Sense and Sensibilty Manga Edition by Jane Austen and Stacy King

It's no secret that I've not always been a big fan of adaptations/sequels of my favourite books. I hate when the stories and characters are changed from their original forms.

However, I am becoming a big fan of classic stories being told in a new way. Graphic novels are a great way to introduce new readers to these amazing stories. Wesley has recently read graphic novel versions of Frankenstein and Dracula and loved them. Amelia has a graphic novel of Anne of Green Gables and then on a recent trip to the library I stumbled across this version of Sense and Sensibility. Darcy read it first and fell in love with it. After I told her about all the Harry Potter actors who were in the movie she needed to see that right away. We absolutely loved watching that together.

I have now read the book myself and only have great things to say about it. The adaptation is very true to the original story, using the original text in most cases. The art is beautiful and adds a wonderful dimension to the story.

In true manga form this book reads from right to left so that took a bit of getting used to, but I was fine after a page or two. They also include a manga reading lesson at the beginning of the book to help old timers like me.

If you are looking for a new twist on an old favourite, give it a try. We are now waiting in line for Pride and Prejudice in manga form. I hope I love it just as much as I loved this one.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This book has been on a lot of lists for YA reads over the past year. I added it to my school library and recently brought it home to read it.

This is the story of Starr, a 16-year old girl living in a predominantly black area of an unnamed US city. In her neighbourhood of Garden Heights gangs are everywhere, drugs are easily available and she watched one of her two best friends get killed in a drive-by shooting when they were ten years old. When she is 16, she leaves a party (because shooting has broken out) with her other best friend, Khalil.

Starr felt out of place at the party because she doesn't go to school in Garden Heights. Her parents send her to a private school in the city to give her and her brothers a shot at a better education. She feels she has to be one Starr in Garden Heights and a completely different Starr at school. At school she can't be too "black", or invite friends back to her home in the "ghetto".

On the way home from the party with Khalil, they are stopped by the police because Khalil has a taillight missing. As Khalil reaches into the car to see if Starr is OK, the officer begins shooting and Khalil is shot three times and he dies there, with Starr again watching one of her bests friends dying.

This is a powerful look at race relations in a country where things seem to be getting worse, not better. Although not based on an actual case, we've all followed similar stories in the news. I felt the book to be very well-written and I read it very quickly.

I can't imagine living in many of the situations faced in the book, they are things I've never had to face as a white, Canadian woman. It's definitely eye-opening and shocking. I recommend it.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

I picked this one up at a used bookstore last summer and it has been on my shelf ever since. I've seen it around and know it has been a popular book, but thrillers aren't really my thing even though they're a huge trend in books right now. However, summer vacation has begun and so has my summer reading. I thought this would be a fun place to start.

I was right. It's far from being the most exciting book I've ever read but it was a good, suspenseful read. I was intrigued enough to want to keep reading and even stayed up late a couple of nights to keep reading. That's not a luxury I allow myself during the school year!

This is the story of Laura (Lo) Blacklock, a travel journalist who is just about to embark on a luxury cruise ship with only 10 cabins. She is trying to advance in her career and this could be the opportunity she has been looking for to help her make her mark. However, just days before her departure, her home is broken into leaving Lo feeling nervous and afraid. She has always had panic attacks which she was managing with medication but now they are resurfacing. She can't sleep and is constantly afraid. She hopes the trip will allow her some time to relax and get her fears under control.

The first night on board she meets the small group of people she's travelling with, including her ex-boyfriend. There are other journalists, a few investors and a very helpful staff all travelling together. After a lovely dinner and a few too many drinks, Lo returns to her room to finally try to get some sleep. She is awakened by a scream and a splash and she's convinced she's just heard a body be thrown overboard from the cabin next door. There had been a woman in there earlier (Lo had borrowed some mascara from her) but that woman hadn't appeared at dinner. When Lo calls the ship's security to come investigate they don't seem to believe her and tell her that no one was registered to stay in that cabin and he shows her that the cabin is uninhabited. Everyone else on board is accounted for, and no one believes that she saw a woman in that cabin earlier. So what did Lo hear, who went overboard, and where did that woman go? Who was she?

One of my problems with thrillers is that they take too long to end. Even after you have figured out the mystery there are still a bunch of scary situations thrown in just to keep you on the edge of your seat a big longer. I really hate that. She could have cut about 20 pages out of the end of the book and still had a great story.

Again, it wasn't the greatest mystery I've ever read but it was fun and it was a page turner. If you are looking for a book to take on vacation, this would be a great one.

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

I seem to have fallen behind in my blogging. The end of the school year was so busy, followed by a fun first week of summer vacation. I seem to have some time to myself today, so let's see how we do.

A Spool of Blue Thread was our book club selection for June. I wasn't quite finished in time for the meeting but finished a day or two later.

This is the story of Red and Abby Whitshank and their family, both the generation before them and then their own children and grandchildren. Red and Abby live in Baltimore in a house that had previously been built and loved by Red's father. The house is the centre of their universe and as much a member of the family as any of their children.

Red and Abby's son Denny has always demanded a lot of their attention and energy, leaving the other children struggling for their parents attention. Denny has never seemed like part of the family, despite his mother's constant attention, or maybe because of that. The others make their way through life, dependably reliable, but always hoping for a bit more attention from their parents, especially their mom.

I found this to be a beautifully written book, but there just isn't a lot of action. The story is full of interesting characters but leaves you with a very unsatisfying ending. We get to read the back story of how Red and Abby met and fell in love, and even how Red's parents met and began their relationship. There's a lot of background given, but not a lot of resolution. You finish the book with nearly as many questions as you have at the beginning.

If you like to finish a book with all your i's dotted and your t's crossed then this isn't the book for you. But if you enjoy a slow moving story with fun and interesting characters then you would probably enjoy this one. Our group was a bit mixed with it, a few didn't finish it and no one raved about it. It's not a page-turner but it is a well-written book.

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I am a big fan of Jane Austen. I've read all of her books, some of them several times. I've also read a lot of other peoples' takes on her work, especially "sequels" to Pride and Prejudice. Without fail, they annoyed me. Whenever an author takes on Jane's familiar characters I feel like that author doesn't understand them as well as I do. I had promised myself that I wouldn't read anything else adding to work. Then this book was chosen as our book club selection for May so I found myself reluctantly entering someone else's views on Jane Austen again.

This book pretends to be Jane's actual memoirs. The premise is that these journals were found in a house that once belonged to her brother. You read the book as if you were reading Jane's own diary. As you read, if you are familiar with her works you will recognize many of the characters and scenes as being from Jane's books, as if she had modelled the scenes after people she had met.

As far as someone else putting their own spin on Jane Austen, this is the best one I've read. That's not to say I liked it, but it was better than most of the others. It just didn't feel original to me, because I had already read most of these scenes before in Jane Austen's own books. It was funny to see how the author wove the different characters and scenes into her story, but it all just felt so familiar as I was reading.

On it's own it was a fun story with a nice romance thrown in. However you also might not enjoy it much if you don't know Jane Austen's works and don't understand the characters and scenes Syrie James is referencing. It was a pretty quick read and I didn't hate it, but I feel like Jane Austen's work can stand on its own and doesn't need anyone else's interpretation.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

A few weeks ago some students in grade 7 were trying to decide on books to use for novel studies. Several groups wanted to use this book, based on its description as one of the best mystery stories of all time. So many wanted to read it that we didn't have enough copies at our school and we needed to borrow some from other schools. They were so excited about it, that I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

You see, I'd never actually read an Agatha Christie book before. I don't often read mysteries, because I when I can't solve them I stay up all night reading them and I'm far too old for that sort of thing now.

And this one sucked me right in. This is the story of 10 strangers who are all, through various means, invited to stay at a mysterious island. Once they arrive it is discovered that each person has at some point in their life been responsible for the death of another person (or people) in a way that the law can't possibly get involved. Has the time finally come for them to pay the ultimate price for their actions?

Suddenly, one by one, they start dying. Who is killing them? Who brought them all there? Will anyone survive?

It's no surprise this is considered to be one of the best mystery stories of all time. Agatha Christie's storytelling is superb, the elements of the mystery are fun and engaging. You will be wondering "whodunnit" the whole time and still turning some questions over in your mind once you are done.

One caution I will make is that this book was originally published in 1939, so some racial/cultural terms are used that are no longer appropriate.

If summer ever comes, this would be a fun beach/vacation read. If it doesn't come, it sure helped me get through a cold rainy weekend. It's a fun read that you will not want to put down until you're done.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Although this is a classic children's book, I had somehow escaped reading it. I know a lot of people love it and with the movie being released I wanted to give it a read.

It's just not my thing. Maybe it's a bit too science-fictiony for me. I just didn't love it. Darcy really wants to see the movie and we'll probably see it at some point, but I don't think I'll go on to read the rest of the series.

This is the story of Meg Murry, a young lady who doesn't seem to fit in. She is bright, but not in a way that does well in school. She doesn't have a lot of friends and is constantly in trouble. Life at home is pretty good with her mom and three brothers. Her dad, however, is a scientist who is doing special work for the government and all communication from him has mysteriously stopped. The family doesn't know where he is or what has happened to him. Everyone in town thinks he has left them but Meg knows that isn't true.

Her youngest brother, Charles Wallace, strikes up a friendship with some ladies who live in a "haunted house" not far from the Murry's house. While visiting the ladies, Meg and Charles Wallace meet Calvin, a popular boy from Meg's school. Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin suddenly find themselves on an incredible adventure, with the help of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, the ladies from the haunted house. Will it lead them to finding Meg's dad? Where has he been all this time? Is he safe? Will they be safe?

I'm not a lover of science fiction and this was too much in that genre for my liking. However I loved the characters. You just want to pick Charles Wallace up and squeeze him. And you are constantly rooting for Meg to see her worth and realize all she can achieve. She is a fantastic female lead character, a great role model for young readers.

While I was reading the book, Darcy and Wesley read the graphic novel version and both loved it. The art is beautiful and much of the story is kept intact. It's a great alternative, but the rest of the series doesn't seem to be released in graphic novel format yet.

As with any classic, I'm glad I've read it. It won't be one I return to over and over, but I'm still glad to have read it once.