Hey!

I just wanted to throw out a brief update.  I know I haven't been on here lately, and I'm totally sorry!  As you may know, WHHS is in the beginning stages of the NEASC accreditation process.  We (the teachers) just finished up the self-study report.  Guess who the Steering Committee picked to be their proofreader?  That's right, this gal.

So, every moment I've had I've been working on commas and pronoun agreement and run-on sentences!

I have gotten through Standards 2, 3, 4, and 5.  That leaves me 1, 6, and 7.

I have quite a few books on my ottoman to read as soon as this is task is complete!

Keep checking back for updates!

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Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Hello!

I am so very happy to share we have saved up enough water and bottle return funds to put in a whopper of a book order!  Half of it arrived yesterday (you can see the picture on my Twitter feed) and the other half is shipping soon.  Once it gets here, NEW ARRIVALS will be Books of the Week!

One of the perks of opening new book boxes?  Snagging what you think looks interesting first!  Including this!

If I had to compare this book to other books or media (which I something I have to do for SLJ reviews), I'd say Night Circus meets Moulin Rouge meets Escape the Room/New Haven meets a murder mystery dinner.  Yes, really!

Two sisters, abandoned by their mother and raised by a cruel father who is governor of their island, hear of the Caraval from their grandmother.  The traveling show allows guests to either just watch or participate in the game.  Scarlett and Donatella desperately want to attend, but the show is nowhere near them until just before Scarlett's (arranged) wedding.  Their father, of course, would never let them go.

Enter Julian, a visiting sailor who takes an interest in Tella and was a previous guest of the Caraval.

Nothing is what it seems and no one is who they say they are.

Who is acting as part of the show and who is not?

And what of Legend, the creative master of the Caraval?  His past and the girls' may be more entwined than they realize.

I LOVED this book and read it in one night.  It will keep you guessing until the very end.  Which, it appears, there will be a sequel.

Look for this book to go on display shortly in the LMC!

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All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs W.

 

Unmasked by Kane Hodder and Michael Aloisi

Confession time...I have a weird obsession with Jason.

Yes, really.

I dressed up as Jason in middle school for Halloween.

Yes, really.

I did a paper in college on Jason as a tragic hero.

Yes, really.

I actually hate bloody slasher movies.  I've only actually seen one of the Friday the 13th movies (and most of it my eyes were hidden in my then boyfriend's chest).  I don't plan to watch them either.  But I have READ just about everything on the character from a psychological standpoint, including why we (meaning people like me) are drawn to such a character.

In looking for memoirs to update our collection (if you weren't aware, our seniors must read a memoir and we have ours pulled out in a special collection section), I came across this.  It was out of stock on Amazon, so it went on our Follett wish list.  When we placed the most recent order, it went out there too and had to be cancelled.  BUT, the paperback was now available on Amazon, so I ordered it.  It'll be donated on Wednesday.

Anyway, I LOVED this book.  It's semi-autobiographical.  There is an author separate from Kane Hodder doing the actual writing, and both admit parts are creative, as memory is unreliable (remember The Things They Carried?).  Hodder has played Jason more times than anyone, and really, it's his portrayal you picture when you think of Jason.  That menacing deep breathing thing and the head twist before moving thing is Hodder's creation.

Hodder was a stunt man first, and does nearly all of his own in the Jason movies.  He's become a cult hero, to the point that his fans were rabid when he was not cast in Freddy vs. Jason.  (There's a WHOLE lotta psych work than can be done with Robert Englund and Freddy, but that's another post.)

I laughed out loud several times (Hodder likes to prank, a lot), got teary eyed a few times (he carried a wheelchair bound fan through a haunted house when it wasn't accessible!), and got really angry in a few places (see previous paragraph).

I hope you enjoy this one too!

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Submit your written reviews to The Westie Review corner of The Rostrum

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

I took a few days off to do an SLJ review...look for it in March 2017--it's horror!

Anyway, this book was #3 of the B&N clearance sale.  It was half off the list price.  This one was worth it!

You may have heard of the author.  She wrote a little novel called Twilight and its sequels.

A former government scientist (real name Julianna, currently going by Alex) is on the run years after her lab partner and mentor was murdered.  She knows too much and represents a liability.  It seems now though her former employer needs her.  They have discovered a terrorist plot to release a viral agent of mass destruction.  Only someone of her caliber chemist can help them.

Their sole lead is an urban history teacher named Daniel.  All of a sudden tons of money is appearing in his bank accounts after trips to Mexico and Egypt.  It would appear the educator is claiming to be helping Habitat for Humanity, but is instead running drugs, viruses, money, or all 3.

Alex kidnaps Daniel to torture him for information.  NOTHING is as it seems.

One of the main characters is a German Shepherd who steals the show, along with a Great Dane and a Bassett Hound.

Trigger warning: several other dogs are killed in a gun fire fight.  They die as heroes and there is no harsh or violent description of their deaths, but I think younger readers should know.

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Submit your written reviews to The Westie Review corner of The Rostrum

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett

This was another book I picked up at the clearance sale at B&N, $28 down to $6.  The snippet on the jacket indicated a connection to the Shakespeare authorship question, something Miss Stevens and I love to debate about.

I do not believe the actor/director William Shakespeare wrote the plays attributed to him.  There is not even proof the man wrote a letter to his long ill wife, let alone full length plays in iambic pentameter.  I believe Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford or a group comprised of de Vere, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, and others wrote them.  That makes me an Oxfordian.

Side note: there's a theory that what's hidden on Oak Island isn't treasure, but the original manuscripts of the plays, as written by Bacon.  I am obsessed with Oak Island.


So, about this book.  I wanted to love it.

A rare book collector's wife passes away and he moves to the English countryside to escape their home.  He takes on side jobs evaluating and appraising old books.  In this work, he finds what appears to be the basis one of the plays, with handwritten notes by William Shakespeare.  It is the Holy Grail of literature.

The story is told in in 3 ways--the present, the year Peter and Amanda met, and England in Shakespeare's time and after.

I could not get into it.  I tried so hard.

Peter was wimpy, whiny, and weird.  Shakespeare was a pompous jerk.  Amanda was a rich brat.

I'm sorry to say I did not like this book!

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Submit your reviews to The Westie Review in The Rostrum

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.

Glorious by Jeff Guinn

I went to the Barnes & Noble clearance sale last weekend, with a coupon and my educator discount.  This was one of the books I picked up $27 marked down to $6.

I'm glad I didn't pay full price.  What a let down.

The cover is beautiful.  The jacket description made this book sound so exciting.

It wasn't.  What should have been a non-stop, action packed Western....was as boring as an afternoon soap opera.

A man on the run from responsibility for the death of his (arranged marriage) special needs wife seeks out his long-lost love in a frontier town.  A rich rancher protects the tiny town from Apaches and supports the local businesses.  But then silver is found....

I was expecting so much more.  The details of Cash's life "before" were boring.  The climactic scene when he is "found" were far-fetched and bordering on ridiculous.  Then we are left with a cliffhanger to set up a sequel.  I won't be reading it.

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Tweet what you're reading #read #whhs
Submit your reviews to The Westie Review in The Rostrum

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

If you haven't seen me...YES I AM BACK AT WHHS!  I have my next doctor's appointment Monday and hope all my restrictions will be lifted then!

My new pellet stove is being installed as I type this.  We might be able to heat without oil tonight!

Now, onto the book.

I was excited when I read the description of this bestseller.  I put it on reserve, but when it came in, I kept thinking I know this author's name from somewhere.  I saw the info under her name on the cover...author of In a Dark, Dark Wood.  The title and name were both ringing bells of recognition.  I did a search of this blog and realized I had reviewed Dark Wood.  It wasn't a favorable review.

I have mixed feelings about The Woman in Cabin 10.  I think the plot itself was good--it kept me interested and there are two MAJOR plot twists, one right at the end, that were fabulous bits of thriller writing.  BUT, I found the same problem as my last review of Ware....just not enough character development to make the reader care.  I didn't FEEL anything towards the characters who lived or died.

I'm definitely in the minority here with opinions on Ware.  Most of her reviews are favorable by a mile.  I'll also say that it's on our wish list by student request.

Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what you're reading #whhs #read
Submit your reviews to The Westie Review corner of The Rostrum

All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.