New ARC: Alice I Have Been

Alice I Have Been

By Melanie Benjamin

(Delacorte Press, Hardcover)

Publication Date: January 12, 2010

I have been reading so many bloggers who have had the chance to read this already and I have signed up a few times to try to win one but never did. But alas' I was SO EXCITED to finally get a copy given to me that I had to share. I have to get through this month of spooky reads and then once winter sets in I plan to dig down deep in my covers and fall down this rabbit hole of a good read!

Happy Reading

* red headed book child

Review #15: The Seance by John Harwood

Title: The Seance

Author: John Harwood

Genre: Literature

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Format: Hardcover checked out from library

Rating: 4/5

Open this book and the first line on the inside jacket cover is this: "Sell the Hall unseen; burn it to the ground and plough the earth with salt, if you will: but never live there..."

Um, gee...okay...you got me! It doesn't take the upcoming Halloween holiday to get me in the mood for a haunted house story. I'm in this mood all year round and this book had it all. I discovered it from another one of you lovely book bloggers and because I can be such a disorganized mess full of lists upon lists of books, I don't remember who mentioned it. Thank you to whomever you are, if you read this. I took your recommendation and ran!

So here's the little recap description from the book itself:

"Constance Langton grows up in a hosuehold marked by death, her father distant, her mother in perpetual mourning for Constance's sister, the child she lost. Desperate to coax her mother back to health, Constance takes her to a seance; perhaps she will find comfort from beyond the grave. But the meeting has tragic consequences. Constance is left alone, her own legacy bequest that will blight her life."

My review:

This book is much more layered than the description touches on. Through and through, it is a ghost story but it is not only Constance's ghost story. It starts out with her, then you find she is connected to a family that has a very tragic and troubled history. That history plays itself out at, of course, a haunted house; Wraxford Hall, a decaying mansion on the English countryside.

Oh boy!

So you find out all about the various members of the Wraxford family and how it all ties into Constance. The story is broken into six narratives told from different view points. This style can be hard to read, if, in my opinion, it is not done well. It is nice to read a linear story line and the jumping back and forth can be difficult for some readers. The author, in this case, did a good job of bringing it all together so you didn't feel like you were completely starting over each chapter.

The main link to all of the characters is their abilities and interest in communicating with the dead. Wraxford Hall has seen some troubled times. Death?...Murder?...Unexplained disappearances?....Ghosts? The stories become an interest to many and a case to solve and exploit.

How is Constance connected? What happened at this house?

The author does a good job of setting a suspenseful, haunting scene; describing the house, the woods around it and the mood of Victorian England in the late 1800s. The climax of the story happens during a seance that takes place at the mansion. No spoilers, I promise.

This is a good read for the Halloween season. Not a full 5 review, though not for any particular reason. I would not rush out and BUY this book but I did really enjoy it enough to recommend for readers who love a spooky tale.

Happy Reading!

* red headed book child

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday

This is a weekly event hosted by Jenny at TakeMeAway! It is the time each week to recognize those older books… an older book you’ve always wanted to read, or one that you have read and love; maybe one from your childhood; or

review an older book -- how about even a classic!

This week I pick The Book of Lost Things

by John Connolly.

"High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year- old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and he is alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. As his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own worl

ds, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king wh

o keeps his secrets in a mysterious book...The Book of Lost Things."

(description from back of book)

My review:

This book was given to me by a good friend some years ago and I fell in love with it. It had the same magical quality of Chronicles of Narnia: full of adventure, spirit, warmth, sadness and hope. The main character was completely relatable (minus the loss of the mother) to me. I was a child who was comforted by my books and would talk to them and act them out. I had my own little magical kingdom in my room (the few years I was lucky

enough to actually GET my own room. I come from a large family!).

This is a book I have recommended to just about everyone I know. It is far from his graphic Charlie Parker thrillers he writes for adults but equally

as powerful.

I would call this one a modern classic and can be enjoyed by readers young and old.

I am "Throwing Back" to this title this week because this month he has a new young reader book coming out called The Gates.

I am so flippin' excited.

Happy Reading!

* red headed book child

"Waiting On" Wednesdays

This weekly event is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that

we're eagerly anticipating.

I love Nicci French. I have read all of their books. They are a husband and wife writing team and their books are always really suspenseful and super fun to read. This one is their latest and I believe it's due out this winter in the US.

What To Do When Someone Dies (from the author's website)

'This is not my world. Something is wrong, askew ... I am Ellie Falkner, thirty-four years old and married to Greg Manning. although two police officers have just come to my door and told me he is dead ...'

It's devastating to hear that your husband has died in a horrific car accident. But to learn that he died with a mystery woman as his passenger is torment.

Was Greg having an affair?

Drowning in grief, Ellie clings to Greg's innocence, and her determination to prove it to the world at large means she must find out who Milena Livingstone was and what she was doing in Greg's car. But in the process those around her begin to question her sanity ... and her motive. And the louder she shouts that Greg might have been murdered, the more suspicion falls on Ellie herself.

Sometimes it's safer to keep silent when someone dies.

Happy Reading!

* red headed book child

Teaser Tuesdays

TEASER TUESDAYS:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between

lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

Please avoid spoilers!

"Of the three entrances, the door to the study had felt a little less solid than the others. I retraced my steps toward Drayton, who had slumped lower on his chair and seemed barely conscious, set my shoulder against the upper panel and felt it give. "

The Seance by John Harwood

Happy Reading!

* red headed book child

The Week In Review

So it's been a rough week last week and I thought I'd include a little pic of the Little Red Headed Book Child. He is, of course, the best reader in the house.

All is settling down finally. Boy is in a little cast but doing really well. Vocal, hungry, and busy- all very good things. I hope to get into a routine with him this week and happily mark off each day on my calendar until the cast can come off and I can start to hover over him 110% of time. :)

Though I did not have much time to read or therefore, enough concentration to read anything other than research on fractured femurs, I did have a busy book week.

Here's what happened in my world of books. It is kind of a catch all of memes. (if that makes sense!)

So...

I received:

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran that I won from Anna at Anna's Book Blog. (Thank you!)

I checked out:

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

The Seance by John Harwood (Holy Crap, I'm reading this now and it is gooood.)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I borrowed from my Mom:

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

I bought at my local library:

Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett

I bought at my local thrift store: ( I love this place!)

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (I'm reading this with my friend Rachel for our Book/Movie Adventure!)

I finished:

Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Review to come.

Finally, I had hoped to create a spooky challenge for myself for my favorite time of year but with everything else happening I feel like I may not be "up" for a strict challenge. So I have a few spooky reads that I have had on my list for awhile now that I am going to pick up. No pressure!

I think that's it.

Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

* red headed book child

The last few days...

I have been away from the blog world for a few days due to a family emergency. I really want to keep this blog focused on books and my love for them but I need to release some of my thoughts on what has happened. Considering I just read and reviewed a memoir on a mother and son and their road to recovery, I feel it's strange timing.

My son tripped over my legs on Tuesday after lunch and twisted his leg on my sweatpants. I was kneeling on the floor cleaning up under his chair and he was climbing around behind me. Typical day but he tripped and twisted on the way down. I was unable to soothe him like I normally can and knew something was wrong. Frantic I called my husband and we rushed to Urgent Care after talking to a nurse. They fit us in with the Pediatrician and he did a wonderful job figuring out where his pain was. He had a small fracture in his femur. Not so big but very painful for a little babe. He sent us to another Specialty clinic to get another point of view and to be set up for a cast. Bad idea.

After 3 hours of waiting there, they realized they could not care for a toddler. He was too young. So then they sent us to Children's Hospital ER. ?

He had now had no nap, no snack, no drink and he was in pain. He and I were a absolute wreck and I channeled my best Shirley MacClaine and screamed "My Baby is in Pain, Why are we waiting so long?"

Finally we made it to Children's Hospital (a wonderful place where I had my open heart surgery a very long time ago). They were wonderful and caring and gave him food and pain relief and scheduled the casting for the next day. He was finally all smiles again, atleast for a little bit.

We spent the night in the ER and were then moved to Short Stay the next day and waited for the cast. We took more Xrays and found that there was indeed a fracture. No surgery, just a cast.

I felt like such an emotional wreck and the shittiest mom on the planet every time someone asked me what happened. I know they need to know and they have to do their job to ensure there is no abuse going on. I completely blame myself though I know in my head that it was an accident. I just keep replaying the trip over and over in my head. The doctors say "Share this story, do not hide it! You did nothing wrong. It was an accident. Everyone has had something like this happen either to them or someone they know."

He is now in a cast and bubbly and playing and doing just fine (please stay this way!). He has to be in this cast for 30 days. It's as if he is an infant again. My heart is so full and I am so fearful that something else will randomly happen that I am constantly on edge. I'm told this will subside. it's amazing how many stories come up when something like this happens. I think I heard atleast 20 stories of kids breaking their bones. I still feel shitty.

So keep us in your prayers. I have lots of help coming our way to keep everyone entertained and busy. Good thing he likes books. Maybe he can help me review. :)

Michelle

Red Headed Book Child