classic book review

Classic Book Review: Lady Susan

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Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Lady Susan
by Jane Austen

4 out of 5 stars

Lady Susan is charming and vivacious. Lady Susan lies to everyone. Lady Susan flirts with anything in pants! Lady Susan tries to persuade her daughter, Frederica, to marry. Frederica doesn’t like the gentlemen, so Lady Susan manipulates and schemes. Lady Susan is greedy and immoral, but… she is not boring.

The epistolary style is my favorite thing about this little book. It was so fun to see from all the different perspectives of the characters. They all have a strong opinion of Lady Susan, and they aren’t afraid to express it in their letters! Lady Susan’s letters to her friend, Alicia, are so full of malice and deceit. Ooh, it’s thrilling!

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Board Book Review: Lit for Little Hands Jane Eyre

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Lit for Little Hands by Brooke Jorden

Lit for Little Hands: Jane Eyre
by Brooke Jorden, Olga Skomorokhova (Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars

This board book tells the story of Jane Eyre, simplified for little readers. It has interactive pull tabs and flaps to reveal the mysteries surrounding Thornfield Manor! Some of the story is told with quotes from the original novel and includes original dialogue as well.

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Book Review: Aunt Jane’s Nieces Out West

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Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West by Edith Van Dyne

Aunt Jane’s Nieces Out West (Aunt Jane’s Nieces, #9)
by Edith Van Dyne

4 out of 5 stars

Uncle John and his nieces discover the delights and dangers of the motion picture business when they befriend two young actresses. When a mysterious young man makes their acquaintance, the group are puzzled to explain what he is doing in California.

This penultimate book in the series is so much fun! It has mystery and stolen jewels, a daring rescue, and all the intrigues of the early days of silent films. It was really interesting to see how the girls and their Uncle John got entangled in the lives of these two actresses and the mysterious young man. I loved learning more about the motion picture business in its early days. It’s like a little snippet of history.

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Book Review: Aunt Jane’s Nieces on the Ranch

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Aunt Jane's Nieces on the Ranch by Edith Van Dyne

Aunt Jane’s Nieces on the Ranch (Aunt Jane’s Nieces, #8)
by Edith Van Dyne (Pseudonym), L. Frank Baum

3 out of 5 stars

Louise is married, living happily on the ranch with her new baby and adoring husband. Patsy, Beth, and Uncle John come to visit and see little baby Jane. Uncle John worries that the local nurse that Louise has hired will be incompetent, so he brings along a trained nurse from New York to care for the little baby. However, the local Mexican nurse is upset and jealous, causing drama in the family. When both nurses and baby Jane go missing, the whole house is in an uproar to find them.

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Classic Review: Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates

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Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge

Hans Brinker: The Silver Skates
by Mary Mapes Dodge, May Audubon Post (Illustrator)
4 out of 5 stars
Hans and his sister Gretel are poor. Their father was injured years ago and left with brain damage, so it is up to their mother to support the family. Hans tries to get work, but there are no jobs available in the winter time in Holland.
All the children in their village are excited for a grand skating race that will be held after Christmas, but Hans and Gretel only have cheap wooden skates that Hans made himself.

One of my favorite books as a child! Love it! There are so many elements to the story, and yet it is simple and pretty. The writing is so charming and sweet! The plot kept my interest, and I got so attached to the characters.

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Book Review: Mujercitas (Little Women: Spanish Edition)

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Mujercitas by Louisa May Alcott

Mujercitas (Little Women)
by Louisa May Alcott, Gerardo Gambolini (Translator)
5 out of 5 stars

Fue un placer escuchar esta historia como un audiolibro en español. ¡Me encantó volver a visitar esta historia favorita en mi segundo idioma despues de leerlo muchas veces en ingles! Fue genial para mi comprensión del idioma y fue casi como redescubrir a estos personajes por primera vez.

¡Amo a Beth, Amy, Jo y Meg! Son personajes tan dulces. Nunca me canso de leer sobre sus pequeñas aventuras y dramas.

El audiolibro gratuito que escuché era de “Voz Humana”. Fue una buena traducción y sentí que reflejaba muy bien el estilo de la escritura original. Me gustó mucho la narradora. La narradora hablaba clara y lentamente, por lo que era fácil de entender, incluso si el español es su segundo idioma.

KEEP READING TO SEE MY REVIEW IN ENGLISH!

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Classic Review: Wind in the Willows

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The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame, Grahame Baker-Smith (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars
I adore this book! It is one of my favorite classics to reread. There is something so enchanting about Mole and Rat, Toad and Badger, and all the animal folk. Every time I read it, I am swept away into the exciting world of the River.

When I received this beautiful Templar edition in the mail, I literally started crying because the book is so beautiful. The cloth-bound green cover perfectly captures the peaceful mood of a breezy day boating on the River. I love the gorgeous gold foiling on the cover. It’s so tactile! I want to run my fingers over it, feeling the embossed edges of the ripples in the water, but I don’t want to mess it up by handling it too much.

And the inside is just as gorgeous! The endpapers are a pretty green with patterns of willow branches. Every couple of pages throughout the story, there is another delightful illustration bringing the story to life.

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Book Review: Emma Brown

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Emma Brown by Clare Boylan

Emma Brown: A Novel from the Unfinished Manuscript by Charlotte Bronte
by Clare Boylan, Charlotte Brontë
2 out of 5 stars

A child is mysteriously left at a girls boarding school. She has no memory of her past and is enrolled under a false name. Mr. Ellin takes it upon himself to find out about the girl’s history, hoping to restore her to her family.

Charlotte Bronte wrote the first twenty pages, and then tragically passed away before she could finish this intriguing story. And a modern author, Clare Boylan, has tried to finish the book in Charlotte Bronte’s style. I was not impressed.

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Classic Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau

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The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells

The Island of Dr. Moreau
by H.G. Wells, Alan Lightman (Goodreads Author) (Introduction)
3 out of 5 stars

Mr. Prendick is cast ashore on an island, where the evil scientist, Dr. Moreau, engages in animal vivisection and terrifying experiments. Gradually Mr. Prendick begins to realize that the other humans on the island are not all they seem to be. They have animal instincts and strange behavior, and Mr. Prendick has to fight for his life and find some way to escape this island of horrors.

The plot moves rather slowly, with more attention given to analyzing the morality and implications of Dr. Moreau’s work. A lot of time is spent scrutinizing different themes and ideas, like interesting explorations of what it really means to be human, but all the philosophizing does slow down the plot. However, when there IS any action, it is exciting and dramatic…. and violent. I did find the themes extremely interesting and well thought out.

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