The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I loved this book. I only wish it was true! I did a little research online and it said it was fiction and I was sad that the Author’s Note deceived me so. But, on the review. The main character of the book, Piscine Molitor Patel, also known as Pi, lives in India and is named after a pool (the story behind this begins the book). As he grows up he discovers that he loves God and along the way finds three religions that he practices simultaneously: Hinduism, Catholicism, and Islam. Note that there are also funny stories along the way. Even more so because Pi’s family has a zoo! But the true plot begins later. Pi’s father, a zookeeper, gets tired of living under this political leader and decides to move to…. drum roll please… Canada. So they sell all the animals and travel on a cargo ship to Canada. The ship is Japanese and stops at one of the ports then continues on. But one fateful night, it sinks. And only Pi, a Bengal tiger, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan have survived and are all on one lifeboat. Things happen and only Pi and the tiger, Richard Parker, are left. So Pi must use his knowledge and survival instincts to keep him alive and safe. This book was amazing. The details are wonderful and you can see whats happening as if it’s taking place around you. The first portion of the book gives back ground while the plot slowly unfolds. It is a tale of survival that will have you ‘Believe in God’ which will make sense after you read the author’s note. but please note that this is not a religious book. And no, Mr. Martel is not trying to get you to swap religions or anything. It’s just a part of the character. This book is intelligently written and intelligent in itself. Please pick it up and read it!

Enlightened,

Rachel

The Diamond Secret – Suzanne Weyn

The year is 1918. Russia is a world cast in turmoil. The royal family is dead. All but the Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov. However, that problem will shortly be fixed, permanently. Ivan Navgorny watches in horror as the young woman falls into the Iset River after being struck by a bullet. The last of the royal family, exterminated.
    Fast forward a year, and we meet Nadya, a tavern maid at ‘The Happy Comrades’. After waking up in an asylum with no recollection of her past, Nadya escapes and comes into the employment of the stingy Mrs. Zolokov. Enter Ivan and Sergei, two con artists, and as unlikely a pair as you’ll find. Ivan, a former Red Soldier, and Sergei, an ex-Count looking for his wife and son, are looking for a woman to pass as the Grand Duchess Anastasia, after rumors of her survival, and of the Dowager Grand Empress’ reward for her safe return. Completely broke, and down on their luck, Ivan and Seregi walk into The Happy Comrades, hoping for a cheap meal. Instead, they find Nadya, who in addition to looking like the Grand Duchess, has just that indescribable something that Sergei and Ivan are looking for. After much convincing and a little trickery on Ivan and Sergei’s parts, Nadya decides to take the opportunity to get out of Russia and find the one thing she’s dreamed of finding ~ her past.

     I’m an absolute sucker for fairytale retellings, and The Diamond Secret did not disappoint. Although short, it’s wonderfully well written, with a brilliant mixture of fact and fiction. Due to it’s length, however, character development seems rather sudden, and the actual plot could be extended more. But just the fact that it’s Anastasia more than makes up for it.
*Addicted,
Caitlyn
ps. Don’t miss out on the rest of the “Once Upon a Time” retellings! It’s a whole series!

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

This book was amazing. Simply amazing. To me the beginning was a bit slow but that was mainly because I was awaiting an action novel. In my library this was categorized as romance but that’s not really the main plot. Its just some thing that happens along the way. In this book a dinner party is taken over by terrorists who are hoping to find the Spanish president to overthrow the Spanish government (this story occurs in a house in Spain) but the president missed this party in order to watch his favorite soap opera. The party was Mr. Hosokawa’s birthday party (a Japanese man) and he only had it in Spain so he could here the opera’s famous soprano, Roxane Coss. It starts out as a panicked overtaking and changes over the course of four and a half months. The characters begin to forget the outside world and they develop. There are many characters and none of them stay the same throughout the book. Another twist is that there is no universal language between them but luckily Mr. Hosokawa’s translator is there to help. He speaks all of the languages of the party attendents and the Spanish of the terrorist group. You get to watch all of them (the characters) change and gain unexpected bonds, friendships and relationships. You watch barriers fade and you get sucked into the world of Bel Canto. You desperately need to read this book. This is definitely one of my favorite books. It tops any of the books I’ve posted about. The beginning and the quote on the back of the book I read were deceiving because as I already stated the romance just comes with the other bonds. I give this book five out of five stars for the plot, characters, and the natural flow. It was beautifully written and you gain insight to all of the characters. Please run to the library or book store or amazon and read this book. In the end you won’t be disappointed. But for age I’d say 14 or 15 and up. So you can understand the book and really be able to read in between the words. :)

Stunned,

Rachel

ps. okay, so maybe there is a lot of ‘love’ but its not a trashy novel at all. please read! its not the plot. and if you love opera this is a good book and even if you don’t or you don’t know much about it (me) read it. Its amazing!

I Pinkie Promise

I pinkie promise that more reviews are on the way! Next week I’ll be gone and maybe the week after that but I pinkie promise I will write more reviews. Is it odd that I read more books not school related during school than in the summer? Well, the next book I’ll review is Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and before the end of Augest I’ll have Anna Karenina and sometime inbetween then I’ll have Ink Exchange, and all those books on the other page starting today. So maybe Bel Canto won’t be the first book :)