Masterpiece

by Elise Broach

{ 2008 | Henry Holt and Co. | 304 pgs }

If you enjoyed Chasing Vermeer, this is another book you should definitely check out. Masterpiece is the story of a beetle (yes, the bug) named Marvin who it turns out has a remarkable talent for pen-and-ink drawings, using his two front legs as pens. The drawings are incredibly detailed and, of course, miniature. Marvin lives in the house of a boy named James, whose parents are divorced; his father is an artist, and through a misunderstanding, everyone thinks James has done the drawing. His dad takes him to see a Durer exhibit at an art museum. The story progresses from there, with both Marvin and James getting mixed up in an elaborate art theft plot. Oh, and they learn about Durer. Naturally.

Masterpiece is reminiscent of Chasing Vermeer in many ways, but a main difference is that this story is directed towards a younger audience. That isn’t to say that I, being a somewhat older audience member, didn’t enjoy it – on the contrary, it was an immensely fun way to spend the Bwun’s naptime. When the Bwun woke up he even sat with me while I read aloud to him for about 15 minutes. (That’s a LONG attention span for the Bwun!) Admittedly, the plot is silly – a beetle who draws? And has a family who takes vacations to the greenhouse? – but it’s still a quick, fun, art-inspired read.

Dracula

by Bram Stoker

{ 1897 | Archibald Constable and Company | 448 pgs }

Having never seen any Dracula movies, I knew only the basics of the original story: there’s a vampire named Dracula.

Not much to go on, really. But the book was fascinating. The plot is told through first-person narration by many of the characters as they keep diaries or journals, and also contains relevant news clippings or communications that the characters collect. And really, the story was so much more than just “a vampire named Dracula.” Although the first quarter of the book takes place in Dracula’s castle, the Count himself makes very few appearances after that. And aside from the antagonist there isn’t one main character; rather, the group of individuals who are trying to stop Dracula make up the protagonists.

I was surprised that I enjoyed Dracula so much. You’ve heard that Mark Twain quote about classics, right? “A classic is a book everyone wants to have read and no one wants to read”? I feel that way about most 19th century books. The writing style tends to be a lot harder to navigate (for me, at least), particularly when authors insist on paragraphs that go on for pages. I’ve never cared much for lengthy narration without some interesting dialogue. And that’s what I expected from Dracula – but I was wrong. Because the book is narrated in first-person, and each of the characters is attempting an authentic record of events, the writing is simple and there is plenty of dialogue. The only complaint I had was the writing and speaking of Van Helsing was in ridiculously broken English. Baa. I always felt like someone had made a bunch of typos.

That being said, I found the plot fascinating, though I am left to wonder how on earth (or why) so many of the Dracula movies are R-rated. The book is minimally violent, given the presence of a vampire, and it’s extremely religious. But who am I to say anything when Hollywood has already spoken?

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

{ 2008 | Scholastic Press | 384 pgs }

I seldom think a book deserves the hype it gets. The Forest of Hands and Teeth, for example, just didn’t live up to the rave reviews I read (in my opinion, that is).

However…

Can I say that I was completely blown away by The Hunger Games? I read it in about 4 hours – thankfully the Bwun went to sleep early so I had a chance to read uninterrupted! The plot was so captivating, the narration perfect, the characters identifiable. Off the top of my head, I’d say The Hunger Games easily ranks among my top 10 favorite books, and I put it about equal on my list with Ender’s Game. Did you hear me? Ender’s Game! I’m serious!

The very basic premise of The Hunger Games is that in a post-everything North America, the ruling government has established complete control over its citizens and asserts that dominance by holding a yearly “Hunger Game” where 24 teenagers fight to the death.

Ok, maybe that doesn’t sound appealing, but I don’t want to give away anything else. I’ll just add that the complexity of the plot and characters is simply unbelievable. I am quite seriously considering buying the sequel (Catching Fire) to take on our road trip.

Of all the reviews I’ve done, I hope this one has inspired you to read a new book!