Book Review: The Remains of the Day

I found that Downton Abbey and the Jeremy Irons Brideshead Revisited miniseries gave my imagination some kind of scaffolding upon which to understand this very subtle, very restrained, and very sophisticated fictional memoir. 
To be perfectly frank, I really don’t know what this book is about. I know that it’s about dignity. I know that Mr. Stevens has a great deal of pride and prejudice related to the word dignity and that this book chronicles his awakening into other understandings of the word dignity. 
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/the-remains-of-the-day
 
https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/the-remains-of-the-day/

Book Review: Lark by Sally Watson

“The historical novels Sally Watson has laid in Great Britain and America are separate and complete, yet are united by a family tree. They romp across four centuries, from 1582 London to 1892 Northern California. No one gets a starring role twice, but main characters sometimes reappear in another book in a relatively minor role as grandparent, sibling, cousin, lover or even a wayward eyebrow. The predominant family trait seems to be producing and marrying strong-willed women. Though the protagonists range in age from eleven to adult, and some are specifically juvenile and others definitely adult, the characterization, vocabulary, and plotting are appropriate to all ages from—say—eleven up.”
Wikipedia, Sally Watson page
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/lark

Book Review: The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier is a compelling historical fiction novel written in 1959 about a Polish family torn apart by the Second World War and, happily, reunited afterwards.
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/the-silver-sword

Book Review: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Despite being an English major at Hillsdale College, I had never read Frankenstein. Truthfully, I had always avoided it. I thought it was just a gothic novel, like Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, and I hated that book. I also hated Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. I just do not care for ghost stories or creepy stories of any kind. I can read Flannery O’Connor and beg for more, but not creepy stories about ghosts or monsters. 
This is not a story about a monster. Or at least not the kind of monster I was anticipating. There is no brainless creature terrorizing the countryside. The “Monster” was a created being with human thought and reasoning, emotion, and the capacity for ethics. But, the real monster in this novel is Dr. Frankenstein himself who created this being and then cruelly abandoned him. It is a riveting tale of the human condition. 
https://plumfieldandpaideia.com/frankenstein/

Book Review: The Stout Hearted Seven

Wow! What a story! I would have been impressed if The Stout-Hearted Seven had been fiction. To know that it is non-fiction is exhilarating and tragic all at the same time. Reading true stories like this makes things like Marvel movies seem ridiculous. True courage and fortitude are not found in superheroes with capes but in stout-hearted people with a will to follow God’s leading and their own conviction. 
I read the Sterling Point reprint of the original text written by Neta Lohnes Frazier. Frazier opens this memoir by explaining her personal relationship with two of the Sager sisters and pointing to her sources which were mostly primary source material. She explains that she has added dialogue but that even that is based on research and reasonable deduction. After she sets the stage, she begins at the beginning and tells the entire ordeal in the voice of an omniscient narrator. This book reads like an excellent Landmark Book or Messner Biography. It is easy to see why Sterling Books reprinted this one alongside the many Landmark reprints that they did. This is absolutely worth reading. And the audiobook is excellent. https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/the-stout-hearted-seven-orphaned-on-the-oregon-trail

Book Review: From the Good Mountain: How Gutenberg Changed the World

This book is an exquisite introduction to the world-changing advent of machine-printed books. It would also be an excellent starting point for a discussion with older children. Every invention that has been hailed as progress by many has also been met with dire warnings by some. Ancient philosophers cautioned that writing would be the ruin of man’s memory, and in some ways, that has proven true. 
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-picture-book-reviews/from-the-good-mountain-how-gutenberg-changed-the-world

Book Review: Seth of Colorado by James Otis

Written in 1912 by James Otis, this compelling story about the settling of the West was written for children aged approximately 8-12 years old. The reading level is comparable to something like a “Childhood of Famous Americans” book whereas the point of view is something like the “We Were There” books. While Seth is fictional, Otis tells us, through the character of Seth, about the creation of Denver, Colorado as if he were giving us a real first-person account.
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/seth-of-colorado

Book Review: Paint the Wind

While checking my county library catalog for Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Echo, the description of Paint the Wind caught my eye because the story takes place in Wyoming. I’m always a little skeptical about stories supposed to take place in Wyoming, but I remembered, from years ago, that Muñoz’s Esperanza Rising was surprisingly good. Echo, which I read recently, is very good. With nothing much demanding my time on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve, I picked up Paint the Wind and read the entire book before midnight. 
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/paint-the-wind

Book Review: Anson's Way

When the story opens, Anson Staplyton, drummer boy, is aboard ship on his way to Ireland from England where he will take his place as the seventh Staplyton to keep the king’s peace in the Staffordshire Fencibles. He has been waiting all his life to follow in the footsteps of his forefathers and win glory in battle defending the king’s realm.  
Though Anson longs for glory in battle, his first assignments are anything but glorious. First, he witnesses a hedge master receiving thirty lashes, which is considered a lenient sentence compared to the usual punishment for treason, death. 
 
https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/ansons-way

Book Review: Jade by Sally Watson

In Lark, Sally Watson took readers down a most interesting path and gave us a delightfully fun adventure. There are some aspects of the story that parents may wish to be aware of, which I note in my review, but overall, it was an entertaining escapade well-suited to teen readers. As much as I wanted to follow the family tree, I decided to read Jade next, as it is also available at Audible (recorded via Virtual Voice). 
My spoiler-free review is very short: I did enjoy it. I will have it in my library. But, I will be cautious about to whom I recommend it. It is about a strong female protagonist from Colonial Virginia whose family is in the slave trade. Through a series of events, Melanie (nicknamed Jade) finds herself on a ship in the Bahamas attacked by pirates, and she joins their forces. She becomes a notorious outlaw, and this story is a rollicking fun ride. As much fun as this novel is, I found a number of challenges that mar the overall story for me, and I think parents may wish to know about some hefty content.
The rest of this review will contain a fair number of spoilers with a lot of quotes. I hope to let Sally Watson tell you for herself what she was doing in this story. You then can decide for yourself how to handle this with your readers.     https://plumfieldmoms.com/plumfield-moms-book-reviews/jade