A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End by Avi

A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End is a cute book on writing by one of my favorite young adult writers. When I was younger, I devoured his books — The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle was one of my all-time favorites. So I was really attracted to the idea of reading a book on writing by one of my favorite writers.

It was a cute little story, with lots of puns, writing humor, and adorable illustrations. For a more complete review of the book, check out my post on Reading 4 Writers.

The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge

Yesterday, just 10 hours after I'd finished blogging about Founding Mothers, I finished reading Frances Hardinge's The Lost Conspiracy. I'd decided to devote some time to reading during the day, but once I started, I found I couldn't bring myself to put this book down!

I first heard about this epic YA fantasy novel a little more than a month ago, when I read NPR's listing of the best YA fiction in 2009. The book was loosely compared to Harry Potter, in the sense that it's one volume instead of seven, but in truth it's more like Tolkien or George R.R. Martin in young adult form than Harry Potter.

I really liked that the main protagonist was a child. A very clever child, sure, but a child nonetheless, with a child's fears and insecurities. You can see her change and grow stronger during the course of the novel, until at some point you stop thinking of her as a child, and start thinking of her as the heroine in a truly amazing journey.

If reading speed says anything about how much I would recommend a book, consider this one to be highly recommended. I finished it after only nine hours of straight reading — I hardly even put the book down to eat dinner!

Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts

It took me, sadly, three full weeks to read this book — a long time for me, but nonfiction usually does take me longer. I borrowed Founding Mothers and the sequel, Ladies of Liberty, from a friend after I saw them on his shelf.

There is a lot of interesting stuff in this book, which is part of why it took so long for me to read it — I wanted to absorb it all. Most of us have heard of the letters Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams, during the Revolutionary War and the forming of our country — especially the most famous one, where she implores him to "remember the ladies." (Did you know that his response to her request was very condescending? Overall, the women of the period seem to have been much more liberal than their menfolk.)

But there were many more women involved in the politics and even the war than just Abigail Adams. Cokie Roberts talks about women who wrote political commentary, ran their husbands' businesses in their absence, advised men on politics, raised money to pay for the troops' expenses, defied the British to protect the army, single-handedly maintained the soldiers' morale, fought for the United States, and even spied for the British.

And the men — on both sides — knew full well the pivotal role the women played. Lord Cornwallis, the British general, wrote, "We may destroy all the men in America, and we shall still have all we can do to defeat the women."

Whether you like history, or women's rights, or both, this book is a fascinating read. You'll be amazed at how much your public school education left out!

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

You may remember that over the summer, I read Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl. This was the second book of Gregory's that I'd ever read — I read one of her early ones, Wideacre I think, when I was much younger, though I don't remember much of it now — and I was very impressed.

My mom suggested recently that I should read The White Queen, her most recent book. Although this takes place long before her books about the Tudors, it is written in much the same style — well-researched, but with a touch of imagination and fiction that brings the history to life.

I really like Gregory's way of researching everything thoroughly, and then including an author's note at the end of the book that indicates where she may have deviated a bit from the history, or where she has had to choose from conflicting accounts. Her chapter headings, which always include the date, make it very easy to follow the story and the passage of time.

I particularly like how she brings the characters to life. In The White Queen, she highlights Elizabeth Woodville's family myth that they are descended from Melusina. Elizabeth and her mother are characterized by having special powers that play a role in the historical events. Although this is of course a fictionalized interpretation, it really makes Elizabeth's character come to life in the book: her ambition, her power, and the lengths that she would go to achieve what she wanted.

Slut! by Leora Tanenbaum

I ran across this book — Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Repuation, by Leora Tanenbaum — while I was babysitting a couple of weekends ago. What woman wouldn't be able to resist a book with such an arresting title? I read half the book there, and then checked it out to finish it.

First of all, the book is written in a very readable style. It read very quickly and easily for nonfiction, yet it wasn't watered down by any means. It was well-researched and informative, yet incredibly compelling.

I think it's the women's stories about how they were labeled as sluts that make the book so addicting. Tanenbaum intersperses the first-person accounts with well-researched passages, using a dual approach of individual stories and research in order to make each point. It's a very effective approach, and keeps you interested in the book until then end.

Another thing that makes this book so compelling was the ability to relate to many of these stories. I was sexually active as a teen, and although I never had it as bad as some of these women, I certainly suffered some grief thanks to the sexual double standard.

One of the sections in this book that was most striking to me was the part that talks about the fallacy of romance. Tanenbaum talks about how young girls are taught, via romance novels and other forms of media, that sex is based on love and romance. She also offers research that demonstrates the girls who are taught that love and sex are (or ought to be) the same thing, are the ones who are the most co-dependent, and suffer through the worst breakups. On the other hand, she argues, girls who are taught that it's okay to feel desire, and even to act on it if you are safe about it, tend to be more independent and move on the easiest after a breakup.

It's interesting, because basically Tanenbaum is pointing out that society's chief way of trying to protect our daughters — telling them it's okay to sleep with a guy if you love them — actually reinforces the romance trap, and makes girls more likely to get hurt. (i.e., If they take birth control or carry condoms, they are planning for sex, which makes it seem unromantic and skanky... So they have unsafe sex instead of admitting that they have actually thought about or wanted or planned for sex.)

I think this is an important book on two levels: 1) to help women come to terms with the sexual double standard they faced when they were growing up, and 2) to encourage parents and future parents think about what they plan on telling their daughters about sex.

A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

I actually finished this book on Christmas Day. I started out reading it a couple of weeks ago, and then was interrupted when another book (Slut!, which I'll blog about next) caught my eye. I read half of the other book while babysitting, returned to A Wedding in December, and then checked Slut! out at the library in order to finish it.

My mom recommended A Wedding in December to me, and while I found it interesting and enjoyable, I had more than a few of those moments when you say, "Okay, now how much do I have left?" and wish that you could finish it a little faster. It's a good story, and I do love Anita Shreve, but it's far from one of my favorites of her books. (I liked The Pilot's Wife and Sea Glass
the best.)

Of course, accounting for differences in people's tastes, I can easily see how this might be someone else's favorite. Shreve does a beautiful job of weaving together, comparing and contrasting, the stories of all the different friends' lives in this reunion story. There are parallels, and there are stark differences — both from one another, and from who they were versus who they are now. I also like how she incorporates 9/11 into the story by comparing and contrasting everyone's reactions — the reunion takes place not long afterward, so it is natural that it would be a topic at the forefront of everyone's mind.

In other words, I think whether you like this book will have a lot to do with personal taste. I liked it but didn't love it, but I could totally see how someone else would.

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

I actually finished Joyce Maynard's Labor Day a couple of weeks ago, but with Christmas coming up and everything else going on, I didn't have time to blog about it then.

I had heard about this book somewhere, I think on NPR, but it took so long to get it from the library that by that time I'd forgotten where. When I flipped through it initially, I was admittedly skeptical as to whether I'd like it. But I had a chance to read it almost right away, so read it I did.

I was pleasantly surprised: Labor Day is an incredibly engrossing book. One of the quotes on the cover compares it to Atonement, and I have to say I agree. It feels like a more modern story, but it has some similar themes: love, betrayal, and coming of age. The characters are equally as interesting, in some ways more so, as they are never quite what you expect.

This is one of those books that you shouldn't judge from your first impressions. The cover isn't very exciting, and flipping through the pages the story might seem a bit dull, but don't believe it for a minute!