#TBT Review: Cleopatra's Daughter is No Princess

 

#TBT and Thursday Trailer

Title:  Cleopatra's Daughter

Author: Michelle Moran 

Genre:  YA

Release Year:   2009  #TBT Review

Publisher: Random House

 

Swoon Worth Historical Details!

 

Of course, I had a TFIOS related post planned for today, and of course, my day job got in the way as did my general life job with those I love and the house I can't keep clean.  But, I do have my day planned around TFIOS tomorrow! 

Not here on my blog, but out there at the movie theater with my 14 year old daughter.  How cool that we now enjoy the same books and can bond over a John Green cry-fest.  I reserved her for this since Divergent when she went to the premier with her friends instead of with me.  And before Divergent, it was something else.  So, this time, I was like no way.  I am seeing TFIOS on the first day and she is going with me and she is going to wear the Okay, Okay shirt I ordered online.

So, today it is #TBT Review of Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran--currently at the awesomely amazing price of 1.99 on Kindle and Nook! 

If you have not read much historical fiction or none at all, this is the perfect book to get you started--who has not heard of the clandestine affair of Cleopatra and Marc Antony?  Who has not been awed by the Roman Empire when watching the movie "Gladiator"? 

Summary from Publisher:

The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony’s revengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two– the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander–survive the journey.

In Which I Attempt to Not Get All Wrapped Up in the History of Rome

Set against the demise of Egypt in 30 BC, the children of Queen Kleopatra VII and Mark Antony fear a sure death and are taken as orphans to the heart of the Roman Empire. Although forced to participate in a Roman parade bound by gold chains as prisoners, the twins, Alexander Helios and Kleopatra Selene, are treated as royalty while living with Octavia (sister to Caesar). 

In reading Cleopatra's Daughter, you will be swept into the Roman Empire. No one can deny the size and power of the empire at its height. But there is another side to Rome. The side of narrow streets, smoke, mud, pungent smells, and riots. People die, slaves are guilty, girls marry old men, women belong to men, and anything said may be misconstrued as traitorous--all of these issues are relevant to the plot of Cleopatra's Daughter.

To Selene, Rome is nothing like Alexandria, her home in Egypt--a home of beauty, marble, exquisite design, and a great love affair. A home Selene hopes to return to, but whether she ever will depends on Augustus Caesar.

She can only hope to be seen as useful through her artistic and architectural skills and enter a love match with someone who is not older than her father at his own death.

I wouldn't call it a historical romance, although it does have that element making it all the better for a person like myself who thinks anything with even the slightest hint of romance is pretty great:

   "Well?" Juba stood over me when we were finished.
   "They're fine, " I said shortly, dusting my hands on my tunic and rising.
   "A perfect job," Vitruvius complemented. "And very handsome sculptures, Juba. Are they all Roman?"
   "Only the Venus is Greek. For some reason, I was drawn to her face."
   I looked across the Pantheon to the statue of Venus. Perhaps it was my own vanity that made me think I reconginized her. But the nose and possibly the light, painted eyes were similar to mine. I caught Jubal looking at me.

I'm rooting for Juba. A broad-shouldered 20 something year old prince with the form of a Greek god from Numidia and who is one of Caesar's right hand men. The one who is always looking out for Selene and the one who may have a genuine interest in all the issues Selene is drawn to.

But Selene has fallen for a Roman, a young Apollo.

Will she marry either one? Will she be allowed to return to Egypt? Will she be accepted as an architect? Will she be able to help all other slaves and freedmen? Her fate, as well as the fate of an entire empire...well, it's in Caesar's hands.

Minerva

Thursday Trailer: Every Day is YA Splendor

#TBT and Thursday Trailer

Title: Every Day

Author: David Levithan

Genre:  YA

Release Year:  2012  #TBT Review

Publisher: Ember (Randomhouse)

Swoon Worthy Language

One of my biggest pet peeves is YA that is not original. Even worse is YA with a clunky feel to it--as in unrealistic dialogue, a lack of transition, generic writing schemes.

Every Day is none of the above. Every Day is beautiful prose. Every Day is David Levithan. Every Day is falling in love with language. Every Day is YA splendor.

By the way, "Swoon Worthy Language" means that the words themselves, the writing, is something I have fallen for in this book.  Not that the novel is straight up romance.

Even though I do not enjoy every aspect of the novel (in regards to how it seems that the author is inserting his personal views of the world--viewpoints that are basically humanistic in nature and that I do not agree with at all), I can not help but to love how Levithan writes. I aspire to write like this.   For this I give the book 4 hearts. 

And because of this, I have also been inspired to create a book trailer--my first attempt. Really. I hope you enjoy it! I tried to capture the essence of eternity, of falling in love.

50 Second Synopsis



"A" is continually reborn--every day.  " Every day a different body.  Every day a different life.  Every day in love with the same girl."  For as long as he has existed, the only truth "A" has known is he is himself, but yet he is someone else.  He has no long-term connection to humanity.  Only momentary habitation.  For eternity.

every day

 

A Review in Quotes

 

“This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it’s just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be.”  

 

“It would be too easy to say that I feel invisible. Instead, I feel painfully visible, and entirely ignored.”  

 

“A sound waiting to be a word.”  

 

“The ocean makes its music; the wind does its dance. We hold on. At first we hold on to one another, but then it starts to feel like we are holding on to something even bigger than that. Greater.”  

 

“But there’s something about her—the cities on her shoes, the flash of bravery, the unnecessary sadness—that makes me want to know what the word will be when it stops being a sound. I have spent years meeting people without ever knowing them, and on this morning, in this place, with this girl, I feel the faintest pull of wanting to know. And in a moment of either weakness or bravery on my own part, I decide to follow it. I decide to find out more.”   

 

“We have defied the day as it was set out for us.”

 

 

Minerva

Caught in the Act of Obsession

 

 

#TBT:  The Original Post (keep reading after for my new 2014 thoughts!)

Caught in the Act by Peter Moore

 

 

YA Fiction Meets the PG-13 Version of Fatal Attraction.

That is basically what you see in Peter Moore's novel, Caught in the Act, when Ethan Lederer, a good kid with a good reputation, falls for the new girl dressed in black.

As Ethan puts it, he was doomed from the minute he first laid eyes on Lydia Krane, and it doesn’t take long for him to be captivated by her Carebears t-shirts, Goth clothing, and black dyed hair.

But more than that, Lydia understands him in a way no one else does, or so he thinks. She is also the only person who knows his whole smart guy status is a façade built on parental expectations, late night cramming, and cheating when necessary.

And then things start getting weird.

I don’t want to spoil all the bizarre, psychotic complications in the plot, but let’s just say the whole tattoo thing in the story ranks pretty high on the crazy scale.

 

You know, the story really grabs you from the start, and you find yourself rooting for Ethan and Lydia as they have all these meaningful encounters in the early chapters.

Then, the author hits you with all this drama, and I don’t just mean figuratively, as both Lydia and Ethan take the lead roles in a modern day interpretation of Macbeth in the annual school play.

By the end everything unravels for Ethan as he finally faces up to some of his choices and decisions, but not without a heavy cost.

Caught in the Act is not a psychological thriller, but it has enough twists and beyond nutty behavior to keep you turning the pages. Lydia leaves her imprint on Ethan and makes you think twice about breaking up with your current gal or guy just for somebody you think you really know. Enjoy the new YA Macbeth!

Looking Back and Forward, 2014

Dear Readers,

Published about a decade ago in 2005, Caught in the Act is a well-written YA with a load of intensity and an extremely intriguing storyline.  Probably a YA you missed. 

Peter Moore has served as a high school counselor, so you know he might have seen some crazy stuff.   You all have probably seen crazy stuff or done some crazy stuff yourself, like passing by a boy's house about 25 times in one week.  Well, that was back in the 1990s.  Do "stalkish" girls still do this?  Or do they just hound the guy on Twitter?

If you never read this YA, the purchase price is just a little over $4.00 on Amazon.  Seriously, how can you go wrong especially when the book features the first person narration of a teenage boy with a crazy girlfriend?  Also, I know I have ready plenty of YA where the guy is obsessed with the girl and not the other way around such as with Stay by Deb Caletti or Stolen by Lucy Christopher.

Then there is the whole Macbeth thing--the dark obsession of Macbeth mirroring the dark obsession in the relationship between Ethan and Lydia.

Just read these two gorgeous lines at the start of chapter 1:

"It was a cool day in October when Lydia Krane walked into our sophomore honors chem class. I was doomed from the minute I set eyes on her."

A writer who can write these first two lines is a writer I want to read anytime.  And, Peter Moore--don't forget this name--will soon have his most recent novel released this coming May, V is for Villian.

Summary from Amazon:  V is for Villian

Brad Baron is used to looking lame compared to his older brother, Blake. Though Brad's basically a genius, Blake is a superhero in the elite Justice Force. And Brad doesn't measure up at his high school, either, where powers like super-strength and flying are the norm. So when Brad makes friends who are more into political action than weight lifting, he's happy to join a new crew-especially since it means spending more time with Layla, a girl who may or may not have a totally illegal, totally secret super-power. And with her help, Brad begins to hone a dangerous new power of his own.

But when they're pulled into a web of nefarious criminals, high-stakes battles, and startling family secrets, Brad must choose which side he's on. And once he does, there's no turning back.



P.S. And now an obsessive love song from the fantastic Miranda Lambert... This is basically Lydia's theme song for the rest of her life.

"I cut my bangs with some rusty kitchen scissors
I screamed his name ‘til the neighbors called the cops."

Talk about obsession!  Please watch this video--it is a seriously fantastic creation!






Fictionally Yours Siempre,

Minerva

Perfect Chemistry When Opposites Attract

 

 

 

#TBT and Thursday Trailer: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Original post from 2010 on my first blog:

So, here is a very fun book trailer for one of the many books I've been reading lately--Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. I haven't gotten very far yet, but so far I enjoy the alternating points of view in the chapters and I like the Spanish phrases and lingo. It's about time Latino culture is part of a mainstream book.

 

I especially love the book cover, don't you?

Summary (from author's webpage):

A modern tale of star-crossed lovers with a fresh urban twist.

 

At Fairfield High School, on the outskirts of Chicago , everyone knows that south-siders mixing with north-siders can be explosive. So when Brittany Ellis and Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes are forced to be lab partners in chemistry class, this human experiment leads to unexpected revelations – that Brittany's flawless reputation is a cover for her troubled home life, that Alex’s bad-boy persona hides his desire to break free from gang ties, and that when they’re together, life somehow makes more sense. Breaking through the stereotypes and expectations that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart, Perfect Chemistry takes readers to both sides of the tracks in a passionate love story about looking beneath the surface.
 

Looking Back, 2014

 

Dear Readers,

 

Perfect Chemistry was first published on Decemeber 23, 2008 (which happens to the exact day and year that my husband turned 35) and is indeed an enjoyable read for the weekend, but it may not be one to literally keep you glued to the page. 

 

The summary is spot on regarding plot and the ideas of "stereotypes and expectations."  The one minor criticism I have is that it relies too much on the stereotypes and almost "Disny-fies" these stereotypes. 

 

I live in a region of Texas with notorious gang activity in certain areas, and Alex Fuentes is too good of a guy to be classified as a gangbanger.  BUT I like that Alex represents something positive (although if he really looked like a true gang member and acted like one, there is no way Brittany would be with him--many gang members are usually really hard core, and they don't leave their chola girfriends).  It is true, though, that you practically have to be killed to get out of a gang as shown by Elkeles.

 

I like his guts, his bad boy-good boy image, and the Perfect Chemistry between Alex and Brittany. 

Maybe too perfect in a story all neatly wrapped up with a semi-predictable ending and with a bad boy gone good and a good girl finding someone beyond her everyday, privileged experience.

 

Just as in 2010, I still truly appreciate the fact that Simone Elkeles has made it a priority to include Latino characters and Spanish lingo for that growing spectrum of young people of Latino origin who are buying YA books. 

 

About 97% of my high school students are Mexican American.  And of the ones that are reading--well, they are reading John Green or Veronica Roth.  They are not reading enough of those authors bringing more diversity to mainstream YA. 

 

So for this, I bump up the book from 2.5 stars to 3.5 stars.  Thank you, Simone Elkeles.

 

Fictionally Yours Siempre,

 

Minerva