Don't Fall by Rachel Schieffelbein

In this contemporary retelling of Rapunzel, seventeen-year-old Anya leads a secluded life in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother. She doesn't go to public school, doesn't even have a best friend. But Anya doesn't seem to mind. She has her books, her photography, and her daydreams and would do anything to please her mom.
Until one day at the library, the only place Anya is allowed to go alone, she takes a picture of a beautiful boy. Before long she's lying to her mom, and sneaking out to meet Zander. But Zander wants more than a secret romance. If Anya wants to be with the boy of her dreams, she's going to have to risk her relationship with the only other person she's ever cared about.

Awwwww, this book is so adorable! Even better, the novel is exactly what is says it is. It's a light, no muss- no fuss Rapunzel retelling. I have no idea what i'm going to say in this review because there isn't anything for me to really analyze or dissect. it just is what it is. 

I enjoyed Anya and her original naivete, I love the detailing in her character, what her favorite color is, what her hobbies are, what she looked liked as a child....everything is just so perfect. It's done in this novel, without being overdone.

the ending is contemporary fairytale too. Further, I understand Anya's complex feelings for her mother. I understand that need to please some one who will never be pleased. One day, I hope to have an ending like Anya.

And maybe, a guy like Zander too. I mean, he takes her out for cupcakes.... I could would definitely go out with a guy that would buy me cupcakes and go stargazing..... and kissing in the forest.

but I digress. 

All in all, if you're looking for a halt the presses dystopian this is not your novel. 

BUUUuuut, if your looking for a pleasant page turner, with shades of Rapunzel, this is definitely for you. 

I give it four stars.

Add it to your Goodreads list!

You can purchase the book here:

Amazon

About the Author:

Rachel Schieffelbein

Rachel grew up in a tiny town in Minnesota. She still lives there, with her husband and their four kids. She coaches high school speech and theater, rides Arabian horses, reads as much as she can, and writes stories.

Find her here!

Click the button below to view the other lovely ladies' posts!

This book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review, as a part of YA BOUND book Tours. 

It didn't in any way influence my opinion of the book.

Outrage and The Era of Mark Twain

Briefly this morning I tweeted about a certain Alan Gribben.
Alan Gribben is a Mark Twain scholar. He is determined to change Mark Twain's most famous works "the Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" to what he believes is correct for today's society. He will erase all racial slurs from both of those classics. He will replace all debatable words with "slave" I see a problem with that.
Not because I approve of said slurs. Quite the opposite. But what Mr. Gribben is doing, is rewriting history. Let me show you an example of what I mean:

A man buys a lot of property in- let's say Sacramento. On a piece of his property he has a mineshaft hole that drops straight down. It's quite an ugly looking feature to the otherwise beautiful property. He looks at the cost of filling it in and agrees that it would be easier to cover it with a tarp. So he buys the tarp, puts it over the mineshaft and covers the bright blue tarp with the leaves and dirt so it blends in with the scenery. But one day someone approaches the mineshaft without knowing it's there. He walks to it and falls to his gruesom death. The property owner is heavily fined and imprisoned for human endangerment and involuntary manslaughter.

Wouldn't it have been easier for the man to put a fence around it? That way, people would know it's there and be forewarned that where there are mines there is danger.

In a way Mr. Gribben is covering his mineshaft with the tarp. He aims to cover the eyesore, look out into the horizon and forget it was ever there. He could easily just set up a warning fence.

To pretend the words were never there would be wrong. Mark Twain did not intend for his works to be played with like a toy. He intended for his works to stand as an example of the era in which he grew up.

Now, there is another problem with replacing every racial term with slave. There were 'free men of color' in Mississippi before Mississippi was even a state. Their slave masters could free them or they could buy their freedom. It would be awful to know that your great-something-or-other grandfather was free but addressed as 'slave.' Not only is Mr. Gribben replacing words, he is changing context. Not every black person was a slave. Why is he trying to make it that way?

Did you know? That one year after its publication, in the year 1876, society wanted it banned because it was too racially tolerant? It was not banned. So why should we be banned now for being too racially discriminative? Society changes daily, it is carried by the wind and sometimes by the most superficial people. What is acceptable today would not have been accepted in the 1800s. And what was acceptable in the 1800s is not acceptable today. How would you feel if in the year 2200 people never said 9/11 happened? Today we tell ourselves there is no way that could happen, it was such a big event and it affected too many lives. We say that there is no way they could cover up something that big, but guess what? There wasn't a person alive then that was unaffected by the black people of the 1800s. Look what society is trying to do: cover it up. Is it an attempt to make more sales? Is it an attempt to paint a picture of  a perfect society? Why do that when nothing is perfect?


What's next mr. Gribben? Are you going to make Edgar Allen Poe's poetry positive?

ReviewerRachel  OUT.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I have no clue what I am going to blog about. I think that when I have something to say, I will blog it. I think sometimes i'm going to post a review. Particularly when I review a popular series (more publicity for me!) I will post it. I would love to hear suggestions from readers. I will make this statement upfront though- I refuse to read Twilight. I have not read it, so I will not trash it. I will say this though. You wouldn't even catch me dead touching that book. Why? Because, not a single person has ever been able to tell me something absolutely possitive. No, I do not consider romance to be an indefinite positive or negative, because it all depends on the content. To be frank and politically incorrect, I feel dirty just walking past the teen book shelf, so don't even think about suggesting it to me. I don't even care that I just scared away every Twilight fan, it really doesn't matter to me. Here is today's review-

Enjoy-

Reviewer Rachel

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

         The Hunger Games is about Katniss Everdeen. She is a survivor. With her father long dead and her practically comatose mother, she has sustained her family with her hunting skills. She lives in what used to be America, now called Panem. She lives in district 12, one of the poorest districts. The start of the Hunger Games is nearing. Two teens from each of the 12 districts will be transported to a closed arena and be forced to fight to the death. The last survivor wins. A rod of terror strikes Katniss as her 12 year old sister, Prim, is chosen from the drawing. But Katniss will not stand for that, she takes her sisters place on impulse. She dared take a look at her family, because for all she knows, she would never see them again.

         

        

My chosen words for this book are ‘hauntingly real’ and ‘horrifyingly familiar.’ To be honest, it would not take much to turn our world (and government) into Panem. This book gives a vivid look into what a soldier’s mental state would be like after (and during) a war, the horrors that would affect it, and the thoughts that would invade it. The night I finished the book, even though I fell asleep easily, was the most restless night of my life. I tossed and turned. I do not remember having nightmares, but I can tell that I was visited by some unpleasant thoughts. However, the book was very addictive, there is no doubt I will continue reading this series.