I'm Going on an Adventure: July 2018

Story Within the Fairytale: Lost in a Book, by Jennifer Donnelly

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Genre: YA fiction

Rating: ♥♥♥♥ Four out of five hearts= very good

About:

Everyone knows the story of Belle and her time in the Beast's castle- how she fell in love before the last petal fell, and found her own happily-ever-after. Based on the 2017 live-action Disney movie, this book tells the story of something that happened in between her capture by the beast and "the end". It's a hidden chapter, so to speak, of one of her unknown adventures in the Beast's castle.

Belle can't resist a good story. Books capture her and make her world a more special place- something she especially needs now that her life has been drastically altered by a mysterious Beast. Nothing is the same anymore, and she misses her father terribly. When the Beast gives her his library in an effort to cheer her, she's in awe of this wonderful room. Left by herself, however, she discovers a portal to a magical world inside a book, called "Nevermore". Will what she finds inside give her the freedom she craves- or bind her forever?

My Review:

I've always been in love with Disney's classic tale; the story of true love- not based on appearances, but on what really matters. So I just had to read Jennifer Donnelly's novel when I discovered it in our small local library- I mean, it's Disney, and is also very different from the romantic fiction I usually read.

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LOVE IS NOT FOR COWARDS.

-Agathe

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The characters are the same as you remember from the fairly recent 2017 live-action movie- witty, fun, and as always, extremely lovable and engaging. I really loved getting some "deleted scenes", in a way, of things that happened that weren't in the movie. There were some laugh-out-loud moments, sad ones, and heartwarming ones that make all good books what they are.

The Beast is the same as ever- he's been hurt and struggles with his anger, but his humor is still there somewhere. You can tell he's meant to be human, that he's a man on the inside, and his affection for Belle- not love just yet- is sweet.

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"You may not be a 'perfect friend', but you're a real one. And I'm lucky to have you."

- Belle

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Belle is also just about the same as the 2017 movie portrayed her, only a little deeper, I felt. She had a depth and heart the movie failed to portray.

Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, Chip- they're all there too. I think all of your castle favorites made it into the story, although some of the original town characters were missing (rightly so, since this was about a missing chapter during Belle's time in the Beast's castle). There's also some new evil villains and eccentric, but awesome characters that did not appear in the original. I feel as though all this new material did not take away from the movie or original story (as I worried beforehand), but instead added layers to it, giving it more depth.

I was also surprised to find how many insights this book had. I wrote down all my favorite quotes to use in my review and discovered that I ended up with about ten, all extremely good ones. Whenever I first picked up the book, insight was not what I was expecting from a Disney novel, but that's what I got. I could include all of the "thoughts of wisdom" in this review, but I'll leave some for you all to find in case you ever decide to read the novel. I can't resist leaving a few, though...

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"We all make mistakes. The danger lies in letting those mistakes make us."

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I found that a lot of spiritual truths that the Bible teaches were strongly and positively portrayed and mentioned by several of the characters. Rare, I've found, especially for secular YA or Disney fiction. Some quotes even sounded as if they'd been directly paraphrased from Bible verses.
Love, true friendship and choosing the real world over those found in books (think, "The world is not in your books and maps "....) were three of the main themes I found while reading.

One of my only problems with the story was that- yes, it's still secular fiction- God was never really mentioned. You write your own story was the answer in a world that seemed a bit hopeless. I wish this had been different, of course, but still, the book was a lot better and more inspiring than I had initially imagined it would be.

Also, the Gothic feel was a bit against my liking - it was kind of weird at times, honestly.

I'm glad I picked up Lost in a Book, though. It lead me through a sweet but dangerous adventure in Belle's world and gave me a different kind of story to read, for a change. Plus, I now have several lovely new quotes to enjoy.

If you're a Beauty and the Beast fan and decide to try out this novel, tell me what you think! I'd love to know if you enjoyed the book and what your favorite quote was.

4 Comments

Historical

Orphan Train Tale: Together Forever by Jody Hedlund

Thursday, July 05, 2018

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: ♥♥♥ three out of five hearts= okay

Book two in the Orphan Train series

About:

Marianne Neumann has a heart for the dirty and hungry orphan children of New York City, partly because she can relate to their story- her past wasn't all flowers and sunshine. Working with a local orphan society, her first placing trip is coming up. She'll be heading towards the West, stopping along the way to find homes for the children in her care. What her employer doesn't know, however, that part of the reason she's looking forward to this trip is to hopefully find for her long-lost sister, Sophie- whose loss Marianne feels responsible for. However, she didn't expect to be making this trip with charming fellow placing agent Andrew Brady.

Born into privilege, southerner Drew Brady hasn't told anyone about the past he's trying to flee. Working as a placing agent may not be the easiest job, but he's good at what he does, and he loves the kids- even the teens who seem bent on refusing his friendship. Plus, the trip will give him the opportunity to get to know the lovely Miss Neumann, whom he seems to feel a connection with.

Sure, Marianne and Drew share a strong attraction, but will it be enough to stand the test of their pasts?

My Review:

Despite the many Jody Hedlund books I've loved over the years, something felt off about this one. Maybe because I didn't read book one and therefore wasn't enmeshed into the Neumann family, which certainly could be part of the problem. It was also hard trying to figure out what had already gone on in the character's lives and how things fit in. Some may not have this problem, but I would recommend reading book one, With You Always, just in case, so you have a more enjoyable read.

As for the characters, I liked Drew's confident personality, and Marianne was fine too, but I still think I would have gotten more out of their characters (Marianne, anyway) if I'd read the previous book. I didn't feel very connected with them, and their problems and successes.

The writing also seemed choppier than Mrs. Hedlund's previous works. Like I said before, I feel as if I would be able to, perhaps, give this novel a better review had I read book one first (which, sadly, I was unable to do). But still, if a book grips me in the middle of a series, I just count that as a very good book. If you start a series from the middle, the book just has to work harder and be very good to get you into the action and characters (just my opinion), and Together Forever failed to do that. Sadly, then, I'm afraid my review hasn't been very positive so far. I wasn't hooked.

Of course, not everything was a disappointment- there were some good points to the novel as well. Drew was charming and energetic (my favorite character, although nothing was wrong with Marianne) and I enjoyed seeing how the orphans were placed out in 1800's America. It's always interesting to see how things were done way back when. And I am curious now to see how the series began, and also how it will end.

Hopefully I'll be able to read book one at some point and maybe then I'll have a different opinion. But as of now, my advice is, read book one before you try this novel. You may be more invested and better able to understand the happenings in the story.

Note: I got this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.