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Faith trusts her father so strongly. She also believes that she has a dual nature--part of her is "good," being the submissive woman that she should be at her time. But she also craves knowledge, and she has a scientific mind. But this is the 1860s/1870s, and that desire is not admired or promoted. Faith's family has been run out of town amid scandal, and they are now on a tiny island. Soon after, her father dies. Faith believes it was murder, but no one seems to believe her. Can she prove it?
Faith is a delightfully prickly character. She has some wonderful moments, and some that will make you cringe. I think this books does a good job of making you feel what it would be like to live in that time period, and I liked the discussion of religion and science.
Faith is a delightfully prickly character. She has some wonderful moments, and some that will make you cringe. I think this books does a good job of making you feel what it would be like to live in that time period, and I liked the discussion of religion and science.
This book was enjoyable, and funny, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not watched all his stand-up specials and seen him live immediately before. It made the recycled parts not as funny as they could have been to me.
Maybe it's because I sped through it, but I didn't fully enjoy this one. It felt a lot like the Dork Diary series, which makes sense, but it was a bit too repetitive for me. I bet kids will love it though.
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Loved this one! I think it's an excellent continuation of the Harry Potter series. I got the feels, I had to put it down for a bit to think, and we got to revisit that world. Isn't that great? I have already had some interesting conversations about it and can't wait to have more.
I was drawn in by this story, but then, I was such a huge fan of [b:Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty|20483085|Poisoned Apples Poems for You, My Pretty|Christine Heppermann|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1391531802s/20483085.jpg|28553427]. I knew what to expect from Heppermann's poetic voice, and she did not disappoint. I liked the interplay of religion and choices, how to reconcile faith and the lived life when they disagree. I also liked that Addie had support from her parents and boyfriend about her abortion. This is not a tale of hardship to get one, or dealing with angry family members. There is one young woman who talks a lot about a charity for "repenting women", which I have mixed feelings about. It seems both helpful and also guilt-inducing.
Who doesn't want to read about possible heretics in the 1240s? Well, I certainly didn't know that I did! Dolssa's life is thrown into chaos when the Catholic Church finds out about her Beloved and how she speaks about Him. They burn her mother at the stake and she is on the run. A young woman with two sisters, Botille, finds Dolssa and rescues her. They still are not safe, because Friar Lucien will not stop until she is brought to justice for her "heresy."
Berry chose to tell her story from many different perspectives. You hear from Botille and Dolssa most often, but you also hear from Lucien and different witnesses to Dolssa's life on the run and her actions. This gives us an all-around view of the story, which I appreciated. It also helped to humanize characters like Lucien a bit, who otherwise we would all rail on for stupidity (forgetting historical accuracy.) The book also describes a genocide I had never heard of (Albigensian), part of the Crusades of the Catholic Church. It brings the Crusades to horrifying life, where it's not just your life at stake, but your family and anyone who has ever helped you. These are themes we see repeated throughout history.
The other thing I really liked about this book were the female characters. When I think about this time period, I often think life was hard and boring for women. Botille, Sazia, and Plazensa, along with Astruga and Sapdalina and all these others, illuminated for me that yes, life was hard for peasants, but they also had fun and joy and love and their life was not that different from our own.
I also really loved the end matter. As a librarian on a book review committee, I very much appreciate glossaries, sources cited, bibliography, etc. Berry gives you an overview of the Crusades and Provensa, definitions of non-English words used, as well as where to look for continued reading. Excellent!
Berry chose to tell her story from many different perspectives. You hear from Botille and Dolssa most often, but you also hear from Lucien and different witnesses to Dolssa's life on the run and her actions. This gives us an all-around view of the story, which I appreciated. It also helped to humanize characters like Lucien a bit, who otherwise we would all rail on for stupidity (forgetting historical accuracy.) The book also describes a genocide I had never heard of (Albigensian), part of the Crusades of the Catholic Church. It brings the Crusades to horrifying life, where it's not just your life at stake, but your family and anyone who has ever helped you. These are themes we see repeated throughout history.
The other thing I really liked about this book were the female characters. When I think about this time period, I often think life was hard and boring for women. Botille, Sazia, and Plazensa, along with Astruga and Sapdalina and all these others, illuminated for me that yes, life was hard for peasants, but they also had fun and joy and love and their life was not that different from our own.
I also really loved the end matter. As a librarian on a book review committee, I very much appreciate glossaries, sources cited, bibliography, etc. Berry gives you an overview of the Crusades and Provensa, definitions of non-English words used, as well as where to look for continued reading. Excellent!
