Yes, I know it has been a while since my last post. But I am back on Christmas Eve, with a holiday-themed book. Who hasn’t heard of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’s famed ghost story of Christmas? Who hasn’t heard of the grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge, whose every other word is “humbug”? How many of us have actually read the story? I never had, I realized, so I thought I’d give it a try. Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly man, without a family, whose sole interest is making money. He believes that Christmas is a humbug, and no more cares for it than he does for being wished a merry one. Scrooge has no sympathy for the beggars who crowd the streets of London, nor even for his own clerk, Bob Cratchit. He has had no friend since his partner, Jacob Marley, died on Christmas Eve seven years past. But Scrooge doesn’t mind, which is just as well. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge has his usual day of conducting business, eating at a tavern, and going home to his lonely house: The one Jacob Marley formerly lived in. It is a normal day, correct? But the night brings something unexpected. A ghost, wrapped in chains, appears to Scrooge as he sits by the fireside. And there are three more specters to come. After a whirlwind night of memories, visions, and revelations, Ebenezer Scrooge will never be the same. Charles Dickens’s writing can certainly be a little confusing at first, even frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, the story is enjoyable. Warning: It may be a Christmas story, but that doesn’t mean it will not give you the chills. However, it will get you in the holiday spirit, and I wish you a happy one!
Month: December 2011
StarCrossed
Digger spends her days prowling among the shadowed streets of Gerse, slipping coins from people’s pockets and being hired as a thief. But when she and her partner and friend, Tegen, have just managed to steal some important letters, disaster strikes. The job was done, everything had gone just as it was supposed to. And then came the Greenmen, guards of the Celystra. When the dizzying night is over, Tegen is gone forever and Digger must get out of Gerse. In a twist of fate, she finds herself sitting in a boat with a few nobs and is telling them her name is Celyn. From there, our heroine finds herself as a lady-in-waiting to Lady Merista Nemair, living in a secluded fortress and surrounded by anyone but her usual crowd. In this world of banquets and jewels, there is one sly snake that discovers Digger’s secret: Lord Remy Daul. Daul uses blackmail to make Digger his personal spy in the castle. The things she finds out about the citizens of her country, where magic is forbidden and politics and religion is in uproar, well, let’s just say they’re more than shocking. Penned by Elizabeth C. Bunce, this YA novel is rich in plot and characters. I found the writing absorbing and the story unique. The danger and the surprises abound, and I look forward to reading the sequel, Liar’s Moon.
Girl Knows Books 