Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
One of the most widely praised and rapturously entertaining first novels in recent years begins with a little girl falling down an abandoned mineshaft in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Her name is Ursula Wong, she's part Chinese, part Finnish, only two years old, and soon the dangerous effort to rescue her has an entire country glued to the TV. As it follows that effort, Ursula, Under re-creates the chain of ancestors, across two thousand years, whose lives culminate in the fragile miracle of a little girl underground: a Chinese alchemist in the third century bc, the orphaned playmate to a seventeenth- century Swedish queen, Ursula's great-great-grandfather who was the casualty of a mining accident that eerily foreshadows Ursula's dilemma, and many more. A work of symphonic richness and profound empathy, Ursula, Under dramatically demonstrates that no one is truly alone. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Ursula, Under is a beautiful story of a little girl and all the people throughout the centuries that went in to creating this little girl. The main story is set around 2 year old Ursula who has fallen down a mine shaft. The book though, is actually many short stories about Ursula's ancestors starting in the third century B.C. and working it's way up through Ursula's parents. Sprinkled between these shorter stories is the story of Ursula and the rescue efforts going on in Michigan's Upper Penninsula. The characters in Ursula, Under are many and varied. The environment, whether it be Michigan, Finland or China, is lush and beautiful. After I turned the last page I wanted to flip back to the beginning and start again immediatley. Ingrid Hill is very knowlegeable about history and culture and I can tell a lot of research went into creating this novel. The end result is an impressive debut novel.

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

Rating: 3.5

What it's about:
Fledgling, Octavia Butler's first new novel in seven years, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.

My thoughts:
Fledgling is a somewhat original, modern day vampire story. Octavia Butler takes a vampire and adds in the element of genetic engineering. Her hybrid vampire, Shori, is able to be awake in the daytime and live a more "human" life. Some of the other older vampires see this as a threat and try to destroy Shori and her family. Unfortunately this story sounds better than it actually is. I just couldn't immerse myself in it. I'm not sure if it was the characters or the story itself but I felt it was lacking something. It just didn't grip me. That's not to say that I didn't like the book. It had some compelling aspects, especially the genetically modified vampire, and I enjoyed it overall but it's not my favorite vampire story.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
In a remote Hertfordshire village, far off the good coach roads of George III's England, a country squire of no great means must marry off his five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this all-consuming enterprise are his headstrong second daughter Elizabeth Bennet and her aristocratic suitor Fitzwilliam Darcy—two lovers whose pride must be humbled and prejudice dissolved before the novel can come to its splendid conclusion.

A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and Prejudice is also a sumptuously detailed picture of contemporary society, which, in its exploration of manner and motives, has a great deal to say about the society of today. Austen's best-loved novel is a memorable story about the power of reason, and above all about the strange dynamics of human relationships and emotions.
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice. It was on the slow side, it wasn't anything that kept me up late reading, but I was entertained. I especially appreciated the many different personalities in the Bennet family. Mr. Bennet in particular was a hoot! I'm certainly glad I read the book but I do think I enjoyed the movie (with Keira Knightly) more.

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
An unsparing and hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town. - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I love Bill Bryson. He's slightly cynical and quick to voice his (many) disappointments but he's funny. In The Lost Continent Bill travels around America from town to town and details for us readers all his hardships and the occasional bit of pleasure. Bill seems to find something to dislike in many of the towns he travels through but he never loses hope that his next destination will live up to all his expectations. And it sometimes does! I thoroughly enjoyed chuckling my way this travelogue.