It's a Family Affair

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Young Philip has been raised by his uncle Ambrose. Ambrose goes to Florence because of his health issues, in the hope that the warm weather will do him good. While there, he meets a long lost cousin, Rachel, and marries her. Sometime after that, he dies. Days after his death, Philip shows up in Florence looking for Ambrose because he feels something is wrong with him. He finds out from Rachel's friend, Rainaldi, how Ambrose died and that Rachel had left town, headed he knew not where.

Philip comes back to Cornwall, and finds out that he is the sole heir to Ambrose's estate, but then Rachel shows up. Philip wanted very much to hate her, but she is just so charming. He ends up falling in love with her, and he thinks she does for him too. Until his birthday, that is. Philip comes into his inheritance on his 25th birthday, and he decides that he wants to abide by a will that Ambrose never signed off on. Prior to giving Rachel notice that he has done this, he asks her to marry him, and he believes she says yes (I thought she did too, so either I misread or got caught up in this). Then, over drinks the night of his birthday, Philip announces that he and Rachel are engaged, but she tells everyone that this isn't true.

Not long after, Philip falls deathly ill. When he awakens, he remembers a lost letter from Ambrose that indicates that he thinks that Rachel poisoned him. Philip begins to wonder if Rachel is poisoning him as well.

I won't tell you how it ends, but just know that Philip was still hung up on Rachel even when she hurt him.

This took 200 pages to get interesting, but the last third of the book is what made this book worth reading. I'd like to see the movie adaptation now that I have finished this.

Lizzie Borden Took an Axe....

See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

Everybody knows the rhyme about Lizzie Borden. Scratch that. Everybody my age and older knows the rhyme about Lizzie Borden. I've always been fascinated by the story, and my personal thoughts on the matter are that Lizzie is the one responsible for the murders of her father and stepmother. It wasn't the maid. It wasn't some random stranger. It was Lizzie. I don't care that she was acquitted; I firmly believe she did it.

So, when a coworker mentioned that a book came out about the Borden murders, I knew I would have to have it. It took me weeks to find (because I haven't been to a proper bookstore in months), but find it I did and devoured it in two days.

This is told from four perspectives: Lizzie, her older sister, Emma, Bridget the maid, and Benjamin, some drifter their uncle finds in a nearby town.

In Lizzie's chapters, it's often hard to remember that it is being told by a woman in her thirties. More often than not, I felt like I was reading the thoughts of a teenager, at best. It makes me wonder, mostly because every program I have seen about the real Lizzie Borden never mentioned it, if Lizzie was mentally impaired in some way. Of course, this could just be the author's interpretation of Lizzie. It was made very clear that she always acted like a spoiled child, and expected everyone to give into her whims.

The Emma chapters seem to cement the notion that Lizzie was mentally impaired and that everyone had to concede to Lizzie. I often felt sorry for Emma. She had to give up the man she loved because of Lizzie. She had to give up things that should have been hers for being the eldest. Worse, for most of her life, Emma just went with it because of a promise she made to her mother on her deathbed. I congratulate Emma for trying to live her own life, however short lived it was.

Bridget the maid's chapters gave some insight into Mrs. Borden. In many ways, she thought of the maid more of as her child than her own stepdaughters. Or, at least that's how it read at first. Toward the end, I had other thoughts about the Mrs. Borden/Bridget relationship, but only from Mrs. Borden's point of view. I think Bridget knew the truth of what happened that day, and just wanted out of that house, which is why she wasn't exactly helpful during the trial.

Finally, the Benjamin chapters.... I think they were included to appease all of those people who believe some random stranger came in and killed the Bordens. The way it is presented in this book is, admittedly, plausible, but it would have had to have been like it was in the book: where he was hired by someone in the family. Frankly, I could have done without his chapters. I didn't need his backstory, as it had little to do with the story as a whole. Just my two cents though.

I really enjoyed the book, and I can see myself going back to read it again in the future.

Important Lessons

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I knew going into this book that this post was going to be hard to write. Not because the book is sad because it is that, for a variety of reasons. No, this was going to be hard to write because I am a middle-aged, white woman and this book is about a white police officer unnecessarily killing an unarmed black teenager who wasn't doing anything wrong. Unfortunately, it seems the society we live in, there's a right and a wrong way to be, and even if we think we are right, we are most likely wrong. Even if we try very hard to love everybody for who they are and not the color of their skin, if you say just one thing wrong, you are villified forever. I don't want to be villified.

In fact, now that I am writing this, I don't think I am going to go into the premise of the book at all. All you need to know going into this book is that it is SO worth the read, and that the lesson to be gained is to always try to do the right thing. I can understand all the acclaim this book is getting, and I feel it is so well deserved. I hope it opens some eyes. I know it opened mine to things I hadn't considered before (and am ashamed for not noticing).

Instead, I am just going to urge you to read this one. It's going to make you angry; it's going to make you sad. If anything, I just want it to make you think.

Alice But Not Alice

Curiouser and Curiouser by Melanie Karsak

I am not a fan of the Alice in Wonderland books, so I was not exactly thrilled when the theme for my August Lit-Cube was Steampunk Alice in Wonderland. The swag in my box changed my mind and so did this book.

This was not a Wonderland story in any way, though the characters were all characters from Lewis Carroll's classic novel. Being as I am not a part of the steampunk movement (although what I've seen is way cool), I am not sure what makes this a steampunk novel. That did not detract from the story for me though; meaning I didn't dwell on what made this steampunk.

Alice is a reformed criminal, if you will, in this book. She was a pickpocket and a thief in general. When she was ten, she and her younger sister, Bess, were plucked from a factory by a wealthy man called Jabberwocky. Bess was to be a companion for Jabberwocky's mother, but Alice was to be a part of his criminal enterprise because she was quick and smart.

At any rate, Alice had been away from this line of work for over a year, but gets brought back in to clear the debt of Henry, the man (the hatter) who is in love with Bess. Alice is brought in by William, also known as the Caterpillar, to steal a priceless gem for the Queen of Hearts. Alice is in love with William.

I don't want to say too much because this book is short and I am afraid it will give too much of the book away. Definitely one to read, and when time permits, I'll probably check out the other books this author has written.

Penance?

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

This book brought out all the feels. I was on the verge of tears many times.

In February of Shelby's senior year of high school, she was in a car accident with her best friend, Helene. Helene didn't die, but "lives" her life on life support. She never wakes up, and suffered brain damage, but her mother can't let her go. Shelby has a great deal of guilt over this, and for the next ten years, feels like their roles should be reversed. She doesn't see her worth in the world, and that is what this book is about.

After the accident, she tries to kill herself, so she is placed in a treatment facility. She won't or can't talk. She is raped every night by an orderly, and a few weeks in she receives a postcard that says simply "Say Something." This is what Shelby needs to be able to tell her mother what is going on, thus getting her removed from the facility. She then spends the next couple of years in her parents' basement, smoking pot and doing a whole lotta nothing.

One day, she moves to Manhattan with her pot dealer. They date, but she feels he is too good for her. She gets a job, steals some dogs, acquires a friend with three children, and makes something of herself. What makes her do these things? She keeps getting these postcards from her "angel."

Shelby's life is far from easy, but because of these postcards, she ends up finding out what (and who) is important. She felt like her life needed to be penance for what happened to Helene, and it kept her from truly trying to be happy. Once she realized it was ok to be happy, she started to be.

This book touched me, and it was a fairly quick read. I highly recommend it.

The End of an Era

The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory

Allegedly, this is the last book that Ms. Gregory will write about the Tudors, possibly forever. Such a shame, as no one writes of the Tudor women like Ms. Gregory does.

This final installment is about the Grey sisters: Jane, Katherine, and Mary. I have always loved Jane, but never care much for Katherine or knew anything about Mary. This book changed some things for me-some in good ways, others, not so much.

The first part of the book is about Lady Jane Grey, the nine days' queen. I didn't find her story all that interesting, which is unusual because there was so much more to her than presented here. Nowhere does it mention the abuse that Jane endured at the hands of her parents when she refuses to do their bidding. If anything, the Grey parents are presented as loving in parts of this book, and I find that to be patently untrue, based on more factual accounts that I have read of Lady Jane. As a result, I was not as taken with her story.

Then there is Katherine Grey, who I always disliked because she willfully disobeyed Queen Elizabeth. This made me see that perhaps Elizabeth wasn't as wonderful as I thought she was. It made me see Katherine as a person who married for love, not trying to take the queenship from Elizabeth, which is how this situation has always been presented up to this point. I liked Katherine, and my heart broke for her and the things she had to endure, just for being the pretty cousin next in line for the throne.

Last there is Mary. I knew she existed, and I knew she was a little person, but that is all that is ever mentioned of her in anything I have read up to this point. Ms. Gregory even says she has taken liberties with her story, but it just made Mary more real to me.

In short, I hate what these three women endured, just for being who they were.

Summer '17 Book 22

Cinderella.com by River Laurent

First of all, I would never have purchased this for myself. It's fluff, and has far more sex in it than I would like. I like things with a bit more substance, even if they are aimed at a younger audience. This, however, was in my June Lit-Cube, so I felt I needed to read it. (Which reminds me I still have a mermaid book from last summer to read)

Ok, Cass is our protagonist. She lives in Chicago. Her father is in hospice care, and she has gotten herself into debt with loan sharks to pay for his care. She has two jobs already, and it looking for a third to pay the bills. Her friend, Jesse, confesses to her that some time back, she signed Cass up on a site called Cinderella.com, which finds lookalikes of famous people. The lookalike fills in for the famous person and gets paid for it.

In this case, Cass looks like Tamara Honeywell, a Paris Hilton type person who is famous for pretty much nothing, but has made a sex tape. She's also into drugs and alcohol. She is being sent to Montana for a month to work on a ranch, but feels that is beneath her, so she hires Cass. Cass will make $30,000 for her time.

So, Cass goes to Montana. She finds she can't quite be the bitch Tamara is, and ultimately falls in love with Lars, a ranch hand. On the last day of her assignment, there is a masquerade ball, which is when Tamara comes back to show she's learned things on the ranch. Like I said, Tamara is a bitch, so her plan is to get Lars to sleep with her because she knows it will hurt Cass.

It's a Cinderella story, so you have a good idea how it ends.

Again, not really my thing. Also, they should have hired someone to edit this before publishing. There were a lot of misspellings and errors throughout the book. I mean she kept using pin as a place for animals, and it irritated me every time I had to read that.

So, if you like Cinderella stories and need a fluffy, fast read, this is for you.