Vonette
read and liked
Julie's
review of Rebecca's Tale:
"A huge disappointment! I enjoyed reading the book and the mystery surrounding both Rebecca and the main characters, but it seemed that by the end of the novel the author was more preoccupied with her feminist agenda than telling the rest of the stor...more "
"A huge disappointment! I enjoyed reading the book and the mystery surrounding both Rebecca and the main characters, but it seemed that by the end of the novel the author was more preoccupied with her feminist agenda than telling the rest of the stor...more "
Vonette
read and liked
Hannahr's
review of Rebecca's Tale:
"I'd really like to give it 1.5 stars, but it gets 2 simply because it started out with alot of promise. However, by the end it became a politically correct, feminist scree from Beauman that made no sense in the context of the time period which the b...more "
"I'd really like to give it 1.5 stars, but it gets 2 simply because it started out with alot of promise. However, by the end it became a politically correct, feminist scree from Beauman that made no sense in the context of the time period which the b...more "
Vonette
read and liked
Wendy's
review of Rebecca's Tale:
"Fake sequels (those written by someone other than the author) are pretty bad in the first place, but this one goes over the top. If you're going to write a fake sequel, you can't claim that what the original author wrote wasn't the truth. (i.e. oh,...more "
"Fake sequels (those written by someone other than the author) are pretty bad in the first place, but this one goes over the top. If you're going to write a fake sequel, you can't claim that what the original author wrote wasn't the truth. (i.e. oh,...more "
Vonette
read and liked
Laura's
review of Rebecca's Tale:
"The daughter of a minor character from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca joins forces with a journalist (with a hidden motive) to discover The Truth behind the mysterious Rebecca. Now, I’m not averse to “continuations” of novels, but this book comm...more "
"The daughter of a minor character from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca joins forces with a journalist (with a hidden motive) to discover The Truth behind the mysterious Rebecca. Now, I’m not averse to “continuations” of novels, but this book comm...more "
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This book is a true story about a small Midwestern town and its cat. It is not a story for lovers of action, and it cannot be expected to have the tight story arc you find in fiction. What it does offer is a lovely (and to me very familiar) picture of life in a small town surrounded by cornfields. I grew up in a part of Illinois that is very much like Spencer, IA, where this story takes place. Too often I have read novels set in small Midwestern towns, and recognized that the author never lived in one for any length of time. Such an author researches their setting, but without the familiarity of one who has made it their home, their descriptions don't quite ring true. But Vicki Myron is the genuine article: an author born and raised in corn country. She understands the people and the community she writes about so well, and this delighted my heart as it took me back to my childhood. Her descriptions of the farm crisis of the 1980's resonated deeply with my own memories.
Dewey, the cat who takes center stage in this story, is not some Hollywood, stunt-trained, super-feline. He is an "every-cat." He represents that special relationship all pet-lovers have with their animals, yet somehow he takes it to a higher level by establishing such a relationship with his entire town. If you were expecting a cat who rescues people from burning buildings, look elsewhere. This cat touches human lives in more quiet ways. The amazing thing is how many lives he touches, some of them on the other side of the world!
Some reviewers have complained that the story of the author, Vicki, intrudes too much into the story of Dewey. I disagree. Any truly good animal story (Lassie, Old Yeller, the James Herriott series) always includes large sections about the humans whose lives intersect with that of the animals. It is the relationship between the humans and the animals that makes the story so real and touching, and no author can describe such a relationship without helping us to understand the humans in question. I applaud Vicki for being so honest about herself. She could have presented a veneer of perfection for us, but the fact that she chose to show us her own flaws and weaknesses help us to relate to her. She is real. ]]>
Vonette
took the never-ending book quiz.
| questions answered: | 18 |
| correct: | 15 (83.3%) |
| skipped: | 1 |
| best streak: | 12 |
| questions added: | 0 |
For me, this book had moments of brilliance but also moments that annoyed and frustrated me. Maybe this has to do with the fact that I am not a teen, and this book was written for teens (according to the blurb on the back "recommended for ages 14 to 17). And yet, I have read other books written for teens that I just adored.
The concept was interesting: a girl in a coma is able to wander the hospital as a sort of ghost and observe her family and friends as well as her own body as she goes through surgery and lies in intensive care. Memories of her life before the accident are nicely woven into the story as flashbacks. And yet, for a book that deals so closely with the topic of death, there is a surprising lack of thought given to the question of what happens to us after death. In fact, Mia doesn't seem afraid of death in the least, despite the fact that she seems to have no beliefs whatsoever about what will happen to her if she chooses to die.
Then, there is Mia's relationship with her parents and little brother. It is sweet, yes. But as another reviewer pointed out, it is just TOO sweet! Even teens who get along well with their parents and siblings could not achieve this level of "the perfect family relationship." There are no tensions or misunderstandings or disagreements between them. They have achieved a level of perfection in their family life that does not exist in the real world.
The scene where Mia's mother realizes she is in labor with her second child and decides to go shopping at the mall with her daughter was just ridiculous to me -- having given birth to three children. Obviously, this woman was supermom, so I guess she could do what us ordinary women could not. But to eat two slices of pie after being in labor for several hours? Aside from the fact that they tell you in the childbirth classes not to eat ANY solid food once you are in labor, I can't imagine actually WANTING to gorge on pie when you are in that much pain. Labor pain is well known to cause nausea.
Finally, I am disappointed to see how standards for teen fiction have slipped since I was in high school. During my teen years, teen fiction did not contain language that is still forbidden on network TV. Nor would it have been acceptable for a teen novel to imply that sex between teenagers is perfectly normal and acceptable, as long as you use a condom. But then, the teens in this book do not strike me as real-life teens so much as adults who have been disguised as teenagers for the sake of this storyline. ]]>
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As delightful as all of Heyer's historical romance! Her characters and the attention to historical details are what makes these so good. I have been told this was her first, and I can see that it doesn't have quite the masterful touch of "These Old Shades" but it shows a freshness that some of her later work lacks as well. And by the end, I was laughing uncontrollably as often happens when I read her work.
This book is, of course, set prior to the Regency Period just as several of her other novels were. So, it is puzzling to my why it is billed as a "Regency Romance." ]]>