Book Review: Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord

The Thief Lord is a magical story about two young brothers, Prosper and Bo, who, after the death of their mother, run away from their evil aunt and uncle who want to keep cute little Bo and send Prosper off to boarding school. They end up in Venice, Italy, a place their mother had always told them stories about. In Venice, they meet other orphaned children and quickly make a home with them in an old closed up theatre. One of their housemates is a boy called, Scipio, The Thief Lord. Not much is known about him, except that he steals riches to give to the poor children. When Prop and Bo's aunt and uncle come to Venice and hire a private detective to find them, things get hard on the children. This is a wonderful story about unexpected friendships, a magical merry-go-round, and the innocent spirit of childhood.

I absolutely loved this book. Cornelia Funke did a spectacular job at capturing the thoughts and wishes of young children, possibly why I loved this so much. I felt like I was a kid again, roaming the streets for things to steal with Bo, Prop, and the rest of the gang. I grew to love a lot of the characters. You barely know them in the beginning, but by the end, it feels as though they are your best friends.

The story's plot was very entertaining, and even suspenseful at parts, which says a lot about the quality of the writing in my opinion, since this was written as a book for children. There is a little bit of mystery throughout the story. The children know they have to steal something for a wealthy client, but they don't know what it is, or it's significance, for quite a while. There were also a lot of unexpected twists. I loved how the children form a friendship with Victor, the private eye. I also loved learning about who The Thief Lord really was. I was shocked to find out! The ending of the book was really beautiful. At first, I thought it was kind of weird (I won't give anything away-you'll have to read the book if you want to know what I'm talking about), but then I went to the author's website and read her Q&A, and she tells her readers why she ended it the way she did. Makes perfect and beautiful sense to me now.

My favorite characters would have to be Victor the private eye (for his love for his pet turtles, as well as his cunning yet very clumsy personality), Scipio (aka The Thief Lord because although he is but a child, he is constantly trying to act like an adult, much like most of us did when we were young), and Ida Spavento (for her quick-thinking, wittiness, and love for the children even though they were pests to her).

I highly recommend anyone who loves a beautifully written shorter novel with spritely children as the main characters. It made me feel like a child again! I adore everything Cornelia Funke does (it all started with the Inkheart Trilogy, which I'll elaborate more on in a future post). She has a brand new book out this Fall and I can't wait to discover a whole new world and meet new characters. I'll be posting about that soon too.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from The Thief Lord:

Pg 191: "But the children just wandered off without paying him anymore attention. They only had eyes for the snow. The cold flakes settled on their faces and their hair. Bo gleefully licked one off his lip. He stretched his arms wide as if he wanted to catch them all. Hornet just looked up at the sky, blinking. It hadn't snowed in Venice for years."
Now isn't that just the perfect description of a child's first snowfall?!

And this next quote is so true:

Pg157: "Ten minutes can be a long time when you're waiting with a beating heart for something you don't understand, something you don't really want to know."

Title: The Thief Lord
Author: Cornelia Funke
Date of Publication: 2001
Number of Pages: 345
Source: Bought from book store


Note: I am an Amazon Associate and will receive an eensy weensy tiny bit of money for each purchase you make at Amazon.com through the links on this site.

Kelly's [Former] France Blog's Native American Lit Challenge

Now that I am home and nice and refreshed, I thought it would be a good idea to introduce my new reading challenge, my Native American Lit Challenge.  As I think I've mentioned in the past, I absolutely adored the Native American Literature class I took last semester.  It opened my eyes to a whole other world of reading I'd never even thought of.  I could not get enough of what we read in class, mostly short stories, with some excerpts from longer novels.  We also read a lot of Native American folklore.  I've found myself rereading a lot of those short stories this summer, and decided to create my own challenge to read 10 novels (or essays, or short story collections..) in one year.  I'm starting my list with N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn.  I did a report on him for my Nat. Lit. class and fell in love with his short stories and writing technique.  (If you are looking for a super fantabulous short story, try "The Well".)  Then I went through the short story books I had for class and picked out some of my favorite authors, and found some of their most reknowned works to add to my list. 

So without further ado, here is my challenge list:

1. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
2. The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday
3. Love Medecine by Louise Erdrich
4. Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich
5. Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
6. Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit by Leslie Marmon Silko
7. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie
8. Flight: A Novel by Sherman Alexie
9. Voices from the Other Side by Harvest moon eyes
10. Apprenticed to Justice by Kimberly M. Blaeser

I've given links to Amazon for all the books in case you want to check them out yourself.  The only one I'm having trouble finding is Voices from the Other Side by Harvest moon eyes.  I really hope I can find this.  There was an excerpt from it (or I'm assuming it's from it) in one of the short story collections I read for class, and it was probably my absolute favorite.  I'm dying to find this book! 

Feel free to join in if you'd like, and even make your own list!

Vacation Recap plus New Release Excitement

Back from vacation! And what a busy vacation it was! We usually spent a lot of time at our hotel just relaxing, and I catch up on all my reading. This year, however, was quite different. We stayed right in the center of downtown Newport, RI, and were within walking distance to everything! Needless to say, we spent almost NO time in the hotel room. We did tons of walking, including a Cliff Walk (which was awesome), of which I will be posting photos as soon as I get them uploaded. I had a real blast.

And of course, the highlight of my trip:

Driving to Warwick, RI to snap a couple photos of the TAPS building!! Quite the success, if I do say so myself!

I actually did not wander into any bookstores this trip, as we didn't really hang out around the shops. There was too much other stuff to do. My little sister did pick up a book that I think is called Folklore and the Sea or something like that. It's got short legends about the ocean, and it looks like a fun read.

As far as actual reading goes, I got a good chunk of my audiobook The Year of the Flood done and will finish it this week. I also have just half of The Book Thief completed. As for The Constant Gardener, I've decided to put it on hold for a while. It's a good book, and my family is always raving about it, but maybe it's just not my kind of book. I'd like to pick it up again someday and I haven't given up all hope for it. There are just other books I'd rather be reading right now and I don't want to force myself to read something I'm not feeling.

Now for some books I am just dying to get my hands on!

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet: A Novel by David Mitchell

I saw this book for the first time while browzing Amazon.com's new releases. Then I kept seeing rave review after rave review, and decided it is definitely a must-read. Here is the book description from the author's website, thousandautumns.com:
The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the “high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island” that is the Japanese Empire’s single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged Dutch East Indies Company; and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, costly courtesans, earthquakes, and typhoons comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk who has five years in the East to earn a fortune of sufficient size to win the hand of his wealthy fiancée back in Holland.
But Jacob’s original intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with Orito Aibagawa, the disfigured daughter of a samurai doctor and midwife to the city’s powerful magistrate. The borders between propriety, profit, and pleasure blur until Jacob finds his vision clouded, one rash promise made and then fatefully broken. The consequences will extend beyond Jacob’s worst imaginings. As one cynical colleague asks, “Who ain’t a gambler in the glorious Orient, with his very life?”
A magnificent mix of luminous writing, prodigious research, and heedless imagination, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is the most impressive achievement of its eminent author.

Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo

Murder mystery but seems way better than a lot of them. It's an Amish family that gets murdered. Why would anyone want to kill an Amish family?? It looks pretty awesome. You can read an excerpt at the author's website, lindacastillo.com. Here is the plot:

In the quiet town of Painters Mill an Amish family is found slaughtered on their farm. Kate Burkholder and her small police force have few clues, no motive and no suspect. Formerly Amish herself, Kate is no stranger to secrets, but she can’t get her mind around the senseless brutality of the crime.


State agent John Tomasseti arrives on the scene to assist. He and Kate worked together on a previous case, and they’re still setting the limits of a complex, difficult relationship. They soon realize that the disturbing details of this case will push those boundaries to the breaking point.
When Kate discovers a diary, she realizes a haunting personal connection to the case. One of the teenage daughters kept some very dark secrets and may have been leading a lurid double life. Driven by her own scarred past, Kate vows to find the killer and bring him to justice—even if it means putting herself in the line of fire.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

I think this looks pretty awesome. Check out the author's site at chevystevens.com for more info on Stevens. She has a blog too, which is at the site. Plot from website:

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two year old Realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor of the day pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.
Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent captive of a sadistic psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered spirit back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.
The truth doesn’t always set you free.

Possibly a trip (or two!) to the bookstore this week. We will see. I'm still waiting to get my work schedule so I have NO idea what my week looks like! They better email it soon because I'd like to know now if I have to work tomorrow.
It was so nice to get away, but I am happy to be back with my friends, my dog, and of course, my blog ;)

Leaving for Vacation

I leave for my family vacation to Rhode Island on Sunday and just wanted to give a little heads up of what will be happening with the blog while I'm gone. My hotel does have free wifi, so I will try to do a little updating while I'm gone.  Otherwise, I won't be posting until I return, on the 24th of July. I'm bringing The Book Thief and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo with me. Still deciding what I'll read first! Let me know what you think ;) I'll also have my very first audiobook with me, The Year of the Flood, which I'll listen to in the car.

I'm going to relax as much as possible while I'm gone and look forward to the much needed break from work!


Note: I am an Amazon Associate and will receive an eensy weensy tiny bit of money for each purchase you make at Amazon.com through the links on this site.

New Releases!

I love checking the internet/my local book stores for new releases and upcoming releases. It gets me pumped for new reads and gives me something to look forward to (and save my money for!). I thought it would be fun to start sharing a few new releases every week. Today I picked 3 books I found at Amazon.com that I really want to read (and am hoping are as good as they look).

Jan's Story: Love Lost to the Long Goodbye of Alzheimer's by Barry Petersen

Here is the Amazon.com synopsis of this new release (it was out June 15th):

"Imagine hearing these words: "She has Alzheimer's." Now imagine that "she" is vibrant, active, loving, healthy...and just 55. Acclaimed CBS News reporter Barry Petersen, writes about hearing the unimaginable: what it meant, what it still means, what he did--and didn't do--and how this beautiful love story needs to be read by the thousands of families who have already heard that same devastating diagnosis...EARLY ONSET ALZHEIMER'S. Jan's Story is a full, rich story of two people--and thousands like them--for whom "forever" suddenly and terrifyingly has an expiration date. Barry Petersen is a long-time, award-winning TV journalist who has covered wars, the devastating Asian tsunami, the historic confrontation at Tiananmen Square, the unspeakable deaths in Rwanda, and so much more...but was not even slightly prepared for what happened to his darling wife, Jan. "

I am really hoping to get this book soon because it looks like it will be really good. Alzheimer's runs in my family (my great-grandma and my grandpa both had it) so it's something I've always been interested in. The fact that this was written by the husband of someone with early-onset Alzheimer's makes it even more intriguing to me. I know what it's like to lose a grandparent to it, but I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to lose your life-long partner to it.

Father of the Rain: A Novel by Lily King


The plot (from Amazon):
"Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2010: There's an emotional heft to Father of the Rain that comes not in the form of high drama, but in the feel of its characters. Daley Amory is an acute and attentive witness to her parents' divorce, which coincides with the larger dissolution of Nixon's presidency--itself a particularly appropriate historical counterpoint for a novel that explores how fiercely parents and children can polarize. Daley's father, Gardiner, is a jovial but capricious blue-blood New Englander, an alcoholic whose behavior is increasingly erratic and punishing to the point that Daley finally breaks away--in spite of how much she loves him--for much of her adult life. She is resilient, a woman you can respect but also challenge, and her love is (ultimately, amazingly) uncomplicated and true. The award-winning author of two previous novels, Lily King has long been admired for her deft, graceful characterization, and in no novel is this more evident than Father of the Rain. She takes on difficult characters but never vilifies them, choosing instead to seek out the feelings they shield, raise them up, and set them free. --Anne Bartholomew"

This was released on July 6th and might be the most anticipated new release for me at the moment. It just looks like a really awesome read!


And my last anticipated new release:
The Cookbook Collector: A Novel by Allegra Goodman

This book was also released on July 6th, and here is the plot summary (again from Amazon.com):
"If any contemporary author deserves to wear the mantel of Jane Austen, it's Goodman, whose subtle, astute social comedies perfectly capture the quirks of human nature. This dazzling novel is Austen updated for the dot-com era, played out between 1999 and 2001 among a group of brilliant risk takers and truth seekers. Still in her 20s, Emily Bach is the CEO of Veritech, a Web-based data-storage startup in trendy Berkeley. Her boyfriend, charismatic Jonathan Tilghman, is in a race to catch up at his data-security company, ISIS, in Cambridge, Mass. Emily is low-key, pragmatic, kind, serene—the polar opposite of her beloved younger sister, Jess, a crazed postgrad who works at an antiquarian bookstore owned by a retired Microsoft millionaire. When Emily confides her company's new secret project to Jonathan as a proof of her love, the stage is set for issues of loyalty and trust, greed, and the allure of power. What is actually valuable, Goodman's characters ponder: a company's stock, a person's promise, a forest of redwoods, a collection of rare cookbooks? Goodman creates a bubble of suspense as both Veritech and ISIS issue IPOs, career paths collide, social values clash, ironies multiply, and misjudgments threaten to destroy romantic desire."

Just the mention of Jane Austen in the review pretty much won me over. She's one of my fave authors ever, so I'm hoping that Goodman lives up to that comparison. The plot of this book looks really interesting and I think it would be a great summer read.

Any other new releases you are looking forward to?

Author News

Okay I am way out of the loop. Am I the only one who didn't know about Maggie O'Farrell's new book?? How did this news escape me?? I just saw The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox sitting on my bookshelf and was like "hmm..what's up with Ms. O'Farrell?" and stumbled upon a newish book of hers. It's called The Hand That First Held Mine.

I'm pretty excited about this. I read Vanishing Act when it was first released and loved it. I felt pretty much in the minority because my mom and sisters didn't really like it much. I think it was brilliantly crafted except for the ending. The ending could have been a lot better.

But anyway….I need to start paying more attention to my fave authors, which is part of the reason why I decided to start this new weekly post. Of course I won't always be posting about new releases (though this book actually came out in April!), more than likely I'll just talk about book tours and anything else halfway interesting the writers are up to.

I'm so happy I found out about O'Farrell's new book-I'll have to check it out as soon as I get the chance!

Review: The Lace Reader

The Lace Reader really took me by surprise, and I'm wondering now why it took me so long to pick it up and read it. Seriously. It's been in my house since it's release in 2006, but while I always wanted to read it, I never sat down with it. I am so glad I finally did! The more I think about the book, the more I like it.

The story is about a woman named Towner who lives in California. She actually grew up in Salem, Massachusetts, but moved away about 15 years ago after a terrible accident, and she never returned. That is, not until her great-aunt Eva goes missing. Towner's return to Salem brings back old memories of her childhood and of her twin sister Lyndley, who died when they were 17. The women in Towner's family are lace readers, meaning they can read the future in lace patterns. Towner can also read lace. Throughout this story, Towner and the other characters are trying to piece together what happened to Eva, and what happened to another girl in town who goes missing. Towner also has to come to turns with what happened to her twin sister.

I don't usually pick up books about twins, especially when one of the twins is dead. I have a twin sister so it's a touchy subject with me. When I was maybe 11 years old, I read the most depressing book ever called Bringing Nettie Back. It's about a girl who is best friends with twins, and one of the twins has a brain hemmorrage and is then brain damaged. When she wakes up in the hospital, she is not the same happy young girl she used to be. Instead, she acts like a small child and doesn't remember anything. She has nothing of her former bubbly personality inside of her.

That book depressed me to no end, and I still think about it a lot today. It's haunted me. What if that happened to me or my own identical twin sister?? It would be horrible.

Needless to say, I wonder if the whole dead twin aspect had something to do with me putting off reading this book. I have to say too though that I loved the way Barry handled the twins and their connection. At the end, you realize just how connected Towner still is to her twin sister, even though they've been apart for so long. It touched my heart, and I really believe that if I were in those same circumstances, I'd feel my sister's presence inside of me too.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a little detective work (while you're reading, you're also trying to figure out what has happened). The book has some slower parts, but it ends with a bang. I can't wait to pick up Brunonia Barry's newest novel, The Map of True Places.

Title: The Lace Reader
Author: Brunonia Barry
Date of Publication: 2006
Number of Pages: 304
Source: My mom

Note: I am an Amazon Associate and will receive an eensy weensy tiny bit of money for each purchase you make at Amazon.com through the links on this site.

Weekly Reading Recap

Another week over, another book finished. It took forever (not because it was boring, mind you, but because I had so much to do that I was too exhausted to read!), but I have finally finished The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. It was really good, and not at all what I expected it to be (which is good, because I was worried it was going to be a bore). I'll be posting a review tomorrow. This week I also posted about the family vacation I will be taking soon, and I also posted about my excitement for Tatiana de Rosnay's new book, A Secret Kept. Today I started reading Audrey Niffeneger's The Time Traveler's Wife. It's going good so far and I plan on having it finished before I leave in a week. Of course just as I was getting really into it, my sister snatched it to take with her to work.....so then I picked up The Constant Gardener.  I stopped by the library yesterday and got out my very first audiobook, Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood. I'm excited to listen to it on the way to and from Rhode Island! I've heard great things about this book and I hope I like it as much as people say I will.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and you're now nice and refreshed to start the work week. I know it's hard to enjoy Mondays (I'm not too fond of them either!), but let's try to make the most of it ;) At least we can come home and get lost in a book!

Anyone doing something fun this week? I'm going to the Vans Warped Tour on Wednesday. It's tradition and this will be year #7! Once I actually bought a poetry book by the singer of Big D and the Kids Table (one of my fave bands, by the way), and it was pretty awesome. Maybe I'll be lucky and find another book this year ;)


Note: I am an Amazon Associate and will receive an eensy weensy tiny bit of money for each purchase you make at Amazon.com through the links on this site.