The Piano Teacher by Janice.Y.K. Lee

Beautiful. I really enjoyed this book. It was the first regular novel I've read in a while, and I was totally lost in the story. I liked the writing, the characters, the storyline, pretty much everything.

The Piano Teacher takes place in Hong Kong, going back and forth between the Second World War and the Japanese occupation and the 1950s and British rule. The part set during the war tells the story of Will, a young Brit who ends up in Hong Kong right before war erupts. There he meets Trudy, a Eurasian beauty with a dynamite character and a survival instinct. Their story is one of wartime reality that I hope neither I nor my children ever have to experience.

The part set in the 1950s is about Claire, an English woman who follows her husband to Hong Kong and who ends up finding herself there. She meets Will too and becomes parts of the post-war relationships and vendettas that form in the community there.

I think part of the reason I liked this book so much is that I've never read anything set in Hong Kong and certainly didn't know anything about what happened there during the war. I found that side of it fascinating, the Japanese occupation and the Westerners living in Hong Kong during that time simply never entered my thoughts before. There is so much fascinating history there.

But aside from that, I thought that the author did a great job describing the realities of war - how some people change and how some just show their true colors. The fact that we're all the same no matter what time period we belong to is so apparent, it seems so simple.

My edition had a short interview with the author at the end and I found that really interesting. Lee is Korean but grew up in Hong Kong so she has a different perspective on the place. My favorite part of the interview was when she said that the book took her 5 years to write and by the time it was finished she had 4 kids! How you can write something so good with 4 kids in the house is beyond me. I'm impressed! :-)

Challenges: Orbis Terrarum, 2010 Countdown Challenge, What's in a Name 3

The Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd

The further adventures of Laura Brown, an ordinary English girl living in a time when natural disasters and right-wing politics plague the world and carbon is rationed. Doesn't seem implausible does it?

In the first book, Carbon Diaries 2015, we got a real taste for what life was like with carbon rationing. In this one, the idea is more established and accepted, the focus is more on social tensions and politics. This is a year of water shortage, student revolt, immigration problems and poverty. How is a poor student supposed to survive? Plus, all of Laura's friends are getting more and more revolutionary, resulting in a trip across Europe which proves that things are just as bad (if not worse) across the continent. Poor Laura.

I really like these two books, it's a fantastic idea for a story. Like I said when I read the first one, I hope that many young people are reading stuff like this and hopefully deciding to change behaviors so that we can avoid this kind of situation. No one wants to live in Laura's world.

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

What a book. Frankie is a perfect heroine. Brave, unfaltering, ambitious. I love her character and how she comes to be something more than her family's good little girl. I love how she challenges the male-dominated mindset in the private school she attends. I love how the other characters have cannot phathom what she is capable of.

Is anyone else a Gilmore Girls fan? Frankie reminded me of Rory and the boys at her school reminded me of the rich boys at Yale with Rory. The banter was so self-assured, so dripping with privilege and so intelligent, in both cases.

What E. Lockhart did with language in general was absolutely wonderful. Look out for the positives Frankie makes out of words, fantastic.

This book really is a gem, one of a kind. And (again) one of those books I never would have read if it wasn't for the blogging community. Thank you!!!

Challenges: 2010 Countdown Challenge

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I still can't believe how disappointed I was with this book. I took it on holiday with me because so many people thought it was the perfect read for sitting by the pool - and I was bored! Seriously bored!

The story centers around journalist Mikael and security expert Lisabeth trying to solve the mystery of a disappearance. The other, parallel, plotline concerns business/finance journalism and chasing a story about a crook in the business world. That plotline bored me to bits, I must say.

The action was only vaguely interesting, the writing didn't flow, I kept hoping it would get better but it never did. I found the style simplistic too. It seems that this book was most definitely not for me - am I the only one in the world who didn't like it?? And I so wanted to read something exciting and gripping!!! :-(

Challenges: 1st in a series, 999 Challenge, Orbis Terrarum, Suspense and Thriller Challenge

Messenger

Messenger is the last book in Lois Lowry's loose dystopian trilogy. It tells the further story of Matty, who appears in the second book, Gathering Blue. Matty is now living in Village, a place where all the people kicked out of other communities for being somehow different or 'damaged' have formed a new society where everyone is welcome and respected. Village is ruled by Leader, who is Jonas from The Giver, which I thought was a cool touch. Kira from Gathering Blue also appears.

All is not peaceful though, as some people in Village begin to change. Tensions increase, people start wanting more and more and they are willing to trade anything for it. Anything. Webs of deceit and intolerance form and breaking them will cost some villagers their lives.

I enjoyed reading Messenger, but only about as much as I enjoyed Gathering Blue. Neither can compare with The Giver though! :-)

Challenges: It's the End of the World, Young Adult Challenge

Gathering Blue

I fell in love with Lois Lowry's books when I read The Giver and Number the Stars last year. I guess the way that she addresses what I consider important and interesting issues really works for me. I ordered Gathering Blue right after finishing The Giver, since it's part of a loose trilogy, and the book has been sitting on my shelf for about year. Isn't that always the way?

Gathering Blue tackles similar issues to The Giver in that it portrays a community that forms after the end of the world as we know it today. Some cataclysm comes and everything is destroyed and small societies form. In this one, the community lives in primitive conditions, has no technology and few comforts. It is rules by hierarchy though and, of course, the people at the top, the rich ones, have loads more comfort than the others can possibly imagine. They also take more liberties than we'd expect.

The main character, a girl called Kira, is born with a disability and has to constantly prove her worth, to contribute to a society that doesn't tolerate such weakness. She is proud and strong and smart and I liked her very much. I don't want to say too much, as the story is intriguing as it unfolds, so you'll have to get the book yourself to meet Kira.

Gathering Blue wasn't as strong as The Giver, but I liked it all the same and am ordering the last one in the trilogy, Messenger, today. Apparently Jonas from The Giver meets up with Kira! :-)

Challenges: 999 Challenge, It's the end of the world, Countdown Challenge, Young Adult Challenge

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes... But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes

These two books were written by Anita Loos, the first was published in 1925 and the second in 1927. They are both diaries written by Lorelei Lee, a pretty flapper living it up in the 1920s. The subtitle of the first book is 'Diary of a Professional Lady', so I'm sure you get the idea.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is Lorelei's diary about her day-to-day life, her relationships with various men, her trip to Europe and her getting married. She is hilarious - she is striving for intellectual knowledge and loves to learn things. She thinks she is educated and fairly high-class, which makes her social gaffes even funnier. She is very likable. I enjoyed listening to her adventures and her interpretation of how the world works and what men are for.

But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes is in Lorelei's voice once again, but tells the story of her friend. I thought this was much, much weaker... kind of more of the same.

Apparently, Anita Loos got the idea to write these books when she noticed that all the men around her were falling over the blonde in the room and paying no attention to her, a brunette, even though she was pretty and intelligent. I liked that bit of information, I like knowing where an author is coming from.

These books are the pre-cursors of chick-lit - all about men and going out and getting jewellery - entertaining and fluffy.

Challenges: A-Z Challenge, Audiobook Challenge, Classics Challenge, Decades Challenge

Karlson on the Roof

Astrid Lindgren is best known for the Pippi Longstocking character, but a friend of mine raved about Karlson so I wanted to check him out.

I wasn't blown away or anything, but then I'm not 7 and the main characters of this book are. Smidge is an ordinary boy with an ordinary life - except that he becomes friends with Karlson, a strange little man who lives on the roof of his building. Karlson can fly and he's the best at everything he tries, so makes for a very exciting playmate. I''m sure it's enchanting when you're in the right age group - or if you're re-reading it is an adult rather than reading it for the first time!

It was pleasant to read and exactly what I wanted for a couple of pages of light reading here and there in between more serious stuff.

Challenges: A-Z Challenge, 1st in a series, Lost in Translation, Themed Reading Challenge

The Carbon Diaries 2015

I borrowed The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd from my friend's 15-year-old son. I must say that, although the story is certainly not optimistic, if today's teenagers are reading stuff like this then maybe our world can be saved somehow.

The book is actually the diary of Laura, a 16-year-old girl loving in 2015 London. Her world is completely different from ours, after climate change starts to have some serious effects on the weather and environment. In her diary, she chronicles the first year of carbon rationing in the UK. Basically, each person gets a card with a certain amount of carbon points they can use in the year. Going over is simply not an option anymore. Laura describes her and her family's daily trials in this new system - how they conserve heating and are cold at night, how they stop buying anything that's not local, how using the car is an unthinkable luxury and even the bus is only for times when you have enough points on your card.

The books paints a very grim picture of where we're heading. It's even more terrifying because it is set in 2015 - not very long from now at all. And I can totally imagine this world happening. Really. I think that this is where we're heading. Hopefully the fact that Al Gore is out there and the fact that people like Saci Lloyd are writing books for teens about the consequences we are facing will help our future.

Laura, a normal teenager who likes to go to concerts and is worried about love, realises very quickly what matters and what doesn't. Watching tv is not essential. Protecting yourself and your loved ones in a storm is. It can't get any simpler.

I'd definitely recommend this book, I think that it has a very worthwhile message for us all.

Challenges: Genre Challenge, Countdown Challenge

Read-A-Thon - Hours 7 and 8

Title of book(s) read since last update: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Number of books finished since you started: 2
Pages read since last update: 123
Running total of pages read since you started: 355
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: (keep track of this one to be eligible for a prize!) 4 hour 45 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: Intro Meme, Sarah's Foreign Language Mini-challenge, Grains of rice
Other participants you’ve visited: Nymeth, Alessandra, Lezlie, Sarah, Joanne, Valentina, J.C. Montgomery, Tammy
Prize you’ve won: 0

Number the Stars By Lois Lowry is about two best friends in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen. One of the girls is Jewish so you can imagine what her life becomes. The other learns quickly about sacrifice and courage. Well-written and presented, with some interesting bits of Danish history. And an easy, quick read, perfect for the Read-a-thon!

A Wrinkle in Time

After reading The Book Thief, I was in the mood for something lighter and this book for kids seemed just the thing. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time was very enjoyable - I stayed up to finish it on Saturday night so I guess the story must have been good! :-)

The story is about teenage Meg, her little brother Charles and their friend Calvin. It's science fiction with all the best elements, space travel, time travel, magic, evil planets etc. I liked the way it was told, the style kept me interested.

Apparently L'Engle had a lot of trouble getting this published because it was so different. The book has also been challenged a lot because of the way it talks about Christianity - although I think they should have let it go since not many fun books for kids mention Christianity at all so they won on it anyway. It ended up winning the Newberry Medal, so I guess people changed their minds about it once it was published!

Challenges: Book Awards II, 888 Challenge