When I began looking for books for the Jewish Literature Challenge, I thought immediately of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic. It follows the story of a young Jewish girl named Hannah Stern. Hannah is tired of her Grandpa ranting about the Holocaust, and wishes she could spend Seder with her Gentile friends.When her family asks her to symbolically open the door to invite the prophet Elijah in, she finds her self in the Poland of 1942. Everyone there thinks she's a young girl named Chaya, who … [Read more...]
The Night Dance: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses
June 8, 2010 Leave a Comment
I love fairy tales. I love retellings of fairy tales. And I love Arthurian legend. If you're anything like me, you will absolutely love The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn. It's a re-telling of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale The 12 Dancing Princesses, interwoven with tales of the Lady of the Lake.Years ago a woman vanished into the woods leaving a husband and 12 girls behind. Her husband built a large wall around their home, to prevent the girls from disappearing the same way. Since that … [Read more...]
The Truth-Tellers Tale by Sharon Shinn
June 8, 2010 Leave a Comment
“What would you say if I told you there was a time a Safe-Keeper told a secret, a Truth-Teller told a lie, and a Dream-Maker did everything in her power to make sure a wish went astray? Believe what I tell you, for I am a Truth-Teller, and every word I say is true.” Thus the Truth-Tellers Tale by Sharon Shinn begins.Adele & Eleda are Innkeepers daughters, twins & opposite in nearly every way. Their appearances are mirror images of each other, as well as their names & their … [Read more...]
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
June 2, 2010 Leave a Comment
Beauty by Robin McKinley, is not your average fairytale. You see, in average fairytales, you read them quite swiftly & there is little time to truly know the characters. You love Beauty, because she is the heroine. You eventually love Beast, because Beauty does.In this retelling, that is how things work. You cannot breeze through the book, because it's so packed with detail that you have take time to enjoy it properly. Her descriptions are so well written, that you almost feel like you are … [Read more...]
A Series of Unfortunate Events – The Bad Beginning
May 29, 2010 Leave a Comment
Until this morning, the only experience I had with A Series of Unfortunate Events was the movie with Jim Carey. My sister brought me Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning, and I'm delighted--a word which here means "absolutely will be reading the rest of the series"--to give this review.After having read the book, I have a greater respect for Jim Carey's performance as the absolutely wretched Count Olaf. This book is not only a fun story, and a relatively quick read, but it's a great vocabulary … [Read more...]
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