Join the Weston family as it sets out on the Oregon trail from St. Louis in 1848 with all of its worldly belongings in a prairie-schooner wagon pulled by a team of oxen.
Narrated by eleven-year-old Rebecca Weston, this is the tale of a historic trip across more than 2,000 miles of untamed land with remarkable encounters with wildlife, Native Americans, and Natural wonders.but the trip is also full of peril- illness, drought, raging rivers to cross- that threatens the families chance of ever reaching its destination of Salem, Oregon.Come along and experience firsthand one of the great American adventures- A brave family in Search of a better life.
My review:
This is a graphic novel aimed at children ages 9 and up.However, it can be enjoyed by all ages, including adults.The writing is easy to understand and very descriptive and the illustration matched what I imagined from the writing.It is illustrated in creative and crisp black and white images.
This book would be a great tool to teach children about the Oregon Trail.It kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next and I’ sure children would have the same experience.I didn’t pay that much attention to history in school.I found the old text books dull and boring.This book is very engaging.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
My Review:
My Colleagues and I over at Historical Tapestry had a mini challenge going for 2011. Read the book that is recommended for you. Ana picked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for me to read. It was a book that I had thought about reading. I actually won a copy from someone but it was so long ago, I forgot from whom I won it from.
I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read this wonderful book. It is told entirely in epistolary format, which was the perfect format for this book. I felt like a spy, reading copies of letters sent from one character to the next. The story was so easy to follow yet the writing so eloquent. The historical aspects of WWII were also well written and seemed well researched. I never knew anything about the Island of Guernsey and the role it played in WWII before reading this book.
There is a bit of everything in this book including literary references, tragedy, and coming to terms, as well as some happiness and friendship. I was able to predict the ending very early on in the book but that didn’t stop me from really enjoying this book.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.
As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discrimination, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown’s old ways and rules.
At its heart, Shanghai Girls is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. Along the way they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are–Shanghai girls.
My Review:
I listened to the audio version of this book. I was really looking forward to it because Snowflower and the Secret Fan made a lasting impression on me. It was one of those books that have stayed fresh in my mind, even 5 years after I read it.
Shanghai Girls was quite a different story from Snowflower but I enjoyed it. For the most part, I loved the relationship between Pearl and May there were just a few parts that didn’t really work for me. For instance, while they were confined at Angel Island, May gives birth to a girl. However, she has Pearl fake a pregnancy herself so everyone thinks she is the mother. Pearl gives birth in the women’s shower, right next to were the women sleep, yet no one heard a peep when May was giving birth. Next thing you know the other women wake up with a new-born among them. I just found that unbelievable.
The writing itself was wonderful as was the character development and the love hate relationship between the sisters. That was very realistic to me, having an older sister myself. Lisa See really captured the period in history in rich historical detail of the Japanese invasion in China and the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States.
4/5
I borrowed the downloadable version of this audio book from my library.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.
