The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig is a book within a book.

It starts out in contemporary times with Eloise Kelly, an Harvard grad student searching for information about the Purple Gentian for her dissertation "Aristocratic Espionage during the Wars with France: 1789-1815". However, her real passion lay with uncovering the true identity of the Pink Carnation. Luckily for her, a relation of the Purple Gentian had kept the correspondences and diaries of Lord Richard Selwick (the Purple Gentian) and Miss Amy Belacourt, a half French girl bent on joining the Purple Gentian's League.

Reading the papers, the focus shifts from Eloise's perspective to that of Amy and Richard. A chance meeting on a boat to cross the channel separating the French and English countries ignites a spark of interest between them that grows each time they encounter each other. Amy's discovery of Richard's work (he was Napoleon's Egypt Antiquities specialist) causes Amy to think of him as a traitor to the country; however, Richard decides that her dislike is for the best as it will prevent her from distracting him from his mission - which is to prevent Napoleon from invading England.

While hiding in her brother's study, Amy meets the masked Purple Gentian and offers help, without knowing that it is Richard. After that meeting, Richard is determined to keep her from his alter ego, but decides that courting her as himself is safe. Confused, Amy eventually discovers his true identity - after both her chaperone, Miss Gwen, and her beloved cousin, Jane, have figured it out.

In an attempt to thwart Amy from following him on a raid of Napoleon's treasure, Richard, as the Purple Gentian, repudiates her and breaks her heart in the process. So, after finding out who he really is, Amy and her cohorts decide to form the League of the Pink Carnation and to steal the treasure from the Purple Gentian. Unfortunately, Amy was captured and Richard was forced to reveal himself to the Assistant Minister of Police, Delaroche. A rescue was planned and executed, causing Richard and Amy to flee Paris for England.

At the end of the tale, Eloise finds out that there is more information to be found at Selwick Hall and agrees to a weekend jaunt with Colin Selwick, the current occupant of the hall. And the tale continues in the next book, The Masque of the Purple Tulip.

There's only one word to describe this book: cute. Or fun. They both work. The flavour of the stories as it switches between Richard and Amy to Eloise and Colin doesn't change. The bantering is equal in both, as is the behaviour between the couples. Since the relationship between Colin and Eloise develops much slower (being stretched out over the next several books), it will be interesting to see it play out in full as Eloise learns more about Colin's ancestors.

This book has been repeatedly referred to as chick lit, a genre that I had always associated with romance novels. Apparently the main difference is that the character's relationships with their family is just as important as their romantic relationship. Thank you, Wikipedia! And the other characters in this book are just as fun, especially Richard's family. Amy's brother is a deplorable toady (described as such several times), but Richard's family is warm, protective and hilarious. Jane, is refreshingly level headed, considering Amy's impulsiveness, and Miss Gwen is surprisingly romantic beneath her shrewish chaperone demeanour.

Like I said, it's cute and fun. I laughed, repeatedly, throughout the book at Amy's antics and the repertoire between the main characters. It is entirely fluffy and fictional, so if you are looking for a serious book based on historical events, you will be disappointed. But, if you're looking for brain candy, you will be well pleased. I really liked the story and will continue on with the series. And if Lauren Willig's other books have the same dialogue I will definitely venture into her other novels.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins, is book one in a series by the same name. This series centers on Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old girl who supports her family with the game she hunts and the greens she forages for daily. Living in the Seam, a seedy part of District 12, she does what she can to protect her small family. Even if it means taking her sister's place in the Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games is a fight-to-the-death amongst the tributes (ages 12 to 18) on a televised program. A macabre combination of Running Man and Lottery, but with all the flash and pomp of a beauty pageant, the tributes are paraded in the Capitol, show off their talents before a panel of judges in private and then interviewed live on tv. By doing so, the tributes attempt to gain sponsorship by showing the crowd that they will win; sponsors will then return the favour by sending gifts into the arena (which is a closed, controlled environment) to help the tribute survive.

Katniss, along with Peeta (her fellow District 12 tribute), are told to act like a couple in love and Katniss keeps this strategy in mind throughout the game. During the games a new rule is announced: if tributes from the same District are the last two standing, both will live. This rule allows Katniss to open up to Peeta and she plays up the love angle knowing that her affection will gain them gifts from sponsors. Unfortunately, this is not an act for Peeta and when they win, Katniss is worried for her life if they don't keep it up. Peeta finds out on the train ride home and this is where the book ends.

This book was very morbid but very captivating. The book is set in a futuristic North America, where the Hunger Games were a means of putting an end to a rebellion. By creating the games, and forcing the people to watch it, the Capitol showed their citizens that rebellion was useless: afterall, weren't their children chosen at random for a duel that only ever yielded one survivor?

Katniss proves herself to be a strong (if clueless when it comes to boys) female lead. She's capable and has the drive to succeed - which is why her sister & mother were still alive - and why she was able to win. She also had a level head - another reason why she was able to win. I think these are traits that are important to be featured in female lead characters since most are portrayed as fluffy.

Overall, I really liked this book: after hearing my coworker rave about it, I moved it to the top of my "to read" list and the second book "Catching Fire" will be next. Unfortunately for me, the third and final book, Mockingjay, won't be out until August. However, I've already pre-ordered it so I'm good to go.

The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy

The Last Herald-Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey follows the adventures of the soon-to-be sole Herald-Mage Vanyel Ashkevron.

Vanyel is not your typical hero: he's pretty, he sings amazingly well, and wants nothing more than the love of his family. When his father banishes him from his home for being a coward, Vanyel dramatically thinks his life is over. Little does he know that his life has just begun. For it is away from his family that he realizes that he is shay-a-chern (ie, homosexual) and that he is in love with his mentor, Tylendel. Within a short period of time, they become life-bonded and are blissfully happy.

Until Tylendel goes insane after the death of his twin brother and seeks revenge against his enemies. As a result, his Companion (his horse-but-not-a-horse) repudiates him, dies in a fight to the death, and Tylendel kills himself. This in turn drives Vanyel to suicide, but is saved by his own Companion, since Tylendel's magic somehow ripped open the channels to Herald-Magery that were previously dormant in Vanyel.

All within the first half of the book.

Now what, I asked myself, could possibly be left? The answer: a lot of dramatics.

Despite being a lover of fantasy, this series, unfortunately, did not appeal to me. In general, I really liked the idea. However, and maybe because I read mainly male authors with a flair for warfare, I found this whole series to be anticlimatic. In each book, there is whining (although Vanyel does grow up, and while you can't blame him for mourning his lost love, it is incessant), and super cheesy lines.

When facing his first real enemy, the fellow hits on him, and wants him for his own. He even offers Vanyel a partnership if he joins him.

[Side note: This reminded me of the movie Labyrinth, where at the end the Goblin King offers the heroine his kingdom if she will love him and end her quest for her baby brother.]

Instead, Vanyel fries him with magic. And, does the same to his enemy in the second book. Seriously. I found the journey leading up the fight scene to be good. I found the dialogue, for the most part, to be entertaining. However, the anticlimatic scenes nearly killed me.

In the third book of the Trilogy, Mercedes Lackey even added a twist by revealing that Vanyel's lover, Stefan, was a re-incarnated Tylendel. However, she must really love having tortured souls as her heroes, since Vanyel ends up "dying" in his Last Strike against his enemy, Master Dark (honestly, that's what he called himself). Instead of a true death, Vanyel became a spirit that protected the Forest of Sorrows. He revealed himself to Stefan after Stefan went there to kill himself. However, Vanyel said that they could be together again in the distant future so Stefan, I'm sure, lived a lonely existence until he was an elderly man, when he was finally re-united with Vanyel.

I've read several books about soul mates (or life mates, or life bonded, or whatever the author chooses to call it) and it has never bothered me so much as it has in this series. Mainly because one partner has never died before. In her series, Mercedes Lackey essentially said if one half of the life bonded pair dies, the other half will never love someone else that way ever again. And not just the dramatic essence of it. They will never feel that strongly about someone else ever again. And they know it. And this makes me glad that we don't have those sorts of bonds in real life.

Criticism aside, I think the series is okay, and I've heard that her female leads in other books are strong women, so it could be just this single series that didn't appeal to me. I think that it could be that I'm used to a different style of writing as well, so went in with my normal fantasy expectations. I think that if I were younger too, it would have appealed to me more. Being the same age as Vanyel in his second book and hearing him constantly whine about his life made me lost some respect for him.

While I wouldn't extol the virtues of this book to others, I would probably suggest it if they weren't in to the fantasy books that I love.

The Lovely Bones

I chose to read The Lovely Bone (by Alice Sebold) mainly because it was made into a movie, and the movie previews looked interesting. Going into the book I expected (from the trailers) that it would be a murder mystery, with the victim (Susie) assisting her father's quest for the murderer from beyond the grave.

What I did not expect to find was that the book was about moving on and how the characters found the strength to live, despite the death of their daughter/sister/neighbour/crush.

Don't get me wrong, the father tried in vain to bring the murderer to justice. They even knew who it was after 2 years, but the man escaped. When that happened, I didn't know what to expect for the remaining half of the book. Would they chase him across the state and drag him to face time for his crimes?

Instead, they lived their lives. First, for Susie, then for each other. The remaining children banded together to take care of their father after their mother left. In the end, they lived for themselves. They were survivors. And while they never brought the murderer to justice, justice was found in the fact that they did not allow this tragedy to kill them too. They became a family again after 6 years of estrangement and a heart attack. While they never forgot Susie, she no longer consumed their lives.

I still want to go see the movie, but I doubt that the movie will capture this aspect of the book. How can they? There was too much going on: what Susie saw and how she followed the thoughts and lives of her family members, friends and acquaintances as they grew, first apart and then back together.

I enjoyed this book. I went in expecting one thing and came away with a much greater appreciation for life. Susie always yearned for the life she never had in the book; after reading that, how can you not appreciate your own life? Susie never experienced love - can I take mine for granted?

It makes you think, too, about life after death. And those that have gone on already. Are they there watching over us like Susie watched her family?

The Thirteenth Tale

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is the fictional biography of an elderly author, told from the biographer's perspective. Known for her best-selling stories, Vida Winter is on her deathbed and the ghosts of her past demand a true accounting of her life.

Chosen for her amateur biography of sibling writers, Margaret Lea immerses herself into the telling of Vida's life. However, Vida demands that the story be told in its proper order: the beginning in the beginning, the middle in the middle and the end at the end. Not satisfied, Margaret sets out to determine the ending before Vida arrives. Consequently, Vida is also racing against time to tell her story before she dies.

Margaret also has some secrets of her own that come to light in this book. As you read on, you learn more about her own twinness and the burden she carries in her heart and at home.

I was enthralled by this story from the first page. The language, so reminiscent of older-style books, captured my attention right away. The story of Vida was a mystery in itself, with the mystery already solved from her point of view. However, from Margaret's, it was new and fresh and needing a solution. There are a few twists and turns that were surprises, some less so.

One of the best parts of the book is that there is a finalization to the story at the end: all the loose ends are tied up, all major items are solved and even some of the little bits are accounted for. It actually ended, something that I haven't seen too much of lately (having read countless series).

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. I found myself thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it: trying to solve the mystery or rationalizing what was going on or even just attempting to wrap my head around some of the oddness of the characters and their personal habits. A second reading will definitely occur, just so I can see some of the clues as they're presented and recognize them for what they are.