Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 27, 2009
Posted in AustraliaBooks Read in 2009Kate Grenville  | 12 Comments


First settlement in New South Wales

Born in 1767 England, Daniel Rooke was a boy of great intelligence. He was exceptional with numbers and had a keen sense of curiosity about where numbers could lead him. Even though he had this intelligence or in part, due to this, he had trouble forming friendships with his peers.

Daniel was accepted to At Portsmouth Naval College on scholarship and became quite interested in astronomy. He becomes a Lieutenant in the Navy and went on a mission to take convicts to New South Wales. On the ship he took on the role of navigator and once in Australia, that of Astronomer. Part of the mission was to get to know the natives and try to befriend them so that the convicts and others could live in safety.

As Astronomer, Rooke was given permission to build an observatory away from the camp, to live and work in. After a time, some of the natives started visiting him there and he built up a friendship with a young girl named Tagaran. She taught him the native language and he kepts meticulous records about their conversations and the language. However, soon the relationship between the natives and soldiers deteriorated and Rooke had to choose between his friendship with the natives and duty.

I loved Kate Grenville’s The Secret River (see my review) and was highly anticipating her next book. While I quite enjoyed it, I didn’t love it like The Secret River. It took a long time for me to warm up to the character of Daniel Rooke . Once he started his relationship with the natives, I did warm up to him and loved reading about his special friendship with Tagaran. The problem was that it took well over 100 pages to lead up to this and it didn’t last very long. I would have like to explore the relationship further. Also, in the last chapter when we find out that Rooke had been married, there is nothing about how that relationship came about or who his wife was. We are never introduced to his wife.

That said, I did enjoy The Lieutenant and would recommend it, especially to those interested in the first settlement in New South Wales.

3.5/5

Thanks to Deanna McFadden of Harper Collins Canada for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

Also review at:
ReadingAdventures

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Giveaway: The Night Gardener By George Pelecanos

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 27, 2009
Posted in My 2009 Giveaways  | 86 Comments

A big thanks to Valerie of Hachette Books for making this giveaway possible!

From Publishers Weekly:

Starred Review. Pelecanos (Drama City) delivers a dignified, character-driven epic that succeeds as both literary novel and page-turner. In 1985, the body of a 14-year-old girl turns up in a Washington, D.C., park, the latest in a series of murders by a killer the media dub “The Night Gardener.” T.C. Cook, the aging detective on the case, works with a quiet, almost monomaniacal, focus. Also involved are two young uniformed cops, Gus Ramone, who’s diligent, conscientious and unimpressed by heroics, and Dan “Doc” Holiday, an adrenaline junkie who’s decidedly less straight.

Fast forward 20 years. Detective Ramone, now married with kids of his own, investigates the murder of one of his teenage son’s friends. The homicide closely resembles the earlier unsolved Night Gardener murders. Holiday, now an alcoholic chauffeur and bodyguard, follows the case on his own and tracks down Cook, long retired but still obsessed with the original murders. While the three work together toward a suspenseful ending, Pelecanos emphasizes the fallacy of “solving” a murder and explores the ripple effects of violent crime on society.

Here are the rules:

1. For one entry, leave a comment Please be sure to include your email address (if it isn’t available in your profile), so that I can contact you if you win.

2. For two more entries, post about this giveaway on your blog and leave link to your blog post in the comments. You will also get an entry for each person who tells me that they learned about this giveaway from you.

3. For another 5 more entries: Become a Follower of my blog or subscribe to my blog through Google Reader or other subscription service. If you are already a subsriber or follower you still get the five extra entries! Please do not comment that you are a follower five times! I will give you the extra entries myself. I will delete any extra entries that you make as it will just confuse me when I go to pick the winners.

The giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents only.

The winner’s mailing address: NO P.O. Boxes.Only one entry per household/IP address.

This giveaway will end on Friday June 12th 11:59 PM E.S.T. The winners will be notified by email, so remember to include your email address in the comments, if it isn’t available in your profile! If there is no way for me to email you about winning, you will be disqualified! Winners must respond within three days or will be disquilified. Therefore, if your moving or going on a trip, etc. . please let me know.

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Mailbox Monday

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 26, 2009
Posted in Mail Box Mondays  | 12 Comments

Visit Marcia every Monday at The Printed Page to share what arrived in your mailbox each week.

It felt a lot like Christmas this week:



I won this from Dar of Peeking Between the Pages. Thanks So much Dar!

(Note:) The cover is different than this one, actually much nicer but I could find a picture of it.




I won this from Amy of CHIC BOOK CHICK. Thanks a so much Amy!


All of the following books I won from Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit. It was winner take all! Thanks a bunch Serena.


(Note:)The cover is different than this one. I couldn’t find a picture of the one I have). Too bad, because I really like the cover.