The Devil's Arithmetic - Jane Yolen

When I began looking for books for the Jewish Literature Challenge, I thought immediately of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic. It follows the story of a young Jewish girl named Hannah Stern. Hannah is tired of her Grandpa ranting about the Holocaust, and wishes she could spend Seder with her Gentile friends.

When her family asks her to symbolically open the door to invite the prophet Elijah in, she finds her self in the Poland of 1942. Everyone there thinks she's a young girl named Chaya, who survived the cholera that killed her family. She tries to explain to them that she's from a different time & place, but they think she's still feverish from her illness.

She slowly acclimates to her new surroundings, but during her uncle's wedding, the Nazis come to relocate the entire village to a concentration camp. Hannah tries to warn them of the dangers they face...starvation, gas chambers, hard work...but they don't believe her. After all, how would a young girl know of such things?

This book is a sobering look at just some of the realities of the Holocaust. It was the 1989 winner of the National Jewish Literature Award for children's literature. It's a very fast read, and its skillful writing pulls you into the story line immediately.

Apologies, Recap & Awesome Blogging Community

Hey everyone! I've been really sporadic about my posts on here, and the other 2 blogs. Have no fear, I'm not burning out already, and I haven't been ill. I'm visiting my family, and our church here has been doing a week-long marriage conference.

Now contrary to popular belief, you don't have to have an endangered marriage to attend a conference. And isn't it better to learn how to protect your marriage before there's an issue, rather than after? I took my first step in getting ahead of the game when I read Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages. When this conference came up, I got excited! For starters, I love our pastor, but I thought it was awesome that a marriage conference was the week before my anniversary.

So to make up for the inconsistent posts, I'll be participating in a 30 Day post that's been making rounds amongst the military spouses. (Who will be credited on the 1st of those posts. :) )

Speaking of military spouses. I ran across an awesome blogging community at Household 6 Diva. She's got it broken down between military spouses, and military supportive. Check her out, she also has a great article on OPSEC & PERSEC.

Kindle Giveaway - Check It Out

Okay check it out. If you love romance novels this will up your alley. If you want a Kindle, this will be up your alley. If you don't like either one, sign up anyway and send me the Kindle, lol. You can get all the info right here. Hint: Even if you don't like romance novels, don't worry...this is really easy to enter. You just have to answer a question, and they give you the answer. When you enter, tell Tina that SpitFire sent you. :)

Technorati

Sorry guys,
I know this isn't friendly, but I figured better a quick ignorable post, than sticking some code at the end of a perfectly good post. Once my blog is accepted, I'll remove this post. :)

6B356S9D83KG

The Night Dance: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses

I love fairy tales. I love retellings of fairy tales. And I love Arthurian legend. If you're anything like me, you will absolutely love The Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn. It's a re-telling of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale The 12 Dancing Princesses, interwoven with tales of the Lady of the Lake.

Years ago a woman vanished into the woods leaving a husband and 12 girls behind. Her husband built a large wall around their home, to prevent the girls from disappearing the same way. Since that time, the girls never entered the woods, until the day the youngest chipped a hole in the wall.

As she begins exploring the woods, the visions begin. Some are of a man she's never met, but feels strangely connected with. The others are of a woman who resembles stories of the mother she doesn't remember. Convinced that her mother is still living, she tells her sisters about the woods and the adventure truly begins.

The retelling is excellently done, and is set shortly after King Arthur is slain in battle. I found the concept brilliant, and as soon as I read the back cover I knew I had to read this. I borrowed this from my sisters personal collection, and read it for the YA Reading Challenge, Speculative Fiction Challenge, and 100+ Challenge.

The Truth-Tellers Tale by Sharon Shinn

“What would you say if I told you there was a time a Safe-Keeper told a secret, a Truth-Teller told a lie, and a Dream-Maker did everything in her power to make sure a wish went astray? Believe what I tell you, for I am a Truth-Teller, and every word I say is true.” Thus the Truth-Tellers Tale by Sharon Shinn begins.

Adele & Eleda are Innkeepers daughters, twins & opposite in nearly every way. Their appearances are mirror images of each other, as well as their names & their personalities. Eleda the Truth-Teller is often used to referee childrens games, or give opinions on outfits, for she can tell no lies. Adele the Safe-Keeper is given all the confidences and secrets of the village's inhabitants. When the 2 are mistaken for each other, it sets off a chain of events that will change their lives, and the lives of their friends.

A mysterious dance instructor and his young apprentice find their way to the Inn, and quickly charm their way into society. Their friend Roellyn's father is determined that she'll marry a prince, but she's fallen for the apprentice. Eleda can't shake the feeling that the instructor is not what he claims to be, but feels a strange attraction to him nonetheless. Adele has fallen for a boy she can't have, but seems maddeningly assured that all will work out though of course she can't say why.

Nearly all little girls love fairy tales. If you're like me, and you never grew out of it, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

**I read this for the Library Reading Challenge, YA Reading Challenge, and Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge.

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast

Beauty by Robin McKinley, is not your average fairytale. You see, in average fairytales, you read them quite swiftly & there is little time to truly know the characters. You love Beauty, because she is the heroine. You eventually love Beast, because Beauty does.

In this retelling, that is how things work. You cannot breeze through the book, because it's so packed with detail that you have take time to enjoy it properly. Her descriptions are so well written, that you almost feel like you are seeing the dresses Beast sends to Beauty's sisters. You feel like you can see the fateful rose that leads to this odd arrangement. You feel like you can see the sorrow in Beasts eyes, each time Beauty says "no."

The general outline remains true to the original. Beauty's father becomes lost on a journey, finds his way to an enchanted castle, where he's waited on hand & foot. When morning comes & he sets out for home, he sees a rosebush and remembers a promise to bring back rose seeds for Beauty. Thinking that a single rose will have to do, he plucks it, incurring the wrath of Beast. Beast demands that he go home, but return in one month alone or with a daughter. The catch? The daughter must choose to come of her own accord.

The truly beautiful thing about this novel, is that you grow to love Beast as much as Beauty. The time is taken to let the reader understand him better. And as the novel progresses, despite knowing full well how it ends, you find yourself cheering on the relationship, and cringing each time it fails. When the end does come, and it is of course happily ever after, we are happy for all, but sad that the book has ended.