Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Dec 11

30

The King’s Grace by Anne Easter Smith

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 30, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 • England • Historical Fiction  | 5 Comments

Book Description:

The bestselling author of A Rose for the Crown and Daughter of York takes a young woman that history noticed only once and sets her on a quest for the truth about the murder of two boys and a man who claims to be king.

All that history knows of Grace Plantagenet is that she was an illegitimate daughter of Edward IV and one of two attendants aboard the funeral barge of his widowed queen. Thus, she was half sister of the famous young princes, who — when this story begins in 1485 — had been housed in the Tower by their uncle, Richard III, and are presumed dead.

But in the 1490s, a young man appears at the courts of Europe claiming to be Richard, duke of York, the younger of the boys, and seeking to claim his rightful throne from England’s first Tudor king, Henry VII. But is this man who he says he is? Or is he Perkin Warbeck, a puppet of Margaret of York, duchess of Burgundy, who is determined to regain the crown for her York family? Grace Plantagenet finds herself in the midst of one of English history’s greatest mysteries. If she can discover the fate of the princes and the true identity of Perkin Warbeck, perhaps she will find her own place in her family.
My Review:

I love books that are written around a little know person in real life, such as Grace Plantagenet.  The book is rich in historical detail and character development.  Smith writes a more sympathetic view of Elizabeth Woodville, which seems a bit more realistic to me than other books she has appeared it.  She is not all good and not all evil, like most people, including historical figures.

As many of you may know, I don’t like a lot of romance in my books.  I don’t mind it if it’s just a part of a book but not the entire book.  This book hit a pretty good balance between historical detail, plot, and romance for me.  However,  I could have done with a bit less romance.  I also loved how Smith portrays Perkin Warbeck.  She adds a lot to the story about him and his claim to be Richard, duke of York.  

I listened to the audiobook version which, I downloaded from my library.  This was a very enjoyable book to listen to.

4/5

Did you review this book? Please leave your link in the comments.


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

Dec 11

29

Mini Review: Oregon Trail: The Road to Destiny by Frank young, Illustrated by David Lasky

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 29, 2011
Posted in American History • Books Read in 2011 • Historical Fiction • Oregon  | 8 Comments

Back of Book Description:

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.

5/5
I won this book from Rose City Reader.

Did you review this book?  Please leave the link in the comments.

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

Dec 11

28

Mini Review: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 28, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 • China • Historical Fiction  | 10 Comments

Description of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See:

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.

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

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