Revisiting The Dead and The Gone

Yesterday, I finished listening to the audio book of the dead and the gone. And it was good. How could it not be good. Though with audio books, the narrator is an essential component of "liking" or "not liking" a particular production, it remains at heart Pfeffer's stories, words, characters. And they're strong enough to carry any narration. Not that Robertson Dean needs much help. But still. I'm just saying it would be hard to completely ruin the book since it's so compelling and intense on its own.

Robertson Dean. What can I say. His voice is nice, strong, clear, deep, and low. Did I buy him as a 17 year old boy or as a 12 year old girl? Or as a girl of any age for that matter? No. Of course not. But the rare occasions when dialogue is part of the action, when Julie or Briana's voices must be heard--his voices for the two sisters are adequate. (Probably no more odd than when the narrator of Life As We Knew It had to do the voices for Miranda's two brothers Matt and Jonny.)

Scenes. Listening to the audio book made certain scenes even stronger, more vivid. The emotional scenes packed more of a punch. I think this is because in an audio book you can't speed up. You can't rush through a text. You can't get caught up in the drama of racing through to the end. You're stuck in the moment. And if the moment is painful, emotional, and traumatic--if you've read it you probably can guess which scenes I'm talking about--then it's even more so, the situation is magnified. This can be good or bad. Good in that the intensity, the drama, feels immediate. You can't help but feel right along with the characters. Bad in that it can haunt you even more than the text itself.

So if you've got access to the dead and the gone at your library, you should definitely consider giving this one a listen.

I just realized that I've *assumed* you were familiar with the dead and the gone and life as we knew it. You can read my full review here. But here's a bit to ground you.

the dead and the gone is the much-anticipated follow up novel to Life As We Knew It. Though the characters and setting are different--New York not Pennsylvania--the terror and uncertainty of future days is the same. Our narrator is Alex Morales, an older teen (perhaps 17?), whose world is about to be turned upside down. While there was set up in Life As We Knew It, the dead and the gone begins with the BIG event. Wednesday, May 18... At the moment when life as he had known it changed forever, Alex Morales was behind the counter at Joey's pizza, slicing a spinach pesto pie into eight roughly equal pieces. (1). Of course, at that moment, Alex doesn't know that. He's just your average teen. His mom was a nurse called into work that evening unexpectedly. His dad was out of the country attending the funeral of Alex's grandmother. His older brother, Carlos, is away from home and in the Marines. Thus when the calamity happens, it is on Alex and Alex alone to protect his family--his two younger sisters--and begin the fight for their ultimate survival.

Life As We Knew It is a novel that I first reviewed in November of 2006. In September of 2007, I reviewed the audio book . My interview with Susan Beth Pfeffer can be found here.

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A Drowned Maiden's Hair

Schlitz, Laura Amy. 2006. A Drowned Maiden's Hair.

<em>On the morning of the best day of her life, Maud Flynn was locked in the outhouse singing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."</em>

What a first line! It continues, "She was locked in because she was being punished. The Barbary Asylum for Female Orphans was overcrowded; every room in the wide brick building was in use. There were very few places where one could imprison a child who had misbehaved. The outhouse was one such place, and very suitable for the purpose, because the children hated it." That says something doesn't it. Sets the tone, I mean. This is one of those orphan stories. We learn on the next page that there are two women coming, the Misses Hawthorne, who are looking to adopt a cute, well-behaved child. Maud as an independent free-thinker, and as an eleven year old clearly isn't the girl for them, right? The powers that be know that no one would ever voluntarily take Maud off their hands. But they weren't reckoning on the Misses Hawthorne being quite the way they were either.

It is Maud--the loud, singing, often-rebellious, Maud--that the Misses Hawthorne--especially Hyacinth are drawn to that day. It is Maud that is the girl for them. Maud is ecstatic. She's wanted. She's really and truly wanted. She'll have a home, a real home. A home with three guardians, three protectors. It's her dream come true.

But Maud realizes slowly that the dream isn't quite a good one as she'd hoped. There is something not quite right, something secret, something mysterious about the whole affair, the whole ordeal. Maud won't be kept in the dark for long....

Maud is quite a heroine. You can't help but enjoy spending time with her. And I thoroughly enjoyed A Drowned Maiden's Hair. It may not be for everyone. I could imagine it not sitting so well with some types--those that feel spiritualism is not appropriate for children's literature even if these so-called mediums are phonies and no ghosts actually appear. It's an emotional story--a compelling journey of one girl's quest for love, acceptance, and home--with a satisfying conclusion.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Don't Know Where, Don't Know When

Laing, Annette. 2007. Don't Know Where, Don't Know When.

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, But I know we'll meet again, some sunny day. Keep smiling through, just like you always do, 'Til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is the book that would have been perfect for the eight or nine year old me. It had everything I was looking for then: history, history, and time travel. Oh, and light mysteries to solve. How could I forget that little hook?! I've always always had a thing for time travel whether in tv shows, movies, or books. I've also always been fascinated with history. With learning the ins and outs of daily life in various time periods, in various locales. So this book so would have been right my speed at that age. That's not to say I don't have an appreciation for it now. But the degree has lessened to a certain extent. I enjoyed it now. I did. But I would have been crazy about it as a kid.

Set in three time periods, Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is the story of three children. Two of the children are brother and sister. The third child is a stranger whom the children meet just minutes before this exciting adventure begins. The siblings are Hannah and Alex Dias--though they later go by the names of Hannah and Alex Day. The third child is an African-American child named Brandon Clark. (Yes, race does play a role in this book.) He goes by several different names further along in the text--George Braithwaite, George Clark. The three meet seemingly by chance at the University library. They all three live in the (fictional) college town Snipesville, Georgia.

I mentioned three time periods. The first, the one in which we meet our narrators, is present day America. The other two time periods are a small town in England--Balesworth--both World War II and World War I. If it sounds confusing, don't worry. It flows smoother than it might at first appear. I promise.

These three children know very little about wartime Britain--but they're about to get an up, close, and personal tour of Britain during both World Wars, and the reader is along for the ride.

I won't say the book had me at hello. It didn't. I had to overcome my prejudice of the book cover. No offense is meant to whoever--or whomever--designed it. But it just doesn't say "read me, read me" for this particular reader. And it didn't have me hooked for the introduction and the prologue. However, by the second or third chapter, once the characters had mysteriously or magically time traveled back to 1940 England, I was one curious reader. And by the time Brandon/George vanished to time travel--on his own--to 1915 England, there was no doubt about it. I was liking it. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. So if you decide to pick up this one, please promise me to give it the fifty page test.

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is an enjoyable treat of a novel. Proof that you NEVER should judge a book by the cover.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Double Click for Trouble

Woodworth, Chris. 2008. Double-Click for Trouble.

From the flap:

Eddie McCall is a good kid. He does his homework, picks up around the house, and cooks dinner for his mom when she has to work late at a Chicago hotel. Then Eddie's best friend, Whip, shows him a printout from the Internet--a picture of a full-grown, honest-to-gosh buck-naked woman--and suddenly Eddie can't seem to think about anything else. If only there were a man around he could talk to--but for all of Eddie's thirteen years, his father has been a mystery, absent and unknown.

Try as he might, Eddie can't stay away from the computer. He knows his mom will be upset if she sees the sites he's visiting. Still, he sure doesn't expect her to ship him off to her hometown of Sheldon, Indiana, to live with his great-uncle Peavey for an entire month. Peavey isn't exactly the father figure Eddie's been looking for. He spits tobacco juice into a can, calls a toilet a "commode," and certainly doesn't own a computer. He's never even been on a date!

As it turns out, however, both Peavey McCall and Sheldon, Indiana, hold some very surprising secrets...

There were parts of Double Click for Trouble that I loved, just really really loved. Then there were a few elements that didn't quite work for me. Slight irritants in the plot that just kept me from falling deeply in love with the book. Still, I must say that I'm rather fond of this book. It may not be L-O-V-E with fireworks, but I still liked it plenty. And I loved, loved, loved the ending.

The characters. Loved them for the most part. Loved Eddie. Loved Uncle Peavey. Loved Della. Loved Ronnie (Veronica). There were some other characters that I liked but would need to know more in order to love. I never really got to know the Mom enough or Whip enough for that matter. I was intrigued by Whip's story, however. His deep-and-sensitive and vulnerable side that readers get just a few glimpses of now and then. In my opinion, the novel's top strength is in the characters. The developing relationship between Eddie and his great-uncle. His friction-filled relationship with Ronnie. His whole coming-of-age story, it just works. It might not work completely evenly, but it works.

The setting. I loved the book once he got to Indiana. Everything just seemed better after that. The first setting, the urban setting of Chicago, it isn't that it doesn't work at all. It's just that it doesn't work as well. I'll try to explain it. This Chicago-setting was like climbing the first hill of a roller coaster. It's a bit slow, a bit jerky, and there is just a lot of waiting for everything to really begin. After he goes to Indiana, that is when it gets started, that is where the heart and soul of the novel is. It is here that the energy and focus reside.

The plot. The plot didn't work for me all the time. Parts of it worked--and worked well--other parts not so much. But here's the thing, I cared--really cared--about the characters. So I could be almost completely forgiving of the teeny-tiny didn't-quite-work-for-me bits in the plot. I'll be honest. I think the parts that irritated me slightly still ring with authenticity if that makes sense. Eddie, I believe is 12 or 13--somewhere around there, and there are just a few things about him that while authentic make him slightly irritating. There is a reason that it takes a special calling to work--as a teacher or volunteer--with kids in this age group both girls and guys. It's a difficult age to live through, and it's a difficult age group--in a way--to interact with. Not all the time, not every kid, but there are just rough patches that must be endured. It's not fun for the parent, the child, the teacher, or the sibling.

At its core, Double Click for Trouble is a coming-of-age story. It illustrates in just one of many ways this wonderful quote by Brent Runyon:

"The second hardest thing to do in life is to change from a child into an adult. There are so many ways to mess up. So many ways to get lost. It's like crossing the ocean in a rowboat."--Brent Runyon

http://www.chriswoodworth.com/main.swf

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Once Upon A Prom: Date

Le Ny, Jeanine. 2008. Once Upon A Prom: Date.

My name is Becky. I am not a cranky pants. I promise. It's just that I seem to be reading a lot of three star books lately that I can't really get excited enough to jump up and down about. These books are perfectly fine--okay--books. And they might strike readers--especially teen readers--as being really something. But they didn't do much for me. So there you have it.

So on to the third installment of the Once Upon A Prom series. This is a series focusing on three friends: Tara, Jordan, and Nisha. At the beginning, each of the girls had their heart set on going to their senior prom. Each girl had a different obstacle in her path. Jordan, the girl who seemingly had it all, began to develop feelings for an emo guy. A guy she met in line at the movies. Her boyfriend, Nate, whom she'd been dating for over a year didn't want to see the movie--I think it was a foreign film. Anyway, it wasn't his "thing." So Jordan struck up a conversation in line with a guy--harmless conversation--and that led to a coffee that led to this that and the other. The first book ends with her "accidentally" kissing him. His name is Shane by the way. Tara's conflicts are threefold. She doesn't have a date. She doesn't have a dress. And she's having some conflicts with the prom committee. She gets a date in the first book--a guy named Victor--but it's a casual, convenience type thing--at least at first. She doesn't see him as a guy she'd really and truly want as a boyfriend. He's an emergency fill-in guy until her real guy comes along. Since prom is just a few weeks away, Victor will have to do. But she's only going to go with him if he gets a make over. As is he just won't do. She wants Victor to be just like Nate. Nisha, an Indian (yes from India), has problems as well. Her parents don't believe in dating (especially in high school) and they especially don't believe in interracial dating. The fact that Nisha has a secret boyfriend, a white boyfriend, of six months can only lead to major trouble if she's discovered. The first book served as an introduction, the middle book served up conflicts galore, and the third book offered spectacularly melodramatic resolutions.

As much as I wanted this series to be more than what it seems, it just didn't work out that way. It's light. It's fluffy. It's got a rare glimpse of substance now and then. But it can't be a substantive and satisfying meal. It just can't. It's light and harmless fun for the youngest of teens. It's formulaic (in part) writing designed to delight middle schoolers. Those who dream of one day having it all in high school themselves. Those who fantasize about dating and going to school dances and having it all. I remember being that age once. I outgrew that stage. But I can remember it. So this series (and others like it) do serve a purpose.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Once Upon A Prom: Dress

Le Ny, Jeanine. 2008. Once Upon A Dream: Dress.

This is the middle novel in the trilogy 'Once Upon A Prom' focusing on a trio of girls: Jordan, Tara, and Nisha. I don't know quite what to say honestly. It's incomplete at best. Meaning there is no resolution. This is the novel where everything falls apart, where conflicts are introduced one after another after another for all three narrators. The focus is still on proms, dating, and boys. And of course there is emphasis on friendship--how much can it withstand secrets and lies and betrayals (or supposed betrayals) and stress.

On its own, it's not much. With the other two, perhaps, there is something of value. I haven't read the third one yet. It somehow got separated from the first two--so it might take some digging through the boxes to find. So I'll let you know more when I've finished the series.

The good? For teens (younger teens especially) that love soap-opera type action--melodrama--then this series will probably be fun for you. It could work. But for young teens (12-14???) dreaming of high school days this could work.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Once Upon A Prom: Dream

Le Ny, Jeanine. 2008. Once Upon A Prom: Dream.

Depending on your expectations, you might just be surprised. Or not. I never know what to think about these original-as-paperback books. Especially when they seem to be gimmicky--tied to a theme like prom or cheerleading or summer romance. No offense. I mean plenty of people love to read about those types of things. The formulaic type approaches to those typical sorts of things. I just don't happen to be one of them. So my expectations were low. I expected average writing and average plot twists. I expected to be entertained certainly. What I found was a bit of substance. (Consider it the Snicker bars of junk food reading.)

The characters have more depth than I was expecting. The novel focuses on three friends: Jordan, Nisha, and Tara. Tara, for some reason, seems to be the only character that isn't working for me personally. Jordan, the cheerleader, turns out to have more substance and a dilemma on her hands when she tries to go beyond her stereotype. Nisha is an Indian. (Yes, I mean from India). Her parents don't believe in dating, and they certainly DO NOT believe in their daughter dating a white boy. The fact that she is and is keeping it a big secret gives her some depth. I don't know if that's the right word. What I mean is that it makes her believable. Call me strange but Nisha is so far one of the big reasons I'm liking this series. It does ring as authentic. In college, my sister got immersed in the Indian circle on campus--most of her friends were Indian. I befriended a few of her friends, but certainly not to the same extent. So we got to know a few families quite well. So I know the debates, the conversations, the conflicts between the generations--on dating, on love, on marriage, on who is and isn't acceptable, on what 'the right age' for settling down is, the matchmaking, etc. And this book does seem to ring true from what I know.

The focus of the novel is on these three girls, their friendship, their relationships with guys, etc. It is the first of three books following these three girls. And as such, it doesn't really end...nothing is really resolved yet...so I'll be finishing up on the series. I'll probably reserve my final judgments for later on. But so far, I'm liking it. Liking doesn't mean loving or proclaiming it the most wonderfully philosophically deep reading in the universe. But it's fun. It's light. Definitely an appetizer and not a main course. But I think it's certainly enjoyable enough for teens if they like this sort of thing.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Dangerous Angels

Block, Francesca Lia. 1998. Dangerous Angels: The Weezie Bat Books.

Dangerous Angels is an all-in-one edition of the five Weetzie Bats books: Weetzie Bat, Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Missing Angel Juan, and Baby Be Bop. Not all books are narrated by Weetzie Bat. In fact, most of them aren't--three of them are narrated by Weetzie Bat's children. What can I say about this series of books? Well, they're all bizarre. But bizarre in a strange-and-surreal-but-beautiful kind of way. They're very original, very unique, very postmodern. The first book, Weetzie Bat, was published in 1989. The remaining four books were published between 1991 and 1995. I would say that the books--especially the first one--were groundbreaking. These books were "edgy" before edgy became so common, so expected, so normal.

I don't believe that everyone will love this book. I would imagine that this is something that you will either love or hate. Block's characters break all the rules of society--broke all the rules of society I should say. And the vision of the world she creates is both harsh and hopeful. There is an ugliness, a painful awareness of hate, of fear, of anger, of "evil" if you will. But there is love and beauty there as well. It's just very bizarre. Weetzie is a character that creates her own family when she meets her best friend, Dirk. Dirk's grandmother, Fifi, gives her a lamp with a genie. "I wish for a Duck for Dirk, and My Secret Agent Lover Man for me, and a beautiful little house for us to live in happily ever after." And sure enough, Dirk gets a guy named Duck and Weetzie gets a boyfriend named My Secret Agent Lover Man. They also get Fifi's house after her sudden death. These four live as a family and bring in nontraditional ways two children into the world, Cherokee and Witch Baby. Family and friendship and love and life seen through various nontraditional perspectives. It's all surreal. Definitely layers of urban fantasy colliding with the real world.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Nonfiction Monday: Dickens: His Work and His World

Rosen, Michael. Dickens: His Work and His World.

DICKENS: HIS WORK AND HIS WORLD by Michael Rosen is a nice introduction to Charles Dickens life and works. The book does a great job of placing both into their proper context.

The book is divided into five chapters. Chapter one "The Tour" gives a brief overview of Charles Dickens. It provides a glimpse into his talents performing in front of audiences and serves as an introduction as to WHY Dickens is so memorable. Chapter two "The Life" provides the reader a biographical summary of Dickens' life. "Great writers aren't often people born into some special family, nor are they necessarily very rich or very clever or very lucky. They're not always people who have seen or heard hundreds of amazing or odd things. But a great writer has to be someone who spends a good deal of time watching, listening, and wondering--and a good deal more time telling us about it" (12). Chapter Three "London" provides the reader with a description of the world in which Dickens lived and wrote. It discusses the cultural and political as well as physical environment in which he wrote. Chapter Four "The Work" discusses four literary masterpieces: A CHRISTMAS CAROL, OLIVER TRIST, DAVID COPPERFIELD, and GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Rosen devotes most of the chapter to his in-depth analysis of GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Chapter Five "Legacy" is a summary of why Dickens is still relevant to today's culture. The book concludes with a thorough timeline and index. (There is not a bibliography).

Throughout DICKENS: HIS WORK AND HIS WORLD are one and two-page illustrations by Robert Ingpen, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen medal for illustration in 1986, which are magnificent.

Rosen's style is conversational. He writes directly to the reader, often asking the reader to join in his questions and become involved in the text.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Double Helix

Werlin, Nancy. 2004. Double Helix.

Enter a world full of secrets. Eli Samuels is a young teen--recent high school graduate--who almost out of the blue gets a dream job offer. Spend a year working at Wyatt Transgenics, a job offer typically reserved for those with a master’s degree at least. But Eli isn’t your typical teen. And Dr. Quincy Wyatt is not your typical employer. Eli’s father knows that some things are too good to be true--particularly in the case of Dr. Wyatt...a name from his past he’d rather forget. But some lessons you’ve got to learn for yourself. As Eli begins his new job, he begins to get suspicious when his new employer wants to be his friend and start hanging out with him...just what does Dr. Wyatt want with him?

Desperate Journey

Murphy, Jim. 2006. Desperate Journey.

The mark of a good book--particuarly a nonfiction or historical fiction book--is if it makes a subject that you have little or no interest in as a whole so remarkably fascinating and interesting that the book becomes not a dull lesson in the past but a genuine page-turner. Take for example, DESPERATE JOURNEY by Jim Murphy. I have never shown any interest whatsoever in the history of the Erie Canal or any other canal for that matter. (In fact other than knowing that the canal had something to do with rivers, I wouldn’t have had a clue as to what it was or where it was.) I never would have gone out looking for a book about this subject. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Desperate Journey. Having been familiar with some of the author’s previous works (An American Plague and The Great Fire), I noticed his most recent publication. Jim Murphy is known for writing nonfiction, but Desperate Journey is a historical novel. Set in the early nineteenth century, Maggie Haggerty, our heroine narrator, is unforgettable. Twelve years old, she bears a large burden. Her family has just days--literally four or five days--to sail their boat and its heavy cargo to Buffalo. It will be a long and difficult journey. With two sets of mules pulling their way, there is always something to be done either driving the mules, steering the boat, or cooking, cleaning, and mending for the family. What makes a difficult journey even worse is when their father and uncle are arrested by a sheriff and accused of assaulting a man in a bar along one of their stops. Now it is up to her, her brother, and her mother (who is pregnant) to try to make it to Buffalo on time and unload its cargo or else their boat and everything they own will be lost. Is any amount of determination and hard work enough? And how can they deal with bullies up and down the canals?

It is an interesting journey. Well-written. Well-developed. A surprisingly enjoyable read about an often neglected subject.

Diary of Ma Yan

The DIARY OF MA YAN is an incredible story of how one girl's determination, diligence, and hope impacted not only her life...but the lives of those around her.

Ma Yan is a young girl determined to continue her education despite the hardships and struggles that ensue. Knowing that an education is the only thing that could rescue her from a life of poverty, Ma Yan continues her fight to stay in school. Her resilience is inspiring.

The book contains Ma Yan's diary entries from September - December 2000 and July - December 2001. The entries are brief and from the heart. She writes of poverty, hunger, frustration, desire for an education, and hope for a better future for herself and her family.

When Ma Yan's mother gave her daughter's diaries to a foreign journalist--it paved the way for an incredible outpouring of love and financial support--not only for Ma Yan but for other poverty-stricken children in China as well with the establishment of the Association for the Children of Ningxia which has helped over thirty children.

It is a wonderfully honest book.

Ma Yan's Story

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Johnson, Maureen. 2006. Devilish.

Jane Jarvis and Allison Concord are two girls who just don't belong in the social hierarchy of Saint Teresa's Preparatory School for Girls. Jane with her spiked blond hair doesn't care. She's her own person and would rather make fun of A3 (Elsie Fast, Tracey Pils, and Lai Barden) than be one of the ever-so-shallow popular girls. Allison, on the other hand, would give anything, risk everything, to be with the in crowd. Unfortunately for her, there's a new girl in town who knows her weakness. Enter onto the scene the mysterious Lanalee who appears just in time to 'save' Allison from dealing with the repercussions of her greatest humiliation--throwing up in front of the entire school at an assembly. Overnight, Allison is transformed into everything she's ever wanted to be...popular, trendy, with beautiful hair and stylish clothes to support her new rise to the top. But more than just the outward appearance is changing, Jane barely recognizes her friend. Can Jane solve the mystery of her friend's strange behavior? And what exactly did Allison bargain with? Is being popular worth paying any price?

Devilish isn't a novel for everyone. But if you're looking for a novel set at a Catholic school where demons and demon hunters battle it out to win human souls (to clarify demons want possession of a soul and demon hunters want to protect humans from such a fate) then this could be the perfect novel for you. Set in Rhode Island, Devilish is an interesting twist to your typical high school drama.

http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com/

The Dark Hills Divide

Carman, Patrick. 2005. THE DARK HILLS DIVIDE. New York: Orchard. ISBN 0439700930.

Alexa Daley is a young twelve-year-old girl with a heart for adventure in Patrick Carman's THE DARK HILLS DIVIDE. The book is the first in a series called THE LAND OF ELYON. Alexa has lived her whole life in a walled community consisting of three or four towns. Her father is an important figure in the community, and it is during their summer trip to the main town of Bridewell that her adventures begin. Alexa discovers a secret key that opens the door to a secret passageway out of the wall--and the world as she knows it--what will she discover when she leaves her community? Is the world really such a scary place as the townspeople think? Are there monsters outside the walls or within the walls?

http://www.patrickcarman.com/main/index.html
http://www.patrickcarman.com/main/discoverBooks.html
http://www.scholastic.com/elyon/meet.htm
Author Bio and Interview

All or Nothing

Meyer, Carolyn. 2002. Doomed Queen Anne.

Doomed Queen Anne is the third book in Carolyn Meyer's series Young Royals: Tudor women. I've already reviewed Mary, Bloody Mary, and Beware, Princess Elizabeth. Reading Doomed Queen Anne does provide more perspective on the situation. Elizabeth grew up never knowing her mother, but her half-sister Mary, unfortunately knew more than she ever wanted of Anne Boleyn. But it is this changing or sliding of perspectives that makes the book series so appealing to me. I think we have a tendency to look at things only through one perspective never considering how 'reality' would look if we were gazing through another's eyes. Doomed Queen Anne does just that. Called the 'Great Whore' and a 'witch' in Mary, Bloody Mary, Carolyn Meyer finally allows Anne to have a voice, to make an appeal, to seek an understanding and forgiving reader.

The book begins with the prologue in which Queen Anne is in the towers awaiting her execution. The book then is a way of having her life flash before her eyes, her recounting of her life to the readers before her death. While the book makes no apologies for some of Anne's actions--her harsh treatment of Mary and her mocking scorn of Queen Catherine--the book does allow the reader to see that her death was nothing more than King Henry VIII getting tired of having her around (both to talk to and sleep with) and wanting to avoid the hassle of another divorce. Although her actions would make her the evil stepmother in the fairytale, her actions did not warrant death.

Does the reader ever feel sorry for Anne? Is she sympathetic even when close to death? Yes and no. (First of all, I can only recount if the author evoked feelings of sympathy fr