Review: Revolution

Title/Author:  Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Published:  Random House, 2010

Source:  Purchased myself for my nook

Why I Read It: I've heard such great things about the book!

Rating: 4 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Review:

Let me start off by saying that I learned a lot about the French Revolution from this book.  Honestly, I didn’t remember much about it from history classes I’ve taken.  The Revolution was a scary time for the people of France.  Thousands of people had to unfortunate pleasure of being guillotined.  There are literally thousands of people buried below the streets of Paris.  If I ever make it to Paris I will probably get a little freaked out thinking about that while walking down a street!

Jennifer Donnelly did a fantastic job bringing the past and present together.  For me, the book started off a little slow, partly because I expected to be introduced to Alex sooner.  The reader is in Andi’s head throughout the book.  We’re aware of Alex’s story by reading her diary- the one Andi finds hidden in a guitar case.  

Andi is a girl who has been through a lot in the past two years.  She witnessed her little brother being hit by a car.  Then her family falls apart, she always feels numb from antidepressants, her mother is going crazy, her father is never around, she’s in danger of not graduating high school and the only thing that’s keeping Andi afloat is music.  Her father takes her to Paris for winter break and he hopes that by getting away it will help Andi heal some.

Alex is a girl who lived during the Revolution in France in the 1790’s.  Her family never had enough to eat, her father had been jailed many times for speaking out against the king, her sister was pregnant with no husband, the family put on puppet shows as a way to make a living and they heard there was plenty of food at Versailles and that going to Paris would solve all of their problems.  Sadly, they were mistaken.  

Louis-Charles, the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, is an important part in Alex’s story.  By reading Alex’s diary, Louis-Charles also becomes an essential part of Andi’s story.  Andi’s father is in Paris to do genetic testing on a heart that is believed to belong to Louis-Charles.  During the Revolution he was imprisoned in a tower under poor conditions.  There were rumors that he escaped and that a dead body was left in the tower for his captors to find.  No one knew for sure if Louis-Charles really escaped or if he died while imprisoned.  

In 2000, the heart really did undergo genetic testing.  Scientists tested the heart’s mitochondrial DNA and it was concluded that the heart belonged to Louis-Charles, the lost king of France.  I find it fascinating that in 1795 they were able to preserve the heart so well.  Well enough that 205 years later it could still be tested on and get accurate results.  You can read more about it here and here.

And that is your brief history lesson for the day.  

Back to the book.  I really enjoyed the story.  Sometimes I was getting confused with Alex’s diary entries so make sure you pay attention to the dates.  The next time I see fireworks going off (illegally) I’ll be wondering if they are for one specific person to see, and to know that they are not forgotten.

I was listening to the radio the other day and I heard the song "Firework" by Katy Perry.  I'm not usually a fan of her songs but I thought this particular one fit perfectly with Andi and especially Alex:

Review: The DUFF

Title:  The Duff

Author:  Kody Keplinger

Published: Little, Brown & Company/September 2010

How I Got It: Public library

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

“It was hurtful, and it was one of those titles that just fed off of an inner fear every girl must have from time to time.  Slut, bitch, prude, tease, ditz.  They were all the same.  Every girl felt like one of these sexist labels described her at some point.  So, maybe, every girl felt like the Duff, too?” (page 256). [I love this quote]

Duff = designated ugly fat friend.  Who hasn’t felt like a Duff at some point in their life?  I know I certainly have!  It still happens to me sometimes.  You’re out with some friends or sitting in class and you just feel like every other girl is prettier than you, more confident than you, and you’re thinking you should have used more concealer to cover up the giant pimple that magically appeared overnight.  Now I’m usually pretty secure with myself, but at some point we’ve all felt like the ugly duckling.

Seventeen-year old Bianca is out one night with two friends and she's approached by Wesley, the school womanizer.  He starts up a conversation with her because he considers her to be the Duff out of the three friends.  According to Wesley’s logic this guarantees him some major brownie points with Bianca’s friends (and he is hoping to hook up with at least one of them).   She gets so mad that she throws her drink in his face and storms out.

From this point on the word “duff” haunts Bianca.  Its pretty much all she can think about, the word just consumes her.  Bianca has been having issues at home.  Her mom is always traveling for work and is gone for months at a time, while her dad is like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode.  To escape from all of this Bianca enters into an “enemies with benefits” relationship with Wesley.  She uses him as a way to forget her problems.

Even though Bianca irritated me at times I loved her.  I did want to yell at her when she first kissed Wesley though (why Bianca?  You hate him and he calls you names!).  But Wesley described her best when he said she is an  “intelligent, sassy, sarcastic, cynical, neurotic, loyal, compassionate girl" (page 175).  That sums up her perfectly, I don't even have to expand on it. 

There is lots swearing in this book (Bianca drops f-bombs quite often) and sex is mentioned a lot.  If either make you a little uncomfortable I'd steer clear of this book.  Otherwise this is a great debut novel and is definitley worth a read.

I’ll leave you with one last quote (it’s a funny one):  

“Wesley Rush may have had the body of a Greek god, but his soul was as black and empty as the inside of my closet” (page 6).

Review: Nightshade

Title: Nightshade (Nightshade #1)

Author: Andrea Cremer

Published: Philomel Books, 2010

How I Got It: Purchased myself

Rating: 4 stars

Summary:

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything--including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice? (from the book jacket)

Thoughts:

What caused this book to skyrocket to the top of my to-read list and also convinced me to pre-order the book (and I never pre-order books)?  The ingenious marketing plan.  When I first heard about this book I thought it sounded interesting and of course added it to my constantly growing TBR list.  Then about a month before the book’s release one of the main characters, Shay Doran, started popping up all over the Internet.  You could actually interact with Shay.  He had his own Facebook page, a blog, and he’d post videos that addressed fans by name.  I really enjoyed following Shay’s adventures through Rowan Estate and hearing all of the strange happenings.  

Now onto the book! 

First, the cover is so amazing.  I fall hard for good book covers.  The dust jacket feels pretty.  I’m not sure how to describe it, but the texture is just...pretty!  Side note #1:  I love Calla’s makeup on the cover.  Hey, maybe next Halloween I’ll dress up as Calla. 

Nightshade starts off with Calla, the alpha female of the Nightshade pack, saving a human who was being attacked by a bear.  She didn’t recognize the boy, she thought he was a lost tourist.  Needless to say, Calla got a surprise when the human, Shay, shows up in one of her classes a couple weeks later.

This book has one of the most intense love triangles I’ve come across recently.  Our alpha female is torn between two worthy (but completely different) suitors: Ren, the alpha male of the Bane pack and Shay, the new kid at school.  All of her life Calla has known that she has been ‘arranged’ to marry Ren.  Since they are both alphas their packs will combine to form one larger pack.   Then just before the union Shay comes into the picture.  This makes Calla question if she should just assume her role as Ren’s mate or if she should take a chance and make her own decisions.  Side note #2:  One thing that drove me crazy throughout the book was how Ren was allowed to date different girls but Calla had to stay ‘pure’ until the union.

I don't want to get too much into the paranormal aspect.  It's too hard to not give away any major spoilers.  The Keepers, Guardians and Searchers are all quite fascinating.  The mystery that starts to unravel is riveting (but a little confusing, I had to reread some parts).  The dynamic of the werewolf packs and their traditions is interesting. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Nightshade!  I loved how strong of a character Calla is, yet she still gets flustered by a cute boy.  I'm looking forward to the next installment of the trilogy!

Side note #3:   There is one part of the story that I did not like at all.  It’s a pretty big twist and I did not see it coming.  It takes place in a cave...if you read the book you probably know what I’m talking about.  

*this review is also posted over at The Broke and the Bookish

Thoughts: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Title:  Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes For Cupcakes That Rule

Authors:  Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero


Published: 2006, Marlowe & Company


How I Got This Book: Purchased myself a few years ago

Rating: 4 cupcakes  (couldn't resist!)


Thoughts:


A few years ago I came across this book, an entire book of vegan cupcake recipes. This intrigued me because I was interested to see how well a cupcake would turn out with no eggs or milk. Honestly, I didn't think they would be very good...they'd be too dry or dense. But I'm never one to turn down a cupcake so I bought the book and headed to the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients.


For the next couple of months I baked a different kind of cupcake every week. And you know what? They all turned out delicious. Since I was making so many cupcakes I would share them with pretty much anyone who wanted to try them. Unfortunately, I know people who would not try these cupcakes if I told them that they were vegan cupcakes. So I tricked those people into eating them. They were all shocked to learn that the dessert they were going back for thirds and fourths for were vegan.


There is quite the variety of cupcakes recipes in this cookbook. They range from your basic chocolate or vanilla cupcake to a banana split cupcake to a s'mores cupcake to green tea cupcakes to coconut lime cupcakes. Plus there are recipes for vegan frosting. Is your mouth watering yet? The peanut butter cupcakes are a personal favorite, I've made those multiple times.


However, I do have one gripe about this book. It lies. There are not "75 dairy-free recipes for cupcakes". I counted. There are only 39 cupcake recipes. Then there are an additional 14 recipes for frosting or glaze. 39 + 14 = 53. So where are the other 22 recipes?? I'm thinking the authors are counting the variations listed at the end of some of the recipes. That disappointed me a little, I was looking forward to 75 original recipes.

Overall, this is a great book filled with amazing cupcake recipes. If want to make a batch of vegan cupcakes or just try a new recipe (apple cider cupcakes anyone?), then this book is a great place to start.

*this review is also posted at The Broke and the Bookish.