Reading Log for Week of 4/20/12-4/26/12

Sunday 4/22/12 2 hours Pgs: 1-120

                                                                                                                                                                       

Overtakers: Evil Disney villians that mean to "over take" the park and destroy the world. Many of them, they only come to life at night for the most part.
                                                                                                                                                                      
" 'If the hero and heroine go off to live happily ever after, then what happens to the villains, witches, sea monsters, and evil stepmothers?'

Finn said, 'You're saying because the park makes them real, they are real?'

'I'm saying if you believe strongly enough, anything can happen...' (Pearson 71)."
                                                                                                                                                                       
In this quote, Finn is first hearing about the Overtakers from Wayne, his "mentor" on his hero's journey. Wayne is describing what the very roots of the Overtakers are.

My Betsy's Wedding by Maud Hart Lovelace Book Review on Goodreads

Betsy's Wedding: A Betsy-Tacy Story by Maud Hart Lovelace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh dear. I don't know what to say. *sobs with reckless abandon into tissue* I am quite...moved by the ending. Just give me a minute to compose myself. HONK! *blows tears off face and snot out of nose*

Well that was just absolutely the saddest thing I've ever read. Not that anything really sad happened, but the fact that this was the end and what you knew would happen was sad. I'm afraid I'll only be able to review the part of the book that isn't the ending. Only one little snippet about the ending later.

Well, as far as the ending goes I must say I cannot say anything. I believe that the last bit of Anne's review best sums it up. Here's a link to that: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/93168890

The little snippet about the ending: Well, at the end Betsy said somethig about how she could feel the big hill looking down at all the dancers in the chocoloate-colored house. And then I just couldn't help myself. I burst into tears. It was like the end of those movies where some protagonist you have grown close to winks at the camera and it's the sweetest ending ever. I just imagine like a cartoon personified Big Hill laughing jovially and saying, "Those kids! They grow up so fast!" with bittersweet, yet joyful tears as he watches Betsy and her husband, and Tacy and hers, all dance at the house they used to plan about visiting while on the hill for Tib's wedding. And it's just a very come-full-circle moment. Oh this makes me so sad just writing about it! Like a Disney movie would have done. Wait- WHY DIDN'T THEY MAKE MOVIES OF THESE?! That's it, I'm becoming a director. And I'm making sure that Big Hill thing is in it.

Anyways, back to the rest of the book. After a very dissapointing Betsy and the Great World (Betsy-Tacy, #9) (read my review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/249835600), I was fully ready for a little Betsy and her Crowd, but especially Joe. And I think Maud realized that she had made a mistake because boy did she make up for her lack of Joe in the previous! Joe was all sweet and overzealous about their marriage, never faltering in his undying devotion to their nuptials. Then from there I was excited to see Betsy take on her domestic duties. Every time she baked and budgeted, and talked about salaries with Joe, I was just so excited. The quaintness of her life was very welcome and exciting for me I guess. Definitely not one to miss out on.

Overall, I felt like this book was just a total closer, not very eventful, but wonderful because of it. I'll never forget the three little girls from Deep Valley who stole my heart away with their antics and fun. I wish we never had to grow up too, Betsy.

RIP: MAUD HART LOVELACE

Just think about that for a minute. It's actually quite sad.

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My Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace Book Review on Goodreads

Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the only Betsy-Tacy book I didn't give 5 stars to. This book was definitely different than the others. I bet lots of people were definitely dissapointed by this book, but it brings a lot of reality to the series. Main point: The realism in this book will lead to dissapointment by fans.

Reality: Since this series was written closely based on Maud's real life, a lot of realistic components of life's journey went into this series. Most authors would never create a story where the protagonist becomes the only character you can recognize steadily throughout the entire book, because it creates less depth in the story when the characters are always changing. Nevertheless, Maud stuck firmly to real life and her solo tour of Europe, and I must say that this proved hard for the reader. It was definitely confusing and not very fun to go from Betsy's familiar and exciting senior year with Joe Willard to only Betsy. All the others were gone, only mentioned in letters. There were some new characters, but whenever Betsy left that city she would leave them behind and there would be new ones. In a way, this was fun after a while. At first, this approach to the plot was not very interesting, but towards the middle of the book you warmed to this approach. The end strech I found deeply unsatisfying because of the fact that Betsy spent a lot of time in England when I was simply anxious for her to get home. At this time, she wasn't doing much and I was tired of hearing about yet another inn and its inhabitants. Suddenly, the book was not fun. I liked the last two pages when she wrote to Joe, that was definitely a big "FINALLY!" moment for a lot of readers.

Setting: The book skipped 3 years of Betsy's life, which I'm sure many were unhappy about. Completely skipping Betsy's college experience and beginning when Betsy was 21, jumping from when she was eighteen in the previous book. Apparently Maud had a very uninteresting and silly college experience, because she only mentioned it in a couple of pages at the beginning. However, this was a welcome touch of reality, showing that sometimes mistakes can be made in life and there are parts we'd rather erase. Although readers would have loved what every other series would have given them in a description of her college life after reuniting with Joe and the very promising and happy ending to the previous book, Maud stuck to what truly happened.

Joe: This kind of ties into setting. At the end of Betsy and Joe (Betsy-Tacy, #8), Joe and Betsy have reunited in a loving relationship after a long separation. Joe has declared that he is looking forward to a world with Betsy. And then we flash into the next book where suddenly Betsy is at the dock on a ship sailing away to Europe when she should be in college, with some remarks about not thinking about Joe, without any explanation. This was definitely confusing. When we finally find out that we missed the breakup of Joe and Betsy, and even that it happened at all, we are angry. Even more, we are deeply hurt and shocked that Betsy was such a silly duck all through college with that strange character we only hear about in mystical accounts, Bob Barhydt. Betsy is definitely an annoying and silly character at times because she often goes and makes these resolutions, then promptly forgets them and acts like a weirdo (not very creative but I can't think of anything else). She just acts all silly, and then she'll make another resolution. It becomes quite tiring, but again brings a touch of realism about people's real character to the story. I just think that fans were definitely dissapointed in Betsy's behavior in college, and to learn that suddenly she was going off to Europe away from everyone (especially Joe!) was a betrayal of sorts. This was realistic, although not what a truly fictional book would have brought to the table.

War: The introduction of the war to Betsy's world right after she left the countries that had declared war was definitely scary. It was actually really boring and strange right in the middle of the otherwise joyous and homebound plot to introduce England and its talk of war. This was, again realistic as this is what happened to Maud in real life. I also enjoyed hearing about the opinion that Americans had that the world was too civilized for war, so there would never be another. I had not known that this was the general opinion at the time, and it was inetersting to learn that.

Overall, a very charming book. I realize I have not mentioned much about the actual story, but there's not much to say. There were so may cities and place she visited that I can't possibly remember much of any of them. If you stick it through, it gets better and interesting to read. At the end, I was just very happy to finally move on to the very pleasant and familiar Betsy's Wedding (Betsy-Tacy, #10) and Tacy's pregnancy! This book was definitely very realistic, although not what the readers may have liked.

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My Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace Book Review on Goodreads

Betsy and Joe by Maud Hart Lovelace
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, Betsy. I truly am worried about you. I did not like at all your behavior throughout this book so I think a more appropriate title would be Betsy and Tony . Oh Betsy! What went through your silly little frivolous head that seems to have been going crazy these past four years of high school.

Well, there's not really much to say besides that I hate how Betsy couldn't say no to Tony. Poor Joe! Betsy is just too much of a sucker for her Crowd! I was on edge and my heart was in knots the entire time she was with Tony. And that completely overshadowed any happiness I felt at the beginning about Betsy and Joe being together for a while, happy and romantic for ONCE. And then Tony had to destroy everything and Betsy acted like it was no big deal, so Joe was left feeling betrayed. Although I was mad at Joe at first, looking back I see that (as usual) Betsy was to blame. For the third time, oh Betsy! So sweet, yet so silly and stupid (occasionally).

The part that I really loved about this book was the first pages of the book that talked about growing up.

Quote 1: "...one was growing up so fast that one needed time to think, to correlate all the perplexing changes and try to understand them."

I, myself, can definitely relate to this because I often find myself confused with all the different things happening in my life as I grow up, and I just wish that I could stop my life for a while and make sense of all thse "perplexing changes".

Quote 2: "Betsy had clung to every phase of childhood as it passed. She always wanted to keep life from going forward too fast."

This is me. Wholly and completely. Every little bit of childhood I am concious of, and of its passing. And, unlike most people, I don't ever want to grow up. Because I see already what I will miss, what I already am missing, about happy, blissful, naive times that I would trade everything I have now for. I am so scared of life moving forward too fast. Time is my worst enemy, which is why I sympathize with Betsy when she says things like this.

Quote 3: " 'You grow older in spite of yourself,' Betsy thought resentfully..."

In spite of yourself. Oh were words ever so true. I resent time and life when, in spite of what I want and need, I grow older. And I hate that. I just don't understand why life has to bring so much that ytou don't want.

What's amazing to me is that, even back in a time when growing up didn't bring as many ocnsequences as our modern world, people still dealt with these problems and feelings, which at least makes me feel better knowing that it's not just being in the modern world that makes growing up harder. It always has been for people.

Overall, this book was bittersweet. It was wonderful when Betsy and Joe got together, terrible when for much of the book she was with Tony breaking Joe's heart, and wonderful when Betsy and Joe reunited at the end. Looking back halfway through the last book, I feel like this book was more of a transition for me in the series than anything. Writing this review now, I definitely don't remember much about this book and don't particularly care for it. Nevertheless, I loved this book because it was still, nevertheless, a Betsy-Tacy book. :)

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Reading Log for Week of 2/28/12-3/8/12

       Friday 3/2/12 2 hours Pgs: 29-140        






*This is the most popular version for the series, it includes comparisons of characters to the book of people in real life, and shows you pictures of them.
**For some background on the series, here's a YouTube video that a girl did on why she loves the Betsy-Tacy series and what they are about. Betsy-Tacy Series Video
                                                                                                                                                                         
In the past, Betsy has lead a silly, frivolous life where she makes mistakes one year, realizes how terribly she's wronged, and then resolves to do better the next year in some deep and meaningful intellectual time. But she always messes up again. In the present, Betsy is "determined" that in her next year, she will grow up as so many of her other friends did and stop being such a silly fool. In the future, I think that besty will grow up, as this is her senior year in high school and next comes college or even *gulp*- marriage! I can't wait to see Betsy mature as a person, for her frivolity in the past years and nonsensical mistakes have really annoyed me.
                                                                                                                                                                      
"All those resolutions she had made on Babcock's Bay! How they had been smashed to smithereens! She wondered whether life consisted of making resolutions and breaking them, of climbing up and slipping down (Lovelace 282-283)."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
In this quote, Betsy is having one of her aforementioned "deep and meaningful intellectual time(s)". (Quotin' myself there!) She is talking about how her resolutions that she made in the previous year's "deep and meaningful intellectual time(s)" were completely broken. She is describing her outlook on her high school years and all the things she's done. It perfectly states what I was trying to say earlier, that Betsy's life is full of making resolutions to make no more grievous errors and making them, of getting better but then making her mistakes again (climbing up and slipping down). This has been a repeating pattern in her life, which is why Betsy is wondering if it's always going to be that way.
                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                   
The big idea in this book is a very large and important one. The big idea is that growing up can be tough, and sometimes you may not even realize you need to be doing it until it's too late, and you've spent all your time being silly and foolish. In this book, Betsy's friend, Cab,'s father dies. Cab becomes a joking high school boy into the man of the family taking over his father's furniture store in a day. This makes Betsy realize, even more than she did before, that not only has she been too silly and frivolous all year like she previously thought, but she also needs to grow up and begin to "stand on her own two feet". Betsy realizes how mcuh she is coddled and is shocked to think that she may not be ready to take over more important responsibilities, as Cab did. She thinks over all the different kinds of growing up in different ways that her friends have done over the past year, and she also realizes how stupid, more than just silly, she's been not just her junior year, but all of her high school career so far! Betsy "resolves" (we'll see if that lasts) that she must be more grown up next year. After all, she will be a glorious senior!
                                                                                                                                                                   
"But all of them were growing up, Betsy thought intensely. They would never be quite so silly again. The foolish crazy things they had done this year they would do less and less frequently until they didn't do them at all (Lovelace 284)."
                                                                                                                                                                    
In this quote, Betsy is deciding that yes, they (her Crowd) are all growing up for sure. She is talking about how her friends will never be the same silly, fun-loving high school chums as they were before. That the things they did in their years together will probably not come around many more times. And somehow, I believe that she means it and that this isn't just a resolution. This is just people changing, as they always do. This big idea is a fine example of a change system in people. Not society, but just in person by person themselves as they grow up.
                                                                                                                                                                     




Keep tabs on the blog for my review of this book, coming soon! I'm using the two quotes I used for my evidence in the review, and I will be describing my personal connections to them, and why I will always remember them forever!

My (Belated) Betsy in Spite of Herself by Maud Hart Lovelace Book Review on Goodreads

Betsy in Spite of Herself by Maud Hart Lovelace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this book a week ago, so (sadly) my review will be short.



Let me just touch on the main points. Okay well, I hated the entire time Betsy was going with Phil Brandish, because it's SO NOT HER! I just wanted her to hurry up and marry Joe, as I know she will from the titles of future books. The best part of this book for me was the end and listening to what has seened to be an annual event: Betsy realizing what a mistake she made throughout that school year and resolving to do better in the next year (which has so far continuously failed. She's too fun-loving!). I thought that Betsy's resolvings were very similar to what I struggle with now, working hard but still having fun. It amazes me how similar struggles can be 100 years later internally for girls in America.



I decided to enter 2 essay contests offered by my school, because of Betsy and her constant struggle wiht them. I wanted to somehow right Betsy's wrongs by writing an essay myself, just as she would have done so many years ago, on a topic assigned to me, with steadfast work and focus. It makes me feel a sense of connection to the past and simplicity.



Overall, this book was really helpful to me, and I enjoyed it so much! Every book is increasingly dear and sweet. I don't want it to end and fear for when I write the review for Betsy's Wedding that I will be lonesome for more books. Well, there's always Winona's Pony Cart, Carney's House Party: A Deep Valley Book, and Emily of Deep Valley, but what after that?!



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My Heaven to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace Book Review on Goodreads

Heaven to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Okay, so I've been putting off writing this review for a while, but not because I didn't like it. This book was so amazing and there was so much I liked about it that I don't even know how to approach describing it. First thing's first: I really loved this book with all of my soul, and even took a late night to finish it.



This book was mainly a very lengthy description of Betsy's newfound popularity. She has a "Crowd" that she hangs out with every day. Betsy is now a mature young woman, who is into boys and social engagements of all sorts. I really enjoyed this book because it was so freshly relatable in comparison to all the other books. Now that Betsy is a more mature girl, you could really connect wih her on more levels.



Much of this book was about boys and parties. Betsy was such a busy person, and she dealt with heartache over a boy she fell head over heels for but loved another girl. I was really able to connect with her opinion on social engagements, her attitude towards being invited to one and being there. I was also able to reflect how similar her opinions were about boys.



I was also really able to relate to Betsy's love of writing, and competing with it. I always feel much the same way about my own writing when it is put up against other works. Betsy and I share that prideful feeling. I really took to heart Betsy's words at the end about, if she didn't exercise it, her writing would be lost to her forever. That part really inspired me to write more, because I haven't worked on my private works in over a year. I really want to take to writing poems and small works or observances like Betsy. I'm currently not to happy about my stories, which is kind of why I stopped (a bit of writer's block), but maybe I could just practice with mini works.



Anyway,this brings me to my main point, the essay contest. As I read this, it made me think about how I've been procrastinating on my 20 hours of history homework that I have to do, and the dire consequences that I could have as it had for poor Betsy. It made me realize that I can't just rush and do it, I'll need lots of time to create something good (like Betsy later realized). Which reminds me that I must work on it after I finish writing this.



Overall, this book was heartwarming and hard not to love. This book was superior to the rest so far because of how easy it was to connect and relate to the plotline and its even greater complexity than the previous.



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My Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace Book Review on Goodreads

Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown by Maud Hart Lovelace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of my favorite books ever. As I mentioned in my review of Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill I thought that it would be hard for me to watch them grow up and yet still be little kids, at least until high school. I was wrong. I feel like that book was just an awkward transition book for me. I was still coping with the fact that they're not little kids anymore, but they're not quite grown either. This book was different. Even though they were still only twelve and not in high school yet, I found this story not sad because they had already grow up in a way. There was no awkward dolly playing with yet love affairs like the previous. I felt like in this book I could just sit back and read.



This book focused a lot on Victorian society, which I liked a lot. It catered to my deep love for reading books that deal with ideas and inventions that the characters consider amazing (or unamazing depending on if it's historical or dystopian). When you read about, say how novelic it was to see a "horseless carriage" or use/own a telephone it makes me just brim up with happiness at the simplisticness of society, and gives me a deeper understanding of feelings/thoughts during that time period.



Really, this book just follows Betsy, Tacy, Tib, and a little bit of their newfound side friend, Winona, through the downtown area and all the marvelous things and experiences they discover there. Betsy goes to a library and eats lunch out at Heinz's Restaurant all by herself, they all got to a matinee and act in one, they ride in a horselss carriage, they use and own telephones, they go to parties and visit the wealthiest woman in Deep Valley, Mrs.Poppy, and they go Christmas shopping! The girls go throughout society, and it's like their first exposure to this whole new world.



There is no more doll-playing or game inventing, only the wonders of downtown.



Overall, this book was a joy for its (unusual for the series before this point) societal glimpses. My favorite so far because they finally grew up and their adventures are now more exciting (and easier to connect) with than ever! I'm sure Heaven to Betsy will exceed all my expectations with its even more relatableness and sophistication!



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My (Super Belated) Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace Book Review on Goodreads

Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Okay, so I at least remember that this book was really good. I read it a over a week ago and I've been really busy so I kind have a lot to remember for reviewing.



This book was just as childish (in a good way) as the first, but with more complex and mature struggles, ideas, and resolutions than the first books. I thought that Betsy, Tacy, and Tib really grew up in this story, they now had a desire for power, love, importance, and beauty. Their quarrel over whether Julia or Tib could be queen was really story-altering. For the first time, the girls tried to get votes and they experienced political rifts. Then there was the whole "King of Spain-oh, I think I'm in love with him" thing. The girls really began to sort out their feelings for the first time. They didn't really like him, they just admired him and were interested in his story. They had no idea what love was, they were simply trying to identify if they loved him or not. The girls even sent the king a letter! Silly little girls!



These girls were so sweet and cute. I really loved reading this book in particular. It was bittersweet to watch the girls grow up and begin to try and understand bigger things and adventures beyond the safety of Hill Street. It will be even harder to watch them grow up to high school, but I think that after that it might get easier. Not really. *WEEP* *TEARS AND SNOTTY HANKIE*



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My Just Jane: A Daughter of England Caught in the Struggle of the American Revolution by William Lavender Book Review on Goodreads

Just Jane: A Daughter of England Caught in the Struggle of the American Revolution by William Lavender

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was definitely one of my favorites of all time. Jane is an amazing person, always wanting to help others and be a better person. Jane faces similar personal struggles as I do, and she deals with them remarkably well in a way that I could only hope to in the future. Jane goes through many terrifying events and heartwrenching situations that made me feel as broken as when I read Harry Potter and Dumbledore, Severus, etc. died. Just Jane also is great in the historical sense, as it enables you to really understand what the Revolution was. I never really fuly got it, it was just dates and names, until I read this book. I loved Jane to the death, and couldn't hhave found a better book to read for my outside reading assignment for history.



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My The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan Book Review on Goodreads

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was more exciting than its predecessoors. Although I had read it before I completely forgot that Quintus was Daedalus, so it came as a complete surprise. It was a great plot twist! This book was a lot of action, but a little bit of exposition. I got hooked at the end and read this book (again), for the most part, in a day. One of my top picks!



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My The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Book Review on Goodreads

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The end actually was really satisfying. In the movie, Dorothy was told that she could have gone back home all along, which kind of seemed like a hurried and weak way to end the story. In the book, though, it seemed like a fitting way to end the story based on the style of how things worked in Oz and everything that had happened. The movie was VERY dissapointing, so I'm wondering why they haven't made a remake called "The Real Wizard of Oz". Either way, I found the book very enjoyable and a good story. The intro by L. Frank Baum stated that it was supposed to be a modern (modern back then) fairytale of sorts. And, for a non-Hans-Christian-Andersen fairyytale, it was good. I can imagine back then how up-and-coming and cool The Wizard of Oz was back then to be a new kind of fairytale. When you view it as a fairytale, it makes the story five times better. My favorite part was the last chapter, even though it was only 2 paragraphs. I thought that it was a cute, "And they lived happily ever after" ending. I FINALLY understand why this is a classic. The stupid movie made it seem like people back then were insane to like it and must have had a lack of good lierature and entertainment. I GET IT NOW!!!



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