December 1st, 2007 |
Zia is the sequel to the Newbery-winning The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. If you have read and enjoyed that book, you’ll like Zia as well.
Zia is Karana’s 14 year old niece, who desperately wants to find out what happened to her aunt. Along with her brother, she first heads out alone, but then realizes she will need help from others if she is to find her aunt on the island. Many of you already may know this, but these stories are based on real events. “It is based on the true story of Juana María, the “Lone Woman of San Nicolas,” a Nicoleño Indian marooned for 18 years on San Nicolas Island off the California coast.” (Wikipedia)
This makes both stories so much more fascinating. Of course, it also helps that Scott O’Dell is such an amazing writer. In both books, he writes in first person as the female character. He really does a convincing job of it! I highly recommend both books as well as The Black Pearl, which I read earlier this year. I’d like to read more of O’Dell in the future, so if you can recommend another title, I’d appreciate it.
1976, 179 pp.
Rating: 4
December 1st, 2007 |
Mr. Ives’ Christmas by Oscar Hijuelos was a Pulitzer finalist in 1996. Hijuelos had also previously won the Pulitzer in 1990 for The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
Mr. Ives seems to have almost the perfect life. He has a successful career and a happy family. He helps with community projects and events for his church. He is a man of faith. Then his son is shot and killed on Chrismas Eve coming home from choir practice. The son, Robert, was only 17 and wanted to be a priest. From this tragic event, Edward Ives struggles with his faith and the meaning of existence. He questions his once firm ideals. He grieves. He grieves for a very long time.
I don’t know if ‘enjoyed’ is proper in this case, so I will say I really appreciated this book, but it is not for everyone. It is definitely not a warm and cozy Christmas story, but it is one that seeks answers to the hard questions in life. If you’ve ever wondered why God allows bad things to happen, you might like this book. It really doesn’t even come away at the end with many very solid answers, but it does show one man’s journey through faith, hardship, and loss in a sensitive and thought-provoking manner.
1995, 248 pp.
Rating: 4
December 1st, 2007 |
The goal was to read at least 3 books that have been made into movies.
I finished five:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith FINISHED
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren FINISHED
The Hours by Michael Cunningham FINISHED (review to come)
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells FINISHED
Mad Shadows by Marie-Claire Blais (movie was La Belle Bête) FINISHED
My favorite was A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but, as in the Classics Challenge, I really enjoyed them all so I won’t pick a least favorite. I have seen The Hours and Pippi Longstocking as movies and enjoyed them very much, and now I’d really like to see the other three as well.
