Book Reivew: The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Aurthur C. Doyle.

This is my favourite Sherlock Holmes adventure so far.  There's a mysterious legend about a wild hound that haunts Baskerville Manor, but no one really believes in it...until Sir Charles is killed, with giant paw prints beside his body.  Young Henry is the heir to Baskerville Manor, but Dr. Mortimer fears for his life and asks Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson to help out.   What follows is a chilling adventure on the wild moors of England as Sherlock tries to find this hound and unravel the mystery...without getting killed in the process.

One of the best Sherlock Holmes stories, Doyle has woven a gothic mystery that will leave you guessing until the end.

Recommended for ages 13 and up. 

~Hannah Grace
Ps: I realize I was supposed to post on Friday, but it was very...hectic.  So here it is now.

Book Review of "The Wide, Wide World"

The Wide,Wide World is a story about a little girl named Ellen Montgomery. When her mother becomes ill, Ellen is sent far away to live with her unkind aunt in the country. Ellen soon learns to love her new home and her new friends. Life is often very hard for her, but she comes to know that God will always love and take care of her - no matter what happens or where she is in the world.



This is truly a remarkable book. It's so beautifully written, it has such marvelous characters, and it teaches such wonderful truths. I love this book so much, I never wanted it to end (although it is a rather lengthy book - it's separated into two good size volumes!). I think anyone - young or old - would enjoy reading this book.




A bit of history about the book and author:

Susan Warner wrote this book way back in 1850 under the pseudonym Elizabeth Wetherell. After it was published it became a much-loved bestseller and is sometimes known as "America's first best-seller". Another interesting thing is that it's mentioned in many of my favorite books (that's what got me interested in it) like Little Women, Elsie's Girlhood (from the Elsie Dinsmore series), and What Katy Did.




~Hannah~

Review of Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour Reit

When I first had this book assigned for school reading, I was wary of what it would be like. Considering it was a story about the Civil War, I wondered if the author would use it as an excuse to preach what they believed about the war, but Behind Rebel Lines is far from a political rant.

It is the true story of a young woman, Emma Edmonds, who wants to do her part in supporting the Northern cause, but is dissatisfied with knitting socks, or even serving as a nurse in a hospital. She wishes to be on the front lines, giving soldiers aid when they need it the most. But there is a problem. Only male nurses can serve in fighting lines, and Emma is a woman. So she enlists in disguise as a man named Franklin Thomson.

Soon the general wishes to use "Frank" as a spy. It is fascinating to learn about Emma's various disguises: Cuff, a black slave, Bridget O'Shea, a middle-aged Irish peddler, Charles Mayberry, a well-to-do Southern gentleman. The details about her missions are captivating.

Another point that I highly appreciate is that when Emma is on furlough, she divides her time between caring for wounded Union soldiers and wounded Confederates. I am a loyal Southerner, and I love to find a Civil War story that isn't so slanted, doesn't paint the Union as perfect, and doesn't paint the Confederacy as purely evil. For example, when Emma is disguise as Bridget the Irish peddler, she stumbles upon a young Confederate lieutenant who is dying of typhoid fever. She sits with him for hours, caring for him even though it is too late to save his life. She stays with him until he dies, and fulfills his dying wish to give his golden pocketwatch to his general.

Behind Rebel Lines is an amazing story, told in a compelling style, and made all the more fascinating in that everything that Emma does actually happened. I recommend it for girls of any age.

Book Review of Crushed Yet Conquering by Deborah Alcock

For my review this week I am doing a book my Mum received to review.

Crushed Yet Conquering is the story of a young man, part French, part English, of the middle ages, Hubert Bohun, who at the start of the book is a clerk going to Constance, Germany, with his employer, the chancellor of Paris. The chancellor, whom the orphaned Hubert loved as a father, had come to be part of a church council which would, among other things, judge and condemn heretics. When Hubert is there, they were trying an early Bohemian (present day Czech Republic) reformer named John Huss. He witnesses his trial, his condemnation, and finally comes to believe that Huss was not a heretic after all, but a sincere Christian. He ends up leaving the chancellor, who had condemned Huss and going to Bohemia as a squire to Huss's dear friend Chlum. After that it is a story of the early reformed church in Bohemia. About the giving of the cup of the Lord's Supper to more people than just priests, and the persecution they recieved. It is also a story of other characters; the beautiful, high spirited Zedenka, the tragic romance of Aninka and Frantisek, the happier one of Hubert's brother Armand and Jocelyne, and the courageous boyhood of Chlum's young son.

This book doesn't have the problem of being too short, like most of my favorite novels, because it is quite thick and made up of two parts, one a story of Constance and the other of Bohemia. For a while it seems like a book and a sequel, but they stick together wonderfully as one novel. Another thing I love is that the author loved poetry and it shows in her writing, which is beautiful and often quotes poetry. It is unfortunate that John Huss was not a complete reformer and still believed in transubstantiation and perhaps on purgatory, but other than this, I cannot recommend Crushed Yet Conquering too highly. The plot is very intricate, with many fascinating characters and subplots and all together it makes a beautiful story filled with faith, love, friendship, and pathos. I highly recommend this for all 11 and older.

Movie review of: Pendragon Sword of his father.

My review:
I'm an adventurous girl and I love watching and reading about suspense, adventure, and daring things. When I watched this movie it was all of these things and much more. We haven't let my little siblings see it yet, due to many sword fights and fire scenes, I recommend it for 12 +. Nevertheless it is something you must see. But be ready to laugh, cry, get mad at certain characters, and sit on the edge of your seat :)

Movie review:
As barbarians sleets descend along the cost of Britain. They are determined to get the island from the British but as events happen can young Artose keep the vision of his father and drive the barbarians back into the sea?
As Artose fights to keep the vision alive he must also face his enemies within his own camp...put off by two homeschooling families, it won the best family made movie award, not rated, family dove approved.

Book Review of "Survival in the Storm" (Dear America)

Survival in the Storm

written by Katelan Janke

190 pages
published in 2002

This diary about living in the Texas’ Dust Bowl was a wonderful read. What I find fascinating about it, is that when I was about halfway through the book, I discovered that it was written by a fifteen-year-old girl. I was impressed by this! I hadn’t detected anything in the writing style that seemed unusual. The book seemed just as accomplished as if an adult wrote it. Katelan Janke was in the 6th grade when she entered Scholastic’s Dear America writing contest. It was only a 5 page entry that eased her into winning the contest. Two years later, after much research in her hometown of Dalhart, Texas, her full-length book was published into the Dear America series. I found Katelan’s story pretty astonishing.

Click Here to Read a short bio of the author, Katelan Janke.

You'll want to know more about this book than just the author though. A little info about the storyline... A fictional girl named Grace Edwards kept this diary, called "Survival in the Storm". Her story is about how life was in 1935 during the Dust Bowl in Texas. It drove a lot of people West, to California. Many gave up on Texas during the long drought, but Grace’s family stayed strong, and wouldn’t budge from their home. Would that choice turn out right in the end?

Ladies Library

The Ladies Library has not had many posts on it since the new year has started. I do hope to have a post for Friday, and hopefully more posts will follow it next week.

Some more reading challenges

Here are some more reading challenges I've found!



The Jane Austen Reading Challenge



The Reading the Classics Challenge



L.M.Montgomery Reading Challenge



And don't forget the Books of Old Reading Challenge hosted here at the Ladies Library.