Take A Chance Challenge - Book Cover

Here is my "Judge A Book By Its Cover" review for Jenners' Take A Chance Challenge over at Find Your Next Book Here. Jenners' guidelines for this challenge: "Pick out a book based SOLELY on the cover. First, write about what you expect the book to be about based on the cover art. Then read the book and write about how the book was different from and/or similar to what the cover art led you to expect."

I found the solitary figure on a lonely dusty trail to be intriguing on the cover of The German Bride by Joanna Hershon. Why was she alone, vulnerable and searching? The cover presents a shadowy female figure stopped on a desolate trail surrounded by a possibly unforgiving landscape. Based on the cover art, I wanted to know more about where this female character would lead me in her story.

MY EXPECTATIONS BASED ON THE COVER

Looking at the cover, these questions popped into my mind:

Has she been abandoned by an unruly husband? Did she run away from an abusive home? Is she searching for a lost family member? Is she anxiously waiting for a loved one's return? Is she venturing out on her own, wondering which path to take towards a new future?

Since the title is The German Bride, I could assume that she is standing somewhere in the German countryside. She also may be an immigrant in a foreign land, trying to adjust to a new life in difficult circumstances. My curiosity pushed me to open the book and start reading.

WHAT I LEARNED AFTER READING THE BOOK

The story begins for the reader as we meet Eva, a German girl of privilege in 1861. Eva and her sister Henriette live a very comfortable life in Berlin with their attentive father. Their mother is mostly absent from their lives as she stays at a "retreat" to help her with emotional issues. Henriette, the older sister, enjoys the attentions of many suitors, but Eva becomes focused on her portrait painter. Their clandestine romance leads to life changing tragedy for Eva, and ultimately she decides to leave Germany and escape her secrets.

As the story progresses, I discover that Eva is the solitary figure on the cover art who is trapped in a loveless, callous marriage to Abraham Shein. Wanting to escape her conscience and memories, Eva agrees to marry Abraham and live a self-imposed exile in the American West. The author, Joanna Hershon, paints a harsh picture of Eva's struggle to endure the long boat ride to America and the horrible, frightening journey on the Santa Fe Trail. Petite and fragile, Eva nervously follows her husband's lead through hostile Indian territory. Things don't get much better when she arrives at her new home. She quickly learns that her new chosen life will be a daily punishment and very far removed from the comforts of her Berlin childhood. Eva also will face dangers that she never expected.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Joanna Hershon's The German Bride . My questions about the plight of the mysterious figure on the cover are quickly answered in this fast moving, well-written novel. Eva Shein's humanity and resilience make for a very intriguing and sympathetic main character.

Happy Monday everyone!

Take A Chance Challenge - Random Book Selection

The witty and well-read Jenners over at Find Your Next Book Here is hosting theTake A Chance Challenge to all who want to expand their reading horizons. There are 10 interesting and fun challenges to try. If you would like to learn more about the challenges, just click on the above image and you will find all the challenge descriptions.

Here are Jenners' guidelines for this Random Book Selection challenge: "Go to the library or bookstore. Position yourself in a section such as Fiction, Non-Fiction, Mystery, Children (whatever section you want). Then write down random directions for yourself (for example, third row, second shelf, fifth book from right). Follow your directions and see what book you find. Read the book, and then write about it."

After spending an hour navigating through the chaotic, but happy children's section of my library, I instructed my four kids to quietly follow me into the adult section to find my book for the challenge. My two middle guys took my instructions quite seriously by the concentrated looks on their faces as they gingerly walked by all those studious reading adults. It was if they were entering a booby-trapped temple in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

Gratefully, we made it to the fiction section and only dropped a couple of books on our journey. I first chose to select a book from a library shelf at my eye level. My boys were ready to help me find our random book. Well, my 3 year old wanted to control this activity and decided that she would count the books on a shelf at her level. She happily handed me The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. It turns out that she made an excellent choice.

One hundred years old and a longtime resident of Roscommon Psychiatric Hospital, Sligo born Roseanne McNulty bares her soul and fragile humanity on journal entries quickly hid under floorboards in her room. Author Sebastian Barry skillfully presents Roseanne's character sympathetically and vividly. His writing is poetic and philosophical at times. Here are two examples of his well-crafted prose:

"After all the world is indeed beautiful and if we were any other creature than man, we might be continually happy in it."

"That strange responsibility we feel towards others when they speak, to offer them the solace of an answer."

The other main character in this novel, Dr. Grene, tries to uncover the truth about Roseanne's mostly tragic past and her present mental state through carefully questioning. Often, he would just sit in her presence and allow memories and painful admissions to take over his thoughts. Throughout his interviews with Roseanne, Dr. Grene's own personal struggle with grief and doubt start to unravel in front of Roseanne and the reader.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Secret Scripture. The writing and characters captivate your attention and raise significant questions about family dynamics, religious control and personal rehabilitation. My three year old was my lucky charm with this random book selection.

Happy Saturday everyone! Today is my nephew's third birthday! We're having the party here so I better start blowing up balloons :)

Take a Chance Reading Challenge

Creative and inspiring Jenners, over at Find Your Next Book Here, is hosting a terrific reading challenge. This challenge is all about taking chances in your reading. It runs from June 1, 2009 to November 30, 2009.

Here is a brief description of the challenge from Jenners: "There are 10 tasks in all -- 7 involve finding a book to read in very random ways. The last three tasks are about taking chances as a writer as you are challenged to take on the role of short story writer, poet and movie/book reviewer. The challenge is meant to be fun and no pressure. Complete as many or a few of the 10 challenges as you want. However, the more you complete, the more chances you'll get to win the grand prize."

Guess what? The grand prize is a $25 worth of books from Amazon :)

I think this will be a fun way to expand my reading horizons! If you would like more details about these fun reading tasks, please hop over to her guideline post.

I'm on my reading challenge book hunt now. Hope to share my first book challenge with you soon!