10th Canadian Book Challenge

Am joining this a little later than I was hoping to.  But this is my starting post for the challenge and where I will post my links.

If you wish to join, you can find the site here: http://www.bookmineset.com/2016/05/coming-soon-10th-canadian-book.html

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And Nothing But the Truth - Kit Pearson

Title: And Nothing But the Truth (The Whole Truth #2)
Author: Kit Pearson
Pages: 267
Published: 2012
Genre: Middle-Grade Fiction, Historical Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: Kit Pearson’ s endearing heroine from The Whole Truth, Polly, is now thirteen and following in her sister’ s footsteps to a boarding school in Victoria. The adjustment is difficult— all those rules!— and Polly often escapes into her dreams of becoming an artist. At least her family is intact again, and there are no more dark and difficult secrets to be kept hidden . . . that is, until her teenage sister, Maud, makes a dramatic confession. Will Polly be able to keep this new secret? Will it tear her family apart again?  (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: Not sure how I first found out about this book, but probably when doing a searching for anything new out by Kit Pearson, who has long been a favourite author of mine since I was about 10 or 12.

I felt that this was a nice continuation of The Whole Truth and liked that a good number of the same characters appeared in the book, in addition to some new characters that made an appearance in the book.  The book was similar to another favourite book mine by Kit Pearson that I enjoyed as a middle-grade reader, The Daring Game.

Nothing really stood out for me, but I did like that there was a change in scenery during several points in the story, this one had scenes in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna, and the small island community Polly lived in during The Whole Truth.  I also liked that the personality of Polly continued to evolve over the course of the book, experiencing emotions that a 13-year old probably would experience, given the set of circumstances that Polly was faced with.

As well, I liked how the author uses language that appreciates that her readership will probably want something that can challenge their reading ability, while not dumbing it down, making it too easy for them to read.  And writing in a way that even adult readers enjoy the book as well.  And as this reader can attest to, Ms. Pearson does that well.

But if there was something that I didn't enjoy it was that the author basically closed the book on Polly and her family and friends at the end, as I would have like see how Polly evolved as a person through the different adventures and experiences as she grew into a young adult.

Bottom line: A good addition to the Kit Pearson cannon and while it is not my favourite book of hers, it is engaging for the reader and is able to challenge middle-grade readers.  I would also recommend The Daring Game and The War Guest Trilogy, which are also written by the same author.

Rating: 4.25/5

After the War is Over - Jennifer Robson

Title: After the War is Over
Author: Jennifer Robson
Pages: 384
Published: 2014
Challenges: Historical Fiction, Canadian, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source:

Description: England, 1919 In the months following the Armistice, Charlotte Brown leaves behind her wartime work as a nurse and returns to her life as a social worker in Liverpool. There she sets about helping her fellow citizens better themselves, though the world is still reeling from the devastation and loss of the Great War. In her journey she is guided by friends old and new, among them the other women at her boarding house, her colleagues at work, and a radical young newspaper editor who may have romantic designs on her. But even as she tries to look ahead, one man continues to pull her back into her past: Edward, now the Earl of Cumberland, the brother of Charlotte's dearest friend. She hasn't seen him in years and is shocked to discover him utterly changed. Once charming and infuriatingly arrogant, he is now broken by all he has seen. Still Charlotte sees the specter of the captivating man she knew, and knows he could offer her a world far different from the one she's worked so hard to build for herself. As the country seethes with unrest, and post-war euphoria flattens into bitter disappointment, Charlotte fears that the only way to keep her independent life of purpose may be to turn her back on the only man she has ever loved. (from Goodreads

Thoughts: When I saw this book on a blog somewhere, I knew I wanted to read this book, especially since I had read Jennifer's previous book, Somewhere In France, and had enjoyed the read.

I found the book to be a nice follow-up to Somewhere in France, using a number of the same characters while shifting the focus to new characters or to characters that weren't used as much in the previous book.  It was also a nice break from reading the heavier books that I was reading at the time and to have something quick to read.

Bottom line: It was an okay read, as it didn't exactly blow me away, but it wasn't bad either and like I said earlier, it was a nice follow-up to Somewhere in France, but it can also stand alone on its own without reading Somewhere in France, as there is little reference to that book.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.25/5

Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald

Title: Fall on Your Knees
Author: Ann-Marie MacDonald
Pages: 512
Published: 2002 (first published 1996)
Challenges: Canadian, Chunkster, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: They are the Pipers of Cape Breton Island -- a family steeped in lies and unspoken truths that reach out from the past, forever mindful of the tragic secret that could shatter the family to its foundations. 

Chronicling five generations of this eccentric clan, Fall On Your Knees follows four remarkable sisters whose lives are filled with driving ambition, inescapable family bonds, and forbidden love. Their experiences will take them from their stormswept homeland, across the battlefields of World War I, to the freedom and independence of Jazz-era New York City.  (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: This had been a book that had been on my TBR for at least 15 years, if not longer, due to talk I had heard about this book.  Mainly due to the content of the book, but I can't recall exactly what I heard and I think it was in the late 1990's when I heard the chatter, but it could have been a few years later when it came to the attention of Oprah and her book club.

I really liked how MacDonald created a sense of place from the outset; I really felt as though I was living the life of the Piper family during the first 30 years of the 20th century.  I could imagine seeing the Piper house and felt like I was trailing them as they moved from room to room and as they went and did things out in the community.  But on the other hand, I did feel as though the writing was choppy and like I was forcing myself at times to finish up the book.  I can see why people like this book and that it at some point could become a Canadian classic.

Bottom line: While I liked how the author crafted a sense of place and characters that you could picture, there were times I could not find a reading rhythm with the book, unlike what I found with Madame Picasso. Recommended.

Rating: 2.75/5

The 9th Canadian Book Challenge

I am going to try my hand at this again.  It's a pretty simple challenge: read 13 books by Canadian authors and link them up at The Book Mine Set, who has put up monthly link ups on his page so that you can easily link up your reviews.  If you want to know more about the challenge, you can view the FAQ's here. Hope you will be able to join me.  Happy reading.

Road Ends - Mary Lawson

Title: Road Ends
Author: Mary Lawson
Pages (File Size): 368 (2.2 MB)
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, Canadian Book, E-Book Reading, Historical Fiction, I Love Libraries
Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary, Canadian
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: Roads End brings us a family unravelling in the aftermath of tragedy: Edward Cartwright, struggling to escape the legacy of a violent past; Emily, his wife, cloistered in her room with yet another new baby, increasingly unaware of events outside the bedroom door; Tom, their eldest son, twenty-five years old but home again, unable to come to terms with the death of a friend; and capable, formidable Megan, the sole daughter in a household of eight sons, who for years held the family together but has finally broken free and gone to England, to try to make a life of her own.  

Thoughts: I had trouble following the storyline in the book at times, in that I could not find out what the focus of the book was.  While I enjoyed Megan's storyline, as she was the "normal" on in the family.  I found that reading the other perspectives difficult to get through and that they seemed to slow the book down to the point that I had to force myself to finish the book.

For a large portion of the book, I was unsure of why there was this pall cast over the book and felt scattered as a result.  The book was well written and made one feel as though you really in 1960s London and in a small northern Ontario town.

I think part of the problem that I had with book is that when I read Crow Lake a number of years ago, I was left wanting more, whereas with this book, I could hardly wait until this book had been completed.

Bottom line: While the book seems to be promising, the book fell a little short for me and that was probably a little depressing for me. If you like other contemporary Canadian authors or authors that set their books in small towns, you probably will enjoy this one, as well as fans of Mary Lawson.  Recommended.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2014: 15,534

If you have read this book, what did you think of it?

2014 Canadian Book Challenge Sign-up and First Post

This is a challenge that I have been looking forward to doing.  It's pretty simple: read books by Canadian authors.  And the ultimate goal is to read 13 overall books, one for each province (10) and territory (3).  One doesn't have to find a book set in each province or territory, as some are easier than others to have books set in (every province except for New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador will be fairly easy; the only territory that would be easy to find something would be the Yukon), but if you choose to do it that way, you are welcome to do it that way.

John at The Book Mind Set is hosting the challenge and has guidelines/FAQ's for the challenge, which you can find here. He also made the photo that I am using for this challenge.

I am going to aim for 13 books.  The challenge runs July 1, 2014 (yeah, I'm a little late) until June 30, 2015.

Books completed:
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