Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (continued)

Rebecca (continued)

Daphne du Maurier

Where I am in the story so far, speaks of Max describing the garden in his home. Although this may seem quite lacklustre, the author uses vivid description of the senses to make the reader feel as though they are being taken on a journey to Manderley. An example of this, is '...from the terrace you could hear the ripple of the coming tide washing in the little bay'. However, the main focus of his recollection, is to inform us of his pride and joy; his flowers. There are numerous types, including: hydrangeas, syringa, crocuses, and daffodils - '...stirring in the evening breeze, golden heads cupped upon lean stalks.' As a reader, you immediately believe that he has a passion for agriculture, but also you feel a pang of sympathy, as you dwell on the possibility that the flowers might be filling the place of his 'beloved' Rebecca. 

As I continue to read Rebecca, I find that I am learning new words and phrases within the formal language used by the author, that are helping to extend my vocabulary. I have since learnt two new words: 'raucous' and 'blowzy', both of which are used to describe the roses at Manderley, the home of Max de Winter. I find this rather unusual, as the words are supposed to mean harsh-sounding and course-looking; all of which could suggest unconventional beauty, perhaps reflecting the loneliness of Max. 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again....'

I have just started reading this book, called Rebecca. It was written in 1938, and tells the story from the point of view of the the heroine of the story, who remains nameless. She works as a lady's companion for the rude and boastful Mrs Van Hopper, and on a trip to South France, she meets a handsome and charming widower, named Max de Winter. From what I have read so far, she comes across as quite a feeble, timid person, who's position on the social heirachy deprives her of speaking for herself, and means that she must do things not out of will, but because she knows no other way. du Maurier creates sympathy and empathy for the protagonist, through the quotation, 'You don't understand. I'm not the sort of person that men marry.' She then goes on to say 'I don't think I know how to explain. I don't belong in your sort of world for one thing.' This shows that she feels very insecure, and has no self-confidence or self-esteem. The real story of the ominous Manderley, the home of Max de Winter, and it's secrets begins to be revealed a bit further on in the book, but I am informed that when the new Mrs de Winter arrives at the brooding Manderley, she soon finds that the memory of Max's dead wife Rebecca will be forever kept alive by the wicked housekeeper, Mrs Danvers....

Lily B on the brink of love

Lily B on the Brink of love

Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

'I long to be a writer. He longs to climb rocks. Up high in the rain... Do you think we are compatible?'

This book is all about Lily Blennerhassett, a year 8 student who is very passionate about reading and journalism. She writes an advice column for her school newspaper, and gets some strange emails from some school students. My favourite one was:

Dear Lily,

My best friend says if I do not make the cheerleading team, I might as well not even exist at Mulgrew Middle School. She says if I want to hang out with the best crowd, cheerleading is a requirement. Between you and me, I think cheerleading is kind of stupid and not at all flattering to the female image. But I do want to exist at school. Is my friend right? Write back fast because try-outs are next week.

Yours,

Seeking Social Saavy.

I think that Lily comes across as a relatively normal girl, that is except for her abnormal obsession with her idea of angelic perfection - Colter Hendricks. Colter is one year above her, and is in Lily's opinion,' a vision of angelic perfection without wings, a song without words, the answer to all my hopes and dreams.'

Lily longs to be a writer, and the perfect opportunity comes for her when a writer called Ellis Parson offers her a job to be her assistant. Lily arrives prepared, only to be flabbergasted when Colter Hendricks answers the door!

This was a highly entertaining read and I would recommend it to teenage girls aged 12-14.

I would rate it 5/5 stars!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

                       Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
J.K Rowling

'How dare you use my own spells against me..... Yes, I am the Half Blood Prince'

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is the penultimate book in the Harry Potter series, and is the start of the life changing adventure that Harry will have to embark on. Before term resumed, Dumbledore took Harry to visit an old friend of his, Horace Slughorn, who used to teach potions at Hogwarts some years ago. The point of Dumbledore's visit, was to persuade Slughorn to take his job back, but what Slughorn was unaware of was that it was actually his memory that Dumbledore was after.....    Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione noticed something unusual about Draco Malfoy after they saw him entering Borgin and Burke's in Diagon Alley. They knew that the Malfoy's were deeply associated with the Dark Arts, but they had no idea that the unseemingly impossible task that Draco had been ordered to perform by the Dark Lord himself would change the wizarding world forever.

Slughorn had resumed his old post as Potions master, and Harry being pretty useless at potions, wasn't looking forward to this lesson very much. He had a rather scruffy copy of Advanced Potion Making which was covered in annotations and scribbles, but proved to be quite useful. The inside of the book said: This book is property of The Half Blood Prince. Days, weeks, months passed, and Harry became more and more obsessed with this book. It taught him spells he never knew existed, but better yet, it held all the secrets to perfect potion making. He had no idea how dangerous this book was, and what was worse, he had no idea who the Half Blood Prince was.
It was later uncovered that Snape was the Half Blood Prince! And as for the mysterious task that Draco was ordered to perform......to kill Dumbledore!?! In the end, it ended up that Snape killed Dumbledore with just two simple yet deadly words 'Avada Kadevra'. With Dumbledore now gone, Harry, Ron and Hermione are now all alone, and have to try and finish whatever Dumbledore started before Voldemort does!
I would rate this book: 5/5!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Part 1: November 19th

Part 2:July 2011!

'The longer we stay here, the stronger he gets'

This is the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series and is all about Harry’s final few adventures that lead him into the hands of the evil Lord Voldemort. Voldemort wants one thing more then anything - to be immortal. He believes that the only thing standing in his way from immortality is Harry, so he takes immediate action, putting a serious operation in order. Being as powerful and full of dark magic that he is, Voldemort did something that other dark wizards have only attempted to do - splitting his soul. Basically, he has split his soul into seven pieces, and hidden them in objects of important value to him. A horcrux can be anywhere, from a inside a wellington boot, to inside a diamond ring. The only way Harry can properly defeat Voldemort, is if he demolishes all seven horcruxes, and finally Voldemort himself. Harry takes a big risk, and decides that he doesn't want to return to Hogwarts for his final year. Instead, he decides to continue searching for the last few of the hocruxes that belong to Lord Voldemort with the help of his two best friends Ron and Hermione. Tensions run high in this book, and their friendship is really put to the test, as they are on the run from the ministry of magic and the death eaters who won't stop until they've found 'Undesirable No. 1'...... This book ties up all the loose ends from the previous six, and is definitely a poignant read as many memorable characters die during the battle of Hogwarts to save Harry. With all this resting on Harry’s shoulders, he must save the wizarding world and fulfill the prophecy “Neither must live while the other survives” before it’s too late! My favourite character is probably Hermione Granger, because in this book, she takes on more of a leading role, as her knowledge and strong leadership skills are needed to protect herself and Harry and Ron, since they are now no longer under the safety and protection of Hogwarts. Throughout the seven books, she has remained a strong, loyal, sensible, brave, independent character and she has shown that she can also work well under pressure. I absolutely love the Harry Potter series and definitely recommend it to everyone who enjoys reading action packed and fantastic adventure stories, with characters that will remain with you until the very end.
I would rate this book: 5/5!

Al Capone does My Shirts

           Al Capone Does My Shirts 

              Gennifer Choldenko 

          "No sir. I'm serious. He's the only one that can do this." 

Al Capone does my shirts is a heart warming story, that focuses on life for a young boy in the 1930's. Moose Flanagan has had to leave his home, friends and what seems like his life, to move to a small island called Alcatraz - home to a high security prison and to the famous gangster Al Capone. This book focuses on what life is like on Alcatraz, with all the rules and restrictions that they have to abide by for their own safety. Moose's sister Natalie, is disabled, so his parents focus all their attention on her, and have no time to listen to his views or concerns. Along the way, Moose makes friends with the troublesome Piper, the warden's daughter, who comes up with a plan to make money out of the convicts. She planned to wash her class mates clothes, but tell them that the famous convicts like Machine Gun Kelly were washing them, and then charge them extra for it. Moose watched guiltily as his own gullible friends said 'Al Capone washed my shirts!'  Moose came across to me as a brave, bold, protective character and he stands up for what he believes in, and won't stop until he gets his message across. When Natalie didn't pass her interview for her school The Esther P. Marinoff, both Moose's parents were completely out of faith and didn't even acknowledge his existence. I felt sorry for him, but even at though his family was slowly falling apart, he still stayed strong and in the end managed to put it back together. I admire Gennifer Choldenko's work, and hope to read another one of her books in the future. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, because you also learn some interesting facts about Al Capone and Alcatraz, as well as reading a wonderfully moving and realistic book.

           I would rate this book: 4/5 stars!