 Amazon or iTunes Gift Certificate? Or how about a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant in your town (or one near you)? Follow this link for details: http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/slstewart/BBZWriteOff.htm

DISLCAIMER!

The opinions expressed here are those of the editors and contributors to this blog and 'zine alone. The views stated within this site may not reflect the official views of Texas A&M University-Commerce.

WHO IS BOOK-IT BLOGSPOT & ZINE FOR?

Book-It Blogspot and Zine is intended as a virtual gathering space primarily for high-school, middle-school, and college students to write about and discuss literature. We seek your ideas about any type of literature, from "chick lit" to "the classics," from graphic novels to fiction to non-fiction . . . and everything in between. Discussions, book reviews, surveys, reading lists, opinion columns, author-interviews . . . it's all welcome here! Want to participate? E-mail us at bookitbz(at)gmail(dot)com. Use the @ sign for at and a . for dot (we do that to avoid pfishing on the site and getting unwanted e-mail.

Where Authors Write about Their Work and Their Craft

Sunday, April 20, 2008

first review.

Okay, I've been putting this off until I could choose a book to start off with, and now I've finally decided to review one of my favorite books first. :]

Alright, for starters, I've created my own rating system to rank books by. I created the image myself, and I will call them "Jacks." The symbol below will be used, with one being the worst and five being the best. On to the review.

Many of you know Gail Carson Levine for her novel Ella Enchanted, but I knew her first for her novel The Two Princesses of Bamarre. Cleverly crafted sub-reality, relatable characters, fantasy and romance - this novel has it all. Since the first time I opened the front cover to the present, I've read this novel 7 times. I've had to buy a second copy of the book and am now in search of my third because the binding is literally falling apart. I've gotten to the point now where I can open the book to any page in the book and tell you what happened before, what is happening on the current page and what will happen next. Can you tell that I love this book?

Opening with the first stanza of Drualt, the epic poem telling the life of Bamarre's greatest hero, Levine sets up her readers for a truly enthralling world that they had better be prepared for. I was and still am easily ensnared into the plot and characters, told from the perspective of the younger princess, Addie. The Princesses Meryl and Addie are polar opposites of one another - Addie is dark-complexioned and frightened by the world around her, while Meryl is fair and fearless, determined to fulfill the prophecy of her country and find the cure to the Gray Death. The Gray Death plagues the land of Bamarre, striking at random and leaving behind no survivors. There is a specific time frame over which the disease takes its course - the Weakness, which lasts for an indeterminable amount of days, the Sleep, which lasts for nine days, and the Fever, which lasts for three days and ends in death.

When Meryl, the brave older sister set on fulfilled the prophecy, contracts the mysterious illness, Addie must step up and set aside her fears to save her sister. She faces many dangers, from Ogres and Gryphons, the lesser of evils, to Specters and Dragons, dangerous and cunning creatures full of trickery. With the help of the castle's sorceror apprentice, Rhys, she uses a magic tablecloth that spontaenously creates enough food for whomever beckons its help.

Addie survives many perils, and in her sister's final hour, she takes her to the waterfall that spills from the Fairy Kingdom that is rumored to cure the Gray Death. Before what they know will be an unsure victory, Rhys pulls Addie aside and confesses the love for her he has harbored over the years of his apprenticeship. Addie reciprocates and the pair enter the valley of the falls, prepared for anything. In an outstanding battle that threatens tears in each reader's eyes, the crew of Addie, Rhys, Meryl and several men and women from the neighboring village fight to fulfill the prophecy and save Bamarre.

They succeed, and as the rains fall over the lands, the Gray Death dies out. Meryl however, is not saved, but made into a fairy much to Addie's dismay. In her eyes, she has failed. Meryl will never get her adventures and will never again be human. But Meryl sees it differently - she will be Addie's children's fairy godmother, and while invisible to human eyes will still be a part of Addie's life. When Addie finally accepts this, Rhys comes to find her. The two are married in the fairy realm, and soon after return the world below. It's hard to leave Meryl behind, but Addie understands that her sister will always be there, lingering though not seen.

There is so much more to this book and I recommend it to anyone that enjoys fantasy novels. Gail Carson Levine takes my breath away with this masterpiece of a novel. I laughed, cried, gasped and sighed with every emotion that Addie feels. I could go on forever about this book, so I'll stop here, but if anyone has any questions or wants to discuss this book, I am definitely up for it.

I give The Two Princesses of Bamarre FIVE Jacks. :]


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

HEARD any good books lately?

I LOVE audio books, partly because I have a lengthy commute, and they help pass the time. But there's also something wonderful about listening to a story--I think back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when novels would frequently be shared aloud. Any other audio book fans out there? What good books have you heard?

Some of my favorites to listen to--combination of fantastic story and superb narration:

Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed, by Patricia Cornwell
Harry Potter series, narrated by Jim Dale!!
The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo
ANYTHING by David Sedaris, narrated by David Sedaris.
(I have to be careful with Sedaris, though, because I often start laughing so hard that I risk a car accident)
And whoever said Hit Man was one of their favorite books, the audio version is great, too!