Eight 1/2 hours and four books later...

Who knew that reading could be so wearing on one's body? Well, not really, but I am feeling the tiredness of inactivity, though I've danced my way around the apartment while reading. I thought I would get my 30 minutes of blog time in before I start another book. I have managed to only take about five minutes or so off since starting in order to use the loo and grab my pre-made sandwich from out of the refrigerator. I just might manage my goal, though I have now decided that I have this craving for chocolate chip cookie dough. Oops?

So, on the the books I've read so far!


1) The Delicate Pioneer by Sally Watson

This is actually a rewrite of Poor Felicity which was written in 1960. I had not read that version of the book (as it is OOP and insanely expensive), but the ending was apparently quite different in nature to this book's. I think I liked this ending better because it seems to match more with the character's nature, unless that was also changed in the original text. This story follows a southern plantation girl, Felicity Dare, on her overland trip to Seattle with her uncle and another orphan boy, Arne. She herself becomes and orphan when her parents die on the way there. She had been considered and was always treated as being "delicate" so is in for a rude awakening on the trip over there and once she gets there and realizes that there is no plantation with magnolia trees and slaves ready and waiting for her. But, I loved growing up with her and finding a bit more about the Dare family, ancestors of hers which were featured in The Hornet's Nest and Jade, if I do recall my history right.

Page count: 104


2) Constance by Patricia Clapp

I didn't mean to read two pioneer type books in a row, I really didn't! This book is another old one that I had never heard of before, but the children's librarian and the main library branch recommended it as a good book, so I thought it was worth a try. Constance Hopkins has come over to America on the Mayflower and doesn't like it very much. It's a big change from London, where she grew up and loved. Of course, she does manage to find her way in the world (and a husband) by the end of the book. Though I am left to wonder about John Cooke. Oh, and it did annoy me that she seemed to be using more modern slang in her dialogue. But still, an enjoyable, if somewhat old-fashioned, read.

Page count: 255


3) Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

And this one was a total change of pace from the previous two. Set in modern times, with a very modern teen girl protagonist, Cracked Up to Be focuses on Parker Fadley's attempts to disappear from her family, her friends, and her school all over something that happened the end of junior year. You get bits and pieces of the story of that night throughout the novel. I didn't find Parker to be all that enjoyable of a character, though, I would say that that could be part of the point of the novel, since she was attempting to make herself undesirable to those around her, but failing miserably because her friends, and yes, even her enemies, seemed to want to help her out. So, interesting.

Page count: 214


4) Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins

Asha's father has lost his engineering job and so she, her mother, and her sister Reet have to go live at his brother's house until he can find a job in America. Of course, things don't always go as planned, just like in real life. What I thought was going to remind me of Padma Venkatraman's Climbing the Stairs actually ended up reminding me of Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle by the end of the book. Though, I guess you could say it was a bit of both (from what I remember of both books) all together. Which meant, I really liked the book, but I wanted to cry by the end of it. And yet, I am optimistic that Asha is going to find her happy ending. She is too smart and too strong not to.

Page count: 225

Total pages read so far: 768


Now, onwards to my next book!