The Help, Kathryn Stockett

2012 Book 8: The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (1/14/2012)

The Help was a well-written novel with an engaging (and endearing) story. Skeeter, a young Southern belle just returned home from college decides to cross racial boundaries and write a controversial book about how difficult it is being an African American maid in a white household in Mississippi. She doesn’t realize when she starts just how dangerous such a book could be. I think this book has an excellent theme (anti-racism and the pettiness of Southern White women in the 1960’s). However, it is very difficult to write a book about racism without making the defining feature of every character his or her race. This problem leads to excessive racial stereotyping—which is a pretty serious issue in this book. (The racial stereotyping applies to both whites and African Americans in this situation). Despite this problem, however, I think the book is worth reading for the sake of the story. 4/5 stars

The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud

2012 Book 7: The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (1/13/2012)

This is the prequel to the Bartimaeus trilogy (which I loved). It could function as a stand-alone book, though I highly recommend the original trilogy too. Bartimaeus is a begrudgingly good-hearted, wise-cracking djinni who is always saving the world from careless humans and their naughty demons. In The Ring of Solomon, Bartimaeus is summoned to serve for an evil wizard under the rule of the powerful King Solomon of Israel. While serving, he encounters a young assassin who is hell-bent on killing Solomon and stealing his powerful ring (in service of her country Sheba). Delightful confusion ensues. These books are funny, witty, cute, and adventurous. I love Bartimaeus’ silly footnotes where he inserts amusing “historical” points. 5/5 stars

The Golden Tree, by Kathryn Lasky

2012 Book 6: The Golden Tree, by Kathryn Lasky (1/9/2012)

The Golden Tree is the 12th book of the Guardians of Ga’hoole series, which I have been reading for years (long before the movie covering the first three books came out). In this book, the new king Coryn explores his identity as the possible son of a hagsfiend (an evil owl-witch). He leaves with Soren and the Band for a short adventure to distract himself from his woes, but finds more than he’d bargained for. In addition, he’s left the ember back in the Tree under the care of owls with weaker personalities than himself—leading to self-absorbed ember worship (almost akin to a criticism of organized religion?). I can’t say that this book is as good as the first 6 (which could have been a complete series in themselves), but it was cute enough. This series has a 3 book detour in the middle, and this is the first book that picks up where the story left off. Much of the book was spent reminding the reader of things that occurred before the detour, and I think that subtracted from the normal action of these books. Therefore, I only gave it 3/5 stars. However, I am curious how the story will proceed, as the series seems to have started out with themes of Cute Kids against Naughty Bad Guys (book 1), progressed to Valiant Knights against Evil Racists (books 2-8), detoured to Good vs. Evil (books 9-11), and now seems to be entering Inward-Strength vs. Inward Weakness. What next?

Iron House, by John Hart

2012 Book 5: Iron House, by John Hart (1/9/2012)

Iron House is a beautifully written mystery/suspense novel that delves into the psychological effects of a childhood of violence and abuse. Michael is an orphan who, after running away from a violent scene at an orphanage, grows up to be an enforcer for a powerful mobster. When he falls in love with a beautiful waitress and retires from organized crime, he is suddenly thrown into a violent mystery leading him to explore things he had left behind. Despite my need to suspend disbelief a few times (and to frown upon a few clichés), I feel that Hart kept up the action (and mystery) throughout the book, making for an engaging read. This is an excellent book for people who enjoy mystery/thrillers (assuming they don’t mind violence). I gave the book 3.5/5 stars…it lost points for violence and small clichés.

The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

2012 Book 3: The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch (1/4/2012)

When Randy Pausch found out that he had terminal cancer and only a few months to live, he decided to give a “last lecture” providing insightful life advice about achieving goals and remaining optimistic. Everyone I have spoken to about this book absolutely loved it. Indeed, I found it very inspirational. He seems to have achieved all of his childhood dreams and managed to remain optimistic when he only had a few months left to live. However, it fell a bit short for me because his goals were so very different than my own. He was a self-proclaimed workaholic—ALL of his achieved goals were career driven. Apparently despite the wishes of his wife, he decided to spend a lot of time during his final months preparing this final high-impact lecture. The lecture was indeed a success. Good for him—clearly it was something he needed to do. But I hope I am never so focused on my career that I would spend the final months of my life working instead of spending time with my family and loved ones. Perhaps I am just pessimistic, but I seem to be the only one who found his story outwardly inspiring, but for the wrong reasons. I gave this book 3.5/5 stars.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D. Schmidt

2012 Book 2:Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D. Schmidt (1/3/2012)

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a children’s historical novel about a minister’s son who must confront narrow-mindedness in the townspeople and even his own father when his family moves to a small town in Maine. This book gives a “realistic” look at how blinded people can be by their own prejudices. I listened to it as an audiobook, and found myself in the awkward position of tearing up in public while I was listening to it on a walk. Luckily I pretended it was the sharp winter air that was giving me the sniffles. This book’s reading level is appropriate for perhaps 5th graders, but the content is a bit mature. I hated depressing books when I was that age! I gave this book 3.5/5 stars (it lost half a star for making me cry!)

I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith

2012 Book 1: I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith (1/2/2012)

I Capture the Castle has been sitting on my to-read pile for years…ever since my aunt gave me a copy and told me I’d love it. She was right! It is a sweet (and a little silly) coming-of-age story about a girl, Cassandra, who lives in poverty in a dilapidated castle with her eccentric family. She wants to live in a 50/50 mix of a Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte novel, so you can guess how the story progresses when a rich family moves in nearby! I’m happy that I took time to read this gem. I gave it 4/5 stars.