One Dog and his Boy - Eva Ibbotson

I have been a fan of Eva Ibbotson for a while - around two years - after finding The Secret Countess on a bookshelf in my local library. I'd seen Ibbotson's most famous children's book Journey to the River Sea around but never been inspired to read it. I am more of a fan of her teenage fiction, having all her books (favourites are A Song for Summer and The Secret Countess).
So when I found out she has died, aged 85, in October 2010, I was devastated to find out this was it - no more new Eva Ibbotson books that I loved.
Until, I noticed this book in the book store I work in. This has been published posthumously as it was finished a couple of weeks before her death. Although, being 17, I don't normally read younger children's books, I knew I had to read this one. So when I walked into the library a couple of weeks ago and saw this, I picked it up without a second thought...

Synopsis: On Hal's 10th birthday, he finally gets what he always wanted - a dog. His parents never wanted a dog in their huge spot-less house so spoilt Hal with the latest toys to satisfy him but this changed when they found Easy Pets Dog Agency, renting Flick, a mogul, for the weekend. But when Flick is taking back distraught and Hal finds out the truth, he realises he must find a way to be with his dog, even if it means running away.

Review: I had my doubts whether I would like this book even if it was by one of my favourite authors.
Having got used to the serious issues and mature language of teenage or adult fiction, sometimes children's books, however good, are just TOO slow or TOO easy.
But I didn't need to worry about that for this book. Sure, the language and writing is much simpler than other more grown-up books, but this is done in such a way that you don't really notice this is a children's book and to make it universal for readers. I really had no problem with the writing - it was a nice break really.

The events in the book are pretty ridiculous really upon reflection, but because of it being a children's book, this did not distract me from reading the book itself. There are moments of sadness where I felt so sorry for the dogs and for Hal but also moments where I was smiling to myself at the funniness of the situation or the speech - it makes it an entertaining book completely.

Like many bloggers have said, this book does take you back to your childhood when you were Hal's age and had something you utterly loved and did not want to lose. For me, this is a small bear which I still own which I got when I was 1 named 'Baby Bear' - quite original, I know. This bear went everywhere with me when I was younger and when I left it at my grandparents house 45 minutes away, I cried so hard my dad had to drive back to retrieve it. Much like everyone's past experiences, there was so much relatability for me with Hal and Pippa in the book - I wanted to join them!

Although I thought most of the book would be about losing Flick, the majority is of his adventures running away with Pippa (her sister is Kayley who works at Easy Pets) and seeing the different (and hilarious) villains they encounter along the way as well as the numerous places they visit and get help from such as the circus and a children's care home. It makes you realise how really we can all help each other - there are just some 'villains' that won't allow that for their own benefit.

There are some really unique characters as well as the characters created through the dogs featured - I loved to hear the tales of Otto, Francine, Li-Chee and Honey, not only from the 'humans' in the story. The only character that annoyed me would be Hal's mother Albina - she was just too selfish and rude for me. Thankfully, she only features at the beginning and end - she did add a touch of humour and it turned out right in the end.

This is just such a wonderful read that both hosts a nice break from other fiction and also, makes me want to read more and more. It is an incredibly quick read and I think it would be best for perhaps parents and children to read together. The dogs really come to life here and you close the book at the end, having felt you made new friends for life with this animal characters. Like every children's story, there is the happy ending which it kind of inevitable, this one was really but it still came as a surprise and I was delighted with it. It is sad to think this is the last new Eva Ibbotson I will read but I think if she was still here, she should be completely happy with the finished result - for someone who is not a huge fan of children's fiction such as this, I found this book practically perfect.
Verdict: Everyone should read this - whatever age. Eva Ibbotson should be deeply remembered even if it's just for this book

I give it 4.5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/eva_ibbotson.html
Pages: 271
Publisher: Marion Lloyd
Challenges: British Book Challenge

On My Bookshelf (21)

This meme is inspired by the similar meme, 'In My Mailbox' created by The Story Siren  (I don't have a Mailbox...)

It's been a while (3 weeks in fact) since I did one of these but I have been quite busy with revision and college and working - sounds like a tough life I know for some but it is quite stressful and nerve-racking at the moment so blogging hasn't been my main priority.

Here are some books I've acquired ALL from the library (I spend a lot of my time in there...) and some postcards I was sent by Caroline Lawrence!

Borrowed from the library:

- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - I'm quite interested in this because of all the reviews circlating about this book and the fact it's been short-listed for quite a few awards. Normally, I'm into anything set during WWII but I was a little hesitant when I first saw this a couple of weeks ago in the library. No idea why - perhaps because normally I'm reading books set in England or Germany - we'll see :) 

- The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler - I've seen a few reviews on the blogosphere and an order for some copies of this in the bookstore I work in but I didn't know much about it until I picked it up this week. I picked this up mostly because it sounds quite an interesting storyline. I didn't enjoy Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why as much as some other people but this looks like it will be good. Looking forward to reading this. 

- One Dog and his Boy by Eva Ibbotson - I have been looking at this book for months and months since it came out late last year but I never saw it in the library until now. Eva Ibbotson died in October 2010 and this was the last book she finished before she died. I'm more of a fan of her teenage fiction but I had to pick this up when I saw it.

Received:

So I was doing some Classics revision during half term last week. I happened to look on Twitter to see if a friend of mine had replied from a tweet I sent her and then I spot Caroline Lawrence's tweet saying that she was giving away some bookmarks for her new spin-off series from The Roman Mysteries aka, my childhood books. So I wrote her a tweet asking and a couple of hours later, I was being asked for my address.

When these came through the door, I was not expecting what I found in the envelope at all. If you can't read what is on the white piece of paper, it says 'Rebecca - Good Luck with your exams...I know you'll do brilliantly!' 

So this sort of well MADE MY MONTH. 

If you also have no idea who Caroline Lawrence, I will skip the horror of not knowing first and then direct you to her first book in the AMAZING Roman Mysteries series, The Thieves of Ostia (link to Goodreads). I would recommend these to anyone and there are events and facts in them that keep cropping up in my Classics course. They are well worth a read.

Have a good week and let me know your opinions of any of the books featured!

Eva Ibbotson: a year on

Last August, I discovered the author that is Eva Ibbotson.
I had heard her before and seen a few of her younger aged books in libraries and book shops frequently. I started by reading The Secret Countess, a beautiful story centred around the ending of the Romanov's and the low, middle and high class of English society in the 1910's. Anna is a wonderful girl and someone I wanted to meet and even aspired to as a character.

I, then, proceeded to read A Song for Summer which ended the year 2010 for me. This is when I realised. I remember the day I was going the review for it earlier this year. I typed the name in Google, just to see if there was an author's website to add to the review. There wasn't. But then, I saw further down the page a link to an obituary by The Guardian (an English newspaper). It was in this moment that I realised that the author I had come to love after two books - had died.
And this was the first I heard of it.

Eva Ibbotson died a year ago today, aged 83. She was a mostly children's writer in England and eventually, the world. She wrote numerous children's books that won several prizes each with it.
The books that teenagers my age have fallen in love with again recently, were first published in the 1980's as adult books. Recently, they have been re-published, just before her death where they became so much more popular.

Her writing is one like no other. I like to read all sorts of books, Young Adult or Adult Fiction. But I find with Young Adult, it can be too unrealistic, or too different and young. When with Adult Fiction, it tackles more adult issues which sixteen year-old's don't want to think about right now. Eva Ibbotson's books provided a view in to a world of writing where they address us 'Young Adults' in a mature way that we can easily understand. Her writing provided vivid descriptions of foreign places such as Austria and war time London.

I can't believe so few have heard of this author, but for me, she should be remembered for making so many stories for us to read, regardless of our age. I know her stories, the ones I have read so far, will never quite leave me and I hope to pass them on to the generations to come.

A-Z Authors - I, J

I found out about this through Phanee from funny wool and is hosted by Heather at Proud Book Nerd. I thought it looked quite fun so this month, I shall be doing a post every day (except Sundays) where I shall tell you about amazing authors that have surnames beginning with that letter. I hope you enjoy and tell me if you know any more with that letter and I'll add it to the post! Thanks.

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

*DOING J NOW because it's my Dad's birthday tomorrow so I won't be online so here weee 

goooo.*

I

Eva Ibbotson

She is another one of my favourite authors of all time. I discovered her a year ago and even though I had heard of her before, I never knew how good her Young Adult books were. They aren't everyone's tastes but like Sarah Dessen, she has some really good ones and some not amazing but still good books. I really do enjoy her books a lot and her books always leave you with a favourite. She has some lovely settings abroad in both England and Austria, some amazing characters and some interesting story lines with twists and turns throughout the whole way. She is a real Historical writer and writes her romance not over the top but not too understated either. She is a real well rounded author, although sadly she died late last year. I hope she will be remembered for her great books.

Her books: The Secret Countess, A Song For Summer, A Morning Gift, Company of Swans, Magic Flutes

J

Marie-Louise Jensen

Amazing Historical Romance books. The one I read last year was so enjoyable and interesting that I'm looking out for more books by her. The cover has a beautiful girl with curly brown hair and I knew straight away when I saw it that I would like it and I would love it A LOT. I love her writing, her characters, her humour, the romance, the content, the story line. I really do love the books of The Lady in the Tower. This is another understated author that historical fiction fans SHOULD read. This one was also based on a real story which really brought it to life.

Her Books: The Lady in the Tower, Between Two Seas, Daughter of Fire and Ice, Sigrun's Secret

The Morning Gift - Eva Ibbotson

First. *Sorry* this review and reading took soooo long to do. This book is 500 pages long and well, I have had limited time for reading in the lead up to my exams so...not my priority right now.
   Since discovering Eva Ibbotson last year, I had a book sess over Christmas and my birthday where I asked for her 5 other book as part of presents to get for me. So, I have the whole collection of Eva Ibbotson books....I am truly obsessed with her writing. I thought her writing was amazing and couldn't get any better, however, I was slightly disappointed by this book.

Synopsis: Twenty-year-old Ruth Berger is desperate. The daughter of a Jewish-Austrian professor, she was supposed to have escaped Vienna before the Nazis marched into the city. Yet the plan went completely wrong, and while her family and fiancé are waiting for her in safety, Ruth is stuck in Vienna with no way to escape. Then she encounters her father’s younger college professor, the dashing British paleontologist Quin Sommerville. Together, they strike a bargain: a marriage of convenience, to be annulled as soon as they return to safety. But dissolving the marriage proves to be more difficult than either of them thought—not the least because of the undeniable attraction Quin and Ruth share. To make matters worse, Ruth is enrolled in Quin’s university, in his very classes and it becomes even harder to make sure their secret is safe.
(From Goodreads.com)


Review: I don't quite know what to say. For starters, this is a long book. Okay, so 500 pages which is fine for me to read, I don't have some kind of unavaliablity to read above 300 pages but this book seemed this long. It seemed to go on and on for a while, and yes, I understand that this is spread over about 4 years but well...it was just too long for me and there were descriptions and scenes that didn't need to be there.
   I just didn't like Quin. He got on my nerves and he's so selfish and annoying. But then the next minute, he's not and helping Ruth get out the country. Also, he is about thirty. But Ibbotson made him seem much much younger, like in his early 20's. Which is fine but to me....he didn't seem THAT old.

I love Eva Ibbotson's writing and she makes it very mature but there were words that I think even my English teacher will be confused about and for me, it was just too...too much for such a sweet story. Ah....the story. The story was interesting and sweet in parts but to be honest, there was no real love between Quin and Ruth, either on their wedding or afterwards. It just kind of happened. And then, that was it for the rest of the book. There was no lead up. No hints or feelings shown by Ruth. It was just a little bit unrealistic for me.
   In addition, the characters were all really well written and completely different from each other and original but there was SO MANY. The only ones that I could truly remember was the ones at the university. I became confused by the minor characters and asking myself who was who and why they were in England.
My other bewilderment was the revelance of the title with what happens in the book. Ruth and Quin do talk about what a morning gift is (it's a gift that the husband gives a wife after their wedding night to show that they were truly man and wife and she was a virgin. Another word is 'dower') and one does appear but that's it. The ending and the drawing together of them has nothing to do with it and in all honesty, the title didn't really fit at all.

ENOUGH NEGATIVES! The characters were amazing. I personally loved Ruth, Pilly, Sam and Janet and loathed Heini and Verena (although I started off liking her). Eva Ibbotson has successfully done it again by both having the reader know things before the characters and, the characters knowing things for chapters before it is revealed to the reader themselves, and making the dedicated readers want to know desperately! This is one of the things I love about her writing.
There are some really interesing, engaging, well-written parts that she should be commendented for and some really good descriptive writing which helped me get an idea for my exam next week where I have to 'Write to Describe'. These are the classic Eva Ibbotson styles I recongised and loved more dearly.

I feel bad to have this much wrong with a book by my favourite author but I just truly did not enjoy it and appreciate it as much as the others I have read by here and the story and book as a whole promised so much more that it overall achieved. If you're a 'Eva Ibbotson virgin' then, I would start with 'The Secret Countess'. This book has some high and low points but overall, it's not my cup of tea.

I give it a 3 out of 5

Author's Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Ibbotson
Pages: 506
Publisher: Penguin
Challenges: Historical & British Books Challenges

A Song For Summer - Eva Ibbotson

This was found hidden behind a pile of books with Meg Rosoff written all over them in my school library. It was in lesson time so it was incredibly quiet as I was the only one in there. So I was also the only person to see my little jump of excitement once I saw the words 'Eva Ibbotson' on the book in fancy font. The copy in there had the American cover which I slightly prefer to the English one. But oh well. My love for all things Eva Ibbotson is back with a vengence.

Genre: Historical Romance
Ellen, an English eighteen year old just out of school with a Suffragette mother and aunts, starts at Hallendorf, a financally failing school near Vienna, Austria,  as a cook/nursemaid. Hallendorf is certainly different with its wild children and eccentric teachers that swim naked in the surrounding lake or pretend to be Russian ballerinas. Then, there's the tortoise on wheels. Hallendorf is certainly unusual. Until Ellen discover the intriguing handyman, Marek, and is instantly attracted to his kind and mysterious nature. Only once she discovered his true identity and his secret work, does she realise the extend to her love for him. But Hitler's Nazi Germany is already in danger of ruining the peaceful world of Hallendorf and Ellen and Marek must realise their feelings for one another during the shadow of war and the pasting bombs before it's too late...

My own synopisis of it. Partly from the blurb. Also, on the blurb, there is the slogan 'A love like no other...' It's definitely a love that faces many barriers throught this 397 page book.
I liked this book. However, at some points, there are parts that are slightly confusing or I didn't understand. For me, I can see how the title relates to the events and a character in the book, but they don't particuarly have anything much to do with Ellen herself. Though, the main events happen in summers. So maybe that was the idea behind it. Also, Ibbotson has a tendiency to mention someone before the reader actually knows who they are. Which in some ways is good as it keeps you reading and wanting to know who they are but I felt it was done more than necessary.
   Those are my only doubts on this novel. Apart from those, that I only thought of ever so often, I loved the storyline. The setting is so original and there are some definite original characters and plot twists in there. Eva Ibbotson, in general, was always surprising me and the plot twists were sometimes so unhinted that it just kind of suddenly happened and has you sitting there shocked. She also does this thing that I LOVE, where she jumps ahead of time to show something completely different in the future and then, goes back as if you're looking into the character's thoughts over what happened.
   The historical detail and the detail in general was also great and I could easily imagine that she wanted it to be like. Simply, I could not put this book down and I absolutely loved the characters and the way they are written in so much depth. The romance also relies on fate a lot - which is very different to many other books like this.
I would recommend this to anybody studing WWII before and during, it gives it a lot of detail. And it's nice how it focuses on Austria during WWII, normally it's just Britain or Germany - the main ones. It's nice to see another side to the war.
Anyway, overall, this was an enjoyable, relaxable read which I think most people who love the genre of historical romance will enjoy. Another amazing read by the fabulous Eva Ibbotson who I am gradually falling in love with.

I give it 4.5 out of 5

Eva Ibbotson doesn't have a website. However, when I looked her up on Google, I found out she actually in fact died on the 20th October 2010 at the age of 85. Even though she now isn't alive, I really love the books of hers that I've read so far and I think I shall be reading them for years to come. I can't believe I've just discovered them.

The Secret Countess - Eva Ibbotson

So, there I am pondering along the rather uninspiring bookshelves of my local library hoping to God that I don't have to get the bus all the way into Twickenham, my feet aching from London the day before, and simply: I couldn't be asked. So, hopefully, you're picturing that.
Then, WHOOSH. I come across this book, just being replaced on the bookshelf. Pick it up before the greedy looking girl standing next to me does (*gives me a dirty look*) & read the blurb. Sounding interesting, I escape after grabbing yet another Mary Hooper book. After having the librarian smile at me & I can tell thinking 'I remember when she was a little girl', I go out in the pouring rain of lovely summery England & 10 feet down the road, I open the book, whack my Ipod in and start reading. And boy, I love that librarian who put it out on the uninspiring bookcase....

First Sentence: In the fabled, glittering world that was St Petersburg before the First World War there lived, in an ice-blue palace overlooking the river Neva, a family on whom the gods seemed to lavished their gifts with an almost comical abundance.


 St Petersburg 1917. Anna's world is under threat in the dangerous Russian Revolution. The countess, who has lived in a life of luxury all her life, has to escape the country with her much loved family before it's too late.
    London 1919. Now, penniless, Anna starts work at Mersham as a servant to the aristocratic and, like her own family, well loved Westerholmes. But as the young new Earl, Rupert, comes home from war, it's harder for Anna to keep the secret of her true identity from him as she, unaware, starts to fall in love with him...

This book, previously published in 1981 as A Countess Below Stairs (I think I prefer that title), was, I must say, surprising. I've seen it before in Waterstones but it never appealed to me for some reason even though this is the type of book I love. The book has some well loved characters, great story line and a probably not surprising ending. The storyline is the basic normal love story. A girl loves a guy but can't have him and then something happens and it ends happy ever after. But Eva Ibbotson has made it different, you wouldn't guess their feelings if you hadn't read the blurb which I must admit, made it much more enjoyable.
      However, there are a lot of characters involved, I found at times I had to go back and see who said what. Also, there are some sentences that just don't make sense to me or are referring to something that I didn't know happened. The book is well written but at 8am in the morning, lying in bed reading this, my head started to hurt at the beginning of the novel with some of the complicated words Eva has used - I didn't know what half of them meant! Like protuberent, beleagured, buxom. Huh? Dictionary, where are you?
  I would recommend this to anyone that like me, likes a bit of romance and history. It's a classic, brillant, old novel that I think a lot of people would enjoy.

Author doesn't have a website. 

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