megan’s Comments (group member since Jun 26, 2015)

megan’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I’m up for whichever. Just glad we didn’t get EGGNOG.

Stay Dead
Anne Frasier
310 pages
27 Nov

E - Elise Sandburg
T - Atticus Tremain

International travel for work means I get to allocate 2 work days to travel, both this week and next week = sooo much reading time!!!!

Hate Notes
Vi Keeland
304 pages
26 Nov

I - Iris Locklear
R, E - Reed Eastwood

Through the Smoke
Brenda Novak
303 pages
25 Nov

N - author
E - Elspeth Soward
T - Truman Stanthrop
R - Rachel McTavish

The Heiress of Linn Hagh
Karen Charlton
336 pages
23 Nov

A: Kathrine Armstrong
I: Isobel Carnaby
E: Edward Woods

Looks like next week is PINETREE.
Bring in those Es!!!

In the Light of the Garden: A Novel
Heather Burch
320 pages
21 Nov

Letters:
I
E (Ellen Baxter)

Looks like we are going to need some I's. On it! Starting In the Light of the Garden

Roses of May
Dot Hutchison
302 pages
20 Nov

Letters:
M- Mercedes Ramirez
I- Inara Morrissey
E- Brandon Eddison

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
Kiersten White
19 Nov
304 pages

BOM

Letters:
M (Mary Delgado)
A (Alphonse Frankenstein)
E (Elizabeth Frankenstein)

1. I love this quote in the story. “Justine did not have to pretend, as she always seemed genuinely unaware of the effect we had on men. I, however, was perfectly aware of my beauty. I considered it a skill, alongside speaking French, English, Italian, and German. It was a language of its own, in a way; on that translated well in different circumstances.” What does this tell you about the different characters of Justine and Elizabeth?
Elizabeth is smart. Very smart. Street smart. She’s very much aware of her surroundings and herself. She uses the ability of her mind to pull in and process information in a way that Justine can’t. It’s an acquired knowledge. Justine’s ability to be unaware shows an immaturity that is acceptable as a teenager. It’s an immaturity that Elizabeth hasn’t had the luxury of keeping in order to stay alive.

2. Elizabeth truly seems able to control Victor’s dark character. She helps him clean up after the incident with his younger brother, and comes up with a story to help save Victor. Why do you think she is able to do that when no-one else seems able to control him?
Elizabeth has been brought into the family for the sole purpose of connecting with Vic tor. A teenage boy will want to please a pretty girl, especially one that seems just smart enough to be able to keep up with him. She’s not an authority figure. She easily explains things and shows things in a way Victor’s ‘different’ mind can grasp more easily.

3. When Henry proposes to Elizabeth, she immediately begins to worry whether she can be the wife he needs. But she decides to send him to Victor to ask for his blessing. She figures there can be two outcomes - one Victor will return to her and ask her to marry him, or two Victor will give his blessing and she can marry Henry. This “plot” comes from feeling desperate to belong and the fear of not being needed by the Frankenstein’s anymore. What would you do if you felt that way?
I’d feel the same way Elizabeth does. She needs Victor’s need of her in order to survive. Years with him have molded her into someone that a man like Henry just can’t see from the outside.

4. When Elizabeth burns down the house that Victor was using for his experiments, she hears a large splash in the river. Who do you think it was fleeing the burning building? Do you think it’s the same man Elizabeth saw out her window at the boarding house and out of her carriage? Or do you think her mind is playing tricks on her?
His monster. And yes, it’s the dark figure. Just like in the original.

5. Re-tellings are now one of my favorite new genres. Do you like this retelling of the Frankenstein story so far? What other re-tellings have you read that you really liked?
I had a hard time getting into this because of my love for the original. Why mess with perfection? This is the first real re-telling I’ve actually enjoyed. I almost gave up after the first round of questions because the original is so special to me.

6. Sometimes we are strangers even to ourselves
Another great quote in this book! Do you think Elizabeth was just referring to Henry here or about all 3 of them? She seems quite restless and unsettled since finding Victor. Why do you think this is?
She was refereeing to all of them – very much a teenager/finding yourself kind of thing. Circumstances have caused them all to change do much over a very short period of time.

7. It's fairly well established at this point that everyone is frightened of Victor to the point where most seem to want to avoid him as much as possible. Elizabeth comments that at night when she was scared and having horrible nightmares she went to Victor. And sleeping by his side, she had no nightmares. Why do you think that is?
Victor to her is home. Her life has been dedicated to his. After a while, that mentality gets so deep she needs his presence to even feel at ease.

8. Why do you think everyone was so willing to believe Justine killed William? To believe her going mad so suddenly and randomly? Do you think she actually did it? If not, who do you think it was?
Justine’s class status made it easy to point the finger at her. She has no one of any means or influence to stand up for her. There’s no way she did it. Only someone who needed him dead or his death to get rid of someone would have done it. Monster? The Judge?

9. Elizabeth sees her actions towards saving Justine from her previous life as the only selfless thing she has done in her life. Do you think her actions were truly selfless though?
No. Elizabeth needed someone as much as she needed Victor.

10. Upon seeing the monster having a conversation with Victor, that Victor appears to lose, Elizabeth's reaction is to find out what it is holding over Victor, remove the hold, then kill the monster. Do you think this is a normal reaction? What would you have done?
Yes. Victor created this thing and it obviously knows something but Victor still needs him. From Elizabeth’s point of view, if she gets rid of this monster, all the bad things that have been happening will be gone. The monster represents everything that has gone wrong since Victor left home. Her reaction is preservation. I would have passed out after seeing a spliced together human and likely need sedatives.

Play Dead
Anne Frasier
366 pages
17 Nov

Letters: F, E, S (Elise Sandburg) A (Audrey)

We got this! Think of all the points!!

A Moveable Feast
Ernest Hemingway
236 page
15 Nov

“Feast” in title
Letters: F (F Scott Fitzgerald), E, A (Aleister Crowley) S (Gertrude Stein)

Forgotten Secrets
Robin Perini
370 pages
14 Nov

Letters: F, T (Thayne Blackwood)

Cut and Run
Mary Burton
321 pages
12 Nov

F (Faith McIntyre) S (Paige Sheldon)

Honor Bound
Brenda Novak
338 pages
11 Nov

Letters: A (Amelia) S (Jeanette St. Ives), T (Crawford Treynor)

I have it to read as well.

Question:
Surname of St. Ives. Does that only count as only S, or can it be both S and I??

Of Noble Birth
Brenda Novak
416 pages
9 Nov

Letters: O (title) T (character: Trenton) N (author)