Well, I’m late posting April’s classic, but it’s only the 15th! I’m still 5 whole days ahead from last month’s classic! 😉
April’s Classic
Check it out on Goodreads!
Originally Published: 1988
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis: Matilda is a little girl who is far too good to be true. At age five-and-a-half she’s knocking off double-digit multiplication problems and blitz-reading Dickens. Even more remarkably, her classmates love her even though she’s a super-nerd and the teacher’s pet. But everything is not perfect in Matilda’s world. For starters she has two of the most idiotic, self-centered parents who ever lived. Then there’s the large, busty nightmare of a school principal, Mrs. (“The”) Trunchbull, a former hammer-throwing champion who flings children at will and is approximately as sympathetic as a bulldozer. Fortunately for Matilda, she has the inner resources to deal with such annoyances: astonishing intelligence, saintly patience, and an innate predilection for revenge.
She warms up with some practical jokes aimed at her hapless parents, but the true test comes when she rallies in defense of her teacher, the sweet Miss Honey, against the diabolical Trunchbull. There is never any doubt that Matilda will carry the day. Even so, this wonderful story is far from predictable. Roald Dahl, while keeping the plot moving imaginatively, also has an unerring ear for emotional truth. The reader cares about Matilda because in addition to all her other gifts, she has real feelings.
WHEN I Discovered This Classic
When I was little, I was OBSESSED with this movie (honestly, I still am)! So, naturally, knowing how much I loved the movie, my grandparents bought me the book when I was probably 8 or 9.
WHY I Chose To Read It
Like I said, I received this book when I was 8 or 9, and that was the last time I read it. I remember absolutely loving it then, and being that it had been over 10 years since I read it last, I decided it was definitely time for a re-read!
WHAT Makes It A Classic
Roald Dahl is a very prolific and well-loved children’s author. Matilda is just one of his very popular books, and it has been made into a movie (one of my absolute favorites, actually!), as well as a successful Broadway musical!
WHAT I Thought Of This Classic
I absolutely loved it! In fact, I think I enjoyed reading Matilda more now than I did when I was little. This book is just so clever!
Matilda is the perfect example for why I love children’s literature so much. Unlike adult books, or even YA, children’s books don’t try to impress with fancy language and unnecessary drama, in order to be “complex” or “worthy” of being literature. They simply are what they are. Even though it’s not filled with complex language, Matilda is so beautifully written. It is one of those books that make you appreciate books and reading all the more.
I just had so much fun reading this book! The characters are so creative, The Wormwoods are awful and crazy, Miss Honey is just lovely, the Trunchbull is terrifying, and Matilda is so clever, and just a little naughty.
One thing I found interesting though, was Matilda’s powers. If you have seen the movie, and I know many of you probably have, you know how large a part Matilda’s powers come into play. That is not the case with the book. In fact, I was over halfway through the book before they were even mentioned or discovered.
WILL It Stay A Classic
Absolutely! Matilda is one of those books that make you remember why you love books and reading so much. It has such a magical quality to the story and its writing, that as long as there are bibliophiles out there, this book will thrive.
WHO I’d Recommend It To
I would recommend this book to fans of the movie, children who are tired of reading the same old books and are looking for clever and unique reads, and adults who are tired of reading the same old books and are looking for clever and unique reads. I would also recommend this book to anyone who loves books, reading, and the library.
Title: Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black
Pages: 369
Genres: YA, Fantasy/Paranormal, Mystery, Romance
Published by: Bloomsbury Children’s USA
Summary
Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you’re close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner’s heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts …
Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister’s shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames …
Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed …
What I Thought
Being a dancer myself, I was instantly intrigued by Dance of Shadows. Plus, that gorgeous cover helped draw me in even more. That being said, this book is not exactly what I expected. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. Just so you’re aware, this book is a paranormal mystery. I wasn’t aware of that right away. I thought it was just a mystery novel, and so I was a little startled at a certain event that happened in the beginning of the book!
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature started by Breaking the Spine that puts the spotlight on upcoming releases!
Today’s pick is:
Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories
Releasing May 17th, 2016!
Maybe it’s the long, lazy days, or maybe it’s the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days & Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.
Featuring stories by Leigh Bardugo, Francesca Lia Block, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Stephanie Perkins, Veronica Roth, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith.
I absolutely adored My True Love Gave To Me, so when I found out another anthology in the same style, just with a summer setting, was going to be released, I was super excited. With so many amazing authors contributing to this book, I just know that I will enjoy this one. This book is going to be such a perfect book to read poolside, or just out in the grass on a lazy summer day. I have been waiting a long time for this book, and I am so excited that it is almost here!
Summary:
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.
Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.
What I Thought
I want to start off by saying that Room is the best book I’ve read this year so far. It may only be May, but I know with certainty that this book is definitely going to be in my top ten favorite reads of 2016. Room was intense, cruel, complex, and beautiful. It is one of those books that, once you start, you do not want to come back up for air until it is over. I absolutely devoured this book.
April was a much better reading month than March. I think it’s safe to say that I’m finally out of my dreadful reading slump!
Today is Top Ten Tuesday – A weekly bookish list created by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic is:
Childhood Characters I’d Like to Revisit as Adults
I’m only doing a top 5 today, because, to be honest, I haven’t had a whole lot of time to blog these past couple of days, but I still really wanted to participate. So, here they are!
- Nancy Drew
I know there’s a Nancy Drew TV show in the works that features a 30-something Nancy, but from what I’ve read about that show, it’s going to be a hot mess. So…it doesn’t count. However, I’d love to see a more faithful adaptation of a grown up Nancy (but only if she’s happily married to Ned)!
- The children from The Mysterious Benedict Society
How are their lives as grown ups? Are they still especially gifted and clever? I’d love to read a little about their adult lives, just to see how they turned out.
- Miss Penelope Lumley, and the incorrigible children
I’d love to see how a governess as young as 15 turns out, after raising children who were initially raised by wolves, as well as how the wolf-like children turned out!
- Junie B. Jones
If she is as sassy as she was in kindergarten and first grade, I’d love to read about a sassy Junie B. Jones as an adult, or even just a teenager.
- Pippi Longstocking
I would imagine that, as an adult, Pippi travels the world a lot, and goes on all sorts of adventures. I would love to read about an adult Pippi’s travels!
That’s it for this week! Let me know about your Top Ten Tuesdays in the comments! 🙂
Summary:
Zoe thought the loss of her parents would be the most difficult thing she’d ever have to endure. When she began seeing things she couldn’t explain in her new home of Torchcreek, Virginia, she was sure the grief was driving her mad. Instead Zoe discovers she is part of an ancient bloodline, one destined to defeat the powers of darkness from condemning the world. But Zoe, the daughter of the three, isn’t just another descendant–she’s the key to humanity’s salvation.
In this first installment of the Christian fantasy trilogy The Chronicle of the Three, Zoe Andrews learns that not all shadows are harmless interceptions of light. Some are a more sinister darkness that wants to torment the soul.
What I Thought
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.*
I was pleasantly surprised by this book! Going into The Chronicle of the Three: Bloodline (which from this point on I will just refer to it as Bloodline, because wowee, that’s too long of a title for me to constantly refer to it as), I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I’m very glad I gave this little book a chance though!
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature started by Breaking the Spine that puts the spotlight on upcoming releases!
Today’s pick is:
The Square Root of Summer
Releasing May 3rd, 2016!
This is what it means to love someone. This is what it means to grieve someone. It’s a little bit like a black hole. It’s a little bit like infinity.
Gottie H. Oppenheimer is losing time. Literally. When the fabric of the universe around her seaside town begins to fray, she’s hurtled through wormholes to her past:
To last summer, when her grandfather Grey died. To the afternoon she fell in love with Jason, who wouldn’t even hold her hand at the funeral. To the day her best friend Thomas moved away and left her behind with a scar on her hand and a black hole in her memory.
Although Grey is still gone, Jason and Thomas are back, and Gottie’s past, present, and future are about to collide—and someone’s heart is about to be broken.
This book sounds really interesting! I admit, sometimes time travel is very confusing to me. However, The Square Root of Summer has a really intriguing concept, and I am very eager to read this book and see what it’s like.
Today is Top Ten Tuesday – A weekly bookish list created by The Broke and the Bookish! This week’s topic is:
Bookworm Delights
As we all know, there are certain little things that only bookworms find joy in. While each bookworm is different, I think we can all agree we have our own bookish delights. Here’s mine:
Deckled Edges
I feel like people either love deckled edges or hate them, but I definitely love them. I love everything about them! The texture, the uneven pages, everything.
Old Books
I don’t care if it’s a book I have almost zero interest in, if I see an old book I just have to run over and admire it. They always look like they have such a story to tell. When I pick up old books, I imagine all that it has been through, and how it was printed in another time.
Reading in Your Favorite Spot With No Other Plans for the Rest of the Day
I’m very much an introvert, so for me, nothing feels better than coming home after a busy day, knowing I don’t have anywhere else to go. I love being able to just jump into my PJs, snuggle into my favorite reading spot, and just read for as long as I want.
Finding a New Favorite Book
There are some books, where after only reading ten pages (if even that), you’re already in love with the story, and you just know that this book has become a new favorite!
Reading Outside On a Beautiful Day
One of my favorite things to do on a lazy spring/summer/fall day (it’s too cold in the winter) is lay a blanket in the grass, gather up some pillows, and read until I’m almost sun burnt.
When You Find a Reference to Another Book in the One You’re Reading
I don’t know why, but when the book I’m reading references another book, it is so exciting! Whether it be a reference to someone that is in the same book universe (like what happens in a lot of Sarah Dessen’s novels), or a character’s favorite book just happens to be your favorite book, it doesn’t matter; it’s just always so fun and exciting!
Bookish Clothes & Accessories
I’m not sure why, but being able to dress like your favorite book, as weird as that sounds, is so satisfying!
Finding a Book to Movie Adaptation That You Love
Regardless of whether or not it is 100% accurate to the book, sometimes the movie adaptation actually does do the book justice.
Designed Endpapers
Nothing is more exciting than when you expect to see nothing but a plain page when you open your book and it is actually a gorgeous design!
Cheap Books
There’s a reason I love library book sales so much! Buying books can turn very expensive very fast, but luckily used bookstores and and especially library book sales can help; sometimes I can buy huge book stacks for less than $10!
That’s it for this week! Let me know what delights you as a bookworm! 🙂
Summary
Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again.
When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.
But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.
What I Thought
I really, really enjoyed Safe Haven! Plus, thanks to this book, I think it’s safe to say I am officially out of my dreadful reading slump! 🎉
the calico books 