Flee, Fly, Flown by Janet Hepburn

When Lillian and Audrey hatch a plot to escape from

Riley liked this one too

Tranquil Meadows Nursing Home, “borrow” a car, and spend their hastily planned vacation time driving to destinations west, they aren’t fully aware of the challenges they will face. All they know is that the warm days of August call to them, and the need to escape the daily routines and humiliations of nursing home life has become overwhelming.

Flushed with the success of their escape plan, they set out on their journey having forgotten that their memory problems might make driving and following directions difficult. Their trip is almost over before it begins, until they meet up with the unsuspecting Rayne, a young man also heading west in hope of reconciling with his family.

As Lillian and Audrey try to take back the control that time and dementia has taken from them, Rayne realizes the truth of their situation. But it’s too late – he has fallen under the spell of these two funny, brave women and is willing to be a part of their adventure, wherever it leads them.

Loved it! Wonderfully written.
I haven't read a book quite like this before.  Tackling the subject of Alzheimer's disease in fiction has been, from my reading experience, treated either as a full on tragedy or as comic relief.  This Janet Hepburn manages to offer the humour and the tragedy of the condition but dos so without minimizing the characters or their humanity and liveliness.  Hepburn, without preaching, reminds us that people are people, whatever life has brought them and that life does not end with a diagnoses or a move to the Home.

 I very much liked that the author choose to make Lillian his narrator. Her experiences and point of view made Flee, Fly, Flown an intimate tale from within. Telling it from Rayne's point of view or from a third person narrative would have changed the essence of the story into something too removed from the reader and lost the amount of heart, humour and realness that it currently offers.

I was left with a few questions...

I strongly suspect the girls flew home to Ottawa and then Lillian and Audrey returned to the Home. I would hope that once Carol calmed down she took a moment to listen to Lillian and supported her in staying in the same home as Audrey. To separate these two friends seems beyond cruel.

I would also have like to hear that Carol finished the trip with them before flying back to Ottawa, but given the past actions and attitude displayed by Carol, it would be a far stretch to expect such a quick change of heart.

I also worried a bit about the dog, Shadow. The last mention of her was going down the river and then lying on the floor not moving with Rayne looking quite sad. I truly hope that his sadness was over the realization that caring for these ladies was becoming beyond his control and not at the loss of his beloved four-legged friend.  In my ending, the dog was tired and ended up out west with Rayne.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped by Madeleine Roux

Allison Hewitt and her five colleagues at the Brooks and Peabody Bookstore are trapped together when the zombie outbreak hits. Allison reaches out for help through her blog, writing on her laptop and utilizing the military's emergency wireless network (SNET). It may also be her only chance to reach her mother. But as the reality of their situation sinks in, Allison's blog becomes a harrowing account of her edge-of-the-seat adventures (with some witty sarcasm thrown in) as she and her companions fight their way through ravenous zombies and sometimes even more dangerous humans.  A great touch was the use of book titles for each chapter. It added a  it of literary flair to contrast the darkness of the events Allison writes about.
The tagline for the book is "One woman's story as she blogs - and fights back - the zombie apocalypse". And that is exactly what this book is ..a come ride along with Allison as she fights for survival and to maintain hope. Through her blog, the reader is able to to travel with Allison, experience the horror and hope right along side of her. Originally, this book was an experimental online blog.  You can read Allison's blog posts at
ALLISON HEWITT IS TRAPPED

There's tension and horror and gore and jumpy moments. The monsters are not just the zombies, in fact they, while dangerous and scary, are what they are. It is the other humans that induce the greater fear. This story is told via Allison's Blog which she uses to document what is happening and communicate sporadically with other survivors. This format makes it feel current and urgent. I often hesitated at turning the page - I HAD to know what would happen but also had that feeling of "don't-go-down-into-the-basement!" Plus she's trapped in the back of a bookstore but can't get to the books. That's horror right there! Readers follow Allison and her group as they fight to survive zombies, food shortages, illness and the danger of needing to trust other people. (Any fan of the Walking Dead TV series will probably like this series. It reads very much like the show version, but with a touch of humour)

If you like this one, try the sequel: Sadie Walker is Stranded

 
Sadie Walker is one of the survivors in this new world. Living in north Seattle behind barrier that keep the living in and the dead out, she trying to get back to a normal life, while raising her eight-year-old nephew, if anyone even knows what "normal" is anymore. Then everything goes sideways when Shane is kidnapped by a group of black market thieves and they bring down a crucial barrier in the city while trying to escape, and flood the city with the walking dead. After rescuing her nephew, Sadie and Shane escape Seattle on the last remaining boat, along with other survivors. However, now they must face the complete chaos of a world filled with flesh eating zombies and humans who are playing with a whole new rule book when it comes to survival in their journey to find a new place that they can call home.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner. 

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up? 

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness.

This story is a satire about the superficiality of consumer culture, politics, and mega-corporations that control everything we watch, read, and buy. It deals with racism, disability, and sexuality. There is adventure, mystery, and a dollop of romance. There are important messages here about survival, friendship, beauty, acceptance, independence, and what it means to be a woman. - excerpt from Nancy's review on Goodreads

I grew tired of this silly female tale, there was too much conversation concerning makeup and pedicures, products and dresses and the ridiculous rules or what girls are supposed to be.  What really bothered me that all this is going on while the text this story showed that they were actually incredibly smart girls who were able to invent things, use advances science and geography skills. I know that was part of the satire and part of the lesson of this novel -  to show that despite being the beauty queens with obsessive concerns over outward appearances, that they were more than that to begin with.  But it dragged on for so-o-o long.   I was just waiting for this book to hurry up and get on with it already! They did intersperse amongst the super girly prattle, almost hiding it, plotlines showing how these girls were smart AND capable AND independent. Again,  I get that it was part of the style of this story .  They were continuing to evolve and learn, even beginning to see each other as being capable of more than waving in a pageant parade or talent competition.  They were starting to understand that there was more to living than just being pretty;  they were starting to acknowledge this even in each other. It was still beyond annoying to have to read it page after page after page.

Another really annoying thing - which I suppose could have been a cute little quirk of the book to other readers- was the number of footnotes, references to television shows, and products and advertisements.  I get what the author was going four and it's a great idea. It just didn't translate well for me.  The presence of the notes at end of the page broke up the story.  I would have this great flow going, reading along and then BAM! stop. backtrack. look up the footnote. where was I..oh yeah, back to the story. I much preferred the character forms that peppered the book.  Giving information on the contestants, thoughts, dreams and showing how those ideas were often edited by the Corporation running the world media  pageant.  These were great and served to give a better insight into the true nature of each contestant.

"Maybe girls need an island to find themselves maybe they need a place where no one's watching them so they can be who they really are" (page 177)

This is a worthwhile story coated in Shiny glittery plastic. The way the story is told is it's own illustration of the moral it has to share with the reader:  that we need to look deeper beneath appearances and surface surface expectations down to what is important to the truth of who we are.  Great concept, wonderful quirkiness, OK execution.  Another book that I had to force myself to keep reading past the drawn-out middle to a last third that I really enjoyed.

No Girls Allowed: Tales of Daring Women Dressed as Men for Love, Freedom and Adventure

A female pharaoh? A woman general in the Kahn's army? A female Viking raider? No way, you say? Look again. Appearances can be deceiving ? Based on legends, poems, letters and first-hand accounts, these seven biographical tales tell of women who disguised themselves as men. From ancient Egypt through the Middle Ages to the 19th century, this historically accurate graphic treatment is perfect to transport readers back to bygone eras. The lives of these daring women were often filled with danger and the fear of discovery. However, for the sake of freedom, ambition, love or adventure, these women risked everything. No Girls Allowed brings a contemporary edge to a part of history largely untold ? until now.

An informative and stylish read, No Girls Allowed tells of brave and creative girls and women throughout the ages who defied the social restrictions of their gender.  I would have liked to have seen colour in the illustrations, but the feeling of inspiration still came through.  I especially liked that the tales ended with an update or sorts on the women, what happened to them when known and what was likely to have happened when not known.  These are not simply tales of individuals but of the influence and affects they had on those around them and on other women of the time.

Finding Books that "Look" Like You: Girls in Books

When students come to the library to select a book, I want them to not only feel welcome in the library, but to feel represented by the contents of their library. It is THEIR library and while I want them to explore new frontiers and make fresh discoveries, I also want each of them to see themselves and their own worlds in those books.  

Nine years ago, when I first started working at elementary school libraries in Ontario, I was amazed and shocked by the selections available to the JK-6 classes.  At the time I rotated between 11 schools which ran a wide gamut of economic and cultural populations.  Coming from a Catholic school education where books on adoption, divorce, multi-generational families and death were not to be seen (this was back in the 80's, I would hope the libraries there have been updated also), I was giddy over the fact that my libraries now had such topics. Looking at the stark difference between my students' appearance and the illustrations in the picture book collection, I knew an overhaul of the collection was in order.  The picture books seemed to only tell stories about blond, blue eyed nuclear families with a bouncy Irish Setter.  Almost all had a stay-at-home mom, and dad in a suit and happy, rosy cheeked children.  Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the 1950's family archetype. I grew up with it and have fond memories of many of those titles.  I just don't want every book to look like that. And where were the books where girls wore the cape and saved the day?    During the next two years I devoured every children's book that had even a hint of diversity.  My co-workers laughed at me and my partner as we excitedly showed them each new batch of "diversity" books.  We we both new to the role and missed most of the nervous looks resulting from titles like Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron and Asha's Mums by Rosamund Elwin and Michele Paulse. They were much more at ease when students selected the less traditional  and less controversial, girl-power titles. I have listed some of the most popular ones below.  The word Princess appears in may of the title.  At first I thought that having Princess appear so often would be contrary to the intent of this list, but I think it actually works better this way.  When a student wants to fit in with his or her peers, who all seem to be in the princess phase, what better way to provide options than with books that expand the idea of what a princess is and looks like?

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch
Marty Mcguire by Kate Messner
Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont
Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole
Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funke
Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen


I am happy to encourage the enthusiasm my co-workers show for books with strong female characters, flaws and all.  Check out this website when you are looking for a just right book to inspire your  female students. 

Girls do not have to be relegated to the role of sidekick or damsel in distress; they can be the leaders, the heroes, the champions that save the day, find the cure, and go on the adventure. From the A Mighty Girl website.

A Mighty Girl was created after the the co founders started looking for "empowering and inspirational books" for young family members.  Users can search the book lists by topics such as Mighty Girls & Women, Fiction, History / Biography, Personal Development and Social Issues.  There are also filters for audience age, language and a multicultural option.  The multicultural fiction search is fantastic.  Have a look at the screen capture , which shows the many categories to select from.

18. Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl of high standing at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date.After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious, very wealthy, girls-only Longbourn Academy are suddenly obsessed with the prom, which they share with the nearby, equally elitist, all-boys Pemberly School. Lizzie Bennett, who attends Longbourn on scholarship, isn't exactly interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be—especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London. Lizzie is happy about her friend's burgeoning romance, but less than impressed by Will Darcy, Charles's friend, who's as snobby and pretentious as his friend is nice. He doesn't seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it's because her family doesn't have money. It doesn't help that Charles doesn't seem to be asking Jane to be his prom date, or that Lizzie meets George Wickham, who tells her that Will Darcy sabotaged his scholarship at Pemberly. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk who looks down on the middle class—so imagine Lizzie's surprise when he asks her to the prom!Will Lizzie's prejudice and Will's pride keep them apart? Or are they a prom couple in the making? From Elizabeth Eulberg comes a very funny, completely stylish prom season delight of Jane Austen proportions.

A retelling of Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  This time Bennett and Darcy are students at an exclusive school where wealth, designer clothes and knowing the 'right' people denotes social success. Reading this book was like greeting an old friend.  The modernization of the story allows for a fresh look at favourite characters.  For those teens new to the Austen story, this lively incarnation is a great update making use of modern-day themes of bullying, prom traditions and cliques. The characters and high school situations are easy to identify with and, just as in the original, we are cheering for Miss Bennett and waiting for Mr. Darcy to really  see her.  In Prom & Prejudice, we see a bit more of Darcy's story, his viewpoints and reactions.  As a result we also notice more the assumption and mistakes Liz makes, causing the reader to pull for the almost-couple once again. The interpretations of Jane, Bingley and Collins are fun and fitting. Using the search for an acceptable prom date as the basis for the interactions works much better than trying to deal with a modern teen marriage.  This way, the story can be kept emotionally involving without being alien to teen audiences.Well told, Prom & Prejudice is a great teen novel.  A fun way to learn the classic story of romance and how a young girl's pride and a young man's stereotyping of others can complicate things, especially for those readers who shy away from actually picking up an 'old' classic.

9. Agnes and the Hitman

What a fun ride!!!! The dialogue flies as fast as the bullets in this offering from one of my go-to authors, Jennifer Crusie. In this novel she pairs up with Bob Mayer to deliver a fast paced, sharp tongued mystery-adventure-romance with great characters and a lot of bodies.

Agness Crandall has wagered everything she owns, literally, on being able to pull off the wedding for one of the Keys royalty. With her fiance-caterer, she will get to keep her newly purchased house if she can successfully plan and execute the perfect wedding for the former owner. Enter into her kitchen a gunman who ignores her tasty creations and heads straight for her dog Rhett. As she fights him off, a stranger - one incredibly hot and dangerous, and did I mention HOT stranger, climbs in through her window to save her. Soon Agnes is up to her blender in more dognappers, bodies, mobsters, cancellations, a nervous bride, a meddling grandmother and a couple of flamingos. Yes, flamingos. And why is her fiance/caterer avoiding her? Luckily she has Shane and his deadly aim to protect and comfort her. She also has her frying pan which may prove deadlier than the hitman.

I would love to see this as a movie: hitmen, wedding mayhem, fiances, frying pans and meat forks flying, cooking columns, retired mobsters, secret rooms, ex-fiances,hot baddies, crazy best friends, a heroine who isn't a size two and can cook the way I wish I could, humour - har, a wonderdog named Rhett and the Venus de Milo. What more could a gal need to pass a rainy night with?

It's action, drama, crime, romance, mystery, humor and full of characters that feel like the lovable, insane, trigger-happy family you always wanted. Thoroughly entertaining, Crusie and Mayer combine to give, my fav, author Evanovich some competition with attitude.

Book # 9 of my 50 book challenge

5. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

As the daughter of a preacher, young Agnes Grey is excited to begin a position as a governess. She hopes to ease her family’s financial troubles after an disaster devastates their investments. Her enthusiasm and hopes for a great experience are dashed when she meets her new charges. They are rude, ill-mannered disobedient children whose mother expects Agnes to educate and reform without using discipline or denying her children’s every desire. Treated as a lowly servant, Agnes is miserable and when she finally disobeys her employers to protect an animal from torture, Agnes is dismissed. With her father’s health failing she accepts another position hoping for a better reception. Drama ensues with the new family, a romantic interest begins and Agnes must endure and maintain hope while observing the limits society places upon it’s women.

The first chapter made me curious: who was Agnes and what did she have to say. Then the circumstances she faced – loneliness, social isolation, separated from emotional support and courtesy and human understanding – made me wonder just why I was reading this at all.

By the end of the novel I better understood Anne Bronte’s purpose. Agnes Grey is a social commentary on the status of women in the mid-1800’s, told from a highly personal accounting.

The environment described is very foreign to me coming from today’s society…not the feelings, but the blatant actions and socially accepted abuse Agnes Grey suffers.

While reading the first several chapters, I was beginning to dislike Agnes very much as she held her tongue and accepted the abuse and advantage her employers and wards took of her. I understand that she could be fired for speaking up, but surely putting those ignorant aristocrats in their place, if only for a moment, would be worthy of the self-worth it would leave her with as she left. I was hoping for it almost as much as I was hoping to read about Agnes flipping them the bird or making raspberries as the Mistress of the house fluttered about.

About ¾ way through the novel I started to like her as she, at least within herself asserted herself with positive results. Agnes has a voice but as entrenched as she is in the Victorian female struggle, rarely uses it outside of her own thoughts. I could feel her rolling her eyes, in her mind of course, when her self-absorbed, spoiled charges opened their mouths.

As the story became less about the oppressive circumstances of a governess by self-satisfied, vulgar, small-minded snobs who delight in social pretension and more about the happiness that could be found, love, surrounded by people who know and show respect, joy for the work and building of something to call one’s own, I finally felt comfortable with the novel. Finally! Some hope! Life being lived not endured. In fact, I began reading with more eagerness to see Agnes come into her own happy life. Yes, I was rooting for those hints of a love story. Come on Agnes, we all know you like the pastor. Throw away convention and go TALK TO HIM!! You know you want to. Stop being so dang proper.

My favorite part of the novel is from a rather small plot line, but the sentiment perfectly explains what Agnes alludes to throughout the chapters. It is a speech given by Agnes’ mother, responding to her own father’s message. In it, he offers to forgive her marrying for love if she admits her mistake, regrets having her children (as their father was not wealthy), and condemns the marriage. He will try, though it may be impossible, to restore her to a “lady” and remember her daughters in his will. She tells him to go to hell, although in a much more elegant manner.

Once I became used to the style of 1850’s writing and checked my repulsion at the treatment of women and those of lower classes, I did enjoy the novel. As a statement about the social order of the day and the injustices it entailed the book succeeded in evoking a response. The strict morals Agnes holds herself to and tries, with best intentions, to evoke in others seemed overdone to me. At first. And while I do not agree with the extent of her self-sacrifice, it did remind me that I could do more for others. And don’t forget the cheering, often screaming-at-the-characters type of cheering, for Agnes to admit her love and for her man to get off his duff and GO GET HER!!

Book # 5 of my 50 book challenge