Reviews: The Musician's Daughter & Project Princess

Okay, so I actually finished these both yesterday, but didn't get a chance to post about them. Yes, I'm still in the middle of my Spring Break (not that you'd know it by all the snow we've gotten), but have been running errands, keeping doctor/dentist appointments, and grading online and school assignments. It's all very good. I'd be a pretty bored girl otherwise...right? :)


Project Princess, by Meg Cabot, is another VERY short installment in the Princess Diary series. Honestly, it was more like a pamphlet (for my friends that think I either spend all my time reading, or have some speed-reading technique I'm hiding). I honestly think it took me 20-30 minutes to read? Anyway, this installment is a "between" or insert story that goes in between the longer novels in the collection, and tells of Mia going on a fieldtrip with her schoolmates to do humanitarian work. You know...like Prince William did in Chile? Well, Mia's real motivation is to get to spend extra time with her boyfriend, only she soon finds that their efforts are spent working, and at night sleeping in tents. Gasp! Like me, Mia hates camping.

Once again, the story is pretty much centered on Mia's anxiety over her relationship with the boy. It's cute, and to be quite honest, from all I've seen and experienced, a pretty accurate portrayal of how we all act when we like a boy, think he likes us, or only wish he likes us. We LOSE our minds. :) So, regardless of being 14 or 40, relationships make us all a little nutty, and Mia is just open enough in her diaries to share that with us!


As for the second book I read, I can honestly say that I've been reading it for two weeks. How do I know? Well, I read it all at the gym as an experiment to see how long it would take for me to read a book while on a cardio machine. Little did I know that some days I would feel more like watching Oprah as I plodded along, or that I would become fascinated by the size 0 girl in front of me with cellulite and stretch marks, wearing so little that I could see it all, and think to myself, "Holy cow! You mean that even super skinny girls get those?!?" Yes, it disheartened me, and took me away from my reading at times. (All a true story.) Anyway, I finished the novel yesterday while working out on an orbitron, which I owe much thanks to for getting me through many novels while in graduate school (what can I say...it's a strange, symbiotic relationship exercise machines and I have...too bad I'm not stick thin).

Synopsis: As the title indicates, the story centers around the daughter of a poor musician playing in the Prince's orchestra in 18th century Vienna, who we find has been murdered. Theresa, his daughter, then sets out to find out who murdered him, what happened, and why all the mystery surrounding his death. Not only does she have the mystery surrounding his death, but also money to come up with so that her brother can go to school to apprentice with a violin maker, and to help pay for the medical care her ailing, pregnant mother needs at such a stressful time. Theresa, through the course of the novel, mingles with gypsys and princes, all in search of answers. Who murdered her father and why? Must she marry a man she does not love, only so she can provide money for her brother and ailing mother?

Review: While I am not a mystery fan, as revealed in previous posts, this particular story felt more like an adventure than a real "who done it" sort of story, and therefore, had me intrigued. I still can't quite put my finger on it, but throughout the novel I felt like I had read this kind of style and voice before, as if it were the same style of storytelling that I remember from back when I was in high school. However, this is a new release, so I quickly realized that the somewhat detached, floating style of the writing was merely a reflection of the author's voice, which was pretty intriguing all by itself. I really did like this novel, and the mix between mystery, romance, and history just kept propelling me to want more.

Very clean read, and one that has you trying to piece together what you think might be going on.

Well, off to get a bit more grading done this evening! I wouldn't have to if I'd done it earlier, so no reason to feel sorry for me. :)

Review: Valentine Princess by Meg Cabot & 24 Hour Read-A-Thon Cheering

After my disturbed reading from yesterday, I desperately needed something LIGHT and fun. Since I'm trying to get through the Princess Diaries Series, I picked up Valentine Princess by Meg Cabot, and let the fun ensue! Ironic enough, this book is about Valentine's Day, February 14th, and I'm posting on April 14th. Two months late, but a cute coinky-dink! ;)

Synopsis: Mia is now in love (well, teenage love...which we all loved, right?!?), but knows that Valentine's Day is right around the corner. The trouble is, her man (won't say his name so that I don't give him away) feels that Valentine's Day is a holiday created by the commercial industries of the globe to get us all to buy candy, flowers, cards, etc. This puts Mia all in a tither. Will he or won't he? If he forgets or opts out of Valentine's, does that mean he doesn't really "love" Mia?

Review: I found this short installment cute, funny, and LIGHT. In other words, exactly what I needed at the moment. This one isn't very long, and although the teenage angst can make me feel a little short of breath at times, I think Mia is cute and fun to read about.

One last thing before I post. There has been a lot of talk about the 24 Hour Read-A-Thon that Dewey started, and that is generously being continued. I can't participate this coming Saturday, April 18th (from 5 am Pacific Time on), but signed up to be a cheerleader. I know I'll be sad to read all the fun posts and tweets coming from the event, but I'm excited to cheer them on and to read their posts. In fact, I'm hoping I can take some time later in the evening to maybe read a book and post later that night. We'll see, but it sure sounds fun!

Review:The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan

How do I review this book? I've been scrambling to find something sugary sweet to pop in the DVD player to calm my troubled mind after reading Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden. Reminiscent of a Stephen King meets V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic (admittedly, I barely got through part of the first book in that series as a teen), I now find myself praying that I don't have strange nightmares tonight!

(Scrambling in the background...searching for Disney-esque film to calm a troubled soul. Wait...here's Harry Potter! Oh, but it has dementors, and I can't even handle a dementor at this point! Why do I not own Mary Poppins?!? Wait! I have The Sound of Music, and that has Julie Andrews in it, right?!? Oh, but it also has Nazis in it...never mind. Sigh. The problem with not having any children...you lack sugary, happy plots to put your mind at ease. MUST get more Disney films ASAP!!!)

Synopsis: So, to get more serious, here is a brief synopsis...if I can even make one. The Cement Garden is a story about four children, who have lost their father, whom they didn't much care for, and must take care of an ailing mother on her death bed. The cement portion of the novel's title comes from an obsession the children's father had with making cement pathways throughout the family garden. With the death of their father, they are left with bags of leftover cement, and the weight of growing up too quickly.

Review: Really not knowing what to say, I feel that all I can say is that the word disturbing fits this novel on so many levels. (Those of you that read Faulkner's short story, "A Rose for Emily," would feel some kinship between that story and McEwan's. I actually really like this short story, and I love teaching it even more.) Having read many pieces of contemporary fiction in graduate school, I still can't remember feeling so cast about by a novel. Honestly, I simply didn't like it, and yet that makes me feel somehow unsophisticated in admitting my response. Sorry, but there it is. I really just didn't understand McEwan's mix of sexual impulses with the normal, casual occurrences of life. You somehow understand the point he's making about the innocence of children, making those early connections to their sexual selves, and yet...it feels so strangely placed in this story, and really quite disturbing. Okay, I get it. It's a reflection of our cultural/social upbringing.


I can't recommend McEwan's novel. I read this for the 1% Well Read Challenge over at 1% Well Read, and will be happy to move along to something new. I'm thinking I might either read Life of Pi (which I've heard is quite good), or The Inheritance of Loss. However, for the time being, I'm going to put Mama Mia in so that I can take my mind away from this story!

If you have read this novel, don't hesitate to post a comment or send me a message to discuss. I'm not usually one to be so thoroughly thrown by a novel, so it would be good to hear what anyone else thought!

Amazing Inspiration!

Author, Whitney Gaskell, posted this amazing clip from the UK's "Britain's Got Talent." You MUST go see it. Amazing!!! Three cheers for the underdog!

MUST SEE CLIP

"Naturally Thin" by Real Housewives of NYC's Bethenny Frenkel

Yes, I love the "Housewives" show on BRAVO, but actually have a sample of Bethenny's book on my Kindle. She is so to the point as a person, that I actually think I'd like her ideas on food. I've also heard she offers great recipes for things like "guilt-free" cupcakes. Who doesn't need that? If I buy the rest of the book, I'll be sure to review! :)

Discussion: Fiction to Film? To Read or Watch, & Should You Have to Decide???

Over on Book Blogs, I posed a question that I think I'd also like to pose here. I really would like some feedback about films that you think helped you to understand a book better. We all know that there have been a lot of movies made from our favorite books, that had us walking away sad and frustrated by the mess they made out of a story we loved. However, are there times that the film actually HELPS or extends what we love about the novel???

My original question to Book Blogs is linked here. You can comment here, because I really am curious and would love feedback!

Review: Princess in Waiting by Meg Cabot

I should have posted about this last night, but just couldn't stay awake! :) It's better to post once one is fully awake and coherent.

Princess in Waiting by Meg Cabot is the fourth in the Princess Diaries series and picks up right where book three left off. Mia is in Genovia for Christmas break, and desperately missing her newly acquired love, Michael Moskovitz. Mia agonizes over Michael, day in and day out, in her diary, discussing how painful it is to be separated from him, how cruel her grandmother and the entire country of Genovia are for keeping her from him, and how distance and time must be making him less interested in her, right? Once Mia gets home, you'd think they'd be fine, right? Wrong. Grandmere has too many princess duties for Mia, and once again she is left agonizing over time not spent with Michael.

Another cute entry in the series. I actually really liked this one, although I felt that teenage anxiety of first love and possible loss creep over me as I felt all that Mia did. The waiting bit is definitely about her waiting to be with her new boyfriend, and not about the waiting to become a royal! :) Yet again, a cute book, and puts me one stop closer to reading Mia's book that she wrote. After all, that's my goal. To complete the series and then read the book Mia wrote. It's all taking me back, so it's been kind of fun!