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Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
Puffin Books
Published February 13, 2024 (Orig. 1813)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Pride and Prejudice

Though her sisters are keen on finding men to marry, Elizabeth Bennet would rather wait for someone she loves – certainly not someone like Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, whom she finds to be smug and judgmental, in contrast to the charming George Wickham.

But soon Elizabeth learns that her first impressions may not have been correct, and the quiet, genteel Mr. Darcy might be her true love after all.

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

Today (December 16) is Jane Austen’s birthday. She was born 249 years ago on this day in 1775 and was the seventh of eight children in her family. I read once, in A Most Clever Girl by Jasmine A. Stirling, that when the king asked Austen to write a fluffy romance novel for him, she refused.

Her books have inspired tons of movies and reimagined stories, including Northranger by Rey Terciero, “The Jane Austen Murder Mysteries” by Tirzah Price, and For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund.

My Review

I read this book for the first time in high school– and hated it. The next year, my sister read it and loved it. We watched the BBC version of the movie multiple times that summer, and I ultimately decided to give the book a second chance.

That second reading, I fell in love with the story and especially the wry, clever observations that Austen slips into her descriptions of various characters. Thanks to some persistent insomnia, I decided to revisit this familiar story via audiobook this year. I listened to it more than once.

I love the arc of romance between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but I think I love the quirks and absurdities woven through the minor characters just as much. I like the way that both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have to learn things about themselves, their expectations of others, and the judgments they make about others before they can truly find happiness.

And the banter! Haha. The sharp jabs back and forth between Elizabeth and Darcy or either of those and other characters definitely keep me coming back to this book. I also love that Jane, Elizabeth’s sweet, beautiful sister, shares deep truths with Elizabeth that challenge her ideas and values.

At this point, other than The Secret Garden, this is probably the classic book that I’ve read the most. I’m sure this won’t be the last time I read it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All characters are white and British.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man convinces a fifteen-year-old girl that she should elope with him. One young woman runs away with a man and lives with him for a time while unmarried. There’s a lot of worry about how this choice will impact not only her reputation but the reputations of the other women in her family. During the time the story was written, these were real concerns that could make life hard for a woman.

Spiritual Content
One character is a clergyman.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
References to wine.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

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Thieves’ Gambit
Kayvion Lewis
Nancy Paulsen Books
Published September 26, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Thieves’ Gambit

The Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s Eleven in this cinematic heist thriller where a cutthroat competition brings together the world’s best thieves and one thief is playing for the highest stakes of all: her mother’s life.

At only seventeen years old, Ross Quest is already a master thief, especially adept at escape plans. Until her plan to run away from her legendary family of thieves takes an unexpected turn, leaving her mother’s life hanging in the balance.

In a desperate bid, she enters the Thieves’ Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where killing the competition isn’t exactly off limits, but the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world–a wish that could save her mom. When she learns two of her competitors include her childhood nemesis and a handsome, smooth-talking guy who might also want to steal her heart, winning the Gambit becomes trickier than she imagined.

Ross tries her best to stick to the family creed: trust no one whose last name isn’t Quest. But with the stakes this high, Ross will have to decide who to con and who to trust before time runs out. After all, only one of them can win.

My Review

This book deserves more buzz than it got. The beginning started a little slow, and I kept forgetting it was young adult because Ross seemed so young. Though the seventeen-year-old lives this wild, heist-filled life, she is really young because she is so secluded from others. As I got to know her more as a character, that young-sounding voice made a lot of sense.

By the time she enters the Gambit, she already sounds older than the girl in the opening pages. As she reaches the final phase of the game, she sounds older still. I’m pretty impressed with the author’s ability to seamlessly shift the writing with Ross’s maturity while the story careens around hairpin turns with the stakes climbing all the time.

I also really liked the characters, especially the team Ross works with during the middle of the book: Kyung-soon, Mylo, and Devroe. They each add something different to the team, and the experience of working with them changes Ross in ways she wasn’t prepared for. I loved that.

I think readers looking for an Inheritance Games meets Ocean’s 11 story will not be disappointed in this wild ride of a tale. I’m eager to read the sequel.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Ross is Bahamian and Black. The other players in the Gambit are a diverse, inclusive group.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Swearing scattered throughout. No F-bombs.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Ross works as a thief, stealing items for clients who’ve hired her and her mom. She enters a high-stakes game in which she must race against other players to steal things. One character gets shot. Another threatens people with a firearm. The plot involves kidnapping and ransom.

Drug Content
Some characters use a drug to make people too intoxicated to perform specific assigned tasks. A character pours a glass of champagne for another.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

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Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables #1)
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Puffin Books
Published August 28, 2014 (Orig. 1908)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Anne of Green Gables

The cherished favorite featuring everyone’s favorite red-headed orphan, now in a deluxe hardcover edition with beautiful cover illustrations by Anna Bond, the artist behind world-renowned stationery brand Rifle Paper Co.

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

Anne Gets Into a Lot of “Scrapes”

I remember reading this series to my daughter when she was in fourth grade. We both enjoyed the wild stories about Anne, Matthew, and Marilla and their neighbors at Prince Edward Island. It’s funny reading this book now, in the days when people are so quick to challenge a book, and thinking about some of the scenes and the age group we target this book toward.

For example, Anne accidentally gets her best friend drunk, which causes no small stir. At one point, her teacher shows obvious romantic interest in one of the other students. If a middle grade book published today included those scenes, would people be so quick to accept it, the way we are with Anne of Green Gables?

Perhaps because this is a book that many parents grew up reading or hearing about, it feels like a safe story and isn’t scrutinized the same way that books being published today might be.

I love this series, and I’m not a fan of book bans, so I’m not at all arguing that we should take a closer look at classics and start banning them, too. I do think it’s appropriate to consider the historical context of the work and to reflect on classic literature through the lens of equality, to note things like references to colonialism, which may be tempting to take for granted. Noting those things helps us realize how unchallenged and accepted those ideas were in the time a particular book was written.

My Review

For me, scenes like the one in which Anne accidentally gets her best friend drunk reflect information about Anne’s character and her life before coming to Green Gables. She often gets into “scrapes,” as she calls them, over information she might have known had she grown up with Matthew and Marilla or information she would not have known had she had a more sheltered upbringing with a family on Prince Edward Island.

Her behavior routinely challenges the people in her community, who think of themselves as being the most upstanding and proper. Most often, Anne eventually charms these judgmental characters with her sincerity and exuberance. I love that about her and about the people in her life (that they allow themselves to warm to her).

I love the author’s use of the omniscient point of view. Usually I prefer a close first-person narrative, but Montgomery has a keen sense of when to zoom into a particular character’s viewpoint to deliver a meaningful observation. She reveals Marilla’s surprising love for Anne and shows Matthew’s debilitating shyness.

I also love the strong characterization of the cast. Anne remains dramatic and imaginative. Diana loves Anne’s whimsical nature but remains more practical herself. Marilla grumbles and fusses, but underneath it, her soft heart is moved by her love for others. Matthew is the sweet, softhearted, quiet man who does what needs doing without making a fuss about it.

The novel also centers women as characters, from Anne and Marilla to Mrs. Rachel Lynde, the woman who knows everything going on in the neighborhood, to Miss Stacey, Anne’s teacher, to Mrs. Allen, the minister’s wife and a mentor to Anne, to Anne’s best friend Diana and the other girls she knows from school.

Conclusion

It’s such a sweet book and so full of insight into love and humanity. My older daughter was nine when we read this book together, which turned out to be the perfect age for her.

I enjoyed this reread, and I suspect it won’t be the last time I revisit Anne of Green Gables.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Characters are white. Marilla has chronic headaches and a degenerative vision problem. The text describes some characters as fat, often implying that it’s an asset.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Anne’s teacher has what appears to be a romantic relationship with one of the older students.

Spiritual Content
Anne attends church, and Marilla instructs her to say her prayers every night. There’s a bit of commentary about Christianity off and on throughout the book. For instance, Anne speaks critically of a minister’s prayers, saying it seems like he’s not interested in the words he’s saying or has forgotten their meaning. She questions why paintings of Jesus always show him looking so somber.

When she meets the new minister’s wife, she reflects that Mrs. Allen’s faith brings her joy and comfort and that she’s the kind of person who would be a Christian even if she didn’t need to in order to get into Heaven.

Violent Content
Brief reference to colonialism (people settling on Prince Edward Island). Anne witnesses the death of a person close to her and experiences profound grief after the loss.

Anne relates the plot of a story she’s written to Diana. The tale involves a woman who pushes her best friend off a bridge. The woman’s lover leaps into the river after her, but both drown. The story concludes with the murderer having a mental breakdown and being confined to an institution.

Drug Content
Anne mistakenly offers her best friend Diana currant wine instead of raspberry cordial. Diana drinks three glasses of the beverage and goes home drunk, scandalizing the neighborhood.

Other Negative Content
Brief body shaming. Early in the book, a neighbor criticizes Anne for being too skinny and ugly. Anne retaliates by calling the woman fat. Later, Anne suggests a schoolmate could not play the role of the fairy queen because she’s plus-sized and a fairy queen “should be thin.”

Marilla makes a derisive comment about Italians (not wanting them around or in her house).

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Other Lola by Ripley Jones

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The Other Lola (Missing Clarissa #2)
Ripley Jones
Wednesday Books
Published March 12, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Other Lola

The sequel to Ripley Jones’s unforgettable YA thriller MISSING CLARISSA, THE OTHER LOLA is about what happens when the people you love the most are the people you can trust the least.

In the months after Cam and Blair broke their small hometown’s legendary missing-girl story and catapulted to accidental fame, they vowed never to do it again. No more mysteries, no more podcasts, and no more sticking their heads where they don’t belong.

Until Mattie Brosillard, a freshman at their high school, shows up on their doorstep, begging Cam and Blair for help. Mattie’s sister Lola disappeared mysteriously five years ago. No trace of her was ever found. Now, she’s back–but Mattie is convinced the girl who returned is an impostor. Nobody believes Mattie’s wild story–not Mattie’s brother, not Mattie’s mother, and not even Cam and Blair. But something is definitely wrong in the Brosillard family. And Blair has her own reasons for wanting to know what really happened to Lola while she was gone.

With Cam and Blair still struggling with the aftermath of their first mystery—and with new secrets swirling between them—the stakes are higher than ever in this can’t-miss sequel to MISSING CLARISSA.

My Review

I really appreciated how the author acknowledges the trauma that Cam and Blair’s experiences in the first book caused for them. Cam has night terrors and panic attacks and is not sure what to do about them. Blair has her own fears and feels a lot of pressure to use those experiences for something.

When they encounter a new possible mystery, Blair is eager and excited. Cam is scared and feels like getting involved is a terrible idea. That struck me as so realistic. These are teenage girls with no special training for these situations. It makes sense that they would have really different feelings and unprocessed trauma.

The story includes both Cam and Blair’s perspectives, but it also adds some journal entries from Lola’s journal and a few scenes that follow Mattie. I liked the way that contributed to the feeling of putting the pieces of a mystery together.

The pacing of the story kept me reading. New things kept happening, and I really wanted to know what happened to Lola. I had a theory early on that turned out to be pretty close to the truth, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride as Cam and Blair figured out what happened and faced down the people responsible. I think it was more of a lucky guess than anything.

All in all, this was a tense, fun read. I hope there are more Cam and Blair mysteries to come.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Cam is dating another girl and is neurodivergent. Mattie is nonbinary.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A few F-bombs and a sprinkling of other swear words.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Kissing between two girls and references to sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to someone pointing a gun at others.

Drug Content
References to drug use that happened off-scene.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE OTHER LOLA in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: The Urgency of Slowing Down by Laura L. Smith

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The Urgency of Slowing Down
Laura L. Smith
Our Daily Bread Publishing
Published December 3, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Urgency of Slowing Down

If Jesus took time away from the demands of life for stillness, rest, and prayer, shouldn’t His followers do the same?

Yet living in a whirlwind of constant motion is all too familiar. Our many responsibilities and relationships are important: we want to go to our child’s game and say yes to that assignment at work and help lead that group at church. But when we go, go, go at the world’s pace, the anxiety and burnout start to weigh on our souls. 

Laura Smith invites you to pause, exhale, and explore what the Bible says about slowing down. With scriptural insights and relatable personal stories, Laura offers practical habits for resisting the hectic and holding on to the slow. Packed with different ways Christians over the centuries have tapped into the abundant life of Jesus, 24 short chapters lay out spiritual and physical practices such as prayer, Sabbath, saying no, gratitude, decluttering, celebration, and worship.

If you’re tired of the crazy pace of your life but don’t know how to get off the merry-go-round, The Urgency of Slowing Down is for you. Take a few minutes each day to read a chapter so you can learn to slow down right where you are to look for God, listen for His voice, and fill your heart and mind with His presence.

My Review

One of the things I love about Laura L. Smith’s books is how practical and nonjudgmental they are. Her advice is very much in the lane of “do what works for you” rather than placing value on a particular scripted way of life.

For example, she talks about the spiritual practice of fasting but reminds readers to talk to a doctor or consider the needs of their body and mental health as well. She acknowledges that a food fast can be dangerous for some of us and encourages readers to be safe and well. She offers suggestions for other ways to fast, including giving up a non-food activity or habit, such as social media or electronics.

A lot of the tips are simple and practical, which is exactly what I need. A lot of them are things you could do in ten minutes, which is excellent.

Each chapter of the book focuses on a particular aspect of life, such as setting boundaries, practicing gratitude, and spending time in prayer. She’ll share a personal story about lessons she’s learned about each topic and a scripture that relates. Then the chapter closes with some thoughtful questions that really helped me dig deeper with these ideas.

I think this would be a great book to work through with a journal in January as a “New Year” project. It’s set up to do one individual chapter at a time, and I think that’s the most effective way to use it. I read through the whole thing and bookmarked chapters that resonated with me so I can revisit them later.

If you’re looking for a gentle book to guide you into a more restful Christian faith practice, this is a good one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The author is a white Christian woman. She talks a lot about her family and friends.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to the author’s marriage to a man named Brett. Just relationship stuff.

Spiritual Content
Lots of Jesus. Lots of Bible verses. Pretty much as advertised from the cover copy.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Fall 2024 Backlist Reading Check-In

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Fall 2024 Backlist Reading Check-In

Normally, I start a post like this at the beginning of the season and add to it as I finish reading each book. That gives me a diary-like record of my experience with each book, which I enjoy looking back at later.

This time, I forgot to start the post and only remembered about it in mid-November when I began making my calendar of list posts for next year. At any rate, I did manage to get my Fall 2024 backlist reading list together, and I’m excited to talk about some of these books.

I somehow managed to get to a lot more backlist titles than I thought I did. My guess is that this is because I read many of them as audiobooks. A few that I read as ebooks or hard copies were basically mood reads.

I’ve had some of these books high on my reading list for quite a while, like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, Show Me a Sign by Ann-Clare LeZotte, and Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. Others, like Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price, The Game of Silence by Louise Erdrich, and We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride, are newer to my reading list, but I am really glad I got to them.

Note: This post contains affiliate links that do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. Thanks for using them to do your shopping.

Fall 2024 Backlist Reading Check-In

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: This is one of the top ten most frequently banned books in the US. It’s about two best friends who learn that a classmate has been diagnosed with cancer.

Published March 1, 2012 | My Review to Come

Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: stuff stuff

Published April 6, 2021 | My Review to Come

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: This feels like a convention-setting novel, and I’m glad I read it. Some of the commentary about the characters is very dated, which might make it challenging for today’s readers. It’s a fascinating mystery, though.

Published June 1, 1997 (Orig. 1978) | My Review to Come

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Weirdly, I read Warrior Girl, Unearthed before I read Fire Keeper’s Daughter, so there were a couple of elements of the plot that I already knew about. I did enjoy getting to see Pauline and her sister as younger kids and reading Daunis’s story. It’s a tightly plotted, intense book. Highly recommended.

Published March 16, 2021 | My Review to Come

The Betrayal of Anne Frank by Rosemary Sullivan

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: I read Anne Frank’s diary earlier this year, and I immediately put this book on my reading list after that. The book carefully tracks an intricate investigation into who betrayed the Frank family. It’s an amazing book.

Published January 17, 2023 | My Review to Come

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Five teenagers spread across the US who become involved in human trafficking. This one is pretty dark with fairly straightforward characters. It’s one of the most frequently banned books in the US.

Published August 25, 2009 | My Review to Come

The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) by Stephanie Garber

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: Evangeline’s adventures continue! This might have been my favorite book of the three. We learn more about the fairytale for which Evangeline is named and what Jacks is truly after. It’s a pretty wild ride.

Published September 13, 2022 | Review to Come

We Are All So Good at Smiling by Amber McBride

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A powerful novel-in-verse about magic, depression, and the power of the stories we tell ourselves. Amber McBride is pretty much an auto-buy author for me. She’s amazing.

Published January 10, 2023 | My Review to Come

A Curse for True Love (Once Upon a Broken Heart #3) by Stephanie Garber

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: The finale of the series. I think the second book was my favorite, but I definitely wanted to know how things turned out for Evangeline and her love. If you like Garber’s work, I am pretty sure you’ll like this series.

Published October 24, 2023 | My Review to Come

The Game of Silence (The Birchbark House #2) by Louise Erdrich

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Omakayas’s story continues as her family faces new threats to their way of life. Her dreams prove a powerful force, but is she brave enough to listen to them? I am loving this series so far.

Published June 16, 2006 | Review to Come

Show Me a Sign by Ann-Clare LeZotte

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: This is the first book about Mary and her community on Martha’s Vineyard. I wish I’d read this one first, though I don’t think you have to in order to follow the series. Reading this book made the areas of focus in the other books make more sense to me. It’s a fabulous historical fiction book.

Published March 3, 2020 | My Review to Come

Coyote Queen by Jessica Vitalis

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: The back cover copy calls this book moving and voice-driven, and boy is it both of those things! An unforgettable tale of a girl with a troubling home life finding her voice.

Published October 10, 2023 | My Review to Come

Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: The story of three friends and their connection to a local pizza parlor and a missing girl. Moving, thoughtful, and intense. Each point of view has amazing characterization.

Published September 12, 2023 | My Review to Come

This Town is on Fire by Pamela N. Harris

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: An incisive exploration of relationships and activism and the opportunity to continue to learn and grow. Powerful storytelling here.

Published June 20, 2023 | My Review to Come

Did you read any books in the past few months that came out before 2024?

Did you do any reading over the fall season? If so, what were your favorite books?

Have you read any of the books on my Fall 2024 Backlist Reading list? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!