The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
By: C.S. Lewis
Read: March 25-26, 2015
Published: October 16, 1950
Genre: High Fantasy
Series: The Chronicles of Narnia

          Four adventurous siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—step through a wardrobe door and into the land of Narnia, a land frozen in eternal winter and enslaved by the power of the White Witch. But when almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change . . . and a great sacrifice.
          Journey into the land beyond the wardrobe! The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second book in C. S. Lewis's classic fantasy series, which has been captivating readers of all ages for over sixty years. This is a stand-alone novel, but if you would like journey back to Narnia, read The Horse and His Boy, the third book in The Chronicles of Narnia. (Amazon)

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Why did you read this book?

This is a book that I've always had in the back of my mind, but never really gotten around to reading. I'd seen the movie and liked it, and, as odd as it sounds, I didn't want to ruin the movie by reading the book. We all know that the book is always better, right? Anyway, I had to choose five children's novels and read them for my Children's Lit class. In all honesty, I was going to read The Hobbit for my fantasy selection. So how did I end up reading this? I have no idea.

What did you like about this book?

There are several things I liked about it, how couldn't there be? I think my favorite part is not necessarily the story itself. First off, I love C.S. Lewis, even though this is the first of his works that I have read (I am planning on reading more of his books after this, perhaps The Screwtape Letters) I also absolutely love the Christian symbolism in this book, particularly that of Aslan and the stone table. I could go into it, but I wouldn't do it justice. So here is an article that pretty much says what I'm thinking. 

What didn't you like about this book?

I wish the characters had been better developed. I had a sense of who they were, but I felt they were rather one dimensional (except perhaps Edmund, who does go through a transformation). I found myself comparing the book characters to the movie characters and found that I much preferred the Pevensies that I met in the movie. Speaking of the movie, it followed the book rather well, except for a few minor differences and one major difference. Remember the battle scene? It was only briefly mentioned in the book after it had taken place. For me, that was my favorite part in the movie and I really wish it would have been in the book. Don't get me wrong, it was a really good book. I just wish it had been more than 80 pages or so, which could have left more room for more detail.

Bottom-Line:

I know, another short review. In my defense, it was another short book. Anyway, the bottom-line...I really did enjoy this book. I think I may have enjoyed it more when I was younger. So while I would still recommend it to fantasy lovers of all ages, I would definitely recommend it to 10-12 year old kids.

"I hope no one who reads this book has been quite as miserable as Susan and Lucy were that night; but if you have been - if you've been up all night and cried till you have no more tears left in you - you will know that there comes in the end a sort of quietness. You feel as if nothing is ever going to happen again." -The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Fairy Tales

         Greetings all! I wish I had something super interesting for you, but unfortunately I don't. I still have to finish reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (lent to me by the wonderful Franco Fan :o), so I don't have a review ready for that yet. And honestly, it'll probably have to wait until March is over. I'm very busy with a project for my Children's Lit class at the moment. (And yet I took the time to post this for you! Aren't you lucky?) I'm going to do my homework outside today...it's 53 degrees out and sunny!!! So, while I do that, I'll leave this timed short essay here for you to read. I personally don't think it was very good (I've written better), but my professor apparently liked it because I got 40/40. Anyway, enjoy!

Fathers in Fairy Tales

          Fairy Tales often employ the use of archetypal characters in the telling of their tales. In fact, they rarely stray from the standard portrayal of their characters, some of the most common being the wicked stepmother, the beautiful princess, and the dashing prince, always there to save the day. However, there is one character that recurs in many fairy tales, but doesn't often receive the attention that is given to the others. Making an appearance in both "Rapunzel" and "Rumpelstiltskin" is the negligent, and often rather selfish, husband and father.
          In the tale "Rapunzel", as told by the Brothers Grimm, the father makes a very brief, but important appearance. He agrees to trade his only child, which hasn't even come into the world yet, to the witch in exchange for her rampion. The man doesn't even pause to think about the consequences of his actions, but rather "in his distress of mind the man promised everything; and when the time came when the child was born the witch appeared, and, giving the child the name of Rapunzel (which is the same as rampion), she took it away with her," (73). Not only does this man agree to anything the witch demands in exchange for the rampion, but when the time comes to hand over his daughter, he does so without a hint of remorse. He doesn't even seem to care that he just sent his only child to live with a witch. At the time of his actions, his only thought is to appease his wife so that he won't lose her. This may seem like a romantic notion, but it is actually very selfish. The story starts "there once lived a man and his wife, who had long wished for a child, but in vain," (73). The wife very much wants a child, but her husband is more than willing to bargain this much desired child so that he won't have to live without his wife.
          Another careless father similar to that in "Rapunzel", is the one that is portrayed in the Brothers Grimm telling of "Rumpelstiltskin". In this tale, it is the miller's lack of fortune, rather than his wife's appetite, that drives him to use his daughter to his own gain. When given the opportunity to speak with the king, the miller uses it to tell him "that he had a daughter who could spin gold out of stray," (50). This father knew that his daughter couldn't actually spin gold out of straw, but he told the lie regardless. When the king ordered him to bring his daughter to the castle, the miller agreed without a second thought, all the while knowing full well that his daughter wouldn't be able to spin gold for the king. As most often happens, the father's child is left to deal with the consequences of his actions. When it was time for her to spin the gold "...the poor miller's daughter was left there sitting, and could not think what to do for her life: she had no notion how to set to work to spin gold from straw, and her distress grew so great that she began to weep," (51). The miller's careless actions bring great distress to the poor girl, but it is not her that he things of, but only himself.
          One father who breaks the mold of inattentive fathers is that of Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast". The father in this tale is a giving one, doing everything he can to give his children, especially his daughters, a better life. When "by some unlucky accident, the merchant suddenly lost all his fortune, and had nothing left but a small cottage in the country," (22), he still does not acquire the same selfishness displayed by the poor fathers in the other tales. Instead, he loves his children, particularly Beauty, and tries to provide for them the best he can. When he receives word that their fortune may have changed, he ensures that all his daughters should get a gift from him. Even though he didn't get the money he thought he would, he still tried to bring back a rose for Beauty. Because he stole the roses, the beast he had stolen them from orders that he will die for it, but allows that he can exchange his life for one of his daughters. Initially, the man recoils at the idea of sending any of his daughters to live with the beast. However, even he succumbs to the traditional selfishness of a father figure common in fairy tales. He allows Beauty to go in his stead, permitting him to live, even if it may mean her death. Despite the fact that he "in vain tried to reason with Beauty who still obstinately kept to her purpose," (24), he still let her go. As a father, he should have the ultimate authority in the household, but, for the sake of his own life, he lets Beauty overthrow his decision.
          The most common trait in the father character in all three of these fairy tales is selfishness. This more than likely was formed out of a resentment towards men as expressed by the original tellers of the stories, women. Both "Rapunzel" and "Rumpelstiltskin" were recorded by the Brothers Grimm, but they weren't the original tellers. They collected stories from word of mouth throughout several countries. As women were the primary story tellers to children, they were the ones that produced these archetypal characters, including the selfish and negligent father/husband. Beaumont, however, wrote "Beauty and the Beast" herself. Her father figure is very different from that in the tales of the Brothers Grimm, but it still contains that inherent selfishness that readers have come to expect from fathers in traditional fairy tales.

          Source: Classics of Children's Literature by John W. Griffith and Charles H. Frey

"'I must,' sighed the beast, 'for I know well enough how frightful I am; but I love you better than myself.'" -Beauty and the Beast by Mme Le Prince de Beaumont

Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy

Yellow Star
by Jennifer Roy
Read: March 3, 2015
Published: June 3, 2014
Genre: Historical fiction
Series: NA

                                                                                        "In 1945 the war ended. The Germans surrendered, and the ghetto was liberated. Out of over a quarter of a million people, about 800 walked out of the ghetto. Of those who survived, only twelve were children. I was one of the twelve." For more than fifty years after the war, Syvia, like many Holocaust survivors, did not talkabout her experiences in the Lodz ghetto in Poland. She buried her past in order to move forward. But finally she decided it was time to share her story, and so she told it to her niece, who has re-told it here using free verse inspired by her aunt. This is the true story of Syvia Perlmutter—a story of courage, heartbreak, and finally survival despite the terrible circumstances in which she grew up. A timeline, historical notes, and an author's note are included. (Amazon)

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Why did you read this book?

I'm not going to lie, if this book hadn't been an assignment for my children's literature class, I probably wouldn't have read it. I don't usually go straight for the historical fiction, you know? (Although I do enjoy a good historical romance.) But yeah, I had to read this book for my class.

What did you like about this book?

I actually really loved the format. It was written as poetic prose, which initially I was kind of dreading. Between creative writing and children's lit, I am getting so sick of poems. But this was written in a way that only looked like poetry, but didn't read like it. (so...poetic prose...) I felt that the title was perfect for this book, as so much relates back to the Star of David that Syvia is forced to wear on her coat. I've also never really read a Holocaust book from a child's point of view, so I liked that part of it. I have read Number the Stars, but that book doesn't deal with the concentration camps and atrocities committed against the Jews as in depth as this book does. Overall, it was a very good book and I read it in just a few hours.

What didn't you like about this book?

I hated that this was based on a true story. I hated that it actually happened. Although, there isn't anything that the author can do about that. In regards to the book, I didn't like the lack of dialogue. I realize that that is just how the book was written, but I love to hear characters talk. This book was entirely a narration from Syvia. The only type of dialogue was Syvia saying that someone said something. (Vague, right?)

Bottom-Line:

I realize this was a super short review, but it was a pretty short book. It was very good and I didn't really have many complaints about it. I don't think I will read it again (who knows, I might) and I know I won't add it to my shelf. I think some books you only need to read once. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in WWII and the Holocaust. Heck, I'd recommend it to anyone, regardless of their preferred reading topics.

"...because yellow is meant to be a happy color, not the color of hate." -Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More
by Sarah Dessen
Read: March 3, 2015
Published: June 4, 2013
Genre: YA Fiction
Series: NA

        Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun.
He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.
          Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.
          Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?
          Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going? (Amazon)

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Why did you read this book?
I had honestly been putting this one off for quite a while now, almost two years now actually. I've been falling off of the Dessen band wagon, truth be told. However, I couldn't just read all of her books and then not read this one. It'd be blasphemy! (Sort of) Anyway, I've read every single one of Sarah Dessen's books and I couldn't help but eventually read this one.

What did you like about this book?
My favorite part about this book was the little pieces from her other novels scattered throughout. Other people might find this annoying, but for me it was like seeing old friends. It was a moment of 'Oh, I remember you! How are you? It's been too long.' Maybe it's because I met those characters when I was a much younger, much more different, person and it was like seeing myself again. I also love the setting of Colby. Only three of her books (Keeping the Moon and Along for the Ride), including this one, have actually taken place in Colby, NC, but it is also mentioned in a few of her others (well, What Happened to Goodbye for sure...not so sure about the rest). I just love how intertwined all of her books are! Anyway...this book in particular...I loved learning more about Clyde (who was introduced to us in Along for the Ride) and I loved Emaline's younger brother, Benji. But yeah, I mostly loved the setting and a few of the characters. The plot was alright with a hopeful, positive ending, pretty much what we expect in a Sarah Dessen book.

What didn't you like about this book?
Now, I really don't want to sway anyone's feelings about this book. So if you want to give the characters their own chances and not hear what I have to say about them, I suggest you stop reading now. However, if you are perfectly fine with possibly inheriting some of my opinions and don't mind entering a book with preset expectations, by all means, keep reading. Okay...here's your last chance to stop...I warned you! My least favorite part about this book? Theo. I disliked him even more than Emaline's father. With him, I expected him to be a jerk. But I don't understand what Emaline saw in Theo. I didn't like him from the beginning. And maybe that's the way Dessen intended it to be, but I just didn't enjoy any of the parts with Theo in them. In all honesty, I much preferred Luke, even if he didn't say no, no, no to Tallyho.  

Bottom Line:
If you are a Sarah Dessen fan, you will enjoy this book. I enjoyed it, although I more than likely won't add it to my shelf. (If you're curious, the Dessen books I do own are The Truth About Forever, Along for the Ride, and What Happened to Goodbye. I also have Just Listen on my Kindle). Although I did enjoy it, it was just a fluff read. It was the usual 'girl about to go to college, relationship drama, and decisions!' plot line. Not exactly riveting stuff. But sometimes a girl just needs a Sarah Dessen book to get by, and that's what this did.



"How weird that must be, to stay the same as everyone else changes." -The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen