Lili Taylor Books

*SOME SPOILERS*

As a 19-year veteran homeschool mom, I grabbed this one up with excitement - a home educated main character in a respected children's literature novel!! Unfortunately, I'm not sure this character makes an outstanding educational choice role model to present to the masses. Ida B is more befitting of the titles "unschooled" and "spoiled rotten."

Free-spirited Ida B is stifled into Pre-K depression symptoms after one day at the place called school where there are books she could not read, a rabbit she could not pet, and children she could not talk to until the "right time" dictated by the harsh teacher who refuses to add the important initial B to her name. Her mother decides to reawaken Ida B's spirit by home schooling Ida B so that her precious daughter can spend more time telepathically talking to trees each day. (NOTE: SARCASM DEFINITELY INTENDED!) Ida B has a life of idyllic, "nearly perfect" days tending the earth that takes care of her in return until a mean tree spills the beans that something bad is going to happen soon. Her mother finds a cancerous lump which results in long-term treatment. Ida B is perfectly content until the harsh realities of life hit that necessitates a return to school and the sale of part of her land inheritance to assist her beloved parents in paying Mom's hospital bill. Immediately upon Ida B's father developing a backbone by demanding that Ida B obey, she decides to stop liking her parents!?!?

As the mother of seven, I understand that children do not always respond to life's challenges in mature ways, but I found it difficult to fathom that a child who had been nurtured and cherished by devoted homeschooling parents could spew such selfish thoughts towards her frail mother sitting on her daughter's bedside apologizing to poor Ida B for having cancer.

A sad (and inaccurate, I might add) depiction of the social skills of a homeschooled youngin' continues as she boards the bus where she formulates a plan of no friends, no play, no smiling, no happiness. Of more concern, she briefly describes how she will decimate her school into piles of concrete! Of course all this juvenile angst is predictably resolved in the end with a very unsatisfying repentance...to the trees...not Mom.

It's not that Ida B. was the worst book I've ever read, but it definitely made me cringe over the blight on the reputation of the respectable and socially capable homeschooled youth of America!

Ida B grows up with loving parents, homeschooled, perhaps a bit indulged, definitely lucky - until the luck stops when her mother gets cancer and she is, woe of woes, forced to go back to the school she hated after a few weeks experience in kindergarten. (How many five-year-olds would be thrilled to be pulled out of school after those first few difficult weeks and allowed to stay home with mommy and daddy)

And the now fourth-grade Ida B reacts like many--perhaps most--children would react; selfishly and nastily. She works as hard as she can to punish everyone around her for her 'misfortunes.' Finally, of course, she realises how awful she's being, repents, and makes good with everyone.

Yes, it's a bit over-cute, and yes, Ida B is a bit Too precocious, but I very much enjoyed the book, and would recommend it for children of approximately Ida B's age. I found Ida B's spoilt reaction to a tragedy she doesnt fully understand to be quite realistic, even in a basically sweet child brought up in loving surroundings. She is unhappy and deals with it by making herself more so - not an uncommon reaction.

When, with the help of her teacher, she slowly lets go of her anger and allows herself to get close to people again, her narration says a lot about relationships in general, in a simple way that children can understand without being turned off.

Ida B. is so good that I couldn't stop reading it until I was done. I recommend it for adults as well as children and it captures the life of a home schooled tween that loves nature I truly think that it could be a Newberry Honor book.

Ida B. is so good that I couldn't stop reading it until I was done. I recommend it for adults as well as children and it captures the life of a home schooled tween that loves nature I truly think that it could be a Newberry Honor book.

This fun novel is made up of glorious similes, metaphors, and intense descriptions. Ida B is a strong character that comes to life. You can really relate to her feelings. She is unpredictable and makes you want to keep reading to see what she will do next. Ida B is a moving story with a great theme and message about nature. Dealing with a loved one who is diagnosed with cancer is another inspirational theme woven into the plot. After I finished reading, I had to stop a moment to take in everything I had read. It truly made me think, and I believe it will have the same effect on anyone who reads this book. I confidently recommend Ida B.

As an occasional reader of Anna Quindlen's column (who often disagrees or doesn't quite like what's written), it's hard to disagree with the fact that Quindlen is an excellent writer and has an intelligent mind. This was the first novel of hers that I read, and I'll probably seek out more.

But I didn't really love the book. I liked a lot of it, that's true. But some parts bothered me quite a bit. The writing is really great - you're immersed into this world wholly and feel like characters around you are warm and alive. From son Robert to neighbor Cindy, there's this vivid and clear world. The story runs on a perfectly smooth track, alternating rather well (I felt) between past and present.

Meanwhile, I didn't really like the end. I didn't like the rather stereotypical situation with the husband and the husband's character (abusive, possessive cop... overdone perhaps?). The description of abuse was laid on rather well but felt used and kind of dry. I thought main character Fran/Beth could have been drawn better. And most of all, I felt some parts of the book were a bit far-fetched.

I really liked the book until the very ending where, though it touched my heart, I felt a bit empty. Perhaps this was the intention, but with other far-fetched moments throughout the book it added up to being simply a four-star book - well-written, much better than most, but still lacking in some places. I enjoyed reading it all the way through and comparatively, it's a high four or a four-and-a-half, but some parts were definitely weaker.

Good side-character characterization, excellent writing, extremely difficult and important topic, and very good presentation means that this book is fairly good. While it's not a classic, it's a deep and significant read that I would recommend and one that will lead me to seek out more of Quindlen's novels.

I was never really captivated by this book until page 170 or so. That's about when the story really got moving. There was a lot of switching back and forth between memories and present, and the transitions weren't clear. So, I was often confused. In my opinion, the book was just okay. Nothing overly exciting, never got really attached to the characters.

Anna Quindlen - a literary treasure of our time.

The book tells the story of an abused woman who has had enough and runs away from her husband, a police officer. She takes her son with her. She coincidentally finds an organization that helps women like herself to start a new life - an organization that claims that their program is more efficient than the witness protection program. The story goes back and forth from her new (completely new) life, and flashbacks to her life of abuse. What was so interesting about the story-telling was that there was the constant wondering of whether this husband of hers would find her. As a reader, I was sweating with the main character, everytime the phone rang or when there were strangers or policemen at her son's school. A true page-turner.

Quindlen's set up of the characters were so real that when the characters spoke, (call me crazy) I could imagine what kind of voice they'd have if I were to really hear them in person.

Even if you're not a fan of this genre or this subject matter, this book is an awesome piece of literature. Read it.

The title of my review sums it up. Quindlen went all over the map, describing people, emotions and scenarios that were empty. I skipped dozens of pages of yawn-infused diatribe to get to something...anything...that would be interesting. The ending was so predictable it was laughable and an insult to her readers. Not her best effort.

Anna Quindlen can really write well, and I enjoyed this book a lot. It's the story of one woman's daring escape after years of domestic abuse. Unfortunately, this tale has been told a couple dozen times in the last few years, but Quindlen works hard to make it feel fresh.

The characters are the best part of Quindlen's writing. Their emotions seem real, which is the hallmark of good writing. My book club agreed that this is one of the best books that we've read recently, like Rabid: A Novel by T.K. Kenyon and The Handmaid's Tale (Everyman's Library) by Margeret Atwood.

Minna

I remember reading a few of these stories in elementary school & really liking them, so I decided to buy them, & I'm so glad I did! I'm almost in high school & I still enjoy these stories. They're fast, fun, & very entertaining! I also really like the second volume of The Princess Tales. I recommend both of them if you are interested in funny, entertaining, and quick reads of simple, yet cute, fairy tales. & if you are looking for a longer & more developed story similar to these you will also like Ella Enchanted by the same author.

The Princess Tales Volume One By Gail Carson Levine

Rosella is a princess that was granted with a spell that made jewels come out of her mouth when she talked. No one really appreciated her but they appreciated her jewels.

Lorelei was a girl that lived with her nanny that didnt like her very much at all. Lorelei ends up pretending that she was a princess and it turned out she did eveything a real princess should be able to do.

Sonaro was a princess that was granted with a spell that if she was pricked with needle she would fall asleep for a hundred years and a prince would wake her up with a kiss. Sonaro gets pricked by a needle and she falls asleep for a hundrd years and she wakes up with a prince that was perfect for her.

Three princesses are each fighting hard times with spells and people.

Hundreds of years ago on Snettering-On-Snoakes these three tales take place.

Beauty, bravery, fear, hope, and love all take place in the story making it very detailed and addicting to read.

I liked this story. These tales really made me want to keep reading to find out how these princesses would go on living and why.

I love the way Gail Carson Levine has all of her chapters written in each different Princess story. The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, and Princess Sonora and The Long Sleep are three different retellings of Cinderella/or Ella Enchanted, The Princess and The Pea and of course...Sleeping Beauty.

Maybe someday, another one of Gail Carson Levine's books besides Ella Enchanted, will become live action movies, too.

I just love retellings of fairy tales, and Levine does some of the best work I've seen. They have just the right twist of humor to them, to show that she doesn't take herself too seriously, and the characters are so much fun! And it always has a happy ending, but not too sappy of an ending. I highly recommend this book for fantasy lovers of any age.

This book actually deserves 4 or 5 stars EXCEPT that the one that we got when we ordered it (a few weeks ago) has a major printing error- after page 138 pages 59-90 are repeated, before picking the story back up at page 171. That means that you miss the end of the second story and the beginning of the third, which caused great distress when it was discovered halfway through a long plane flight! We have the first Harper Trophy paperback edition (2003). Get the book- but make sure you get a different edition!