A Place to Hang the Moon

 Dear readers- I don't know about you, but I'm tired.  Exhausted, even.  I'm just so tired of all of the things going on- and it just seems like a never-ending deluge of muck and mire and darkness.  Welp, gotta keep raising saints to shine brightly.  Speaking of which (one of the 4yo’s favorite phrases), I only just reached the age with my boys where I don't have to keep my eyes glued on them whilst they play outside.  I can actually sit out with them and read while they play.  It's been awesome.  Apparently, I'm on a WWII kick this month, because the other title I'm scarfing down is the Boys in the Boat.  That one's great, but it's kind of dry and a bit too full of terminology for me.  

I just needed a little nook to hide in this week, and I found the perfect one.  I know I haven't done a review in a while, so apologies if this may seem a little rusty and unfinished, but I enjoyed this particular title so much that I wanted to write about it.  I knew nothing about it going in, other than it had a pretty little cover.  That's what draws me most to a book initially- the cover.  This one came highly recommended by one of my book groups, and I'm so glad I took the chance.  

A Place to Hang the Moon

Kate Albus
303 pages, Reading time: 4 days

Back cover reads: William, Edmund, and Anna aren't terribly upset by the death of their not-so-grandmotherly grandmother who has taken care of them since their parents died. But the children do need a guardian, and in the dark days of World War II London, those are in short supply, especially if they hope to stay together.  Could the mass wartime evacuation of children from London to the countryside be the answer?  It's a preposterous plan, but off they go--keeping their predicament a secret and hoping to be placed in a temporary home that ends up lasting forever.  Moving from one billet to another, the children suffer the cruel trickery of foster brothers, the cold realities of outdoor toilets, and the hollowness of empty stomachs.  they find comfort in the village lending library, whose kind librarian, Nora Müller, seems an excellent choice of billet--except that her German husband's whereabouts are currently unknown, and some of the villagers consider her unsuitable.  Set against the backdrop of World War II England, A Place to Hang the Moon is a story about the dire importance of family: the one you're given, and the one you choose. 

Initial Reaction: What a cozy little gem of a book.  I was charmed by the wonderful selection of difficult words (well, difficult for the intended audience) and how they were casually defined in context.  I enjoyed the nods to Narnia and even what appeared to be a slight reference to The Sound of Music.  It's all about fellow bibliophiles, libraries, crackling fires, and books.  it was a swift and lovely read that didn't make me think too much, which is exactly what I need right now.  I could also foresee a few plot points- the reason one of the characters was the town pariah and where the children would end up, but it didn't detract from the reading experience.  I appreciated the reading list provided in the back of the book that catalogued each title the characters mentioned.  

Promote Virtue?  Yes.  Fortitude, especially.

Transcendentals? Somewhat.  Goodness and Beauty, definitely.  The Truth isn't as much of a priority.  But Edmund is a staunch defender of truth when he is wronged.  There's a bit of secret-keeping.  Nothing malicious, though.  

Overcome human condition? Yes

Attitude toward Catholicism? NA

Paganry?  None

Swearing?  None

Violence?  Minimal.  A brief description of rat-killing that's a bit sickening, a schoolyard fight, and a foster parent slaps one of the main characters.  Mentions Nazis and internment camps, but not in detail.

Appropriate age?  I would say a well-read 10 year old could handle this as long as a dictionary was available.

Writing Style:  Easy, dreamy, delicious, cozy.  Realistic.  Gloriously bookish.  I did appreciate how she broke the 4th wall every now and then.  A few funny jabs peppered throughout.  

Notable Quotables:  

"The evacuees were glad of the familiarity of a classroom, where well-worn textbooks released a comforting perfume of ink and must" (68).

"William pushed his shoulder into the heavy door of the lending library.  It gave way with a satisfying creak.  inside, the children were greeted by the sort of cool and reverent silence known only to places that house books-well, and perhaps artwork and religious artifacts.  Mismatched bookcases stood back to back and side to side, making raucously wobbly passageways of words.  A fireplace in the corner was unlit on this warm afternoon, but the collection of over stuffed chairs gathered around it was no doubt delightful in winter.  The children followed a sign pointing them to LITERATURE AND FICTION, then another to CHILDREN'S BOOKS.  And they were home" (70)

Great words:  Several, but I really started paying attention when I found the word bibliophile.  

Final Summation:  Can't wait to read it to my boys.  

Green Gables, Revisited

 Hey everyone.  Hitting the ground running here in the 3rd trimester.  Well, not really running, walking, but this one's back with a vengeance.  Taking care of 2 under 3 right now is really tough as well, especially since we have only one bathroom, and it's upstairs.

IN OUR NEW HOUSE!

We finally made the jump and became homeowners!  We've got a great place that has good bones and needs a ton of love, but after 5 years in apartments (2 of which were with small children), this place is absolutely gigantic!  I'm so grateful to be in a house of our own, especially amidst all of this covid craziness and societal unrest.  Using my own washer and dryer WHENEVER I WANT feels absolutely resplendent.

Because of all of that and severe pregnancy brain and a bit of exhaustion, I've been trying to keep my reading light.  I've completely abandoned by goodreads goal of 40 this year, and I'm settling for 20.  And no, they're not the twenty tiny titles, either.  Sad day.  Right now, I'm settling for cozy and nostaligic.  So when I found out about these two works, I grabbed them immediately from the library- which is within walking distance of our house!  Huzzah!  I do kind of enjoy back stories, but I don't want them ruining the warm-fuzzies of my childhood.  That being said, I didn't even read the whole series of Anne books until a few years ago- and they were wonderful.  My childhood is attached to the two (yes, the third doesn't exist, much like the 4th Indiana Jones) movies from the 1980s.  

To warn you, dear reader, I'm going to throw format out the window, and there may or may not be spoilers, but we all know how they'll end because of L.M. Montgomery's works, right?  I didn't really do a very close reading of either book because I frequently forget to brain, and these books were just great for escapism.  Anyways, here we go.

Before Green Gables
Budge Wilson
387 pages.  Reading time: 5 days

Back cover reads:  Before Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley's early life, and the journey that led her to Prince Edward Island- a heartwarming tale of a precocious child whose lively imagination and relentless spirit help her overcome difficult circumstances; and of a young girl's ability to love, learn, and above all, dream.  When readers first meet Anne, she is eleven, and has just been sent from an orphanage to meet her new family.  Readers never learned the events of Anne's life before she arrived at Green Gables.  Until now.  After baby Anne's parents die in an epidemic, she is sent from one foster family to another, always searching for the love and comfort of a real home.  A clever child, she learns to talk early, and even in her darkest times she finds joy in the power of her imagination and, eventually, by escaping into the world of books.  Through her adventures at school and in foster homes and orphanages, Anne's vibrant personality- her imagination, her hot temper, her impetuousness, her dramatic flair- shines through.  For the millions of readers who devoured the Green Gables series, Before Green Gables is an irresistible treat: the story of how one of literature's most beloved heroines became the girl who captivated the world.

Overall Reaction:  Ok, so I just read the back cover for the first time, and I would definitely say that this book is not an irresistible treat for any of us who devoured the Green Gables series (and the movies).  It is a sad story for the most part, but one of hope.  The issue that I have the most with this work, however, isn't so much in the shock value of Anne's back story (the weight which carries most of the work), but it was often the word choice and writing style of the author.  I thought that Wilson did a relatively good job of being at least historically accurate, but there were several points in the book where she used modern-day language or terms (don't ask me to point them out because pregnancy brain) that just confused me.  At one point, I found myself questioning just what time frame she was attempting to depict in the novel.  It just didn't sit well with me.  

Before is absolutely not on par with Montgomery's style.  It tries to be, but it fails miserably.  I'm not saying that the author should have provided a story as similar to Montgomery's writing as humanly possible, but she could have done much better.  It just reeks of poorly-written high school age fan-fiction.  Also, having an almost 3-year-old and knowing his capabilities, it was just an enormous effort for me to suspend my disbelief regarding what Anne's responsibilities (chores and other things) at the age of 4.  I dunno.  Maybe they expected much, much more of children back then, but a 4 year old taking care of babies?  Nope.  Not gonna believe that.  I felt like a lot of the story was all about shock value.  Perhaps that's something that I shouldn't be reading right now whilst 6 months pregnant, but I didn't enjoy it.  There was also a smattering of feminist garbage in there that I thought was completely out of place.  Ugh

One thing that I think was well done Wilson's way of forming Anne's forgiving and understanding nature.  

After reading this, I think I'll leave Anne's past to my own devices, meaning I'd just rather not think about it.  I want to meet her where I first did, in the forest as she reads Tennyson on the way back to the Hammond's (in the movie), or through the curious gossip Rachel Lynde (the book).  It's really Rachel who sets the tone of the first book, and she is somewhat of a heroine in it as well (she makes Anne's puffed sleeve dress).  Anyways.  This book wasn't really all that disappointing, but it wasn't great, either.  So therefore:

Marilla of Green Gables

Sarah McCoy

291 pages.  Reading time: 1 week

Back cover reads: Plucky and ambitious, Marilla Cuthbert is thirteen years old when her world is turned upside down, leaving her to bear the responsibilities of a farm wife: cooking, sewing, keeping house, and overseeing the day-to-day life of Green Gables with her brother, Matthew, and father, Hugh.  In Avonlea, life holds few options for farm girls.  Marilla's one connection to the wider world is Aunt Elizabeth "Izzy" Johnson, her mother's sister, who fled Avonlea for the bustling city of St. Catharines.  An opinionated spinster, Aunt Izzy is a talented seamstress, which has allowed her to build a thriving business and make her own way in the world.  Emboldened by her aunt, Marilla dares to venture beyond the safety of Green Gables.  With her friend Rachel, she joins the local Ladies' Aid Society in helping an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity in nearby Nova Scotia--a home for abandoned children that secretly serves as a way station for runaway slaves from America.  Her budding romance with John Blythe, the charming son of a neighbor, offers her a possibility of future happiness-- but Marilla is in no rush to trade one farm life for another.  Instead she is caught up in the dangerous work of politics and abolition-- jeopardizing all she cherishes.  Now Marilla must face a reckoning between her dreams of making a difference in the wider world and the small-town reality of life at Green Gables.  

First off, whoever wrote those liner notes must not have read the book.  UGH.  It really is a shallow portrayal of the novel.  Shock value to get the reader to read it.  Luckily, I usually don't read those things before diving in.  

Overall reaction:  After drinking the bitter water that was Before Green Gables, this novel was a joy to read.  On par with Montgomery's style, a sweet and cozy read that I think flows well with the rest of the Anne series.  The story is an easy and quick read.  I thought the characters were believable.  I found myself rooting so much for John and Marilla, even though I knew they were doomed.  It was nice to get into Marilla's head a little bit, as well as Rachel's. I think I liked Matthew's backstory the most.  Far be it from me to push a fellow introvert anywhere, but I thought it was admirable how he bucked up and took a risk to start courting a girl.  The men in this novel were wonderfully written.  They are good, faithful, hardworking men who honor the women in their lives.  

There are only a few gripes that I have with it.  Rachel Lynde's mother, Mrs. White, attempts to make a half-hearted attempt at the Sign of the Cross just because a nun does it.  (Which Marilla found strange.  It was not Presbyterian.  94)  I think this was completely out of place and historically inaccurate, and I'm sure any non-Catholic during this time period would find the patronizing action a little offensive and rude, especially if they knew Mrs. White wasn't Catholic.  I'm glad we hear Marilla's thoughts on it in order to get to know Mrs.  White's character more.

 I wasn't too amused by how silly and girlish Rachel's character is in this book.  It's a stark contrast to her "that's what" attitude in Montgomery's books, but Rachel's mother is quite similar to the adult Rachel Lynde, so it's easy to make the jump.

I do not like all this feminist agenda BS!  The gorgeous thing about L.M. Montgomery, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louisa May Alcott, and other similar writers of yore, is that they didn't preach feminism.  They just wrote strong female characters who could challenge the status quo and still live a happy, normal life without tearing down the family.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to be married.  There is nothing wrong with NOT wanting to be married.  But spare me all the bra burning, woe-is-me, marriage is a cage for my free spirit BS. GAH.

The prologue.  This work began with a frame narrative.  I wanted it to end that way.  It didn't.  I wanted it to end closer to the time that we meet Anne.

I also enjoyed reading the Author's Note at the end.  It gave me warm fuzzies.  McCoy not only read all the books, did her research, etc. etc., but she loves the Kevin Sullivan movies.  

Marilla of Green Gables was just what my pregnant brain needed this last week.  I can't wait to get a copy of my own.  It's definitely

Not sure if I'll update with another review any time soon.  I'm trying to keep reading light.  I might work on my 7th tour of Miss Prim if it all gets to be too much.  I hope you and yours are well during this tumultuous time.

  

The Awakening of Miss Prim

Hey, friends.  The world is going absolutely crazy lately.  I find the timing perfect to return to my favorite novel of all time.  Mayhaps I'll begin a 6th tour of it this evening.  It's really the only thing that I even want to deal with at this point, after being kept hostage in my own home for the past 3 months due to medical hysteria.  I'm currently somewhat fearful of going out because of the social hysteria that started almost 2 weeks ago. It is starting to turn into absolute anarchy.  On top of this, we're pregnant with baby #3, so my emotions are all over the place.

Oh, hey, Squiffy!

If any of my loyal readers are unaware, I currently work for the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton as a content curator and social media specialist.  Them's just fancy words that means: I finds the quotes, I designs some of the emails.  I also pretty much do whatever my boss tells me.  And I kind of geek out every once in a while because my boss's boss is Dale Ahlquist.  Hah.

I'm on a FANTASTIC team of talented people whose goal is to promote the wit and wisdom of G.K. Chesterton to the world! 

This is one of my favorite photos of him.

A while back, I was assisting in one of the online Virtual Society meetings featuring Brandon Vogt and Joe Grabowski on distributism.  Distributism is one of those Chestertonian ideals that puzzles me, but I had recently read a novel that perfectly personified it.  I asked Brandon and Joe if they had ever read it as well as their thoughts regarding its portrayal of distributism.  Several members of my team, including my boss, had never heard of it, and I told them all to read it.  They fell head over heels, and there was emphatic talk of a book review of it to be featured, along with an interview of the author, in an upcoming issue of Gilbert! Magazine.  And who, can you guess, was asked to pen such a review?  Yours truly.  

Now, I tell you.  I was absolutely honored, for one thing, because I would finally be using that dusty old English degree that I have lying around here somewhere.  Secondly, I was terrified.  I only had 900 words to explain why every. freaking. person. needs to read this book.  I'd read it 4 times before tackling it again for the magazine, and I didn't dare touch it with a review, even on here, because I didn't feel worthy enough.  

So, I humbly submit for you now, the feeble 900 words that my little brain came up with to convince you to read my favorite novel of all time.  My typical review format can be found below. I have no time, nor the permission to just retype the entire novel here, so, you should just go read it.  

Charming.  Cozy.  Contra Mundum.  

(Featured in Gilbert! Magazine Vol. 23, No. 4.  Become a member and you get access to the best magazine ever!)

The Awakening of Miss Prim
Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
Abacus Books
320 pages

So when I attended my first Chesterton Conference in 2016 in Slippery Rock, the word “Distributism” definitely piqued my interest.  This radical idea completely baffled me.  As someone relatively new to Chesterton at the time, I wanted to hear what the Apostle of Common Sense had to say.  I found it a little interesting but very confusing.  I could somewhat grasp the idea, but I just didn’t get it.  I really wanted to.  I did.  But I let it go.  About a year later, one of my online book clubs introduced me to The Awakening of Miss Prim.

Spread like butter and jam on toast across 320 delicious pages, the novel only took me 3 days to devour.  The coziness.  The Catholicism.  The cheek.  The Classics.  Miss Prim made me want to dive into distributism, cozy up to Chesterton, read more books, and not look back.

This book made me ecstatic about distributism, so naturally, I researched the topic, delighted to discover and read The Hound of Distributism in an effort to understand this concept.  Unfortunately, I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.  So I returned to Fenollera’s novel.  Again.  And again.  I just recently finished my 5th (1st!) reading in order to prepare a review for you, dear reader.  So, allow me to introduce you to my absolute favorite book of all time (only slightly beating out my childhood favorite, Harriet the Spy).

Proud and proper, Miss Prudencia Prim takes on a job as a personal librarian in San Ireneo, a small town in the middle of the countryside that seems oddly steeped in the past.  Her employer, only identified as “The Man in the Wingchair” throughout the novel, is a mysterious character whose life is filled with books, curious children, education, and faith. The overqualified Miss Prim longs to escape from the noise of her life in the city, but is somewhat just as exasperated by the old-fashioned simplicity of life in San Ireneo.

We are hit with the inner-workings of the community immediately, beginning with education and the importance of family.  Small business comes next, followed quickly by farming and the ideals of self-sufficiency.  By page 4, the seasoned Chestertonian knows that this novel is already dripping with distributism.  The unseasoned Chestertonian won’t see it coming until a cathartic upheaval somewhere near the end of the book.  The peaceful introduction to the community stands in stark contrast to our introduction to Miss Prim, who represents the educational product, ways, means, and noise of the modern world.

Fenollera’s novel is cozy.  The residents of San Ireneo are always congregating around hearths, sipping tea or hot chocolate, and eating together.  If there is anything that brings a community together, it is the proper practice of feasting in a warm and inviting atmosphere.  This gentle invitation to the culture of San Ireneo is skillfully woven throughout the entire novel.  Fenollera’s writing is imbued with a simple and profound beauty that stirs the heart.  These descriptions, for example, make me want to pack my bags and go there immediately:

“To visitors, San Ireneo de Arnois looked like a place that was firmly rooted in the past.  Old stone houses with gardens full of roses stood proudly along a handful of streets that led to a bustling square full of small shops and businesses, buying and selling at the steady pace of a healthy heart” (4).

“[The Man in the Wingchair] loved to watch the children reading in the sun, stretched out on the lawn, perched in the comfortable old branches of a tree, munching on apples, devouring buttered toast, leaving sticky fingerprints on his beloved books” (27).

Now, the coziness of this book is a beautiful thing.  And just what does beauty do?  It softens our hearts and makes us more receptive to the Truth (which we all long for).

And the truth about Miss Prim is that it is wildly subversive.  It’s radically contra mundum.  The reader is bombarded by worldly conventions and ideals through the internal struggles of Prudencia Prim as she encounters a unique community that cherishes different ideals.  Higher ideals.  Holy ideals.  Allow me to list a few things that the community of San Ireneo holds dear: homeschooling, classics, community, faith, small business, tradition, wisdom, study, education, quality goods, a lack of technology, silence, simplicity, leisure, and more.  Prim, much like anyone who is reading the book who has a similar background, takes some time to get comfortable with the ways of San Ireneo, eventually preferring them to the ways of the world.

And thus begins her awakening to Truth.

The Awakening of Miss Prim is a scrumptious novel about tea, cake, books, relationships, and faith.  Mostly Truth.  But also distributism.  It personifies the practice of a well-ordered distributist society (complete with its own “Chestertonian” feminist league-a paradox, I know!).  My quest to understand distributism had previously yielded confusing results.  Then this unobtrusively charming and cozy little book came into my life, and I was absolutely blown away.  The charming coziness and stunning beauty called to me.  But the depth.  The depth, dear reader, is what grabbed my soul and refused to let go.  Suddenly, I knew what Chesterton was after.  Experiencing distributism through the eyes of someone who didn’t understand it made it all the more palpable.  So read it.  Then read it again.  Then have your friends over for a feast and discuss Truth.

A continuation in typical format

The Awakening of Miss Prim 

Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera
320 pages.  Reading time ranges between 3 days and a few weeks, depending on my status in life.  Hah.

Back cover reads:  When clever, accomplished Prudencia Prim accepts the post of private librarian in the village of San Ireneo de Arnois, she is unprepared for what she encounters there.  Her employer, a book-loving intellectual, is dashing yet contrarian, always ready with a critique of her cherished Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott.  The villagers, too, are capable of charm and eccentricity in equal measure.

Prudencia had hoped for friendship in San Ireneo but didn't suspect that she might find love - nor that her new life would offer challenge and heartache as well as joy, discovery, and fireside debate.  Set against a backdrop of steaming cups of tea, freshly baked cakes and lovely company, The Awakening of Miss Prim is a distinctive and delightfully entertaining tale of literature, philosophy and the search for happiness.  

Initial Reaction:  Now, the initial reaction has been forgotten, other than a vague memory of my mind being completely blown.  In the discussion thread for Prim in one of my facebook groups, I remember writing a glowing reaction to the read-along in the likeness of some slobbering fan-girl who wants a movie-version made of the book just so it can have a film score composed by Dario Marianelli.  Found it:  Wow. Phenomenal. The second movement of Miss Prim's concerto ends, and the next movement begins. While I would have loved to read a bit more about her homecoming, I don't really think the author needs to continue the story. We see her metanoia and know what she's going to do. So good.   I was imagining a huge orchestra playing at the end of the book... and the last note sounds and has a looooong hang time. It was intense!   Oooh. I feel like Dario Marianelli would do it justice if a movie version came out.

Promote Virtue?  Oh, you betcha.

Transcendentals?  Transcendentals.  Transcendentals everywhere.  Fenollera's writing is absolutely resplendent.  It's simple.  It's cozy.  It's filled with humor.  It is beautiful and good.  And it leads you to the Truth, no matter how much it has to drag you kicking and screaming.

Overcome human condition?  Spoiler alert.  Yes.  Full-blown metanoia.  

Attitude toward Catholicism?  IT IS Catholic distributism on a plate.  Well, on a page.  Several, actually.  It's basically The Benedict Option personified.  The mystery.  The conversion.  The awakening.  It's just so gorgeous.  AND THE SUBTLE THOMISM.  MY HEART.

Paganry?  Nope

Swearing?  Damn, hell.

Violence?  Negative.

Appropriate age?  16+  It'd have to be a mature teenager though to appreciate the likes of this.  Hidden beneath the surface of this charming and cozy story there lurks some very subversive ideas.  It's wonderful.

Writing Style: Charming.  Cozy.  Contra Mundum. I can't do it any justice.  Just read it.  One of the things that I appreciate the most about it, though, is Fenollera's style of humor.  Some of her one-liners literally make me guffaw in public.

Notable Quoteables:  Here are just seven of my favorites..  If I didn't have a strict limitation, I'd just retype the whole book.

"The day before, he'd [the man in the wingchair] found the homilies of St. John Chrysostom in the pantry, between the jars of jam and packets of lentils.  How had they got there?  It was difficult to know.  It could have been the children- they treated books as if they were notebooks or boxes of pencils; but it could just as easily have been him.  It wouldn't be the first time, and it probably wouldn't be the last."  (26)

"Was he some kind of urban hermit?"  (72).  Bahahaha  I wanna be an urban hermit.

"Had she ever sat down with pencil and paper to list the pros and cons of the marital state?  had she?  Miss Prim had to admit that she had not."  (89)

"If you were convinced that the world had forgotten how to think and teach, if you believed it had discarded the beauty of art and literature, if you thought it had crushed the power of the truth, would you let that world educate your children?"  (114)

"Tradition is a bulwark against the decline of culture." (168)

"Miss Prim flatly refused to have someone know her essence.  She refused both in principle and in practice."  (182)

"Miss Prim had always had sufficient respect for poetry not to write any herself" (254). Baha!

Great words:  Now, while the book doesn't particularly have an elevated lexicon, it is CHOCK FULL of great books, authors, and philosophers.  There is even an appendix entitled Miss Prim's Library Catalogue that lists all the of the authors or works alluded to or appearing in the book.  Lovely!

Final Summation:  I've read The Awakening of Miss Prim five times since it came into my life- 3 times alone during my second pregnancy- and I know I'll most likely read it at least once per annum until the end of my life.  It is my new favorite novel of. all.  time, only slightly beating out my childhood favorite, Harriet the Spy.  It is, and always will be

Non-Fiction Compendium

Ahoy, peeps!  Happy beginning of summer!  Happy feast of St. Norbert!  We just got back from a trip to Wisconsin, where we experienced record heat, a terrifying trip to the ER, and the reunion of many a friend!  Life has been absolutely chaotic of late, so my typical format is going to go out the window.

I've really been on a non-fiction kick lately.  I have no idea why.  It all started with this movie:

I thought the movie was relatively acceptable.  It stuck to (pretty much) the facts, wove in some drama, and wasn't too harsh with the whole "white shame" agenda.  When I saw a copy of the book at Goodwill for .50, I thought, "What the hell?  The movie was ok, I'm interested in more of the backstory."

Unfortunately, the book was absolutely nothing like the movie.  While Shetterley has an amazing story to tell, her writing style is tedious, non-linear, confusing, and reads like stereo instructions.  Half of the people she writes about share the same given name, so when she crosses the streams of each person's story, the entire thing becomes a jumbled mess.  There are certain interest points in the book, but they do not make up for the rest of the book's BORING tone.  I think that engineers and anyone who is REALLY interested in the space program would enjoy this book immensely.  I, however, am not one of those people.

Next, I blame this movie.

This one, I think, I found at the library book sale.  I'm pretty much a WWII fanatic when it comes to any type of movie, and once I saw that the Coen brothers wrote it, I snatched it up.  So glad I did.  What an amazing, and compelling story.  It was a great find.  

And the book is so much better.  I'm actually glad that the movie found me first, because I'm pretty sure I would have been disappointed with the movie had I encountered the book first.  Hildebrand does a top notch job.  She is an excellent storyteller.  Also, it absolutely astounds me how much I learned about the Greatest Generation and what our troops went through back then.  I have much more respect for anyone who has served in the armed forces, that's for sure.

I am baffled.  Absolutely BAFFLED that all the evil of WWII focuses on Hitler and the Nazis when the Japanese were just as bad, if not WORSE.  I used to be on the fence/against the bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki because of all of the innocent lives that were lost.  After reading this book and learning more about the ethos of the Japanese, their ideals of honor back then, how they even treated their own people, and what they did/planned to do with anyone they captured, a sudden wash of relief spread over me.  

But, Jen, that's racist!  That's wrong!  Think of all the babies!  Don't even start.  Read this book, think about your baby, your friend, your parent, and think of what they could have went through if we didn't do something to stop the Japanese.  It's absolutely horrifying.  

Anyways, this book was an absolute breath of fresh air after Hidden Figures.  I actually found it online and started reading it before I found a copy at the library.  I loved it so much that I bought it for my brother in law who just left for boot camp with the Marines. 

The last one, I'm dreading.  I'm about 3/4 way through, and I really don't want to finish it.  In fact, it's due today.  This one I blame on my childhood feels.

When I think of Laura Ingalls Wilder, it draws up fond memories of my childhood: the cozy feels of me and my mom taking a trip to Pepin, the first family vacation that I remember in the Ozarks, a crackling fire, good food, and a snug little house.  And that's the way I want it.  When I re-read the Little House books, I get all of that.  When I read Caroline, I got that.

Not so with this work, dear reader.  Not so.  Prairie Fires pretty much does one thing: incinerates your childhood feels to oblivion.  

The good:  Fraser sticks to facts (?).

The bad:  The facts can be really disappointing.  We are given a more accurate depiction of Wilder, her family, and her life, but they really do not coincide with the autobiographical characters in her books.  

The ugly: Fraser has a bias and an agenda, and you can tell.  She also writes conjecturally about several things, which really pisses me off.  She is ponderous about the motivations of her subjects, and, at certain points, even speaks for them. 

I don't hate this book, but I do consider it a waste of my time.  I've lost all interest in it, and it certainly doesn't live up to the hype it's given.  I'll say no more.  

Welp, that's about it for now regarding book reviews.  In other news, I've been absolutely SLAYING it over at my Etsy shop.  I have a ton of new chaplets to check out, and I'm currently working on making matching sets!  Go take a look, see!

Expect posts during the summer to be pretty sparse.  Life is crazy and we're doing the best we can.  We're heading back up to Wisconsin in 3 weeks for a wedding, an ordination, Catholicfest, and a paint-the-saint peg-doll swap!  Woot!

The Wind in the Willows

Ok.   ok ok ok.  So.  I got this adorable little set of classics for John Paul for Christmas. 

Which means, I really got them for me for Christmas because I get to read them aloud to him. Yay!  Interestingly enough, out of all of them, I have only read Alice.  Yes, yes.  I know.  I hang my head in shame. 

Well, we had a rough start with Pinocchio, which I absolutely detested.  I've said it before that classics are not automatically Word Nerd Approved. I'll say no more other than it's not the Disney version.  Blechk. 

Then.  THEN, dear reader, we started in on the Wind and the Willows, which, for some odd reason, I had always avoided as a child.  I guess it just struck me as peculiar, and I didn't really want to read about rats and badgers and moles and frogs. Because ew. 

Boy, oh boy, was I pleasantly surprised!  This was a HUGE breath of fresh, springtime air after the monotonous drivel that was Pinocchio.  The colors!  The description!  The homeliness!  The words!  The adventure!  The humor!  The the the....

ALL THE THINGS!

So, here we go!  I'd like to answer mostly in gifs for this post. 

The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame
Reading Time: about a month as a read-aloud, about 10 pages at a time.










Initial Reaction:  Wow!  I can't wait to read this again!  What was I WAITING FOR?!

Promote Virtue?  Yes. 

Transcendentals?  Ooooh this book has everything!

Overcome human condition?  Toadly condition?  Yes.











Attitude toward Catholicism?  NA













Paganry?  There is a little chapter about Pan, but meh.


Swearing?  an "ass" here and there.  As in, jackass.

Violence?  schoolyard variety.  A thrashing or two.


Appropriate age?  Great for all ages.

Writing Style:  Grahame just sucks you in with phenomenal description, and he never lets go.

Notable Quoteables:  Too many to put here.

Great words:  Such wonderful vocabulary!  Too many to put here.

Final Summation:  I'm quite upset at myself for putting off reading this book for so long.  I can't wait to read it again and again independently or with my kids.  It is undeniably

Read it!  Read it NOW!

Jungle Book is next!

Wolf Hollow

Morning all!  Happy feast of St. John Bosco, one of the patrons of Catholic Youth Expeditions!  Also, don't forget that tomorrow is The First of Februaaaaaaary.  St. Brigid, Pray for us!  Have some beer!  We are also about 2 weeks from Lent.  What are you doing to do for Lent?  People typically ask, "What are you going to give up for Lent?", bu I'm usually in the habit of adding something- like some serious spiritual reading on top of some abstention.  Anywho, this week's review is about an interesting little morsel that recently caught my eye.

Wolf Hollow
Lauren Wolk
290 Pages, Reading Time: 5ish hours

Inside cover reads:
Growing up in the shadows cast by two world wars, Annabelle has lived a mostly quiet, steady life in her small Pennsylvania town. Until the day new student Betty Glengarry walks into her class. Betty quickly reveals herself to be cruel and manipulative, and while her bullying seems isolated at first, things quickly escalate, and reclusive World War I veteran Toby becomes a target of her attacks. While others have always seen Toby’s strangeness, Annabelle knows only kindness. She will soon need to find the courage to stand as a lone voice of justice as tensions mount.





Initial Reaction:  I'm kind of speechless.  It was an intense page turner that was akin to my Little House Addiction.  I didn't want to put it down.  I itched to finish it.  Luckily, I had a 3-hour car ride to get a jump start on it.  This novel is all about knowing the truth, telling the truth, and uncovering the truth, even though the first sentence of the novel is "The year I turned twelve, I learned how to lie" (1).  While I was somewhat disappointed in the ending (the whole truth didn't come to light), I thought the book was pretty fantastic overall.  Wolk portrays a realistic, cruel, and terrifying 14-year-old bully.  Although, I'm not quite sure that I would characterize Betty as just a bully who is "incorrigible."  She is a villain; the kind of villain we love to hate.  She definitely has a mental disorder; it is clear that she takes pleasure in making others suffer.  It is clear that her parents have separated in some way, and she's angry about it.  I know first-hand the type of pain that a divorce can bring to a young child, but that's no excuse for her kind of behavior.  Instead of dealing with Betty, her parents send her off to live with her milquetoast grandparents.  She suffers her own demise because of her lies and lawbreaking, but the truth never really comes out all the way, and that was a disappointment.  Also, it's hard for the reader not to think, "serves her right, she was meaner than a damn snake."  And I don't really like that.

Promote Virtue?  Yes.  I'd say patience, tolerance, forgiveness, kindness.

Transcendentals? Yes.  All three.  It is very apparent in the book that Annabelle and her family love the truth.  Toby is definitely a lover of beauty.  Annabelle also strives to be good, and her character provides a stark juxtaposition to that of Betty's.

Overcome human condition?  Yes and no.  While the truth eventually comes to light because Annabelle finally confesses to her family, there is no redemption for Betty.  She remains a liar to the end of her life.  It really makes me wonder why she's so afraid.  At the heart of every lie is some type of fear.  Fear of the truth.  The Truth is not something to fear.  Consequences of telling the truth can be scary, but it's the Truth.

Attitude toward Catholicism? N/A

Paganry?  None

Swearing?  Nope

Violence?  Yes, the sneaky, manipulative, girl kind that all girls know, but also some pretty horrendous physical abuse.  Betty beats Annabelle with a stick.  She throws a rock at another girl who eventually loses her eye.  She sharpens a trip wire so it has a razor's edge and strings it taught between two trees, meaning to catch Annabelle's younger brother by the neck.  Betty also takes a pheasant and wrings its neck slowly to intentionally cause it pain.

Appropriate age?  I would say 12+.  There's nothing inappropriate in it.

Writing Style:  Gripping.  Wolk starts with a great hook, and you are entranced for the remainder of the novel.  It also reads quite fast.  The writing is not dumbed down for younger readers, but it isn't full of huge vocabulary words, either.

Notable Quoteables:
"I learned about a thing called onomatopoeia, which I could not yet spell but practiced under my breath throughout the afternoon" (61).

"I didn't see this as separate strands.  It was, to my thinking, a rope, any part of which was twined with every other part" (127).

"For days I had popped from one problem to another like a pumpkin seed on a griddle" (226).

"Somewhere, excitement waited for me like an uncut cake" (226).  FABULOUS writing!

Great words:  incorrigible, furtive, famished

Final Summation:
Wolk's novel is a fantastic and gripping semi-mystery, as well as a sincere and relentless search for the truth.  While I was a little disappointed with the ending, it didn't cast a shadow on the rest of the novel.  I really hoped for redemption for Betty, but honestly wasn't surprised when there was none to be had.  I think that the author desired to draw pity from the reader, not angry revenge.  I think she accomplished that well.  Wolk's writing also made me want to search out her other works to read them.  Therefore, Wolf Hollow is

Little House, Revisited

Hey all!  So, I'm writing this approximately 3 days before Christmas (Happy feast of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini).  However, since I got the book for my mom FOR Christmas, and I doubt she knows about its existence, I'm waiting until after our family Christmas celebration in January to post this.  Make sense?  Yes?  Good?  On we go!

So.  I consumed these books as a child, and recently re-read them as an adult.  I was struck by several different things, but one thing stood out to me: Ma's character.  She was always so agreeable and willingly obedient to her husband.  This is by no means a bad thing, but she always seemed a little static.  This isn't really all that surprising, because she is one of the secondary characters in the Little House books.

Until now.

I found out about this novel through one of the word-nerd facebook groups that I joined.  I put a hold in for it at the library last month, and just got it this week.   It was a quick and easy read, and I know why it's immensely popular.  Let's get to the review!


Caroline: Little House, Revisited
Sarah Miller
363 Pages, Reading Time: approx 8 hours

Inside cover reads: In the frigid days of February 1870, Caroline Ingalls and her family leave the familiar comforts of the Big Woods of Wisconsin and the warm bosom of her family for a new life in Kansas's Indian Territory.  Packing what they can carry in their wagon, Caroline; her husband, Charles; and their little girls, Mary and Laura, head west to settle in a beautiful, unpredictable land full of promise and peril.
  The pioneer life is a hard one, especially for a pregnant woman with no friends or kin to turn to for comfort or help.  The burden of work must be shouldered alone, sickness tended without the aid of doctors, and babies birthed without the accustomed hands of mothers or sisters.  But Caroline's new world is also full of tender joys.  In adapting to this strange new place and transforming a rough log house built by Charles's hands into a home, Caroline must draw on untapped wells of strength she does not know she possesses.
  For more than eighty years, generations of readers have been enchanted by the adventures of the American frontier's most famous child, Laura Ingalls Wilder, in the Little House books.  Now that familiar story is retold in this captivating tale, authorized by the Little House Heritage Trust, that vividly reimagines our past.




Initial Reaction:  First of all, Ma Ingalls thinks I'm an asshole.  

Wow.  This book pretty much knocked my orthodox socks right off.  Since reading the little house series as an adult, I've wanted to get inside of Ma's head.  Miller definitely does that.  Her writing style mirrors that of LIW, but we really see the depths of Caroline's character: her trials, her temperament, and how she deals with the honest struggle of living a good, saintly, Christian life.  Also- I must have misunderstood the age of the girls in the LH series, because this book says that Laura is 3 and Mary is 5 by the time they leave Wisconsin for Kansas.  Wow.  Such obedience and helpfulness at a young age.  I can't even imagine.  I can hope for that in my children, but I'll need to be on the ball like Caroline. The other thing that flabbergasted me was that this woman endured an 800 mile trip in the middle of the winter in a covered wagon WHILST PREGNANT.   Then she had her baby completely unmedicated, out in the middle of nowhere, with a woman she'd never met to help her during labor.  She forded a river in the wagon while her husband swam with the horses, survived malaria with a newborn, overcame a prairie fire, and eventually headed back to Wisconsin.

UGH.  After checking out his article on Wikipedia, I just found out that Pa Ingalls was a freemason.

Childhood.  Shattered.  ugh.

Promote Virtue?  Yes.  Outside of the spectacular and descriptive writing, I would call this a "book of manners."  Granted, most of Miller's words are fictitious musings about Caroline Ingalls, but, I'd say, if you want to learn how to be a good woman, wife, and mother, learn it from Caroline.  This isn't to say that Ma is perfect.  She does falter at times, but she is very self-aware, and she knows how to keep herself in check in order to encourage her husband and to be a role model for her girls.

A side note- I was really loving this book until page 332 when the inappropriate sexual content started.  While the intimacy described IS chaste AND within the union of Marriage (yay!), I was extremely disappointed that such graphic descriptions were even in the book. I shouldn't be reading anything about anyone's sexual activity.  Ever.  It felt like a cheap cop out- like the author needed to throw that extra zing in there.  The rest of the novel really could have stood on its own, or she could have described their intimacy in a different way.  I really enjoyed how she hinted at it during the first 2/3 of the novel.  That was beautiful, because it was shrouded in mystery.  That's what modesty and intimacy are all about- mystery.  It's a beautiful thing.  I really don't want to feel like I'm peeping in the window of a married couple in the middle of their most intimate moments with one another, because I'd sure as hell be pissed if someone did that to me.  What has been read can't be unread- and I'm quite irritated that those thoughts and images might creep back to me when I read the LH series to my own kids.  So disappointing.  I really wanted to add this to my library, but because of Miller's use of this kind of writing, it's curtains for this book.  So sad.

I read most of this book whilst nursing John Paul.  I think that made me like it even more.  We currently live in a society where the family is under attack, motherhood is completely disrespected, and children are disposable.  Don't even get me started on the popular opinion towards stay at home mothers or homeschooling.  Anyways.  The themes of authentic femininity, married life, and motherhood imbue the novel with a warm glow.  Everything changes when you become a mother.  Everything.  Even the way you read books.

Transcendentals?   Caroline and Charles are people who definitely cherish goodness, Truth, and beauty.

Overcome human condition?  Holy cow.  I love how she deals with her anger.  Miller takes dialogue directly from the LH series, but she develops the depth of Ma's answers and actions.  We get to see the thoughts, considerations, and raw reactions behind all of her words.  It's fabulous.

Attitude toward Catholicism?  Nothing negative, and only one nod to the Faith, even though it's not really presented respectfully: "Had she been a papist, she might have crossed herself" (224).

Paganry? Nope

Swearing?  One "Damnit" from Pa.

Violence?  Nope

Appropriate age?  Because of the author's use of what I would consider some overindulgent sexual description that harbors on the brink on soft-core pornography, I would restrict this to 18+.  It is definitely NOT for young children.  This does not contain the childish wonder, imagination, humor, and adventure of the Little House series.  It is written from the perspective of an adult woman in the late 1800s who has dealt with (and continues to deal with) several hardships in her life.  It's more for the kids who grew up reading the LH series and are now adults.

Writing Style:  For the most part, Miller's writing is absolutely resplendent in the way she makes the banal details of pioneer life extraordinary. It is assumed that the reader has read the Little House series.  Miller's writing mimics that of LIW in the way that the reader feels as if they are in the wagon, in the storms, and in the cabin with the Ingalls family.  While she sticks pretty closely to the plot of Little House on the Prairie, she updates a few things for historical accuracy.  If you've read the series, you know a few of the main plot twists before they happen.  However, she writes them in such a new and fresh way from Caroline's perspective that you can't help but be intrigued.  Miller did a great job giving us Ma's point of view in a way that is deep, meaningful, touching, and hungry for more.  I want to know how Caroline dealt with the rest of the years that she was dragged from pillar to post.

We also get to know Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Scott just a little bit more.  The kindness they showed and sacrifices they made for people they hardly knew were astonishing.

Notable Quoteables:

"Through the plank of the spring seat, Caroline felt the wheels grind like sugar under a rolling pin" (29).

"At once Caroline saw that it did not matter what she did, so long as she was there for them to cling to.  Their trust in her was built of thousands upon thousands of moments already past.  She was Ma, and that in itself was enough.  Just pressing against her seemed to sand away the edges of their fear..." (73).

"Caroline grasped the knife and carved the cheese into chunks large enough to fill their hands.  They would eat it in spite of the expense, and give thanks for their plenty" (101).  Good Wisconsin girl.

"Now Caroline felt a thin layer of herself rising through the quilts to shelter her girls, as she always did when they were so near.  Even when they were not seeking protection, Caroline could not help making a shield of herself between them and the world" (101).

"They would never learn to have patience for others if she could no first be patient with them" (302).

She had allowed Edwards the satisfaction of gallantly refusing the rocking chair..." (314).  I love this.  A man will be as much of a gentleman as a woman requires.  We need but offer them the opportunity.

"We're going home. [...] Back to Wisconsin," Caroline said.  One dry, soundless sob clutched her throat, then another.  Caroline turned her face and drew her emotions inward, to the very center of herself" (349).  This is where I started bawling. 

Final Summation:

While Miller has conjured up a fantastic retelling from a fresh point of view that I thoroughly enjoyed, I can not abide supporting anything remotely pornographic (Eph 5:4).  It was such a let down.  If those parts weren't so near the end of the novel, I most likely wouldn't have finished it.  IF Miller had chosen to describe the intimacy of Caroline and Charles in a more mysterious and modest way, this book would definitely have been Word Nerd Approved.  It has all the trappings of my childhood love of the books, and then some.  But, I don't think that the sexual content was necessary, and it certainly made my opinion of the work nose-dive.  A great novel, overall, but we won't be owning it.  Giving the reader an adult perspective does not mean writing adult content.  Therefore, Caroline was...

The War I Finally Won

Hey everyone!  Happy New Year!  Hope you all had a great Christmas season.  We still haven't taken down our tree yet, because we decided to keep it up until Candlemas because we put it up so late.  But we have to take it down soon because we're heading out to WI next week!  HUZZAH!

Also, this has happened:

It was totally unexpected during our 4 month photo shoot. We have been doing a ton of tummy time lately, and he just started to wobble and then finally went with it!  SO glad I got it with my camera.  This kid.  My heart.  dude.

So anyways.  We've been slowly making progress on some of the things in our house.  For instance, our front room now has working lights in it, so that's a plus.  It's also a lot brighter than our current "family room" because the walls are painted white, and we have blinds instead of curtains.  I'm kicking back on our big couch in there (which we had to move to fit the Christmas tree in the other room), enjoying bright lights, and all is peaceful because Bubba (yes, that's his nickname) is in the other room sleeping in his swing.

So.  This little sweetheart.  I recently found it at one of the book fairs.  I've been finding a lot of recently released things lately.  I got it from the library immediately because I loved the first book so much.  It would have been a much faster read, had I not been distracted by the holidays and all the folderol. Here we go!

The War I Finally Won
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
389 Pages, Reading Time:about 2 Days total

Inside cover reads:
When Ada’s clubfoot is surgically fixed at last, she knows for certain that she’s not what her mother said she was—damaged, deranged, crippled mentally as well as physically. She’s not a daughter anymore, either. What is she?

World War II continues, and Ada and her brother, Jamie, are living with their loving legal guardian, Susan, in a borrowed cottage on the estate of the formidable Lady Thorton—along with Lady Thorton herself and her daughter, Maggie. Life in the crowded cottage is tense enough, and then, quite suddenly, Ruth, a Jewish girl from Germany, moves in. A German? The occupants of the house are horrified. But other impacts of the war become far more frightening. As death creeps closer to their door, life and morality during wartime grow more complex. Who is Ada now? How can she keep fighting? And who will she struggle to save?





Initial Reaction:  Meh.  Not as nearly as good as the first one.  Also, too much theological fluff and moral relativism.  I really felt like this one fell into the stereotypical WWII war story plot. While Bradley did a wonderful job painting descriptions of Ada's anger in the first novel, this book is much like weak tea that's been brewed with the same leaves too many times.  Ada comes off sometimes as a spoiled and cantankerous brat in this one. It also showcases the brokenness of others, which is something we can all relate to.  I didn't really like how it ended- super abruptly- like all of Ada's problems were/would be fixed because she had a sudden epiphany.  Not sure if Bradley is going to write another one?  I wanted there to be more at the end, and there wasn't.

In the first book, I was questioning Susan's relationship with Becky, and considered that they may have been more than "friends."  While it isn't explicitly stated in this book, the issue is veiled, but it's there:

"My family truly hates me for things that I can't change.  I wish they didn't, but they do. [...]  My father is wrong.  He should love me.  He doesn't.  I can't fix it.  That's hard, but it's the truth" (289-90).

I guess I just want to know.  There's a ton of other moral relativism dumbed down to kid-level in this book, why not sexual identity as well?  I'll update when I get some more information.

Promote Virtue?  Bravery, intelligence, overcoming prejudice.

Transcendentals?  The protagonists still strive to do what is true and good, despite their shortcomings.

Overcome human condition?  Yes, in a way, but I'm so bored/annoyed with this novel, I don't really care to share it.

Attitude toward Catholicism?  There is no direct attitude or disrespect regarding Catholicism, but I found a ton of moral relativism and, what I like to call, Theological fluff.

First of all, I would like to remind the reader that Susan, the children's new mother figure, is the child of a minister.  So, since her character is brought up with some formal catechesis, she is the "authority" on religion in the story... much like Mama is an authority on everything in Forrest Gump, and Hermoine Granger is an authority on all things wizard-related in Harry Potter.  I don't like this misplaced and misinformed authority, because she is not only a Christian who doesn't practice her faith with devotion, she has also added a few items to the menu of her cafeteria Christianity.  Ugh.


Theological fluff:

"You can't choose what you believe," I said.  "You can't just say, 'I don't believe that's a chair,' and have it turn into a hedgehog." [...] "Ada," Susan said, "people choose their own beliefs all the time.  Mr. Collins isn't lying.   He preaches what he sincerely believes.  Ruth sincerely believes something else.  That's all right." [...]  Susan didn't look like she was joking.  "Religion is a matter of faith.  You always have to choose what you believe."  [...]  "Do you have to believe in heaven to go there?"  Susan said, "I have no idea" (136-37).  While this is most certainly true that people have the right to practice the religion they choose, the way that Susan nonchalantly rattles this off absolutely reeks of "You can believe what you believe, and I can believe what I believe, and that's fine," which has moral relativism all over the place.  It is clear that Susan is either really struggling with her faith, has lost her faith, or is completely apathetic toward her faith.  Of the three, apathy is the worst (Revelation 3:16).  This is where I started to get annoyed with the book.  Ada loves the Truth.  She is seeking Truth.  She expects Susan to tell her the truth, and Susan falls short many times trying to explain the answers to the big questions that Ada asks.

"But saints were supposed to have been real people, not imaginary, and dragons were imaginary, not real.  How could a real person kill an imaginary animal?  "The stories get a little mixed up," Susan said.  "These particular saints lived a very long time ago""(161). UGH.  It's not imperative to believe in the miracles of the saints to be a devout Christian/Catholic, but it freaking helps!  Her indifference and arrogance make my skin crawl.

The next section, I'll just provide a picture of the pages because I don't want to type the whole thing.  Here it is, straight up in print:

"There isn't a right and a wrong," Susan said.  "There are just different ways of thinking."  Props to a veiled nod to Shakespeare, but minus a bajillion points for the smoke and mirrors to hide all the Neiztchean philosophy for the kiddos: "You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. "  Ugh.

"One of the Land Girls said people who go to heaven turn into angels," I said. [...]  "I don't think people turn into angels (Susan speaking).  Angels are different" (248).  Finally, some sense!

Paganry?  Nope.  Just straight up existentialism.

Swearing? None

Violence? Not as much as described in the first one

Appropriate age?  The issues that Ada deals with in the first novel (mostly the abuse suffered at the hands of her mother, and dealing with her own rage) are not as prevalent in this book.  However, it does deal with death to a certain degree.  I would say 6th grade+

Writing Style:  While Bradley does write in an intriguing and descriptive manner, this one just does not have the raw emotion of the first novel.

Notable Quoteables:

"Ward used to mean the thing that did the guarding.  Now it means the girl who gets to be guarded and who therefore doesn't have to spend quite so much energy worrying" (106).

"I snuggled with my dictionary" (140).

 "St. George, the patron saint of England, was supposed to have killed a dragon, and so was a saint named Margaret of Antioch.  It amused me to think that Maggie had been named for a dragon killer" (161).  At least she is learning about the saints.

"We bundled up and walked to the village through deep darkness in air so cold it was like breathing knives" (196).

"Why didn't she love me?" I whispered.  "Because she was broken," she said.  "Remember that.  She was broken, not you" (211).

"The air smelled like salt and new grass" (213).

"His words soaked into my brain.  A knot I hadn't known I was carrying untied itself inside my belly" (251).

Great words:  asperity, copse,

Final Summation:
The second installment of Ada's story was a let down.  I was disappointed with several things throughout the novel.  While I am most impressed with Ada's quest for truth, I was not happy with the flimsy answers she received.  This book isn't bad, but it's not good either.