Monday, March 18, 2013

Review: Purple Hibiscus

Author: Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie
Pages: 307
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Version: Hardcover
Publication Date: October 2003
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Source: Local Public Library

Synopsis (GoodReads):

From the outside, fifteen-year-old Kambili has the perfect life. She lives in a beautiful house, has a caring family, and attends an exclusive missionary school. She's completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less than perfect in her wealthy Nigerian home. Although her papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home. He looms over his family's every move, severely punishes Kambili and her older brother, Jaja, if they're not the best in their classes, and hits their mama if she disagrees with him. Home is silent and suffocating.

But everything changes once Kambili and Jaja visit Aunty Ifeoma outside the city. For the first time they experience freedom from their papa. Jaja learns to garden and work with his hands, and Kambili secretly falls in love with a young, charismatic priest.

As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, tension within the family escalates. And shy Kambili must find the strength to keep her family together after her mother commits a desperate act.

Purple Hibiscus is a stunning debut that captures the fragile beauty of a young woman's awakening at a time when both country and family are on the cusp of change.

Review:

Plot: B

Purple Hibiscus is a character drive novel set in the backdrop of political unrest in Nigeria.  It's the kind of novel that I tend to lends towards.  Kambili and her family and the relationship to each other are complex, puzzling and frightening all at the same time.   The bulk of the story deals with how Kambili, Jaja and their mother have been isolated and repressed by  their father and his "strong" religious beliefs.  How his immersion into the Catholic faith denominated every aspect of his life, even at the cost of his relationship with his father who believes in the traditions and faith of their tribe.

While I love the character building in Purple Hibiscus the story was very slow to stop.  The bulk of the novel is exploring the relationship between the family members and the coming of age of Kambili and Jaja.  When the action finally takes place it seems rushed and sudden.  Almost like the author ran out of space and realized that she had to wrap it up.  I wish she would have spent as much time developing the action part of the plot as she did the characters.


Characters: A+

My review of the characters is going to be short and seem somewhat inadequate.  That's because I have nothing really to say about other then that they were very well done.  They fit perfectly in the story.  There motives were clear and never did I think "why is she doing that?"  I understood, everything that they did, partially because their background was thoroughly explored but also because there was so much time spent on character building.

Writing:

Adichie writing was good enough not to make me notice all that much that the story was kind of slow.  I was able to keep reading for longs periods of time and actually didn't want to put the novel down because I wanted to see were it was going.

I enjoyed how she mixed Iboya words and did it in such a way that the reader was able to understand their basic meaning without feeling lost.  She also made the physical environment of Nigeria come alive and I could "see" some of the places that the characters visited.

Explanation of Rating:   

Purple Hibiscus gets and A- because the beginning was slow and the ending was too fast.  All the time spent exploring characters and back stories left little space for a fulling ending.  I finished Purple Hibiscus wishing that  Adichie had spent as much time on the ending as she did on the rest of the story.


Final Grade: A-

Overall Recommendation:

I would recommend Purple Hibiscus to anyone that enjoys strong character driven novels.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Sunday Shorts #5

Sunday Shorts is a new feature that I am adding to The Little Reading Nook.  I have seen on several other blogs where reviewers feature short stories.

This is the last short for Ran Walker's 16 Bars: A Short Story Mixtape,  and I can say that my little experiment in reading a short story on Sunday was fun and I plan to keep it up.  Next week, I will start shorts from Trouble Down South and Other Stories by Katrina Parker Williams.


Description (GoodReads):

Ran Walker's first "short story mixtape" pulls together a varied collection of stories about black men and how they are shaped by the relationships they enter. With topics ranging from break-ups to awkward first dates, 16 Bars is a bold, unflinching, and even humorous take on what goes on in the minds of black men when romance enters the picture.

On the Eve of Tomorrow:  

An erotic short, Grant finds comfort form a unlikely friend during his last night in Atlanta.
One the Eve of Tomorrow was probably one of the weakest of the short stories in 16 Bars: A Short Story Mixtape to me.  The rhythm was off and by the time that it smoothed out the story was over.  There was more emotions in the other stories and On the Eve of Tomorrow felt void of them.

On the Eve of Tomorrow is labeled an erotic short and I didn't feel that it was all that "erotic".  It had erotic elements but they were brief.

Overall, my least favorite of all the stories in this collection.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Teaser Tuesday #6


TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!
This weeks teasers is from A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider by Ishmael Beah

I hesitantly walked into the congested box and the boys laughed at me, as I stood there unaware that I had to press the button for the box to start moving.  I had never been in a box like this before.  Where was it taking us?

page 186 (paperback)


Don't forget to post a link to your teaser!

Friday, March 8, 2013

Friday Finds #7

Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading ask:

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

I was reading blog and found these books that are coming out soon.

(Clicking on the image will take you to the books GoodReads page)



Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Review: The Lynching of Louie Sam

Author: Elizabeth Stewart
Pages: 288
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Version: PDF
Publication Date: June 2012
Publisher: Annick Press
Source: NetGalley (ARC)

Synopsis (GoodReads):

Fifteen-year-old George Gillies lives in the Washington Territory in the late 1800s, where white settlers have an uneasy relationship with the indigenous people living there. When a local man is found murdered, suspicion falls on Louie Sam, a young member of the Stó:lō tribe. George and his best friend, Pete, follow a lynch mob north into Canada, where the terrified boy is seized and hung.

Racked with doubts, George begins to ask questions. Was Louie Sam really a murderer? As George uncovers the truth, tensions in the town rise, and he must face his own part in the tragedy.

Review:

Plot: 

Somehow,  missed the part of the description at NetGalley that stated that The Lynching of Louie Sam was inspired by a true story.  I bring this up not because it read like an historical account of actual events (translated dull) but because it read like a  well researched fictional novel.  Stewart did an excellent job of integrating  the attitudes of the settlers and their concerns as well as touching on the attitude of the Natives in the overall story without making it seem out of place.

The first thing that caught my attention about The Lynching of Louie Sam was the premise.  I have never come across the any kind of story (fiction or non-fiction) that dealt with the lynching of an Indigenous person and the murdering having taken place in Canada.

Now, while the novel dealt with these issue, it was about George coming of age and having to answer questions about himself and the people that he thought he knew.  It was interesting to watch George deal with the event and to realize that Louie Sam's murder might have been caused by a false allegation.


Characters:

I enjoyed George Giles as a character.  He was well rounded and "real".  I could see a little boy feeling the way that he did about things and wanting to know the truth about what happened.  But at times, I had to remind myself the George was 15 years old.  Sometimes his character came off as being younger.  From some reason when I first started reading the book I thought that he was about 11 or 12  years old.  This was a problem that persisted throughout the book.  It was at time hard to believe that a kid of George's age could be so naive and unobservant.  I had a hard time trying to reconcile the fact that George did not understand certain unstated social "rules" while other children his age and younger did.

George's best friend Peter on the other hand felt like a 15 year old.  I felt really bad for Peter, he was dealt a rough hand and was dealing with it the only way that he knew how.  He was kind of a prefect contrast to George.  Peter was the more "worldly" of the two.

Writing:

The writing was about average.  I found the Lynching of Louie Sam to be an interesting read and Stewart's writing was able to keep me in the story.

I can say that in the month between reading the book and writing the review, I can't remember much about her writing style.  That could be either a good thing or a bad thing.

Explanation of Rating:    

Overall, The Lynching of Louie Sam was a satisfactory read.  I think what drag the grade down for me was George's character and the confusion about his age.  I had to remind myself too many times that George was 15 years old and not 12 years old.  It doesn't seem like a big thing but subject matter that is dealt with in the book it is important.  While the writing was solid, it wasn't quite as strong as I would have like it to been.  The research and historical facts is what saved The Lynching of Louie Sam from being a C+/B- book.

Final Grade: B

Overall Recommendation:

I would recommend The Lynching of Louie Sam to anyone that enjoy Historical Fiction and would like to read about the early settlers in the Washington region.  I found the historical setting by itself fascinating and well worth the read.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays #5


TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!
This weeks teasers is from A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider by Ishmael Beah

The morning after the lieutenant's speech, we proceeded to practice killing the prisoners the way the lieutenant had done it.  There were five prisoners and many eager participants.

page 124 (paperback)
Don't forget to post a link to your teaser!

I want to read it.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Sunday Shorts #4

Photo credit: the bbp / Foter / CC BY 

It has been awhile since I have done a Sunday Short and I miss it.  A short story is a bittersweet for me.  Part of me is happy that I can complete the story in such of small time frame.  But another part of me wants to draw it out, wants to know the characters and their motivation more.

I am still reading shorts from 16 Bars:  A Short Story Mixtape by Ran Walker.  I just realized that there is one more story and then I will be done with 16 Bars... I already miss it.

Description (GoodReads):

Ran Walker's first "short story mixtape" pulls together a varied collection of stories about black men and how they are shaped by the relationships they enter. With topics ranging from break-ups to awkward first dates, 16 Bars is a bold, unflinching, and even humorous take on what goes on in the minds of black men when romance enters the picture.

Dancing in My Dreams:  

Dancing in my Dreams shows what Kyle is willing to go through to keep love alive.
This was a powerful story.  Not that the writing was any different than that of the previous stories but because of what Kyle was willing to deal with to be with Serena.  I know there was going to an unexpected twist but I didn't think it was going to be that.  Walker through me for a loop with that one, but I have to applaud him on making Kyle such a stand up guy.

One of the things that I enjoy most about each of the stories in 16 Bars is that each story has a theme song.  I have been familiar with most (if not all the songs) but Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire" was the prefect theme song for this story.

I didn't really care for the end.  It was a nice pretty bow type ending (even though it wasn't happy).

My favorite Quote:
... from there our relationship disintegrated  and our love, once a ripe fruit bubbling with the sweetest nectar I had ever tasted, withered slowly on the vine from neglect.  (Kindle Version: Location 717)
I know it is said but it is beautiful.

Sunday Post #9




The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
~this meme was inspired in part by - In My Mailbox~
It's a chance to share News.
A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
This is your news post, so personalize it. Include as much as you want or as little.
Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies.

I don't believe that it has been 8 weeks since I have done a Sunday Post.  Not much has happened on the blog since the last on back in January.

Current Giveaway (Ends April 1, 2013 @ 12:00am):

(Clicking picture will take you to giveaway page)

What Happened Last Week:
  • Teaser Tuesday:  was brought to you  by  Love in the Years of Lunacy by Mandy Sayer
  • Wednesday: Review of The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (which for some reason is very popular page view count wise)
  • Friday Finds: Four new books added to my TBR List
  • Reflecting on February:  Where I admit publicly how horrible I was at completing my reading goals for  February.
What's Happening This Week:
  • Sunday:  Sunday Shorts from 16 Bars by Ran Walker
  • Monday: Review of  The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizabeth Stewart
  • Tuesday:  Teaser Tuesday from A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
  • Friday: Friday Finds
Happy Reading,
MoniqueReads

Friday, March 1, 2013

Reflecting on February

The Month of February can be describe in one simple word:

FAIL!!!

Yes, it was a month filled with fail for me, both reading wise and some other person goals that I had for myself.  I really need to learn how to stop procrastinating.  It is holding me back in so many areas.


Reviewed in February:
Read But Not Reviewed in February:
  • The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizabeth Stewart
Yep.  That is right.  I read a grand total of 2 books in February.

FAIL!!!
Started But Not Completed:

  • A Piece of Cake: a Memoir by Cupcake Brown
  • Love in the Years of Lunacy by Mandy Sayer
  • A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
All three of which I started in February.  
FAIL!!!

Completed Challenges for 2013:
  • None
Challenges Still in Process:
  • 1% Well Read - Completed 0 out of 10 Books (0%)
  • The Pulitzer Project  - Completed 0 out of 5 Books (0%)
  • TBR Challenge  - Completed 1 Book
  • Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge - Completed 0 out of 10 Books (0%)
  • Finishing the Series Reading Challenge  - Completed 0 out of 3 Series (0%)
  • 2013 Reading Challenge - Completed 4 out of 50 Books (8%)
Reading Plans for March:
  • Finish What I Have Started: 
    • A Piece of Cake: a Memoir by Cupcake Brown
    • Love in the Years of Lunacy by Mandy Sayer
    • A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
  • Finish Review Request:
    • Butterfly Winter by W.P. Kinsella
    • The Boy Who Said No: An Escape to Freedom by Patti Sheehy
    • The Water of Sunlightby Eugenia O'Neal
    • Maya's Notebook: A Novel  by Isabel Allende
    • King of Cuba: A Novel by Cristina Garcia
Yes, I know that is a tall order but I have to do it.

Friday Finds #6

Friday Finds hosted by Should Be Reading ask:

What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

Just a random assortment of books that I found this week.

(Clicking on the image will take you to the books GoodReads page)




March Monthly Giveaway

Enter to win the a copy of Little Bee by Chris Cleave.
      
My review is here.

Rules:

  1. This giveaway is for the a copy (gently used copy of Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  *please note that there is a water stain on some pages but they don't affect ink or the ability to read the book*
  2. Giveaway is open to address located in the of the United States only (sorry I can only ship books to addresses located in the United States).
  3. Winner will receive a copy of the Little Bee by Chris Cleave
  4. All entries most be through the Rafflecopter widget below.
  5. Winners will be announced on this blog (The Little Reading Nook) and Twitter (@MoniqueReads) on April 2, 2013 at 7am (EST), only. No emails will be sent.
  6. Winner has 48 hours (April 4, 2013 at 7am (EST)) to contact me via email (thelittlereadingnook at gmail dot com) or via direct message on Twitter (@MoniqueReads) to claim their prize.  If I don't receive an email or (direct message) from the winner, another winner will be chosen.
  7. Winner will be announced via twitter and on the blog.
  8. I think it goes without saying but no cheating (one entry per family and household).
Giveaway is open from 12:00 AM (EST) on March 1, 2013 until 12:00 AM (EST) April 1, 2013

a Rafflecopter giveaway