Review: Gigi's Hugest Announcement

Gigi's Hugest Announcement

genre: DVD

The Royal Tea Party finds Gigi with a dilemma. She has important news to share with her best friend, Frances, but how best to make such a grand announcement? This slice-of-life peek into the life of God’s little princess reinforces the vital message that each child is royally important to God.

In The Pink Ballerina, Gigi and Frances take their first dance lesson. With reluctant practice and awkward help from Tiara (her new dog) and Lord Fluffy (her not-so-cooperative cat), Gigi struggles to dance perfectly to make God proud of her. But she unexpectedly learns that God is most proud when we show love to others.

My review: Gigi is a little girl who thinks she is a princess. I like that rather than being any old princess, she chooses to be God's princess. Her messages are simple but positive. We all belong to God. We each have our own special talents.
This video was cute. I think it is just O.K., but my 2 year old daughter loves Gigi and asks to see this video almost every day. Even my sons enjoy it, though they will never admit that! I'm glad there are videos like this for my children to watch. I will by another Gigi video for my daughter if she ever requests it. I think girls can use all the positive messages they can get.

*I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Booksneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.*

Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas

Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas
published: 2010
pages: 292
genre: historical fiction

From the Flap:
  On a spring afternoon in 1920, Swandyke- a small town near Colorado's Tenmile Range- is changed forever. Just moments after four o'clock, a large split of snow separates from Jubilee Mountain high above the tiny hamlet and hurtles down the rocky slope, enveloping everything in its path.
  Meet the residents whose lives this tragedy touches: Lucy and Dolly Patch, two sisters long estranged by a shocking betrayal. Joe Cobb, Swandyke's only black resident, whose love for his daughter forces him to flee Alabama. Then there's Grace Foote, who hides secrets and scandal that belie her genteel facade. And Minder Evans, a Civil War veteran who considers cowardice his greatest sin. Finally, there's Essie Snowball, born Esther Schanble to conservative Jewish parents but how now works as a prostitute and hides her child's parentage from the world.
  Fate, chance, and perhaps divine providence all collide in the everyday lives of these people. And ultimately, no one is without sin, no one's soul is whiter than snow, and no one is without the need for forgiveness.
  A quintessential American voice and a writer of exquisite historical detail, Sandra Dallas illuminates the resilience of the human spirit in her newest novel.

My review:

I was pulled into this book from the beginning. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. The first chapter relates how the avalanche may have started, and that nine children walking home from school were buried in it. The chapter ends with this line: "Four of the children survived."

I didn't know at first if I liked this chapter ending. I thought it was giving away too much too soon. Where is the suspense if one already knows how many children made it? Turns out, this was an absolutely brilliant move on the author's part. After the first chapter, the avalanche of the present was left behind and the stories of their parents' pasts were told. As I became intimately acquainted with each parent- sharing in their triumphs and heartaches and understanding why they needed their child, my heart ached and I found myself hoping it would be their child who lived. The problem was, I already knew that some of these parents had lost a child- or children.

This book was sad, troubling, haunting, beautiful and incredibly real. Emotions ran high yet one didn't get lost in them. It was easy to relate in many ways with the characters, or at least to understand them. The theme of dealing with past sins and forgiveness is universal. It was incredibly well written and in spite of its somberness, very engrossing. I do recommend this book.

*I was given a free copy of this book to review. All opinions stated are entirely my own.*

The Facts of the Matter: The Count of Monte Cristo Revealed

One of my all time favorite books is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. It is definitely a swash-buckling adventure full of exciting twists and fantastic turns. It's themes of revenge, mercy, forgiveness and justice reveal themselves to the reader in an emotional and exciting way. Dumas, like many writers of his time period, knew how to use a story to alert people to social injustices going on around them. He knew how to tell a story, and this was a particularly good story.   

 
Edmond Dantes, a young man of 19 who has an incredibly charmed life despite his poverty, has just been made Captain of the Pharaon and is getting ready to marry his true love, the beautiful Mercedes. However, two jealous acquaintances and an ambitious magistrate manage to tear Edmond away from his happy prospects on his very wedding day. Accused of being a traitor, Edmond is thrown into prison at the Chateau D'If. While there he meets an Italian priest who befriends and educates the formerly illiterate young Dantes. The Abbe Faria tells Edmund of a great treasure hidden on the small island of Monte Cristo and they plan to retrieve it once they've escaped.

 
The Abbe dies before their plans can be completed, so Edmond escapes alone (with a little help from the dead Faria), and after some adventure finally makes it to Monte Cristo to claim the treasure bequeathed to him by the Abbe. Once he has possession of the treasure, his sole motive is revenge on those who falsely imprisoned him for 14 years and tore him away from his love, Mercedes.  Using his wealth and various disguises, the plot thickens...
 
This story was originally published in a French paper in 18 parts from August 1844 to January 1846. I wonder if people waited for the next installment of Monte Cristo the way people today waited for the next Harry Potter or Twilight Saga book. Did people camp out outside the printers to get the first copy of the paper? Did they discuss it amongst themselves, everyone with some idea of what was going to happen next? Did they know the facts? Or did they think it just another great story revealing the major flaws in the French justice system?

The island of Monte Cristo

 
About twenty years before he wrote the novel, Dumas was hunting on one of the Tuscan Islands, or Seven Sisters as they are sometimes called (since there are seven of them). A companion pointed out the island of Montecristo to him off in the distance. Dumas was so enchanted by the name that he vowed to someday write a book with "Monte Cristo" in the title.
 
In 1838 a book of true stories taken from Paris police files was published. One of the files was about a young shoemaker named Pierre Picaud. On the verge of his wedding in 1807 to a wealthy orphan, a few jealous friends pulled a cruel prank on him. They wrote a letter to the commissar accusing Pierre of being an English spy against Napoleon. He was thrown into a fortress prison where he languished for 7 years. While there he met a dying Italian priest who told him where to find a buried treasure. When he finally was released, Pierre found the treasure and used it along with various disguises to wreak his revenge on those who had ruined his life. Dumas got his hands on this story and the rest is history.
 
Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." I've read my Signet Classics paperback copy almost to pieces, but I've always skipped the introduction. When I picked it up for a reread a couple of months ago I decided it was time to read the introduction written by Robert Wilson. I was floored. Never once had it occurred to me that this story could in any way be factual. Of course all the details were Dumas' own, but that even the plot could have happened? It just didn't seem plausible. So I dug. Not too deep, but I searched around looking for something to refute it, to say that Dumas made this exaggerated claim to make the story seem even more exciting. Nothing. While there wasn't much to find, all the sources said the same thing. It happened.
Will this change your perspective the next time you read the book or see one of the movies?

Thanks to the Classics Circuit for letting me host today's stop in the  "Paris in the Spring: Alexandre Dumas" tour. Be sure to click the link to read more about Dumas and his many writings.

Teaser Tuesday- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

MizB over at Should be Reading is hosting this weekly bookish meme.


What to do? Grab the book you are currently reading. Open to a random page and choose 2 "teaser" sentences. Just make sure they aren't spoiler sentences! Then of course share the title and author so others can get the book to read too.


"I don't believe that after reading such a fine writer as Emily Bronte, I will be happy to read again Miss Amanda Gillyflower's Ill-Used by Candlelight. Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."

-from p. 53 of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Paris in the Spring: Alexandre Dumas on Tour

The Classics Circuit is hosting Paris in the Spring: Alexandre Dumas on Tour starting today!

Click on the link above to see the tour schedule.

Be sure to look for my post on "The Origins of The Count of Monte Cristo" on May 1st!

Review: North by Northanger by Carrie Bebris

North by Northanger (or, The Shades of Pemberly) by Carrie Bebris
published: 2006
pages:
genre: mystery

From the back cover:
After the intrigues and excitements of their time in the city, the Darcys are more than prepared for a bit of peace and quiet at Pemberley. This is time that they can spend together as Elizabeth settles into her pregnancy. However, such serene solitude is not meant to be. First a letter from Lady Anne Fitzwilliam Darcy, long deceased, is discovered. The contents are both mysterious and prescient for Mrs. Darcy. Then a summons to Northanger Abbey involves the young couple in intrigues that threaten not just the Darcy legacy and good name, but Mr. Darcy’s freedom as well.
…and to make matter even worse and more uncomfortable for the expectant mother, Darcy's overbearing aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, arrives on the scene to further bedevil Elizabeth.
Add to this rumors of treasure and past scandals, and it becomes obvious that peacefulness is not at home in Pemberley, but secrets and spirits of the past are, and their revelations can have a most a chilling effect on both the Darcys and their family to come.

My review:
I really enjoyed this book! I think this is the first mystery novel I've read that didn't include a young amateur sleuth named Nancy or Trixie. I came across this book while chasing my 18 month old daughter around the library as we waited for her older brother to finish storytime. She stopped to jump on a beanbag and I decided to check out the shelves in this previously unvisited portion of the library- MYSTERY. Of course the first book I laid eyes on was this one. It was fate. What better people to reintroduce me to the mystery genre than a few my favorites- the Darcys! The hangups I usually have about Jane Austen fan fiction weren't present for this one- the characters pretty much stayed in character (and there is more I'd love to say about that, except then it would give too much away) and they spoke like they should. I had a lot of fun reading this book and for any Jane Austen fan I'd definitely RECOMMEND.

The Time for Neglecting My Blog is Over...

Wow! So I thought I'd be away a week or so while we moved and got settled into the new place, but that week ended up turning into several weeks! With all the unpacking, spring cleaning, finishing up the tax season, and some absolutely divine weather I haven't really been on the computer much.
I'm hoping to get back into regular blogging this week.
Although I haven't been blogging, I have been reading. I read some good ones, some that were just so-so, and some very good books which I can't wait to recommend! A lot of my reading has been done outdoors or a near a window as I watch my kiddos play. It's so great that they can finally spend their days outside! A lot more quality school work is getting done too. The promise of an outside recess has really been motivating my oldest son to get down to business.
I grounded myself from the library this April (except for Runner's World magazines) so that I can work on my large TBR pile here at home. In February and March I was guilty of finding so many great books at the library which had to be read by the due date that I ignored the books on my shelf. I think the poor things were feeling neglected. I also got a little tired of reading. I actually didn't feel like reading anything for a few days. That all changed yesterday after I picked up The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Wow! I can't wait to talk about this one. I can't believe I let it sit unread on my shelf for so long!
I hope everyone is enjoying this Spring!