Poison by Bridget Zinn and a Fiona Friday photo

Poison by Bridget Zinn
Copyright 2013
Hyperion Books - YA/Fantasy
288 pp.

Poison is just a wee bit on the wobbly side.  It reads like a first effort and it probably was one.  But, the author is deceased, so that makes me feel like it's okay and I gave it a 4.5/5 rating.  Maybe she didn't have time to polish the work, but Poison is such a delight I just felt like giving it a high rating.

Kyra is a master potioner ("There's a better word for that, Mom," said Kiddo.  And, then neither of us could remember what it was).  She's on the run after trying to kill her best friend, the princess.  For over half the book, you have no idea why Kyra tried to kill Ariana.  Instead, you follow in Kyra's footsteps as she hides, acquires a scent-seeking piglet to help her locate the princess, who is herself in hiding (because Kyra missed for the first time ever when she threw a poisoned needle at Ariana) and getting to know a pleasingly awkward, adorable guy named Fred. The story of how Kyra ended up trying to kill her best friend and why is told slowly, through Kyra's memories and dialogue.

Poison is an adventurous, funny, creative fantasy.  It took me a while to get into the story because it's a fantasy (and not stellar writing).  I always have a little trouble with fantasy worlds that come off sounding like they're a mash-up of medieval, modern, paranormal, whatever.  Poison is set in a world with a magical kingdom but the princess once says something "sucks" and there are hints of the modern world mixed in with swords and potions.  If you're a regular fantasy reader, that won't bother you.  It's just something that throws me off.

By the time I got to about page 150, I couldn't bear to put the book down and I ended up with a reading hangover from staying up late to finish, but it was worth the pain.  The last 100 pages are by far the best, as the attempted murder is explained and the funniest scenes take place.  There were two little twists that completely threw me off-guard.  I love being surprised, so I got a kick out of both.  I was concerned that Poison might be the first in a trilogy and not wrapped up as I like, since there are so freaking many trilogies in the YA category, these days, and few books that stand on their own.

No worries.  Poison is thoroughly, satisfyingly wrapped up.

Highly Recommended to lovers of fantasy, YA fans and escapist readers who like a change of pace.  Don't expect perfection.  The writing is very good but I think the book could have tolerated a bit more nipping and tucking.  That mattered not one whit.  I loved Poison and think it is totally heartbreaking that the author died so young.

I am grateful to Sassymonkey for drawing my attention to Poison.  Thanks, Karen!

Kiddo's room got a girly new quilt:

I'll change it when he comes home for a visit, but doesn't Isabel look great on it?  She's such a princess, she should probably have some kind of a pink, flowery crown on her head but lying on a girly quilt suits her, also.

I'm not going to review . . .

Jericho (graphic novel) or Blitz by Vince Cross.  I've already mentioned Jericho very briefly in another post and Blitz was not a great book, although I did learn a bit about Anderson shelters (pre-fab, metal bomb shelters distributed in WWII England).  Blitz is a children's book, fiction, from a series of fictional diaries. It's rather bland but not a complete waste of time -- just probably better left to children.  I'm happy that I learned a little and I enjoyed the photos in the back of the book.


©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Jamie Oliver's Great Britain by Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver's Great Britain:  130 of My Favorite British Recipes, From Comfort Food to New Classics by Jamie Oliver
Copyright 2011/2012
Hyperion Books - Cookbook
407 pp.

Jamie Oliver is by far my favorite television cooking personality for two reasons: 1) Everything we've ever attempted from his cookbooks has been delicious -- everything!  2) I love his focus on eating healthy and buying local foods.  In fact, I wish he would fly down here and write a book on using local ingredients from my area.

When I found out Jamie Oliver's Great Britain was going to be available for tour with TLC Book Tours, I signed up as fast as my little fingers could type.  And, I was not disappointed.  The first recipe we tried (with husband doing the cooking) was "Heavenly Salmon Salad".

"Heavenly Salmon Salad" is so packed with flavor I couldn't shut up about it.  I talked about it on Facebook and I tweeted about it on Twitter.  The recipe is too long to copy or I would share it -- and here is where we get into a couple things I love about Jamie's cookbooks.  Instead of just writing the old-fashioned kind of recipe with limited instructions to fit on a recipe card, he goes into great detail about the entire cooking process, including how quickly your potatoes will cook depending upon their freshness, the exact order in which to cook the separate parts and how to put them together.  Here's a peek at the page spread for "Heavenly Salmon Salad".

We had no trouble locating any of the ingredients for "Heavenly Salmon Salad" although we have tried several recipes and one contained a "bottle of something-something that I'd never heard of" according to the spouse.  However, in most cases, the author does mention items that can be substituted and my husband is so crazy about this cookbook that when I asked him to tell me his thoughts about the book he said, "Don't say anything negative," not once but twice.  Given the number of recipes he's tried, the fact that I haven't yet been able to pull the book away long enough to read it, myself, and that repetitive remark about keeping my review positive, I'm pretty sure Jamie Oliver's Great Britain is his new favorite cookbook. If it's not in the cookbook holder, it's in his hands.

The photos and added text in Jamie Oliver's books are always a treat.  I can't wait to actually read the book from cover to cover.  I've flipped through and read some random bits.  "My Nan's St. Clement's Cake" begins with a paragraph about older folks coming into his parents' pub, the man always asking for a pint of bitter for himself and a St. Clement's ("a simple orange juice and lemonade combo") for the wife, how the name of the drink came from a nursery rhyme and then a bit about texture of the cake and the fact that it's great in cupcake form.  Then, he dives into the recipe.

The book is crammed full of photos; it is absolutely gorgeous! Even if you have no interest in British recipes, if you're an Anglophile you'll want to grab it to sit and read.  It's every bit as good as a travel memoir, perhaps even better because Jamie's Great Britain is written with affection about his own country and people.

Back to the recipes.  There are thirteen chapters: Breakfasts, Soups, Salads, Pub Grub, New British Classics, Afternoon Tea, Seaside, Pies and Puddings, Sunday Lunch, Wild Food, Vegetables, Puddings and Condiments.  Nice variety, beautifully laid-out with at least one photo of each finished item -- usually a full-page photo.

One of the other recipes we tried was "Pale Ale Fondue".  If you've ever made a Welsh rarebit (a beer cheese on toast), this is similar but the ingredients are a little more upscale than what we've used in the past and, again, the flavor was perfect.  There's a list of twelve suggested items to use for dipping, "but really the sky's the limit".

The bottom line:

Highly recommended.  My husband did the cooking and it's been nearly impossible to wrestle the book out of his hands, but it's so beautiful that I'm anxious to read the book from cover to cover.  Detailed recipes with excellent results, tons of gorgeous photos and lots of extra material about Great Britain (text and photos) make for a fantastic cookbook that is gorgeous enough to set out on a coffee table.

Cover thoughts:  Perfect, perfect.  You can't miss the Union Jack's statement, "Here is a British book", can you?

Giveaway:  

I don't usually do giveaways because they're a bit too much work but in this case I'll make an exception because my husband and I are so crazy about Jamie Oliver's Great Britain.

The rules (you must do *everything* on this list to qualify):

1.  Tell me the title and author of your favorite cookbook
2.  Leave a contact email address that works!!!
3.  US/Canada only, no P.O. boxes.

Giveaway closes at midnight on 11/14/12.  The winner will be contacted on 11/15.


©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

Copyright 2011

Voice - Historical Fiction/WWII

403 pages

The Soldier's Wife is yet another story that's been sitting in my review backlog pile for a while, but I remember it well. Vivienne de la Mare lives on the isle of Guernsey. Her husband is a soldier and she is not happily married. At home, she cares for her ailing mother-in-law and her two daughters.

Vivienne's eldest daughter wants to evacuate when it becomes obvious that the island will be invaded, but Vivienne is worried about the safety of the small boat leaving the island and opts to stay. When the island is occupied, it is shocking but she does her best to take care of her family. She is frightened when Nazi soldiers move into the house next door and tries to avoid them. But, she keeps encountering a soldier named Gunther and eventually they begin a passionate affair.

As food grows scarce, Vivienne finds that her relationship with a German can be helpful to her family. But, when she views the horrible treatment of imprisoned islanders, she takes a dangerous risk. How far is Vivienne willing to go to help a stranger? Are her choices worth the risks to her family? Is Vivienne in love with Gunther or simply a very selfish woman?

What I liked about The Soldier's Wife:

Although I tend to dislike "women's fiction" and I think The Soldier's Wife falls into that category, I liked getting into Vivienne's head when it came to the care of her family, pondering survival with her and thinking about what I might do in her place. How far would I go? What would I be willing to risk?

What I disliked about The Soldier's Wife:

Vivienne is not a character I liked or could relate to, although I warmed up to her a little when she began to risk her own life to help someone in desperate need.

I love other booklovers:

Jill of Rhapsody in Books was looking for someone to chat with about The Soldier's Wife during the time that I was eyeing it and her search for someone to chat with was actually the push I needed to read the book. I won't repeat our conversation but it was really illuminating hearing her thoughts and our little chat helped both of us to get a better grip on how we felt about the book. One thing that really jumped out at us was the lack of communication between Vivienne and Gunther. They were lovers and (trying to avoid a spoiler, here) at one point he did something very crucial that probably saved both her life and that of her family. And, yet she still didn't trust him.

The vagueness of their interaction bothered me. I mentioned to Jill that I've often felt like that's a feature of women's fiction that seems common and frequently irritates me -- characters who are unable to communicate or who hold things back when there's not a genuine reason for them to be distrustful. And, as WWII books go? Not a favorite. I tend to like grittier books with a broader perspective like Under an English Heaven by Robert Radcliffe or those that make me really feel the sense of deprivation, like The Madonnas of Leningrad.

And, yet, when I finished the book, I thought The Soldier's Wife was worth about a 4/5 rating. It's very good; I did think the book portrayed a decent sense of place and the dilemmas were realistic. I like a book that makes me question myself. What would I do in Vivienne's shoes? Well, I wouldn't sleep with the Nazi next door, no matter how much I disliked my absentee husband. But, how far would I go to help my fellow islanders? If I did find myself entangled with the enemy and the enemy became my most trusted friend, how much would I be willing to reveal about myself?

The bottom line:

While not an all-time favorite WWII novel and not one I'll save for a reread, I enjoyed The Soldier's Wife particularly for the way it made me set myself in the heroine's shoes and ponder how I would react in her situation. I did not like the heroine. I think she could have used a good slap in the face. But, I did like the dilemmas and the setting. In general, I think the book was very good and I recommend it but the scope of the book is more limited than I'd hoped. And, yet, the limited scope was also necessary. Vivienne and her family were isolated in many ways and the focus was on taking care of her family.

How about those Channel Islands?

I've wanted to visit the Channel Islands for at least a decade. I don't recall which WWII book introduced me to the islands, but I knew of their existence and the strategic importance of their location long before the Potato Peel book brought them to the attention of so many readers. Incidentally, I really need to get to that Potato Peel book (can't remember the full title and I'm too tired to look it up at the moment). Bellezza sent me a copy and I've been saving it. I think it's about time to quit saving it and pull it off the shelf.

My copy of The Soldier's Wife was sent to me by my friend Paula, who sent me a whopper of a pile, not long ago. Thanks, again, PJ!

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Kasey to the Rescue by Ellen Rogers

Kasey to the Rescue by Ellen Rogers

Copyright 2010

Hyperion - Nonfiction/Memoir/Animals

288 pages

Kasey to the Rescue tells the story of Ned Rogers, a young man who became a paraplegic after an automobile accident severely damaged his spine, and the capuchin monkey who brought help, friendship and new meaning to his life.

I've been reading stories about paraplegics and people with spinal cord injuries, in general, for as long as I can remember, beginning with Joni Eareckson Tada's story, which I believe I read way back in the Seventies. Most are written by people who survived and thrived, so it's no surprise that Ned Rogers has turned his injury into a positive, sharing his experience as a speaker in the hopes that he'll help prevent future traumatic spinal cord injuries that are easily avoidable. (Rule #1: Wear your safety belt.)

But, Ned's story is really amazing and unusual in many ways. First, he has actually healed enough that he can speak, breathe and even use his hands to a certain degree. Considering the fact that his injury was so high in the cervical spine (between C1 and C2), that's nothing short of miraculous and certainly is a story worth spreading around because it could definitely give hope to patients who've experienced a similar kind of trauma.

Second, Ned's mother Ellen was very determined to get him a monkey to help him with various tasks when she heard about Helping Hands, a service that provides trained capuchin monkeys to patients who are both in need of help and have someone willing to keep up with a monkey's needs (the monkey's care is practically a full-time job). Her determination and dedication to her son alone makes for a triumphant story. She doesn't hedge about the exhaustion and frustration that go with the job of caring for her disabled son full-time but you have to admire the fact that she has a Just Do It attitude.

Third, the monkey is described with a great deal of affection but also with frankness -- you'll come out of the reading with an appreciation for the tiny capuchin monkey's intelligence and you'll smile at Kasey's antics. You'll also understand just how big a job it is caring for a monkey.

And, last but not least, Ned was already a devoted positive thinker who had taken a Dale Carnegie course and memorized uplifting quotations. You can't help but root for him and occasionally cringe at the agony he experienced.

I loved this story of traumatic injury, breathtaking love and support (Ned has quite an amazing family), fear, hope, friendship and ultimate triumph. Kasey to the Rescue is truly an amazing story. Highly recommended to readers who like personal stories of surviving hardship and tales about animals, in particular, but it's a quick read that I'd recommend to anyone.

Cover thoughts: The pictures on the cover are both grabbers, in my opinion, but particularly the larger shot of Kasey. She's adorable!

Coming up next: Hmm, maybe a Books in/Books Out report. I've also got to take a picture of the books I've gathered for my personal challenge and post about that, finish my wrap-up post (be patient with me) and write the rest of my 2011 goals. I'm taking my time on the goals and wrap-up because we're still creating chaos as we purge ourselves of books and shift things around to ensure that Kiddo has a comfortable studying environment, this semester.

Since several of you enjoyed the photo of kitties playing with tissue, here's another of Fi diving under her kitty bed to attack the Christmas tissue:

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are viewing stolen content. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.