Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman Published: June 13, 1995 Publisher: Putnam Adult Received: Borrowed from my best friend "What had she thought, that love was a toy, something easy and sweet, just to play with? Real love was dangerous, it got you from inside and held on tight, and if you didn't let go fast enough you might be willing to do anything for its sake." Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age. They are sent to live with their aunts: two older women who are known throughout their small Massachusetts town as witches. Both girls grow up resentful of their aunts and their aunts' practice, but the girls take this resentment out in different ways. Sally doesn't believe in the aunts' power, but she's always a good girl. She takes care of Gillian, the house, and ultimately her own family. After her husband's untimely death, Sally takes her two girls and moves away from the aunts. Gillian had left years earlier. She sough...

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein Published: Sept. 10, 2013 Publisher: Disney Hyperion Received: Borrowed a copy from the library Rose Justice is piloting for America during World War II when she's captured by Nazis. They send her to Ravensbruck--the women's concentration camp known for performing atrocious surgeries on their prisoners. Books set during World War II and the Holocaust are horrifying. I cry every time I read one. But I think it's important to remind ourselves of the atrocities human people can commit against one another. Rose Under Fire tells a unique story in that most of the characters are not Jewish. These are prisoners of war, these are Polish women and Russian women and French women and an American. Obviously the genocide of Jewish people was a major portion of the Holocaust, but there were other people who had to endure the horrors of concentration camps. I appreciated this look into that side of the story too.

Hello Lovelies!! Since I fell so behind in my reviews over the last month and a half or so, I decided to group some reviews up by genre. Here's the books I've read with a fantasy twist. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu Published: Sept 27, 2011 Publisher: Walden Pond Press Received: Borrowed a copy from the library! In this retelling of The Snow Queen, Hazel and Jack have been next-door neighbors and best friends forever. But after an accident on the playground, Jack changes. He doesn't want to hang out with Hazel anymore. But Hazel knows that this is the normal growth her mom keeps saying it is. So when Jack goes missing, Hazel goes into the forest to find him. I loved that this retelling keeps the characters young (like my other favorite retelling of The Snow Queen by Mary Engelbreit) and the relationship platonic. The thing I love about The Snow Queen is that Gerda loves Kay because they're friends. It isn't about romance. It's about friendshi...

Hello Lovelies!! As I mentioned before, I'm really behind on my reviews. So I'm doing a couple of themed round-ups to catch-up. These cover all the books I've read in a certain genre for the last month and a half or so. With summer time, I felt the need to breeze through a boatload of contemporaries or books which fit the contemporary genre. Here's what I've read so far. My Love, My Love or The Peasant Girl by Rosa Guy Published: 1985 Publisher: Holt McDougal Received: Borrowed from a friend "When the heads and hearts of fools and children are filled with the images of gods and ghosts,  what room is there for reason?" So this walks a fine line between contemporary and fantasy, but I decided to put it here and call it a contemporary with a dash of magical realism. It's a retelling of the Little Mermaid (the Hans Christian Andersen, not the Disney) and it's set on a tropical island. The main character is Desiree, a peasant...