Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

Hey everyone!

The next book on my list is Confession of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire.

We have all heard the story of Cinderella, the beautiful child cast out to slave among the ashes. But what of her stepsisters, the homely pair exiled into ignominy by the fame of their lovely sibling? What fate befell those untouched by beauty ... and what curses accompanied Cinderella's looks? Set against the backdrop of seventeenth-century Holland, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister tells the story of Iris, an unlikely heroine who finds herself swept from the lowly streets of Haarlem to a strange world of wealth, artifice, and ambition. Iris's path quickly becomes intertwined with that of Clara, the mysterious and unnaturally beautiful girl destined to become her sister. While Clara retreats to the cinders of the family hearth, Iris seeks out the shadowy secrets of her new household -- and the treacherous truth of her former life.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister

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Book of Lost Things (The)

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I love the concepts of Gregory Maguire's books. I've read the Wicked Years series ( I highly recommend) by Maguire as well. This book is a take on Cinderella, it's the "other perspective this is how it really happened" story. Let's start at the very beginning. The beginning was so confusing, specifically the prologue. Maguire has a tendency of using very "fluffy" language. I find myself having to use a dictionary to read the book. That kind of adds to the confusion. Maguire is very blunt in his books and very harsh to some of his characters. I love this! We don't need beautiful, perfect protagonist all the time. This book isn't 100% Cinderella either. It has hints of Cinderella, so you're not getting the same jaded story you've heard time and time before. Or its alternative version that you've also heard so many versions of. Like I mentioned earlier I love the concepts that Gregory Maguire creates, but he doesn't always execute it properly. This story was executed somewhat poorly but I still really enjoyed the story. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus

Hey there!

In my history class this past spring I had to read Sundiata, which I have already reviewed for you. I also had to read Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus by Carolina Maria de Jesus.

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And the Mountains Echoed

Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina de Jesus

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Allegiant

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I'm going to start off by saying I gave this story a 2 out of 5 stars. This is a true account of Carolina's times in the favelas. I feel bad that I didn't like this book because I know the favelas aren't a good place to be in. There were parts of the story that were good and interesting but the majority of the book was the same thing over and over. Day in and day out she wrote a few sentences about each day and they were the same as the day before. There was no differences between the days and it was hard to read the same thing over and over. I admire Carolina because she wrote down her life and pushed herself to get it published. It is a very inspirational story, but it was tough to get through because there was no variation. I love memoirs but this just wasn't what I hoped it would be.

Keep reading!

Mackenzie

Confessions of a Mask

I also finished Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima today, so you get a bonus post.

I guess we'll start:

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Confessions of a Mask
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This book was such a sick, twisted story. It was very well written and flowed smoothly but the main character was very disturbing, more at the beginning of the book than at the end. The author uses so much detail and really paints a picture for you and it is so well written. Mishima also writes with big emphasis on the five senses. The main character, Kochan, becomes really confusing in the middle of the book and I couldn't follow his thinking easily. Other than that it was a really good book but it's not for the faint heart or those who get easily offended.

I'm not sure what I'll be reading next but I will let you know when the time comes. Also, if you want to see what books I've read in the past or am currently reading (in case I forget to mention it again) friend me on Goodreads. Here's the link:
Goodreads profile

Happy reading everyone!
Mackenzie

The Chemist

I just finished reading The Chemist by Chris Blewitt so I now have:

Funniest Cop Stories (The)
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Chemist (The)
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Well, that's progress. As for my review for The Chemist by Chris Blewitt it was good for what it was. It was based on a true story that happened during Prohibition. It was really a bare bones story, I would have liked more to it, there was a lot that could have been filled in, but it was still a pretty decent story. I would probably suggest this to someone who likes to read books about America's history. I thought it was interesting and I might be tempted to pick it up again at a later point.
One another note, I'm making very slow progress on The Fellowship of the Ring. I'm hoping to pick up speed soon.

Keep reading!
Mackenzie