Kakaku：28 saved$0.28
Everyman's Library
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (The Snow Queen by H. C. Andersen) 『Note: The version of The Snow Queen that I am reviewing is from an early 1900's book of Andersen's Fairy Tales that I have - thus, the "original" version.
The Snow Queen, a fairy tale by celebrated children's writer Hans Christian Andersen, is a light, somewhat interesting make-believe story. This work, like most of Andersen's other pieces, brings magical happenings into "real life" and is not set in a mystical land.
The story begins with the account of a wicked goblin who makes a mirror which makes everything pretty look awful. While using this mirror one day he accidentally drops it, and it breaks into many tiny pieces which scatter all over the world. If anyone should get a piece of the glass in his eye, everything would look terrible; and if the shard penetrated to his heart, the organ would soon turn into a lump of ice.
The next thing that we see in the story is a little boy named Kay and a little girl named Gerda playing together in a rose garden. They are best friends, and they both adore each other. However, two of the shards of glass from the goblin's mirror that were floating about in the air get into Kay's eye, and one of them goes straight to his heart, which will now soon turn to a lump of ice. Kay suddenly perceives Gerda, the roses, and other things as looking dreadful. After this he does not like to play with Gerda anymore, and prefers to be by himself.
One day as he is riding his sledge, he meets up with the icy Snow Queen who is riding along in her own sledge. He follows her back to her palace, which is all pure ice. The Snow Queen then gives him a word puzzle to solve, saying that if he could find the word "eternity" that he would be free to leave her palace. Gerda, meanwhile, is very upset that her little friend is gone. By chance she gets into a boat, which happens to come free of its tethers to the shore and is swept away by the current downstream. Finding herself thus carried away from her town, she resolves to find Kay. Through a series of strange events, including and meeting up with an old witch, a prince, and robbers, she finally makes her way to the Snow Queen's palace. The Snow Queen is conveniently out, and so Gerda finds Kay sitting there all alone, his heart almost a lump of ice. He does not recognize or even seem to see her; however, she bursts into tears, and the warm tears go to his heart and melt the bit of mirror that was there. He then bursts into tears as well, and washes away the shard that was in his eye. All traces of the mirror now gone, he wakes up as if from a dream. He looks over at the word puzzle that the Snow Queen has left for him to solve, and finds that it has solved itself and spelled "eternity." Now free to leave the palace, Kay and Gerda go back to the town together. They forget all that has happened, and sit in the beautiful sun of summer together.
This story is an average make believe story, with the traditional fairy-tale account of someone being taken away and another person having to come to their rescue. Usually an evil being is the one who snatches a noble person away. This tale, however, does not make clear who exactly the villain is. Kay and Gerda are, of course, the "good" people, and the goblin is most obviously "bad." However, the story leaves you wondering exactly which side the Snow Queen is on. She takes Kay away causing Gerda and the rest of the townspeople to grieve; yet she does not harm or be mean to him in any way. She seems not to serve any real purpose in the story except that of a diversion, a convenient way for Kay to be gone so that Gerda can come and rescue him. This pointlessness in the Snow Queen's existence is a significant flaw in Andersen's writing, as this discrepancy leaves you feeling slightly perplexed at the end of the story.
The story is also somewhat monotonous at times, and especially tedious is the pages long account of the flowers' stories. The incident with the robbers provides a bit of excitement, and younger children might think that the encounters with the prince&princess and Gerda's risky journey are exciting as well. For the most part, though, this story lacks much-needed liveliness. I had predicted and looked forward to a final showdown with the Snow Queen; however, to my disappointment, there was none.
The Snow Queen was for the most part a cute - if rather unremarkable - fairy tale. Even though this particular make-believe chronicle of Andersen's is one of his better known works, the story lacks the vivacity that makes Andersen's other compositions so charming. Also unlike other of Andersen's characteristic tales, this story has almost no moral value - besides the common "good triumphs over evil" theme. In comparison to the vast horde of fairy tales ever written, this piece was quite average; however, in comparison to Andersen's other works it is rather feeble. I give The Snow Queen two and a half out of five stars. Keeping in mind that this is a children's story, it is to some extent an adventuresome tale that any child under seven will probably find interesting. Older children, though, might want to pass by this one and pick up another of Andersen's fairy tales - one that is both exhilarating and that has a wholesome moral lesson.』
(ICY TALE THAT WARMS THE HEART) 『The Snow Queen is a charming fairy tale, written by Hans Christian Andersen. It is full of Friendship and Love, as Gerda journeys to cold Finland in search of her best friend, Kay, who has been captured by the evil Snow Queen. When she finally reaches him, Gerda must try to warm Kay's heart to set him free. Reading this was very interesting, and it is not at all the kind of book that would put you to sleep, in my opinion. It is ingeniously written, and with such imagination! The hardships Gerda endures for her friend are inspiring, and can instill good values in little children as they grow and begin to form friendships. The Snow Queen will almost certainly enchant people of all ages . . . and may even interest you in reading more fairy tales!』
(Oh the weather outside is frightful...) 『I once read an article in Horn Book Magazine (a review source of titles and articles on children's literature) that lamented the millions of poor translations of Hans Christian Andersen polluting the minds of our young people today. The review mentioned that stories like, "The Snow Queen", which were originally written in a snappy vernacular, have been dumbed down and drained of all energy by their American translators. With this idea fresh in my mind I found myself in possession of a very particular copy of "The Snow Queen" and I was able to test this theory myself. Now due to the wacky nature of Amazon.com, the website has lumped together the reviews of every single version of this Anderson story. You will see that some of the reviews refer to Nilesh Mistry's, some refer to the audio book, some to Eileen Kernaghan's, and some (God help us all) to Mary Engelbreit. None of these, however, are the version that I am reviewing. After careful consideration, I selected the edition retold by Amy Ehrlich and illustrated by Susan Jeffers. The Ehrlich/Jeffers team has banded together to bring us every fairy tale from Thumbelina to Cinderella. With this 1982 classic edition, they bring all the creepy and crawly elements of Andersen's riveting tale to a kind of tame middlebrow life.
Most people don't remember that "The Snow Queen" begins when the devil creates a mirror that reflects everything good as bad. By a quirk of fate the mirror is smashed one day (the details of this accident are left unclear) and the tiny pieces go spinning into the atmosphere. If these splinters enter your eye, everything will look ugly to you. If they enter your heart, it will turn instantly to ice. Got it? Good. Cause sure enough, two small pieces enter the eye and the heart of a boy named Kai. When this happens he stops playing with his best playmate Gerta and instead falls under the seductive spell of the mysterious and magnificently pale Snow Queen. Gerta goes in search of her friend but is waylaid by a variety of different adventures. She escapes an overly loving old witch, is taken in by a prince and princess, falls into the power of a thief girl and her kin, and at last saves Kai from the Snow Queen herself. By the end of the book, neither kid is a child any longer and their home is just as they left it.
Obviously "The Snow Queen" is one big ole story about growing up. The idea of the devil's mirror causing someone to despise anything they see and grow a suddenly cold heart... well that's just another way of describing adolescence, is it not? Andersen obviously borrowed quite a lot from that classic old tale, "East of the Sun, West of the Moon", in which another girl goes off to save the man she loves from the machinations of a wicked woman. Heck, "Tam Lin" was probably an influence as well. The best version of this particular story I ever read was by Kara Dalkey. It was a tale named, "The Lady of the Ice Garden" and can be found in "Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction and Fantasy". It is not, however, appropriate for children. Kids today will probably look at "The Snow Queen" and instantly think of the White Witch from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". I cannot think, however, that this is a bad thing.
As for the Jeffers/Ehrlich version, it's all right. As an illustrator, Jeffers has apparently decided to make Kai and Gerta definitely children. I guess that lowers the creepiness factor when the Snow Queen lures the boy to her sleigh and wraps him in her furs. Jeffers really captures beautifully every diamond in the Snow Queen's dress and every strand of her white white hair. There is the odd stylistic choice here and there, though. When Gerta surprises the prince and princess in their bed, it is not your typical mattress affair but rather large his and her flower petals. I can't think that they're comfortable (or even particularly practical). The illustrations have been created, according to the book, "using a fine-line pen with ink and dyes. They were applied over a detailed pencil drawing that was then erased". As a result, the book is as soft as a colored pencil, but with a level of detail and intricacy normally associated with pen and ink.
Obviously I don't know enough about the original version of "The Snow Queen" (or, as Andersen called it, "Sneedronningen") to know whether or not this book is a worthy version to read to your tots. At any rate, it tells the full story, warts and all, and will provide them with what may well be the most Freudian-toned fairy tale ever to grace their little brains. A fun edition of a rather odd tale.』
(Review of The Snow Queen by Kerrie Reinhardt (Age 12)) 『The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson is a fairy tale about two lovers, Kay and Gerda. The adventure begins when the Snow Queen abducts Kay and Gerda travels throughout Europe trying to find him meeting many people and facing many hardships along the way. I enjoyed The Snow Queen because it has a biblical theme: perfect love overcomes fear (I John 4:18). I also like it because it has a happy ending.』
(ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST MEMORABLE FAIRY TALES) 『"The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen is one of the world's most memorable fairy tales. Gerda's journey to find her lost friend and her visit to the ice palace of the Snow Queen capture a child's imagiantion as few tales do.
Creatively dramatic illustrations make this a valuable addition to the annals of children's literature.』
『Reprinted here for the first time since the 19th century, these color illustrations by T. Pym make the classic Andersen fairy tale even more magical.
One of Andersen's best-beloved tales,The Snow Queenis a story about the strength and endurance of childhood friendship. Gerda's search for her playmate Kay–who was abducted by the Snow Queen and taken to her frozen palace–is brought to life in delicate and evocative illustrations.』
Kakaku：85 saved$0.85
Cardoza
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Love the Enthusiasm and Material; Hate the Proofreading) 『This is a typical Cardoza book in that editing, proofreading, and careful production were not part of the equation. I can't understand why this publisher seems to take pride in sloppy work. That out of the way...
Schiller admittedly loves to hype the things he loves, but that's fine. He is a big fan of the Tarrasch, but he backs this with solid knowledge and extensive practice, so it all works to the good. And that's the upside of Cardoza's line of books: they brim with enthusiasm, excitement, interesting ideas, and above all a philosophy of getting out there and winning. After a couple of hours with this book, you just can't wait to get out there and play and try out your new ideas. That's no small thing--- how many chess books make you want an afternoon nap instead?
There are few full books to be found about the Tarrasch. Schiller's book fills a real hole. (The other book I know of is Aagaard and Lund's "Meeting 1. d4" which, while quite good, is more theoretical and dry.) Schiller definitely concentrates on ideas and typical plans and tactics for both sides. The writing style and presentation is cogent and easy to follow. You cannot get through this book without having a thorough conception of the flow of the Tarrasch. Enough material is presented on variants and alternatives to make the book a reasonable enough reference, though you might have to hunt around a bit; of course the book is not "theoretically complete" but it never seemed intended to be. As a good practical introduction, this book will have you playing the Tarrasch in tournament games rather quickly (as it is doing for me).
Later on if you want to become a complete Tarrasch specialist you'll need a little more material, such as a game collection. But for getting going and learning the concepts, this book will take you quite far. You just have to grin and bear it when really obvious typos appear multiple times in one line.
Overall 4 stars for content and sheer enthusiasm and energy; one star off for poor editing.』
(Great book on Tarrasch) 『Schiller is a Tarrasch fanatic, and it shows in this thick (288 pages) well-produced epic on the Tarrasch Defence. It brims with enthusiasm and with tactics, strategies, traps, theory, history--everything you need to play and love the Tarrasch. The overview and typical strategies sections at the beginning are beautiful. Schiller does not sugarcoat this Defence, but he does promise you exciting chess and that by studying this opening your overall game will improve. It is important to learn how to play with an isolated d-pawn. Another great benefit of the Tarrasch is you can play the pawn structure against nearly any opening (even against 1. e4 you can play a French and have the same structure. Even though Kasparov gave up the Tarrasch, obviously it is a worthy opening if several world champions have played it. Solve the problem of the Bc8 being trapped in the most forthright way! Play the Tarrasch, and get this book!』
(Awful Book Cover and Content...) 『When you first see this book you figure, well the content has to be better than the cover. As amazing as it might sound, the content is even worse. The amount of errors really baffled me and stressed me out. Trying to look up things and the entire layout is just awful. How awful books like this get published is beyond my knowledge. Perhaps someone lost a bet or Schiller owns their soul. Maybe if your a 900 player this would help you break 1000. If your getting this book thinking your gonna be able to defend d4. I guess your gonna have to find out the hard way how shoddy this book is. A bad chess player that writes awful books is a scary thing. I think Ken Smith and Schiller should start their own club. Donate your money to a good charity or buy yourself something worth having. The only use this book has is the hope of being burned when no logs are left.』
(Poor organization and editing hurt useful book) 『The problem with this book is that it really seems like the author and editor didn't care about putting out a great product.
There are lots of problems with this book. There are far too many typos (it's hard to edit a chess book, but come one!) and the organization is horrid. It's easy to miss crucial subvariations, and the lack of proper indexing, combined with poor organization, makes it very hard to find the game you need.
Schiller's "strategic overview" in the beginning is a great idea, but it's executed poorly. A few examples concerning advancing the d-pawn here (rather than just scattered throughout the book) would work wonders.
So why two stars? Well, because despite its numerous flaws, I find myself using this book a lot. There aren't any other good books on the Tarasch defense these days, and it's an excellent weapon for the club player. There is a lot of good information in here, it's just so hard tofind!』
(Complete Queen's Pawn is a great place to start) 『After reading this book I am pretty much at ease defending the Queen pawn opening. The strategy presented here will get you through the first 10 or so moves and keep you out of trouble. After that you are of course on your own but not without some ideas and places to look for white weakness. I liked the summary of the strategy that was given in the Overview and Strategic Goals chapters. The short study of alternatives in the last few chapters is also very helpful if the game does not open exactly as planned.』 『This aggressive counterattacking repertoire covers Black opening systems against virtually every opening except for 1.e4 (plus most flank games) based on the exciting and powerful Tarrasch Defense, which helped bring championships to Kasparov and Spassky. Black learns the Classical Tarrasch, Symmetrical Tarrasch, Asymmetrical Tarrasch, Marshall and Tarrasch Gambits, and Tarrasch without Nc3, to achieve early equality or even an outright advantage in the first few moves.』
IPhone 3G used's review (Fun) 『This book stays in the laundry room as a handy reference for me and a bible for my husband. It is fun reading of a tedious chore; quite valuable in the information even if not all inclusive in its tips.』
(Handy to keep around...) 『This has been useful enough to have around. Nothing incredible, but how amazing can a cleaning tip be--- if it's known, it's bound to have been around for ages. Not to mention, this book is mainly useful as reference--- it is not put together/written well enough to be fun read through. Nothing you can't find with one type into google if you need it-- but handy if (god forbid ;)) your internet is ever down or you don't like turning to the computer as your first resource for everything.』 『Banish dirt and disorder! The one-and-only Queen of Clean®, Linda Cobb, has combined 3 bestsellers in 1 practical volume to help you clean your home and organize your life:
- A Queen For All Seasons - The Queen of Clean® Conquers Clutter - The Royal Guide to Spot and Stain Removal
In A Queen For All Seasons, her majesty presents unfailing year-round advice on everything from storing holiday decorations to breezing through summer vacations. In The Queen of Clean® Conquers Clutter, Cobb offers a foolproof sorting system to transform every room in your home into a clutter-free zone. And with The Royal Guide to Spot and Stain Removal, the cleaning goddess shares tried-and-true techniques for taming even the most vexing laundry challenges. All this and moremakes this ingenious collection a household helper no one should be without!』
Kakaku：179 saved$1.79
Oni Press
Usually ships in 24 hours 『Operation: Red Panda has the Minders being deployed to the war-torn streets of Iraq to investigate and potentially "terminate" an Iraqi bureaucrat who is suspected of giving allied secrets to local insurgents. As the old saying goes, all plans goes out the window once the first bullet is fired. And when things go from bad to worse for Tara, years of trauma and abuse come violently forward.』
Kakaku：18000 saved$180.00
Quite Specific Media Group Ltd
Usually ships in 1 to 2 months IPhone 3G used's review (The recipient loved it) 『I bought this as a gift for a friend who helped a great deal with my wedding, advising me of dress styles, hair styles, fashion from this era, dances, music, food, and everything in between, as well as arranging all the flowers for the wedding! She was a godsend! When I gave her the book, her jaw dropped and she was so excited to get it... she said she had been wanting it forever. As I consider her quite knowledgeable about the subject matter of this book, and as it came highly recommended by her, I would say that it's a great book to have if this is something you are interested in as a serious hobby or more.』
(The best place to start for Elizabethan Costuming) 『This is one of the best books ever written on the subject of Elizabethan Costuming. It mainly contains all of the details of Queen Elizabeth I wardrobe but it has unique points in the society that surrounded the dresses. This book helps to explain the Gloriana image that became so popular and it helps us to understand all the little details that went into the dress of the period. Detailing costumes using portraits and explaining how the fashion progressed makes this book a must for anyone interested in Renaissance Faires and the nobility. The only drawback is that very very few of the portraits and pictures are in color. I think a total of about 7 are in color the rest is in black and white. The only way to make this book more appealing and usable would be to put all of the portraits and pictures in color, but that would make the book even more expensive. After this must have book the 2nd on the shelf should be a J. Hunniset book (the lady who did all the costuming for Elizabeth R and The Six Wives of Henry the VIII produced by BBC). Next, any Janet Arnold book. Last, would be the Norris book: Tudor Costuming and Fashion (although most of this book is very outdated it is nice to look at). All of these are must haves and will make a well rounded library. Dispite the high price of the book it is worth posessing. Enjoy.』
(Such An Amazing Resource!) 『For the historical costumer focused on 16th century clothing, this is the "bible" hands down. Big, expensive, and filled with the usual detail that is the hallmark of Janet Arnold, this is one very worthwhile investment for the serious costumer. This book has one tiny drawback, in that it focuses entirely on women's fashion in the 16th century as viewed through the wardrobe accounts of Queen Elizabeth I and some of her contemporaries. Therefore, it has nothing to say on the topic of men's clothing, which is an unfortunately neglected aspect of 16th century research.
Much of Janet Arnold's most important contributions to the costuming community are addressed in this book, making it extremely valuable. She presents each section with satisfying detail, raising very few questions that remain unanswered. The photographs accompanying the text are also invaluable, as many of them are not available in other books or to the general public for viewing. If only there were more color images...
If you can afford the book, you won't regret buying it.』
(Really great book but....there are a few issues) 『For years I heard how this was _the_ book to buy if you were into Elizabethan costuming and wanted authentic items that could be documented. The book is good for that, and I enjoyed the style that Ms.Arnold wrote it in.
But I have two major gripes with the book-both regarding the quality of graphics and images in it.
First off-in the whole book there are only about 5 pages in color. The rest of it-including hundreds of portraits, examples of extant clothing pieces and pieces of embroidery were all in black and white. I complain about that because, with so many of the portraits quoted as examples it would help if they could be seen clearly. (Many of them are too dark to have reproduced well, and a few are quite horrible.) And the photographs....
If they could reprint this book and possibly include more color plates it would be a much much more valuable resource. As it stands now, it is a good source, but not all that I could have hoped for. Instead I have begun a search for color reproductions of the portraits cited in the book. A long tedious job but one that I think over all will make it a much more solid resource for my needs.』
(The Best source for the Wardrobe of Elizabeth 1st) 『This book is amazing. Huge, and packed full of information. An essential refernce work if you are seriously considering doing anything with elizabethan fashion. The author has poured years of scholarship into this work and it shows. It's not really a coffee table picture book. Instead it is full of carefully culled facts for the serious student or anybody curious about 'real' English Tudor costume.』 『The vast wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth I is legendary: in her own time some of the richly embroidered gowns were displayed with other treasures to dazzle the eyes of foreign visitors to the Tower of London. The quantity of clothes recorded in the inventories taken in 1600 would seem to suggest sheer vanity, but a survey of work carried out in the Wardrobe of Robes throughout the reign reveals a different picture. It is one of careful organization and economy. This work on the wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth I is illustrated with photographs of portraits, minatures, tomb sculptures, engravings, woven textiles and embroiders. Two indexes are provided: the first of paintings, persons, places and events; the second offering information on fashionable dress and accessories.』
Kakaku：544 saved$5.44
Dutton Juvenile
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Our Favorite Fairy Tale, Beautiful Version) 『I have two small children, and this has fast become our favorite read-aloud fairy tale. This version is very lyrical and well-told. The illustrations are very detailed and beautiful. The snowy scenes are anything but stark due to good use of color, and we actually get chilled and need to snuggle under the covers when looking at them because they are so full of life. This is a beautiful and treasured book in our household.
Great film version of The Snow Queen: The Snow Queen Our favorite new fairy tale series: Periwinkle and the Cave of Courage (The Fairy Chronicles) Great classic fairy tale book: Rapunzel (Caldecott Medal Book) 』
(Beautiful and compelling) 『My son and I both enjoyed this beautifully rendered book. The story is very interesting..a great example of children's literature.』 『When the coldhearted Snow Queen abducts a young boy, Gerda begins a magical and perilous journey to find him and release him from the Snow Queen’s treacherous spell. Follow Gerda in this sparkling retelling of the classic fairy tale, as she sets out on her dangerous quest to the frozen north.
Sparkling new jacket art, recolored and newly rendered interior art, and silver foil borders all add to the beauty of this glorious, large-format reissue.』
IPhone 3G used's review (fantastic) 『I love the book becuse I love Reba McEntire』
(An interesting read!) 『If you can't get enough of Reba you'll enjoy this book. Mr. Cusic gets his information from people who know her well, and most of the events discribed agree with her autobiography, "Reba:My Story" ( read it first!). If you get the chance to read this ,do, just keep in mind Reba didn't authorize this so some things may be a little exaggerated.If you're not a fan already reading her story will make you one!』 『The story of a platinum country music star recounts her humble beginnings on the Oklahoma rodeo circuit, her Hollywood performances beside Kenny Rogers and Burt Reynolds, and the tragic plane crash that took the lives of her entire band. Reprint.』
Kakaku：512 saved$5.12
Hyperion Book CH
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Courtesy of Teens Read Too) 『Queen is an incredibly stuck up ten-year-old girl whose family's praise has given her a very high opinion of herself. Her father and older brothers have spoiled her to the point where she's very, very easy to dislike. Unsurprisingly, no one at school seems to appreciate or recognize her supposed superiority.
Leroy is a new boy in her class, who smells funny and whose bike is broken. Queen is sure that he's a liar, especially when he tells stories about being royalty from Africa, and she can't stand him. Her parents try to force her to be nice to him, so they are thrown together despite Queen's dislike. Through Leroy, Queen learns some important lessons.
She's still not a very likeable heroine, though. I don't think I was supposed to like her. Be prepared for that going into this book, and you'll be able to appreciate Sharon G. Flake's amazing (and unsurprising if you've read her previous books) talent.
I'm not sure how kids will feel about this book. Some of them may not be willing to read a book with a main character like Queen. But if they can give it a shot, it's a pretty enjoyable short novel.
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce』
(Queen for a day (give or take a decade)) 『I'm probably the laziest person I know when it comes to reviewing books. I'm okay on the reading part, and I'm just ducky at putting a book in my To Be Reviewed Pile. It's at the point when the book merges with the general pile that I tend to get distracted, though. Books get seriously frighteningly buried. I guess that's the danger with a vertical rather than a horizontal pile. Then the mediocre books begin to disappear from my mind. I forget their details and their characters. I can't conjure up a notable scene or moment from them, and then the end of the year rolls around and it's too late to review them anyway. Once in a great while, however, I'll bury a book deep down into my pile and it'll remain in my brain for months on end. Today's example of this is Sharon G. Flake's, "The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street". I read this book so long ago that I've no clear-cut memory of the time or season anymore. Yet when I plucked it up just now it was if I'd finished it in its entirety only yesterday. Until this book the only Flake title I'd ever read was the mighty YA, Who Am I Without Him?. "Broken Bike Boy", then, proves that Flake's talent for switching genres is rivaled only by her strong characterizations.
It's enough to drive even the most superior member of the royal family bonkers. Queen knows that she's smart. Her father and her older brothers tell her every single day, and she loves correcting her teacher whenever she has the chance. That the kids in her school don't immediately recognize her innate superiority would be tolerable if they didn't all go and actually like nasty old Leroy instead. Leroy stinks and he lies. He says he's royalty from Africa, and Queen seems to be the only kid in her class that can see through his lies. Yet somehow this nasty boy has managed to charm everybody. Her teacher. Her parents. Her classmates. Everyone! But Queen's attempts to get at the truth behind Leroy's past teaches her a thing or two about what it truly means to be royal and, more importantly, a good person in this life.
At first when I was reading this book, I was ... well, basically I read this book like a kid would. I really did NOT like silly stuck-up Queen and I was feeling more than a little mad at Ms. Flake for forcing her upon me. I mean, this is a gal doted upon by her father and all her brothers. When one of them sends her a present she recounts how, "Then like always, he told me how much he loved me. Right after that I called my other brothers, to see what they would send me." ARG! Tell me that doesn't make you feel just a little crazy. Spoiled kids make for frustrating if intense reading. I'm ashamed to say that I was probably halfway through the book before it occurred to me that maybe you weren't supposed to like Queen. Maybe that was kind of the point. I've been so used to reading characters like Ida B from the novel of the same name that I had difficulty recognizing when I was supposed to be annoyed by my protagonist. Kudos to Ms. Flake then. It takes guts to make an unlikable hero. Guts and talent.
Pity about the end, really. Chapter 26 goes way too fast and ends the book with an abruptness that takes your breath away. Spoiler alert for those of you who'd rather not know the end. First of all, the villains are punks with pink hair. It's so retro it almost works. But then the action sequence starts and the herky-jerky writing throws everything off. For some reason, the style that serves the rest of the book so well goes wayward and odd here. Sentences are short and don't connect to one another in a pleasing fashion. Then the next thing you know you're at the end of the book and it's all happened so quickly that you don't know if you're coming or going.
Be all that as it may be, I'm a fan. The book sticks with you. Queen is so infuriating that it's nothing short of amazing that Flake is capable of making her sympathetic. The feeling of wanting to root for Queen even as you throttle her makes this book a standout in a fairly dull year. Ideal for booktalks, book discussion, and reading aloud in the classroom. Two thumbs up.』 『
I am a queen. I live in a castle, right across the street from the John Howard Housing Projects. Every day right after school I run to my bedroom window and open it wide--even in the middle of winter when the wind blows wet snow up my nose. I watch for my knight in shining armor. He's ten years old, like me, and rides a bike--a two-wheeler with rusty spokes and torn-up seat.
So begins Sharon Flake's highly-anticipated new novel--a moving story of an unlikely friendship.
Queen is a royal pain in the neck! Her Highness treats everyone like her loyal subjects: her classmates, her teacher, even her parents! That's why all the kids hate her and it's hard for her to make friends. To make matters worse, Queen known she is bright. Her teacher thinks she's a spoiled know-it-all, and that keeps her in hot water as well.
When a new kid comes to Queen's school riding a broken bike and wearing run-over shoes, he immediately becomes the butt of everyone's jokes. Her parents insist she be nice to Leroy, since history has never been kind to queens who forget how to be humble. But Leroy isn't just smelly, Queen thinks that he tells fibs-whoppers in fact-and when he says he's an African prince from Senegal, sparks fly between him and Queen. There's only room foroneblue-blooded family on 33rd Street, and Queen is determined to prove Leroy is an impostor.
What Queen ultimately discovers about Leroy makes her wonder what "happily ever after" really means. If a broken-bike boy is truly Queen's knight in shining armor, can he save her from herself, by teaching her how to be a good friend? 』
Kakaku：1495 saved$14.95
iUniverse.com
Usually ships in 24 hours IPhone 3G used's review (Awesome read!) 『This was an awesome book and different from anything I've ever read. Never a dry moment with this book. I got to admit I was a little irritated by the cliffhanger in the first section of the book, especially when it went off into two separate flashbacks. I was also caught a little off guard by some of the language... however It was well written... heartbreaking and enlightening and... well I loved it. I don't know much more to say. I'm just glad I bought it and you should too.』 『The Dawson women: Mazzy Dawson, a mulatto sushi chef in southern California, who struggles with the untimely death of her mother and the cloak of mystery that her grandmother keeps her family's history enshrouded in; Kennedy Dawson, a college student who fights heroin addiction and racial tensions at an L. A. County drug detox to bring her unborn child into the world; and Lucy Dawson, a discontented housewife in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, who, during the 1960's, starts to question the racially segregated suburban world around her and ultimately chooses an unconventional and dangerous path for love. In, Raising Warrior Queens, Teresa C. Smith examines the rarely simple, sometimes tumultuous and always loyal mother/daughter dynamic with sharp wit and a tender, yet unwavering eye.』 fetish『 The Beet Queen 』
『 Tracks 』
『 Ceremony: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) 』
『 The Painted Drum: A Novel (P.S.) 』
Louise Erdrich
大満足！北国のホタテ・いくら・ボタンエビがぎっしり！
