My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

My Lady Jane
Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
Harper Teen (June 2016)
4/5 stars

This is the book that came with my first ever OwlCrate, and is an alternative history version of the story of Lady Jane Grey.  In real history, young King Edward VI dies, Jane becomes Queen for nine days, after which she is beheaded once Queen Mary takes over the throne.  In My Lady Jane, things happen quite differently.

Shape-shifting is a common thing in this version of Tudor England, with King Henry VIII having been a lion in nature as well as spirit.  The young King Edward VI and his cousin (and dear friend) Jane Grey have never shown signs of shape-shifting, much to their disappointment.  This shape-shifting is persecuted off and on, depending on the King, and Edward's sister Mary is intent that the persecution should begin again.

Bookworm Jane is married off to the youngest son (who becomes a horse during daylight hours) of the sickly King's adviser, and Edward is persuaded to make her his heir.  Treason and treachery abound, with Jane being used as a pawn.  This is a fairy tale, though, and so the reader can expect a happy ending for this Jane Grey.

This was a delightful, light, humorous, and enjoyable fantasy.  The characters were mostly well-developed and quite likable.  The plot was, naturally, fantastical, but also oddly believable.  The ambiance of the 16th century was mostly true to history, with the big exception being the addition of tea to a country that would need to wait another 100 years before experiencing it.  (Granted, this is a fantasy, and the authors can do what they want.)

The chapters rotated between the point of view of the three main characters, with each author responsible for one character.  This was effective, though there wasn't a definite distinctness of character voice.  Regardless, My Lady Jane was a fun read which kept me interested until the end and deserves a solid four stars.

Favorite Retelling

From my Instagram account; the prompt was "favorite retelling".

the Classics Club: Life and Death of Harriett Frean

(about the Classics Club)

Life and Death of Harriett Frean
May Sinclair

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 I live in a university town, and as a result there is often obscure classics available at the used book store.  I tend to browse the literary classics/fiction aisle of our looking for the green spines of the Virago Modern Classics volumes.   That was how I found this book.  Reading the back, I saw her style was compared to that of Virginia Woolf, one of my favorite authors.  This was enough for me.






This book is about a Victorian woman, brought up to be "morally beautiful" and to deny herself even little pleasures in order to achieve this beauty.  The result was a selfish, narrow woman, proud of herself and her nonexistent achievements.  For example, she turned down a man she loved because he was engaged to a friend.  She saw this as a "morally beautiful" act, and prided herself on it for decades.  The reader, and eventually Harriett, was able to see how this self-indulgent sacrifice ruined the lives of others.  Reading this, I thought a lot about how pride and vanity can be hidden under a guise of righteousness.

I also thought a lot about how similar the stream of consciousness style was to Woolf, though when I researched Sinclair I found that she is may have used that style first.  This novel contains few descriptive passages and not much action, with most of the book being thoughts or conversations.  It was immensely effective for telling her life.

May Sinclair

I felt sad for Harriett.  She watched life go by and spent much time regretting the past, even though she thought of it only as reminiscing.

I also felt glad I had read it.  I liked Sinclair's style very much and would like to find more of her works to read.  I would certainly recommend this book to those fond of Woolf's novels.

I think Sinclair wanted to show the reader the danger of  pretending there is no ugliness in the world, and also the hypocrisy that can hide behind a self-sacrificing nature.

My review for Amazon:

Life and Death of Harriett Frean follows, as one might expect, the early life through to the death of Harriett Frean.  She was brought up to be a perfect Victorian lady, and taught early on to be "morally beautiful", which in turn led her to become prideful in any little self-sacrifice she made.  As a result, she lived a narrow existence, self-righteously congratulating herself on how she lived her life.

There is very little descriptive passages or even action.  Instead, the story is told mainly in thoughts and conversation, in the stream-of-consciousness style.  This is extremely effective in telling Harriett's story.

It is a short book, and easy to read, but still manages to be quite thought provoking.  I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a stream-of-consciousness narrative; other readers might not find it as engrossing.

Books and Royalty

From my Instagram account; the prompt was "books and royalty".

The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang

The Wangs vs. the World

Jade Chang

expected publication date October 4, 2016

2/5 stars

I was given this book by the Amazon Vine program in return for an honest review.

In the Wangs vs. the World , Charles Wang (who has just lost his fortune) and his family scuttle out of Bel Air just before the bank can foreclose on their mansion. The plan is for the Wang family to drive cross-country to the NY house of the eldest Wang child, and the novel is the tale of their (supposedly) comic adventures as they travel.

I disliked each member of the Wang family from the moment s/he was introduced, and further character development never changed this. Because I could not connect to any of the Wangs, I found it impossible to take interest in their story.

Humor is, of course, an intensely personal thing. Ms. Chang's humor is not my humor. The use of "bad language" as verbs and adjectives, for example, just doesn't tickle my funny bone. I was also not particularly amused by her elaborate set up of the Wang's name (which Mr. Wang deplores because of the genitalia connotations) and the fact that he was heir to a urea production factory. Like I said, her humor isn't my humor.

Overall, I guess I was not a good fit for this book. A review is a personal opinion, and I've no doubt that other reviewers will see this book quite differently than I did. I, however, simply did not like it. I am giving it two stars, though, instead of one because her use of backstory was well done and effective.

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

Britt-Marie Was Here
Fredrik Backman
5/5 stars

Britt-Marie leaves her cheating husband and takes her first job in decades, working as caretaker in a recreation center in Borg, a dying town.  OCD and socially awkward, she finds it hard to adapt at first.  Then, she unexpectedly finds herself coaching a children's soccer team--and just as unexpectedly, finds herself changing and growing.

This is a gem of a book.  I read it--all 324 pages of it--from beginning to end in one sitting.  While I was first just amused by Britt-Marie and her foibles, I quickly became attached to her and concerned for her future.  Backman made me care about Britt-Marie and the people of Borg.   It was well-written, with deep thoughts sprinkled throughout, and a story that was sweet, sad and believable.  I was uncertain until the very end as to how it would end, and one can rarely say that about a contemporary "feel-good" novel.

Obviously, I highly recommend Britt-Marie Was Here. It's quick and pleasurable, and leaves the reader feeling both hopeful and satisfied.

On a personal note: Yes, I read this entire book, cover to cover, without stopping!  It is the best I've read this year, just barely beating The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman.

Sunday Salon: The Week in Review

Musing for this week's Sunday Salon.

This week I read one ARC that just wasn't great and one that was super.  Yesterday I started another that I am having a real hard time reading.  I think I'm going to have to read it in small doses while I read one that I do enjoy.  I've got two library books, the book from my OwlCrate, a stack from the used book store (last month's trip) and today I went to the library's used book sale and brought home more--I really want to read one these and not this ARC.

Our county's library has a four day sale.  The first day is for Friends of the Library members only, which we are.  We didn't have a great deal of time to spend today, but I still found some treasures.  Look at the set of Alcott books from the 1950's (photo below).  They have never been read!  I also found old copies of the Woman in White (one of my favorites) and the Princess and the Curdie (by a favorite author).  Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and Norwegian Wood have been on my I'd-like-to-read-it list for a while.  The Nabokov is one of the few I don't own (Transparent Things). On Tuesday, they have their bag sale ($5 for a grocery bag full of books) and I'll go back then. The pickings will be slim, but I'm sure I'll have no trouble filling up a bag!