Turtle in Paradise

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Turtle is an eleven year old girl who has lived life on the move. Her mother's a maid during the Great Depression and jobs are hard to come by. What isn't so hard to come by are the numerous men that Turtle's mother seems to fall in love with. Needless to say, Turtle is no dreamer; she's a realist.

Mother does finally land a job, but the lady of the house won't allow young children to live there. And so Turtle finds herself shipped to Key West, Florida, where her mother's sister lives.

Key West is nothing like anything else Turtle's ever experienced. Shoes are optional, but the heat is not. Used to being a team consisting of just herself and her mother, Turtle must now get used to a house full of cousins and a town where most of the residents are related to her - somehow!  Slowly, she adjusts to her new life and her new family. She's even accepted by the Diaper Gang, a group of boys (her cousin's the leader) who have a babysitters' club type-of-thing going on - except they get paid in candy! She comes to love the boys' daily gathering to create a "Key West Cut-Up" - a tradition of cutting up whatever fruits and veggies the kids had on hand and pouring key lime juice all over it. She's even lured into the romance of the many stories of pirates and buried treasure that fill the land.

Turtle didn't want to go to Key West, but the question you ask yourself, is how could she leave it now?

This was a super charming read. Turtle is adorable and scrappy. Key West is a fantastic setting. You'll love reading about the water, the heat, the scenery, and the fruit-laden trees. The Diaper Gang is hilarious. This book reminds me of the Goonies and the Little Rascals. While I can't say I loved it, I really enjoyed it. The writing is brisk and light. The descriptions are clear and concise but not heavy-handed. It's a quick, pleasant read.

For more info on a Key West cut-up, click here.

Oh, and more interesting info. The author, Jennifer Holm, writes the Babymouse series, which I abhor, AND Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf, which is a graphic novel-esque story that I LOVED. It's just interesting to come across a writer with so many different styles.

The Forgotten Garden

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A tale within a tale within a tale...

1913: A portmaster on some Australian coast finds a small girl on an English ship that has just arrived in Australia. The little girl has no recollection of her name and is carrying nothing but a small suitcase containing a book of fairy tales. The portmaster has no choice but to bring the small child home. Day after day, he and his childless wife wait to hear news of some family searching for the girl, but no news appear. Eventually they claim her as their own.

Nell grows up to be the apple of her father's eye, the delight of her mother and younger sisters, and one of the most beautiful girls around. But on her 21st birthday, her father chooses to reveal a deep secret: Nell is not their biological daughter.

And she disconnects. Breaks her engagement. Becomes distant from her family. Moves away.

1976: Now 65, Nell finally decides to attempt to trace her true roots. (Yeah, I know. Doesn't it seem like she would have done more of that a lot sooner?) Nell eventually discovers where she is from, but not much else surrounding her mysterious arrival in Australia or why she was abandoned and by whom. Although she wants to go back to England to continue her search, her own daughter leaves her granddaughter, Cassandra, with her for a few weeks. And those weeks turn to years.

2005: After Nell dies, Cassandra learns her grandmother's dreadful (sarcasm on my part) secret and takes up the search. The search leads back to a rich family in England. A rich, young lady named Rose and her cousin Eliza, an author of fairy tales. Cassandra works tirelessly to discover who Eliza is and why she would have taken Rose to another country.

So this is really and truly a tale within a tale within a tale: rotating between Cassandra's continued search for Nell's origins to Nell's own search during 1975 to Eliza's own story at the turn of the century.
And sometimes Eliza's own fairy tales are inserted between these chapters.

It's a lot, right? That's my primary complaint. The story of how little Nell got to Australia is a compelling and worthwhile one, but the narratives that follow Nell and Cassandra as they unravel the mysteries are not. And neither are the fairy tales. And neither are the many side characters that pop up in Cassandra's story. I don't care about Ruby, the daughter of an Australian Cassandra knows, who now lives in England. I don't really care that Cassandra is falling in love with the English gardener. I don't care about the woman who bought Rose's family estate and turned it into a hotel. I just don't care. In fact, I found myself skimming a lot, sometimes skipping pages outright.

All in all I only made it through this 549 page story because Eliza is a compelling character, as is her cousin Rose. Unfortunately, we don't hear nearly enough from them.

Grade: C

Baby Time!

First Part Last (A Coretta Scott King Award)

by Angela Johnson

Poetic prose told from the first person perspective of Bobby, a teen father who is the primary parent of his daughter. The chapters alternate between his narration of the present and all his struggles encountered while caring for baby Feather, and chapters about the past, including those moments prior to and during his girlfriend Nia's pregnancy.

Poignant and superbly written. Also, it flies by at only 131 pages and crisp, clean narration.

Grade: A+

Someone Like You

A rather dull cover of the book.

by Sarah Dessen

Haley helps her bff, Scarlett, deal with her pregnancy while working through her own strained relationship with her mother. This book is a quick, easy read dealing with a rather typical girl's transition from mom's best friend to an individual fighting to define herself. The unusual backdrop is that of her friend's pregnancy.

All in all, this book was good and quick - a few hours will finish it up - but not the quality I expected from Dessen. My sister also agrees, and I believe she's read probably 100% of Dessen's books up to a publication date of 2009.

Grade: C+

Lock and Key

by Sarah Dessen

Not as good as Keeping the Moon, and definitely longer, but still a great read in my opinion. Definitely a girl's book and has all the markers of a great vacation read. What I love about Dessen's books is they are so easily upper teen fiction.

Here's a review from Reading Rants! since it's been awhile for me:
http://www.readingrants.org/2008/05/05/lock-and-key-by-sarah-dessen/

Luna

by Julie Ann Peters

Liam is a good-looking, freakishly smart high school upperclassman, and yet the only person who really knows him is his younger sister, Regan. Regan is the sole holder of his very heavy secret. Liam is transgendered, and planning to crossover into his new identity as Luna.

I didn't finish this book. Don't get me wrong. It was well-written and the plot was definitely one I had not encountered before. But I began to be saddled by the stress of Regan having to keep such a powerful secret for her brother. This is a stressful and tense book, and I wish I could say I know how it ends, but I had to put it down. This book is (as far as I could see, and I read 147 of the 248 pages) much more about the stress Regan encounters keeping Luna's secret as it is about Luna becoming Luna.

Grade: B (but my school librarian highly, highly recommends it.)

I Am Legend

by Richard Matheson

A long time ago, when I saw the movie I AM LEGEND with the lovely Will Smith, I thought "Wow! Can I read this book?" Years later, while at the Goodwill, I found a copy. I read this book in April, so my review is going to be a bit dusty and perhaps a bit more of a book-movie comparison than a book review.

Robert Neville is the only man alive. Everyone else has succumbed to a deadly vampiric infection. Or have they? Neville spends his days refortifying his house and killing the infected. At night, he holes up in his fortress-like home and tries to drink away the howls of the now dead and the memories of the ones he used to love. (So far, pretty similar to the movie.)

However, the book Neville isn't one of the best scientists in the world, so gone are all the absolutely wonderful science-lab backstory and vaccine montages that I loved in the movie.

Another however, this book has absolutely none of the hope that the movie does. The book is an end-of-the-world and there's not much you can do about it type of story. I'm torn between which I like better: the bittersweet, yet hopeful ending of the movie or the damned, that's it? ending of the book.

That being said, this is a great read at only 169 pages and while it's not hopeful, I would still easily classify it as light beach reading. B+

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

This book has a Hunger Games, Jr feel to it. Thomas finds himself in the "Glade" with no memory of where or who he was in the past. But he's not alone, a number of other boys are also in the Glade with the same problem. They've developed their own working hieracrchy and manage to get by since whoever created the Glade had the foresight to build in all the essentials: farm, slaughterhouse, etc. The kicker is that the Glade is surrounded by a giant wall and each day the wall's gate open and each night, they close. Outside the walls is an giant, ever-changing maze which the runners (maze explorers) dutifully go out into every day trying to find an escape. But the maze changes every day as well, and there are hidden dangers - robotic, yet mythological creatures whose bite or scratch can prove fatal.

All is running normally - as normally as it can in the Glade - when another new child arrives. This child is different. He's a girl. And she's the last new child to ever be brought to the glade.

The writing in this book is fast-paced and exciting, but definitely for the 10 to 14 range, and not really older. While this is a great read, it lacks the weighty ethical issues that I found myself thinking about in The Hunger Games. One thing I loved was the fact that the storyline is so obviously based on King Minos, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth.

Grade: B

Story of a Girl

By Sara Zarr

This is a great coming-of-age novel that deals with a teen girl who is dealing with a reputation she just can't seem to lose and a family that feels like it's definitely falling apart. This book is short, realistic, and definitely a downer. However, it's still a worthwhile read - but one I read in April. So I'm going provide a link to a great book reviewer, Karin the Librarian.

http://www.karinsbooknook.com/2010/02/21/story-of-a-girl-by-sara-zarr-review/

My Grade: A- because it was very well-written, but probably just a B because I still felt like I was just reading the book - not a part of it.

Plague (The Gone Series)

Boy, the covers are cheesy, though....

Well, stock in the Gone series has gone back up. After a tepid swim with Lies, Plague is back kickin' ass.

I love a good story about a plague. But strangely enough, the fatal flu wasn't what I flipped over. It was the absolutely disgusting parasitic worms that infected several characters and would literally eat their own hosts. Goodness, I think Grant should have gone into even more detail about those. It was stomach-turning and awesome at the same time. (An aside: Strangely, I have no stomach at all for scary movies, but do love the book versions.)

Back to the book: Albert, the self-made Trump of the FAYZ, has realized that the water levels of the reservoir are dropping dangerously low. Even with one gallon per person rations, the water supply isn't going to last long enough. He sends out an expedition made up of Sam, Dekka, Taylor, and Jack to search the outer boundaries of the FAYZ for additional water sources. While they explore their world, the kids at Perdido Beach must deal with both a devastating flu and a case of parasitic worms - that hatch and turn into almost indestructible and very hungry insects.

But, of course, that's not all. (Because it's not a Gone book unless one hundred other plots lines are happening, right?) Drake and Brittany are back - working for and against the Darkness (a.k.a. the Gaigaphage). What is left of the hate-group, the Human Crew, have beaten Albert to a pulp. Edilio is on his deathbed with the flu, and all hell, of course, breaks out.

Let's just say Caine comes back.

My review? This book really took time to explore Pete Ellison's mind - he's the five year old autistic boy who is responsible for the FAYZ. And he's the center of this whole mystery, so it's terribly exciting to see how he perceives his world. There's a lot of close-up time with Diana, and she absolutely will be the driving force  behind why readers will flock to the fifth book of the series. Character development is still a bit slow, given all the pages, and I'm particularly saddened that I don't really care much for Sam anymore than when I started. However, as always, the storyline is non-stop adrenaline that doesn't let up - or give you time to reflect on plausibility, character development, etc.

Grade: B+

N.B. The covers for these books are absolutely horrible.

Keeping the Moon

I don't know why these shorts have to be this short either.

by Sarah Dessen

Keeping the Moon is about a teenaged girl who finds some solace in a resort town when she lives with her Aunt Mira for a summer. Having once been fat, Colie can't shed her own ugly self-esteem - not that any of her classmates have let her either.

In the town of Colby, North Carolina, Colie lands a job at a local dinner - aptly names "Last Chance." Here she is able to closely observe friendship between two other girls: Morgan and Isabel. While she takes orders and folds napkins, Colie learns how to be a friend herself, how to accept others' differences, and how to accept herself for the wonderful person she is.

This was my first Sarah Dessen book, and I am ashamed it took me so long. My sister has been reading Dessen for years. Regardless, I didn't want to read it, but when a self-professed non-reader finished it in mere hours, I knew I had to give Dessen a chance.

This was a soft, slow, meandering novel. There were lessens learned and lots of feel-good moments. I enjoyed it a great deal. The character development was superb, and I have been missing that. I surmise that sci-fi character development is a tad bit more shallow since the focus is on the what and how and not necessarily on the who. Anyway, I've been all sci-fi, all the time lately, and getting to really know and connect with a character was great.

Grade: B

Lies

by Michael Grant

In the third installment of the Gone series, way too many things happen... So it's business as usual for the world of the FAYZ.

• Sam has ceded control over to the council: A council that is much to slow to make decisions or take action.
• The Human Crew forms; it's a freak-hate group.
• A prophetess named Orsay is communicating with those outside the FAYZ.
• Mary Terrafino, who cares for the children in the nursery, has become overburdened and under-medicated. 
• Astrid and Sam argue.
• Oh, and Brittany - the girl who died during the nuclear power plant fight - comes back from the dead.
• And Drake, too.

Listen, tons of other stuff develops, too, but I read this book two weeks ago. Grade-wise, I would probably give this a C+. Too much happens, and the storyline becomes burdensome with so many different angles to it. However, there were a few redeeming qualities. Astrid's character is developed more. She's conflicted and arrogant. In a way, she's one of the better developed characters. Grant has gone about giving this goody-goody such sharp edges that make her hard to like. Unlike, strangley, the bad-girl Diana, with whom (I assume) most readers probably empathize. I found the whole storyline with Mary Terrafino to be terribly long and boring. For a girl suffering from way too much responsibility, depression, and an eating disorder, I found it hard to even want to pay attention to her.

So, all in all, this book had its slow moments. But in the end, it's about the mystery of the Darkness and Little Pete. What does this five-year old autistic child have to do with the FAYZ?

Grade: C+

The Compound

by S.A. Bodeen

What if the world had been nuked? 

What if your family had an escape plan? 

What if your family had a well-stocked fallout shelter? 

What would happen when things went wrong?

Eli has lived for six years in his family’s compound. An unending compound with room for the whole family, filled with enough supplies to last a nuclear winter of fifteen years. But the time for Eddy has not been one of relief, because for the last six years his identical twin, Eddy, has been dead. Left outside. Because of Eli.

For six years he has not cut his hair. He has not touched anyone. He has cocooned himself from life and from himself, just as much as the compound has cocooned the whole family. After all this time, the strangeness of his life underground doesn’t seem shocking.  But then Eli finally makes the choice to enter his brother’s room in the compound. And his world is torn apart.

Review:

Excellent! I would actually say that the ideas presented in this book were more disturbing than the violence of The Hunger Games or the mercy killing in This World We Live In. The pacing is fast and exciting, and despite the brevity of the book, I developed a connection with the characters, especially Eli (narrator) and his older sister, Lexie.

I have a few complaints. First, this book should have been longer. There are a lot of ethical issues that could have been delved into deeper. Second, had the plot been more developed, it would have given more time for Eli to discover more about the compound and his father’s insane plans. Hence, as a reader, I would have learned more. I love scientific background stories.

Grade: B+

Hunger (sequel to Gone)

by Michael Grant.

One day all the adults disappeared, and only children under fifteen were left in San Perdido, California. One day an impenetrable dome surrounded the town. One day all the children learned they were on their own, in a new world: the FAYZ.

Three months after the FAYZ occurred, life is still the same: the adults are gone, some children have superpowers, and Caine and Drake are still the menacing enemies. But now they are hungry.

As children go hungry, tempers flare, and a rift grows between the "normals" and the "moofs" (mutant freaks).

While Sam Temple, the protagonist, tries to create order out of chaos, find food, and mediate squabbles and fights, Caine - a cruel, power-hungry (with super powers to boot) kid from Coates Prep School - devises a way to topple Sam from his position of leadership. He decides to take over the local power plant.

But Caine's not the only enemy now. Sam and his friends are now fully aware of "The Hunger" a creature that lives underground and is growing more powerful and evil...

My Review:

Perhaps it's because I've read close to thousand pages of this series in the past two weeks, or perhaps it's the actual novel, but I felt like there was some real character development in this book. Astrid, Sam's girlfriend, and Edilio, Alberto, and Quinn (normals who are Sam's friends) become more interesting and create more depth in this fast-paced plot.

Once again, Grant's story was exciting and compelling - although for a brief spell (pages 200 to 300 or so) I lost interest.

Ethically, the book becomes more interesting as character have to deal with prejudices and mistrust between the moofs and the normals.

Each time you think you're unpeeling the mystery of the FAYZ, you find out there is another layer that you didn't know existed, and these mysteries have me chomping at the bit to read the next book: Lies.

Grade: B+

Gone

By Michael Grant

Gone is touted as a modern-day Lord of the Flies. It's not that good. By that I mean, you won't be weighed down with any heavy ethical issues. No guilt for Piggy.

But it is good fun. And like all teenaged fun, it's best not to have the adults around.

San Perdido, California. One minute - normal life. The next? All individuals over the age of 15 have disappeared. There one second, gone the next.

Sam Templeton, a quiet 14 year old boy, becomes the leader who helps band the local kids together - fighting the bullies and also the rich, private school students who come down from their mountain to try to gain control of the town. The young children must be cared for, fights resolved, and a community must be governed.

In all honesty, there's enough to that story line to develop an engaging read.

But Grant gives us more. Along with the disappearance of adults comes the children's development of super powers. And the impenetrable domed barrier that prevents anyone from leaving the area. Oh, and did I forget to mention the mutating animals?

Throughout all the trials, the characters and the reader struggle to determine how? and why?

Honestly, that's a lot of ingredients for one story. And a lot of authors (especially if they were a seventh grader) would lose control of everything. But Grant does a good job tying it all together, juggling it all to help create a compelling mystery that drives the reader forward. I imagine that the reader's hunger to know the mystery is comparable to the series Lost (which I have never watched), Defying Gravity (awesome sci-fi series that was cancelled), or Battlestar Galactica (Best. Series. Ever.).

Of course, all this action and mystery has to take a toll on some aspect of the novel and it does: character development is rather shallow. But you'll forgive the book for this because you don't care so much for the characters as for the strange events, the mutations, the super powers, the fights, and the mystery. The fast pacing of the story line won't give you a moment to reflect on the weaknesses of the book anyway.

If you liked Hunger Games, super power stories, action-packed books, The Girl Who Owned a City, I Am Number Four, you will like Gone.

Grade: B+

I Am Number Four

by Pittacus Lore

An alien race called the Mogadorians destroyed the planet Lorien. John Smith is one of nine alien children who escaped the destruction that occurred on Lorien. One of nine children with superpowers. Accompanied by their guardians, the nine arrived on Earth and have been living lives on the run, hiding from the Mogadorians who are out to finish them their race off.

The Nine are bound together by a charm that only allows the Mogadorians to kill them in order. John Smith is number four, and he is next.

Living a life constantly on the run has not been fun for young John Smith or his guardian, Henri. When fate finally lands them in Paradise, Ohio, John decides he’s ready to develop roots. He finds a friend and falls in love. As the story progresses and as John becomes more comfortable with his life in Paradise, the Mogadorians draw closer.

My review?

This story is one dimensional. There’s not a lot to drive the plot forward other than the Mogadorians, and the rising action doesn’t really create the suspense or tension readers enjoy with good action/adventure/mystery storylines. The character development is minimal; by the end of the book, I hadn’t really developed a connection with any of the characters. In fact, the character I liked the most was Bernie Kosar, John’s pet beagle.

The writing is one part sophisticated, one part middle school. The writing style is polished, but there is a lack of restraint that I also find in middle school writing. Overbearing, unnecessary descriptions of places. Details added in that seem to add little. Poorly explained background stories or descriptions. Beasts and turns of events added just to create more chaos. That's a typical middle-school writing trick: just adding extraordinary stuff on the fly just for shock effect. Ad-lib writing and "just because" justifications.

However, the book pulls together in the end because of the introduction of one compelling character: Number Six. It’s for this reason that I leave this book off with a B-/C+. Because it left me hope that the next book would be better.

Grade: C+

Birthmarked

By Caragh M. O’Brien

Birthmarked is a sci-fi (although a subtle sci-fi) story set in a dystopian future. Hundreds of years into the future, only small remnants of humanity remain – small pockets of communities. Water is scarce – so scarce that even the Great Lakes are now “unlakes.” An oppressive ruling class called the Enclave has devised a system: the privileged and chosen live inside a gated community where resources are plentiful, while those outside the wall must scrape by on what the Enclave will give them.

Genetically, the pool of genes within the Enclave was small – inbreeding occurred and recessive diseases like hemophilia became rampant. To strengthen their pedigrees, the Enclave takes what it must from those who live outside of the wall: their children. The Enclave requires the first three babies born in each month be taken-"advanced"- from their parents for a better life inside the Enclave. In return, those taken babies will help increase the Enclave’s genetic diversity.

Gaia is from the outside. She is a mid-wife. It was her mother’s vocation, and ever since the Enclave imprisoned her parents, it is now hers. For the first time, she truly begins to question the Enclave’s right to children outside the wall.

This was a very good book written by a local CT author. At times the plotline felt too convenient, but otherwise a really good read. If you liked Handmaid’s Tale or The Giver, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Grade: B+

Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

Ender’s Game is an interesting book, first published in the late 70s. I believe, but perhaps erroneously, that it is one of the “classic science fiction” novels specifically targeting children and young adults. But it’s hard for me to explain what this book is. If you like science fiction, will you read it? Yes. Will you like it? Maybe. Does it have a few interesting moral and ethical questions for you to ponder? Yes.

So, let’s cut to the chase. Ender Wiggins is a young boy in a society set far into the future. A society that is ruled by three separate entities, who are currently united in one fight: the fight against the buggers – an alien race that has attacked Earth twice before.

The international military is constantly preparing for their next encounter with the buggers. They prepare by picking the most intelligent children who have personalities that are highly suitable for military leadership. Such children leave their families and spend the rest of their childhoods learning, training, and fighting in Battle School.

Six-year old Ender Wiggins is chosen. But he turns out to not just be chosen; it’s like he is the chosen one. The adults quickly realize his potential far outweighes the potential of any other student, and so they begin to manipulate Ender’s life. They ensure that Ender is always on the outside to keep him from getting comfortable. They do little to prevent Ender from being bullied because they want him to learn how to deal with conflict on his own.

Ender quickly advances through the ranks, constantly outperforming everyone’s expectations. He is their genius military leader, but he begins to wonder if it’s all worth it.

Readability-wise this story reads kind of like a textbook with a B-line plot and shallow character development. It wouldn’t make a bad Made-For-TV movie. The shame of it is with more time and development of characters, I think I would have really enjoyed this book. When you enjoy this book, you’re enjoying it simply for the premise not necessarily for the writing.

Interesting Ethical Areas:

Childhood: Is it ethical to begin strict military training at the age of 6? Do we treat children like pawns? Are we unable to see children’s true potential because we see them as “children”?

Violence: When is violence justified? Exactly how violent can children be before it could be considered a “problem”? Can you justify exterminating an entire race – when those in question are attacking aliens?

Interesting point: One totally cool thing that this book focuses on is orientation, planes, and zero gravity. Ender spends a lot of time training his troops to give up their Earth orientation: where up is up and down is down. In zero gravity, you can be anyway. This is interesting because if you watch sci-fi (Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica), the ships all fly together on the same plane. Why?

Grade: B-

Away from Reading

Every fall my reading slows down. The free time of summer is gone, and a new school year hits me like a ton of bricks. But this fall I really stopped reading.

Fall was good, but then fall got rough. And I didn't want to read.

For the first time in my life, reading didn't provide a therapeutic escape for me. I even stopped caring about being a "book pusher" at school.

Thankfully, it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. And snowed.

So -

I'M BACK!

Here are the few books I've read lately.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

An interestingly crafted historical fiction that intertwines the life of a teen Brooklynite with a young girl living during the French Revolution. If you like music, you'll appreciate this book, which takes pains to bring music into almost every page. Let's just say you could create an entire playlist using the songs referenced in this book. A long playlist. I think if you like historical fiction (which I do), you'll enjoy this.

There are times where the plot gets a little sketchy, but you'll let it slide.

All in all, I enjoyed this book by Donnelly much better than her A Northern Light.

Forged by Laurie Halse Anderson

A companion to Chains, which was awesome, this follows the life of Curzon (the slave with whom Isobel ran away). Curzon fights in the army. Honestly, I didn't like this and only got about 3/4 of the way through it. It was dry and lacked passion. However, like all of Anderson's historical fiction, it was meticulously researched.

The Tudors by G. J. Meyer.

A nonfiction piece about the reign of the Tudors. I really dug this book, especially the alternating chapters that would detail certain aspects of Renaissance life from what the people ate to the spread of the printing press. However, this is no light book. If you want to know almost everything about anything that went on during Henry VIII's reign - pick this one up. BTW, Henry the VIII was an ass. Like I said, this is a pretty hefty book - let's just say it's a horse pill. In fact, I only made it up to Mary's death, and then I had to return the book to the library. I have every intention of taking it back out to read through Elizabeth's reign, though!

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin.

An excellent read. Ellis, a young Irish lady, finds herself traveling to America for employment. She lives in a boarding house, must learn to acclimate to her new job and new land, and fight her own homesickness. Awesome book, especially if you liked A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.