The Selection

The Selection is a YA novel by Kiera Cass. I think you classify it as a light dystopian novel. I will tell you now that my rating for this book is a 2. It had some potential, but it fell victim to the almost cut and copy structure of the increasingly familiar YA dystopian trilogy.

The basic story is this... America Singer is a pretty average girl. She has a strained relationship with her mother, admires her father, loves her little sister more than anything, and is secretly in love with the boy next door. But, America is risking a lot to be with Aspen because they are in different castes. Everything changes when The Selection is announced. The Selection is the country's tradition for helping the prince, Prince Maxon in this case, find his future wife. Girls submit applications and one from each district is selected to vie with the other selected girls for Maxon's love... and the crown. America hesitates to enter, but finally does to appease her mother and because Aspen tells her she should. Of course, she is selected and goes to the palace. But, before she leaves... Aspen breaks up with her. So, now she's not really sure what to do. She finds herself developing an unusual friendship with Maxon, and, as girl after girl is sent home, America finds herself wanting to stay more and more. Oh, and all of this is being broadcast to the rest of the country as something of a prime time special.

I think this story would really appeal to people who like the Bachelor. Or people who liked the Hunger Games, but wished they were actually a dating game. Or, people who like Cinderella stories and hope that the concept will be developed for reality TV. While it didn't catch me on any of those fronts, I will admit that it was a fairly fun, light read. It just disappointed me so much by being so predictable that I didn't really enjoy it. Here's what bothered me.

#1. While the setting, a caste system with fairly stringent rules, seems fairly dystopian, most of the societal issues are not addressed. For example, America's father has banned history books, which he loves to pour over with America. But... why are the books banned? What has American learned from history that will help her in the Selection?

#2. America starts off as a very relatable, interesting character. She seems strong and dedicated, and you like her. But, then she goes to the palace and starts acting totally bizarre. It was hard for me to care for a character that was acting so inconsistently.

#3. Why is this a trilogy? I once heard an author (not this one) explain that she had written a stand alone novel, but had been told by the publishers that she had to turn it into a trilogy. Does that make your head all but explode too? It's not a strategy for good writing, that's for sure. A story loses focus when it's stretched out too long, and I think that's what happened here. I got to the (abrupt) ending of the book and realized that almost nothing of note had really happened in the book. In fact, **small spoiler**, we don't even get to find out who Maxon chooses. At the end of the book, we're only down to the "elect" 6 girls. I guess I'll have to read the rest to be certain, but I have the feeling that this could have been one silly, fun book that was pretty well done instead of three books that drag a story without much depth on too long.

I'm afraid this review might be too harsh. It's an okay book, but I'm finding myself very, very, very tired of the predictability of many of the YA books that are coming out right now. Hopefully this is just the awkward adolescent phase of the Young Adult genre.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking

Quiet, by Susan Cain, is a treatise on the often overlooked power of introverts. It begins by discussing how, over the last century or so, our culture has adopted extroversion as the ideal. One of Cain's most interesting claims, in fact, is that this new ideal causes a complete value shift wherein charisma overshadows character. Having established the cultural context, she then presents a mix of her own research with several psychological studies to share the reasons that we should value the introverts among us.

Because I consider myself to be something of an introvert, I found this book to be very relatable. One element I appreciated about this book was how Cain allows the definition of introversion to be a little loose. Introversion is not necessarily being shy. It is definitely not being anti-social. It's more of just enjoying the quiet, preferring to observe, and liking to really think things through. Interestingly, about 1 in 3 people are introverts (at least to some degree).


Cain really hits hard on the social stigma that is often placed on being introverted, especially in workplaces. Several studies have shown that, while extroverts are more likely to get attention, introverts have many strengths that get overlooked because they lack the extroverts' confidence and charm. A few studies on businesses and the economic crash of 2008 illustrate the virtue of balance. Extroverts are great at leading confidently and taking risks, but... they can be bad at listening to others and seeing warning signs. As leaders, introverts prefer to play it safe, and many prosper that way. Another skill introverts seem especially gifted at is gathering information and ideas from their subordinates. Companies that embraced and used the special talents of both personality types would have a great chance at success.


I really enjoyed reading about the studies that are being done in the field of personality psychology. Some studies indicate that whether we are more introverted or extroverted depends in a large part on how our brain interprets stimuli. Introverts tend to be highly reactive to stimulus, and seem to therefore prefer smaller doses of it; whereas, extroverts tend to be low-reactives who prefer to seek out higher amounts of stimulation. The really fascinating part, for me, was reading about how both personality types strive for the right balance of stimulus. When they find it, one study showed, whether through seeking more quiet or more noise, the levels of brain activity are almost identical.


Some of the more practical parts of this book give suggestions for introverts and for those who work with or have close relationships with introverts. Some of the ideas seem very helpful for bridging differences in personality and preferences. For example, a couple may agree to spend two weekends per month at home and two weekends going out so that each person's needs are met. However, as a teacher, I found Cain's suggestions for introverts in the context of education to be pretty implausible, for the most part. I think her suggestions to introverts for the workplace would be more applicable to introverted students than the ones she gives. But, that's me.


Overall, I would give this book 4 stars because it presented so much interesting information that is applicable in professional and personal relationships with introverts.

Another re-read of another great book.

I was given a copy of Catching Fire, the second installment in the Hunger Games trilogy, as a birthday present. Since Vivian did me the favor of opening it early, I couldn't resist re-reading it.

Book #27
5 stars

And to tell you the truth, I think I like it more than the first one. I definitely liked it more this time around than I did when I first read it, just like I liked my second read of The Hunger Games more than my first. I really think that's because I just read them way too quickly when they came out. I didn't let anything sink in. I just had to know what was going to happen.

This time, I let myself absorb more and think about it, and it was awesome. I still got through it really quickly, but not because I was sprinting. I could see Peeta and Katniss more clearly than before. The characters really took off for me this time. Haymitch also grew a lot in my mind. He definitely reveals some extra layers here.

I can't wait for the film adaptation to come out next year. As I was reading, I couldn't help but speculate on who they will get to play certain characters. Finnick and Johanna may top that list. Also, Wiress and Beetee. Any ideas?

Bleed for Me

Book #26
Three Stars

I delved into a genre that I normally don't pay much attention to: the crime/detective/murder mystery sort. These seem to be a dime a dozen. There are so many authors who pump these books out like it's nothing. Maybe that's why I've never been really drawn in. I don't know. But somewhere along the way, this book was recommended and I decided to give it a shot.

The author is Michael Robotham. He has been an investigative journalist in Britain, Australia, and the US. He  created a character named Joseph O'Loughlin, a psychiatrist who sometimes helps the police out, and who has gotten himself and his family into more than one close call because of this. I didn't know this before I read it, but Bleed for Me is actually the fourth (I think) Joe O'Loughlin novel. I added the others to my to-read list so that I will have the info easily accessible, but I haven't decided yet whether I will read them.

I think Robotham is a good writer. He kept me engaged. He knows how to twist a plot. This particular plot goes a little something like this:

A teenage girl-- Sienna, a troubled friend of his daughter-- comes to Joe O'Loughlin's door one night. She is terrorized, incoherent-- and covered in blood. 

The police find Sienna's father, a celebrated former cop, murdered in the home he shared with Sienna. Tests confirm that it's his blood on the girl. She says she remembers nothing.

Joe O'Loughlin is a psychologist with troubles of his own. His marriage is coming to an end and his daughter will barely speak to him. He tries to help Sienna, hoping that if he succeeds, he will win back his daughter's affection. But Sienna is unreachable, unable to mourn her father's death or to explain it.

Investigators take aim at Sienna. O'Loughlin senses something different is happening, something subterranean and terrifying, to Sienna. It may be something in her mind. Or it may be something real. Someone real. Someone capable of the most grim and gruesome murder, and willing to kill again if anyone gets too close.

I won't lie, the plot gets gritty at times. It deals with some unpleasant characters and some even more unpleasant goings-on. But I think that is the way of things with this genre. I will say that insofar as Robotham deals with some pretty sensitive topics, he does so very tastefully. He could have filled the book with a lot of gory and lascivious details-- had plenty of opportunities to-- and he didn't. I was grateful for that. As far as content, I think there was one brief sex scene and a smattering of swear words. I didn't feel like anything in the book was gratuitous.

If you are into this genre, pick this one up and you won't be disappointed. I think I would have given it at least four stars if this were my cup of tea. As it's not, I will go with three stars.

 

 

My Antonia

Book #25
My Antonia
Willa Cather
Four Stars

This is a book I have had on my to-read list for a long time. Like, since I was in junior high and saw my sister reading it. I had no idea what it was about but I thought the title was neat and I was intrigued. And it took me this long to finally read it.

If you aren't familiar, the novel is set up as a memoir written by a character named Jim Burden, reminiscing about his childhood and adolescence with a friend of his, an immigrant named Antonia Shimerda. Though Jim is several years younger than Antonia, they become fast friends, and he eventually falls in love with her.

Antonia's life is rough, to put it lightly. Hit with tragedy at a young age, she is also no stranger to hard labor. Nevertheless, Antonia is resilient and determined, and she goes through life with her head solidly on her shoulders. Even as a young adult, it seems she cannot escape the trials that dog her, but she makes a life out of what she is given and, though it's not glamorous or worldly, her life is solid and true. The description of her as a middle-aged mother (of many) at the end of the book was beautiful.

Cather grew up in the midwest herself, and it shows. Her writing, especially the descriptions of the land and the changing seasons, is marvelous. I felt like I could see what she was describing.

I loved reading this account of America during a different time. The characters were wonderful, the writing was simple but beautiful, and the story was deep and meaningful. I admit that it took me a while to finish it. It was not the most exciting book I've read, and I started a few other books that were a bit more gripping. But I kept coming back to this one, because the story had drawn me in. I wanted to know how it would end. I give it four stars and would highly recommend it.

And the 24th spot goes to...

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb: A Novel
Melanie Benjamin
3 stars

I wanted to love this book. I really did. It came highly recommended. It is about a fascinating person from American history. I thought, why not? And, after reading it, I am willing to bet that most, if not all, of you would like this book a lot if you gave it a chance.

But I found out something about myself as I read this book. Something that I am glad I learned and that forces me to give this book three stars instead of four. That something is that I don't like a fictionalized "autobiography" of a real person.

Mercy Lavinia Warren Bump Stratton Magri, aka Vinnie, was born October 31, 1841, in Middleborough, MA. Fully grown, Vinnie stood 2'8". She had what was then known as proportionate dwarfism. In other words, she looked like a perfectly formed adult female but was just extremely small. This turned out to be quite the lucky break, because proportionate dwarfs were looked upon with curiosity instead of disgust and/or revulsion. For this reason, she was able to have quite a successful life in show business, whereas those with disproportionate dwarfism were typically relegated to the side show and clown acts.

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Not a whole lot is known about Vinnie's life, mainly the bare bones. She wrote a few chapters in an attempt at an autobiography, but she was not very detailed or open about her feelings and experiences. The author of this novel did do a lot of research and probably found out all she could about Vinnie, and then filled in the gaps with her own creative ideas.

What results is actually a good story. It was a good idea, and Benjamin did a good job with what she set out to do. I think she's a marvelous writer. She created a great personality for Vinnie-- it was a believable narrator throughout.

But it kind of drove me crazy, page after page, that I was reading a novel instead of a non-fiction autobiography. I just wanted to know what REALLY happened. I like learning about people and things. I love a good autobiography-- well-written and engaging. And thus I discovered that I don't like this genre.

So much of Vinnie's life is fascinating to me. Although she was sheltered in her youth, she became a school teacher at a young age. Feeling the itch to travel, she left home and worked on a showboat for about three years before going under contract with P.T. Barnum. Barnum, as you may know, was single-handedly responsible for the fame of Charles Stratton, aka General Tom Thumb, and many believe that it was Barnum who orchestrated the wedding that eventually took place between Vinnie and Charles. The Stratton wedding was the long-ago version of last year's Royal Wedding. Yes, it was that big. It took place during the Civil War and even took top billing in the newspapers for a few days.

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All in all, I can't help being a bit disappointed after finishing this book, but it's not because of the book. I really wanted to love it, but I just couldn't. If you don't have this same hang-up, I highly recommend this book. You'll probably love it. If you like knowing that what you're reading about a real person is actually the truth, well, you might want to read a different book.

And now that I think about it, I think I actually would have loved this book if Benjamin had taken pieces of Vinnie's life and used them when she created a different person, some other proportionate dwarf, named something else. I've read and enjoyed novels that were "inspired by the life of" or some such. But trying to pass this off as "my best guess" of what *really* happened, and even calling it "The Autobiography..." just didn't work for me.

#23: Running for the Hills

Running for the Hills: Growing Up on My Mother's Sheep Farm in Wales
Horatio Clare
Rating: 3 stars

This is a memoir written by a man who grew up with only his mother and one brother on a sheep farm in rural Wales. And we're talking REMOTE, here. Out there. In the boonies.

Here's a brief sketch. Horatio Clare was born in 1973, in London. Before he was born, his parents met in London and got married. His mother, Jenny, got the wild desire to buy a farm out in the country and live there. His father desperately loved Jenny, and so went along with this scheme, doing everything in his power to make it work.

For quite a while, they still lived in London and only went up to the farm on the weekends. They slowly got to know their neighbors, some of them hilarious characters. They learned how to care for sheep, and this book spares no details. The beautiful landscape bewitched them all, and Clare's descriptions don't disappoint. He is a very gifted writer.

Ultimately, when the farm began hemorrhaging money and the Clares would not be able to sustain it without going into even more debt, Horatio's father tried to convince Jenny to leave the farm. She flat out refused. She chose the farm over her husband, and a life as a single mother over life as a family. This split took place when Horatio was still very young, and the memoir is laced with his regret and longing for the childhood with a father that he did not get to have.

How did I like this book? Well, the writing is Grade A, Top Choice. I love Horatio's words. I fell in love with the little sheep farm, the crotchety old neighbor Jack who really has a soft heart, the family's two dogs. It was an enchanting story to read.

But. Jenny's decision angered me. Jenny, for me, was not a sympathetic character in the least. I spent a lot of my reading wondering how she could be so selfish. Yes, I can understand to a certain extent her desire to raise her boys out of the world, on this remote sheep farm. I can admire her strength and tenacity. I really do think she did some incredible things. She learned sheep farming from scratch and really grew to love the animals as her own.

But to refuse to see reality, to let your husband walk away after he tries everything to keep your family together! And then to raise your boys to believe that he just up and left you. To tell them that he was selfish. My, my, my.

Above and beyond that, by staying on the farm, Jenny put herself and her two small children at great risk. The book doesn't try to sugarcoat things. Horatio and his brother Alexander were often underfed. There were many months when the money almost didn't or didn't make ends meet.

A single female in a rural area is very vulnerable, however strong she may be in other areas of life. More than once, Jenny was cornered and propositioned by a lonely/widowed farmer. It wouldn't have taken much for one of them to refuse to take her 'no' for an answer. She would have been powerless to stop him.

Furthermore, rambling around, over the hills at night during birthing time for the sheep had dangers all unique.  Had something happened to Jenny while her two young boys slept alone in their little shack, who's to say how they would have gotten help.

Add to that Jenny's affair with the husband of a friend towards the end of the book and you have a real winning mother figure.

Rant over.

If I can set aside my frustration with Jenny-- after all, this is a review of the book, and shouldn't be a review of Jenny's decision-making ability-- I really enjoyed this book. The story drew me in and I wanted to know what would happen to the Clares. As I mentioned, Horatio's writing is splendid. I have recommended this book to my own parents, mainly because I think my dad would love the writing and the descriptions of Wales, and my mom was raised on a sheep farm herself. If you think the story sounds interesting, by all means read it. You will likely not be disappointed.

Ellie's Book #11: Shakespeare Manuscript

The Shakespeare Manuscript, by Stewart Buettner

**

I picked this book up by browsing through the Kindle Top 100 selling free books list. The premise looked interesting to me—an old manuscript that appears to be an earlier draft of the Hamlet story, or more accurately, a prequel to Hamlet, shows up in a trunk of old documents and a struggling theater troupe decides to mount a production in hopes that it will bring them the boost they need. And it was interesting, and even bordered on can't-put-it-down (I really wanted to see what happened next), but ultimately it was more frustrating than anything else.

You see, one of the ground rules of writing is Show, Don't Tell. From reading the description of this book and the author's experience in writing, I don't know if he's a trained writer; I got the impression that he's something else (a theater type, maybe?) who got an idea and decided to write a book about it. I think it's also semi-self-published, which, good for him. But at any rate it seems clear that even if he is a trained writer, he missed class the day they explained Show, Don't Tell.

I'm not talking about his descriptive diction or his approach to writing individual scenes. I'm talking about plot. Put simply: too much of the action took place offstage. There were so many times in this book when MAJOR plot points were not shown; someone told us about them later in passing. I felt severely cheated in a lot of instances because even the telling tended to gloss over what I thought were important parts. One of the more egregious examples: one chapter ends with one of the major characters being rushed away from the rehearsal retreat in an ambulance. It's not until several chapters later that anyone even mentions him again and we find out what happened. And those intervening chapters are full of scenes and incidents where all the people who watched the ambulance leave are together; where it would be natural and right to explain what the resolution of that particular piece of drama is; where, in short, it feels unnatural to NOT mention it. This isn't creating an aura of mystery or suspense to serve the plot of the story; this is straight up withholding information from the reader just because you want to have a big shocking reveal later.

(It's like starting Gone With the Wind with the picnic at Tara and then skipping ahead to a scene where Scarlett, in between wondering if Rhett really loves her or that Belle Watling character, thinks in passing that he just hasn't been the same since Atlanta got burned down and everything was destroyed and I nearly starved to death in the ruins of Tara, and does he really like me or is it just in my imagination?)

Other scenes of omission (sorry; my dad is hopelessly addicted to puns and sometimes I just can't help myself) aren't as obvious, but they are just as annoying. Yes, sometimes it's a good and effective trick to show a scene through its aftermath, but you actually have to 1) explain enough of what happened in the scene that the aftermath makes sense and 2) have the aftermath actually move somewhere and have some sort of action or resolution in re: said scene. I feel like I got half of a good novel: the anguished uncertainty of love interior monologue half. There were so many words spent on what the two main viewpoint characters thought of their respective love interests that it really underscored how many words WEREN'T said about actual plot or action scenes.

Things I would love to have seen or to have had explained:

*What is up with the main character's sudden-onset agoraphobia anyway? As in, how did it get started and how is she suddenly miraculously okay enough with it to function?

*What is up with the dead brother/son that nobody ever mentions? Even when they finally get to this explanation, it isn't explained.

*What was the horrible thing the professor said to the love interest that caused the major insurmountable fight that is then surmounted in roughly two minutes of interior monologue?

*What's the backstory between main character and skeazy actor? It's mentioned so many times that there IS a backstory but we are NEVER given any details.

*Did the wife really flirt with the brother-in-law or was the husband just really drunk?

*Where the heck did that divorce come from? (Oh, wait, left field is where.)

*What happened after said divorce came out of said left field?

*Why is main character still fighting with older brother? Why does older brother put up with it? Why does he work for a politician?

*While we're at it, what's the deal with brother-in-law? Or with secretary? Or with any number of people, all of whom seem to be important cogs in this book and have important scenes that ALL HAPPEN OFFSTAGE?

*Is British bookseller actually creepy or is it just the aftereffects of crazy dad's amnesia?

*Who really wrote the manuscript? (Actually, this one I was okay with the ambiguity on—this book is more about the waves the manuscript causes than the actual manuscript itself. It's just that, with all the other stuff that got left out, I felt like maybe the author could have thrown us a small bone on this one.)

In short: just because one character gets major amnesia doesn't mean you have to make the reader feel like she also got amnesia and forgot half of the book.

I can only give this book two stars, which really makes me sad, because I wanted so badly to like it and because it really was gripping enough that I read it straight through in a fever of wanting to know what happens next. But if a book refuses to tell you what happened before, what's happening now or what happens next, the best premise in the world can't save it. Two stars.

Ellie's book #10: Life of Pi

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

***

 

Surprisingly, this was not a re-read for me. I know this book has been around forever and I had been hearing of it for a long time. What may be more surprising, though, is that with all the buzz, I really didn't know anything about the plot going into this book. I picked it up as a Kindle Daily Deal (oh, KDD, how I love thee!) because I like buying titles I recognize for cheap as free.  

I feel that a little context is necessary for my review. The week before we made the big cross-country move, my husband was already in Florida getting things set up and starting his job. I was back in Utah packing up everything and taking care of our 18-month-old son, who decided to get RSV exactly eight days before we were scheduled to fly out and two days before my husband was supposed to come home to help me with the final arrangements and such. Long and harrowing story short, I ended up spending a very long and very bad night in the hospital as they monitored my son's breathing and heart rate (fortunately they didn't end up having to put him on oxygen and he was better enough to go home the next day). I got very little sleep, due to both the assorted blinking and beeping coming from the monitors and an overabundance of worry from various sources, listed here in roughly descending order: 1) my son, 2) the fact that my husband was out-of-state, 3) the fact that I didn't have time for this emergency what with the tight packing schedule, 4) the fact that I was moving cross country soon, and 5) the fact that I was hungry and thirsty and suspected that the hospital staff had forgotten their promise to bring me some cheese and crackers and a cup of ice water.

To try and get my mind off of these various issues, I started reading a new book on my Kindle app on my iPhone, and happened to choose Life of Pi. Thus I did not start reading it in the most auspicious of circumstances, nor did I finish reading it in the most auspicious of circumstances. Turns out that a toddler with RSV tends to pass it on to you if he coughs in your face repeatedly because he's too exhausted to turn his head away from you and is so sick and sad that you can't put him down for more than 30 seconds at a time. So, three days after our hospital stay, I was fighting through RSV myself while packing up two moving pods. Fortunately my bout did not require any hospital time, but I did spend the bulk of the next day curled up with my iPhone on an air mattress, a lump of pathetic misery, finishing this book. (Needless to say, this move was not the smoothest or most organized one we've ever made.)

But as for the book itself: I liked it. It was able to distract me enough from the crappy situation I was going through and entertain and even uplift me. My favorite part was the description of the events leading to Pi's becoming a devout follower and active practicer of three different religions at once (Hindu, Islam and Christianity). I loved his descriptions of his first encounters with other religions and how he came to love his two adopted religions as well as the religion of his birth. I wish that this theme had been kept up a little more throughout the section on the Pacific Ocean. Not that the Pacific Ocean wasn't exciting and enthralling as well; but it didn't have the heart of the book that I had fallen in love with at the beginning, the tripartite faith of this young man.

Like The Princess Bride, this book is written as a frame story, with the narrator ostensibly interviewing an older Pi about his life story. Since, as I said, I knew basically nothing about this book going in, and my Kindle edition didn't specifically say "A Novel" on it, I wasn't sure at first if this was fiction or non-fiction. It added another layer to the reading experience for me, wondering if it was actually true or not. I know that part of the point of the book is to look at what is or isn't true and choose the story that means the most to us, but it still was sad to determine for certain that this book was fiction after I finished reading it, and I think that revelation made me like it a little less than I had. That's not really fair to the author, of course; but that's the way it is.

All in all, this book was a solid good read and a much-needed distraction for me during that last horrible week before the move. I don't know if I would have liked it more or less if I'd read it in different circumstances, but as it is I can recommend it as a good book, as long as you don't get too squeamish (certain of the lifeboat scenes are a bit gruesome). Three stars.

Ellie's book #9: Persuasion

Persuasion by Jane Austen


***** 

When people ask what my favorite book or movie is, I usually can't give them a simple answer. It's like choosing a favorite child (even though I only have the one), I say. I love so many books; you can't possibly ask me to name just one favorite! I hem and haw and list five or ten books on my rotating favorites list.

But I'm going to admit, here and now, that I really do have one single favorite book, and that it's Persuasion.

I've been thinking over this review for a few weeks now and have been having much more difficulty writing it than might be expected, given that I've lost count of how many times I've read this book and that I love nearly everything about it. But it's important to me that I properly articulate why this book means so much to me.

It surprises me sometimes that more people don't know about Persuasion. Everyone knows and loves Pride and Prejudice, which is kind of the sparkly diamond necklace of the Austen canon: beautiful and dazzling and obviously worthwhile. Persuasion is more of the tiny gold band, plain and sweet and perfect, fitted to the hand from long wear and love. Most people also know about Sense and Sensibility and Emma, mainly because they know Emma Thompson or Kate Winslet or Gwyneth Paltrow. Not as many people know Amanda Root, which means that not as many people know Anne Elliot, which is a true shame. 

This book, to me, provides much more than "occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one." It is the book above all others that I know I can go to at any time and in any mood and come away feeling whole and happy, enlightened and enlivened.

It may sound silly to wax so poetic about what many would view as a typical chick-flick-Austen-love-story: poor boy meets well-to-do girl, they get engaged, she is persuaded by (probably snobby) friends that it would be better for him if she broke off the engagement, he gets upset and leaves to make a great career for himself in the Navy, she stays home and never marries. So far, so Nicholas Sparks. 

Their paths do not cross again for eight years, which time has served to confirm Anne's belief that Captain Frederick Wentworth was her ideal match, and to solidify Captain Wentworth's anger at the woman he loved but who had not, as he believed, loved him well enough to keep him. He turns up in the neighborhood to visit his sister and to look for a wife—any woman but Anne Elliot. 

Things work out, as they tend to do in Austen novels, but in a real and moving way that flows perfectly, leaving you with a sense that all is as it should be. No grand coincidences or deus ex machinas here. Anne and Captain Wentworth are drawn back together because there is no other way the world can possibly be; they are meant for each other.

But, for me, this is not primarily a love story. 

I will admit that my love of love stories certainly doesn't diminish my pleasure in this book, and that my sentimental heart beats wildly along with Anne's through the more suspenseful and sweet portions of the story. But it's not the romance that keeps me coming back to revisit this book every year or six months. 

Ultimately, this is a story about hope. Hope that things can be mended, that mistakes can be made right. Hope that life can be good and worthwhile even if you have family troubles or heartbreak or other problems. And yes, the hope that lost love can return. 

I think that's why the basic Persuasion-style plot line—love is thwarted for a long time but eventually triumphs—is so popular and sees so many iterations. One of the more recent ones I can think of is the delightful movie Letters to Juliet. The ostensible main story line about a perky young journalist (Amanda Seyfried) looking to get her big break and her sparring with the grandson of a woman she's writing about is cute enough, your standard chick-flick fare. But the secondary story about the grandmother, played by the inimitable Vanessa Redgrave, is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Simply enough, this grandmother comes back to Italy after fifty years to find the boy she fell in love with as a girl and tell him that she's sorry she didn't meet him to run away together like she'd promised. She's not necessarily looking for a grand reunion, romance, the works. She just wants to tell a person who was important to her that she's sorry she let him down. 

Of course things work out, just as they do in Persuasion. But if things never worked out, how would we be able to hope? If we had no memory of light, no hope that it would return, how would we bear the darkness? If we didn't think that things could be mended, why would we ever try to make them right? 

Anne, for all the dreary stretch of years clouded by regret, the dearth of real friendship and companionship in her life and the pain of suspense that she faces, still manages to keep hope and life and quiet joy alive, even when things look bleakest. That is her triumph. Even if Captain Wentworth had married Louisa, Anne would have kept that hope in life. The fact that things DO work out is just the icing on the cake.

And that is why this is my favorite book. 

Well, that and the fact that Captain Wentworth can write one heck of a letter.

Five stars.