Review--Once a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough

Once a Witch
by Carolyn MacCullough
Clarion Books
978-0-547-222399-5
September 2009
$16.00





I received this ARC from The Picnic Basket. I read through it quickly and can only imagine how eagerly YA readers will embrace this novel once they pass the word around. My niece will be getting my copy and I know her head will be stuck behind the cover, hunkered in her bedroom for a night. It is marketed for the Age 12+ market, but adults looking for a unique plot written by a creatively inquisitive author will enjoy a peek at this too. I loved it and would not be surprised to hear MacCullough plans a sequel. Here is my review/comments that were posted on The Picnic Basket blog.

REVIEW................

It would be too obvious a word choice to say I was spellbound by the story and characters of Carolyn MacCullough’s coming of age story. However, spellbound in an enchanting pleasant way accurately describes my reading of Once a Witch. It is a spicy blend of sorcery, mystery and just enough of a romantic attraction to keep sparks flying.

Tamsin Green is an odd seemingly Talentless misfit of a witch growing up in an extended family of witches who all have interesting powers. At birth, her grandmother foretold that Tamsin would have great power such as the family had never seen. So, as the years pass it is with much surprise that Tamsin exhibits no talent at all. With great disappointment Tamsin grows up lacking any signs of Talent. She lives in the shadows of her sister Rowena’s grace and glory. One day mistaken identity provides Tamsin the opportunity to prove her value. She accepts a challenge that takes her beyond her corporeal capabilities.

The story evolved around a question the author asked herself about the character Tamsin. What would it be like to be born into a magical family with no magical talent?

MacCullough wondered: “How would she cope in a family like that? What kind of person would that make her be? Her story and her thought process provide young writers with a unique perspective as she provides the scaffold for the story. Further fun can be found at her sites www.onceawitch.com and www.carolynmaccullough.com.

Once a Witch, inspires the reader to examine the unique talent, unique beauty that is often untapped, hidden or unrealized within ourselves. I would highly recommend this novel for middle and high school age students.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, a True-Life Novel

Half Broke Horses
A True-Life Novel
by Jeannette Walls
Scribner
October 2009, 272 p.
978-1-4165-86289





Walls is shaping up to be one of this decades most fascinating storytellers. The adventures of her family in The Glass Castle were mesmerizing and truly an unforgettable read. With a pen that glows with brilliance, her writing in Half Broke Horses is bedazzling. In her words, this is the true life novel of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith who died when she was eight. Half Broke Horses portrays her grandmother’s life told through all of the many stories she heard as a child.

The novel is told in first person from the point of view of her grandmother. The opening chapter begins, “Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did.” However, no matter what trouble faced Lily Casey Smith, she would have the intelligence, the determination, the answers and always the faith in herself that she would survive.

As the story opens, faced with the onslaught of a flash-flood, Lily has presence of mind to gather her two siblings together and hoists them into a cottonwood tree, where they hang on precariously during a harrowing overnight until the morning. Lily is ten and when her mother sees her three children coming home the following morning, she praises the Lord, the guardian angels and her constant prayer for saving the three.

Lily is perturbed and says to her dad, “There weren’t no guardian angel, Dad.” She knows their survival had nothing to do with prayer and she is quick to explain it was her vigilant fight to save her brother and sister that kept them alive. Lily is a realist, and she believes there was no guardian Angel up in that tree. It was Lily Casey Smith, one tough kid, who was up in the tree making the right decisions.

One other time early in the book, Walls relates a story about her grandmother, when she was fifteen and accepts a job as a teacher. Lily has no degree in teaching, but has enough education to satisfy the school district’s needs. The town is over five hundred miles away, but Lily needs a job. Lily must make the journey on her horse Patches to Red Lake, Arizona, by herself and so she sets out on her trip with a fearless, spunky spirit of adventure.

Walls novel is a touching honest portrait of an idiosyncratically warm and loving grandmother, mother and wife who was raised on the wild side of nature. She was in my opinion “a hoot”. You will love this woman and come to understand that there is absolutely nothing in life that could stand in her way when she sets her mind to it.

Half Broke Horses is an inspirational memoir, and true life-novel that will make you chuckle, weep and simply savor like a warm cup of tea. The greatest challenge in this book I found was not being able to put it down. With my predilection for Jeannette Walls’ writing I eagerly anticipate future releases as my cup of tea is getting cold.

Thank a Veteran Today

There are so many moving videos available appropriate to honor our Veterans. I wanted to thank our service men and women today with this touching clip I found on You Tube. Thank you for your courageous service, words just don't seem to be enough. May angels watch over you always.

Sunday Salon, November 1, 2009

Happy Sunday Salon to everyone!!





For all of you baseball fans, I hope you are enjoying the World Series. I just loved this pic of the First Lady that was taken at the first game of the series at Yankee Stadium. I know she is a fan...but who is she routing for I wonder?

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween and enjoyed the extra hour of sleep. I just love when we turn the clocks back in the fall. I love the extra daylight in the morning. I thought I would have an extra hour to sleep this morning, but silly me. My four rooing greyhounds had other plans and their internal clock was still set on yesterday's time.
So, here I am at 7:00AM writing Sunday Salon.

I have missed everyone and missed reading your blogs. I feel much better and hope things are turning around for me. I have been reading quite a lot and have several reviews to post. I will be writing those in the coming days.

If you didn't catch my previous post on White Mary, I have to tell you this book is a real page turner and one I highly recommend.

This week I finished reading:

The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley. I had to struggle to keep picking up this book. I just couldn't identify with the main character. I had no empathy for her. All I kept thinking was "Who cares?"

I finished Half Broke Horses (A True Life Novel) by Jeannette Walls in one day. All I can say is, I would drop everything I had to do to read a story by this author. Walls is such a superb storyteller! If you read The Glass Castle(I loved it), you will love Half Broke Horses!


Currently Reading:
I'm reading No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer.
E-Book---The Wife's Tale from Hachette Book Group.

What is everyone reading? I'll stop by in a while. Enjoy your week.

The White Mary, by Kira Salak

The White Mary was released last year by Henry Holt & Company. The edition I reviewed is by Picador with a 2009 release that I have reviewed for Library Thing. The reviews on the LT site are varied to say the least. I personally LOVED IT!!! Kira Salak has written many non-fiction books based on her own personal travel experiences and it shows in her first novel The White Mary. You are definitely on this trip with her.







MY REVIEW:
Marika Vecera is a determined, dedicated journalist who chooses to live life with little baggage. She lives in a sparsely decorated apartment with minimal material comforts. Cherished tokens from her travels serve as windows to her past. She has no permanent male companion and likes it that way. No attachment. She can pick up and leave to follow a story at any moment.

She wanted to write, she freelanced and sold her stories, always risking personal injury and life threatening odds. It wasn’t easy in the beginning as she paid her own way to get to perilous places in order to report a story. Her hero is the famous journalist, Robert Lewis and has read everything he ever wrote. When she reads of his suicide she is devastated. Soon after, she decides to write a biography about his life.

Contrary to her single lifestyle, Marika becomes involved with Sam Gilman, an “intense” doctoral student. Unaccustomed to deep relationships Marika is frightened as Sam tries to break through her desensitized cocoon. After a horrible fight, Marika leaves Seb.

She learns that a missionary is quite sure he spotted Lewis living in a remote jungle village in Papa New Guinea. With rash determination she decides to follow the lead. Treacherous travel through leech invested swamps and the constant attack of mosquitos leads Marika to a village where she is called white mary. Her visit turns unexpectedly reflective when the protective shield that binds her ability to feel begins to unravel.

Kira Salak’s personal experiences make this novel a realistically compelling read. A beautifully sensual book with poetic imagery that lifts off the page.

“Trees surround her like great columns in a cathedral. Birds announce the coming day with bold calls, and not even the faint drumbeats can overpower the incessant droning of insects.”

I consumed this book without stopping. Reflective and mesmerizing,The White Mary, will be one for my 2009 top ten picks.

After You've Gone-by Jeffrey Lent

After You’ve Gone
Jeffrey Lent, Atlantic Monthly Press, March 10, 2009, $24.00, HC, 272 pp. 978-0-87113-894-1.


After You’ve Gone takes place at the beginning of the twentieth century and spans a number of years in the life of Henry Dorn. It takes place where he grew up in Nova Scotia, and follows his travels to New York and Amsterdam. Henry Dorn’s life is radically changed one day when his wife Olivia, and son Robert are tragically killed in an automobile accident. Olivia is the love of Henry’s life and with death he carries unbearable grief. Robert and he have had a strained relationship, unable to communicate, neither able to understand the other. Robert has returned from war addicted to morphine, full of self pity and no motivation. Henry’s last conversation with his son was a disaster. When he realizes his two daughters are too busy to include him in their lives, he withdraws making plans to travel. He chooses Amsterdam where he decides he will research his heritage.

While there he meets Lydia Pierce, independent and confident, happy to be single and free to come and go as she pleases. It is a new age, where women are venturing out on their own. The plot is somewhat predictable as Henry falls in love with Lydia. However, this is not the full story, nor is it the end.

Jeffrey Lent again demonstrates his storytelling finesse. The language is breathtakingly rich, the characters are crafted with finite detail and the ending is anyone’s guess. Although somewhat slow reading at the beginning, the story soon picks up momentum. Reading anything by Jeffrey Lent is a sensual gift to savor. After You’ve Gone is no exception, a love story that will leave a lingering imprint.

Thursday Thoughts....

Something to Think About Thursday

Hi friends, I feel like I have been way out of touch. I hope to get back to blogging more regularly real soon. Honestly, I have just stepped in hornets nest of issues that have sidelined me from posting my daily blog. Without getting into details, I can say for certain, I had my hands full. I didn't have the mental or physical capability to do what I love best, and that is read and write.



That said, My question to you is this,

What would you do if you were suddenly unable to read? This includes books on tape. What would you do if you fell asleep every time someone read to you. What would you do if you fell asleep every time you began to read a book?

What would you do? How would you handle this? I am curious!! Please leave me a comment and share your thoughts. I would love to know.

Wordless Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Connecticut Clouds.....

I took this yesterday on my way home. There was such a sense of foreboding and eerie quiet as if Hitchcock himself had created the setting. It was a curious spectacle. There was no rain. There was no sun. Just dark heavy ominous billowing clouds like you'd see from the back of an old steam engine.

Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Congratulations to President Obama!!!



The Nobel Committee made a daringly bold decision in bestowing this honor to our president. They have offered their opinion in this video which I am sure will be actively debated in the media.

I have sent a message of congratulations to President Obama with my support. I believe his efforts to bring together the global community through unilateral thinking and actions have been extraordinary. His vision for a better world are genuine and promising.

Wordless Wednesday, September 23, 2009

My fur family...Wizard, Webster, Lion, and Mystery

Wizard was the latest to arrive a very insecure and depressed greyhound who had lost his master and pack mates. If you look at this picture it really does speak for itself.