"Polly's Secret" Book Review

Polly's Secret by Harriet A. Nash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Polly Jane Brooks is the youngest daughter of a landlord who owns a hotel in a little town. Polly dreams of bigger things in her life besides work. In particular, she doesn't like to miss the ball happening tonight, with her specially made silk dress and dance slippers sitting away in her room while she toils with her sister in the kitchen, making food for the guests. A sick and elderly traveler arrives at the hotel. Polly is ordered to bring him some gruel and it is there that she makes a solemn promise to keep the deeds to his house and property safe from greedy relatives until his son, William Train, should arrive back from India and claim them.

Since no one else has read this (I had to manually add the book), I feel obligated to provide an honest review. Here I go.

This is a growing-up tale about a young girl in a small town in Massachusetts. The ending is as happy as you would expect. The women get married and they all get rich, and the bad guys are shamed though not outright punished because that would be a bad trait to develop in a young woman.

It's cute and quaint in its way. It has a nice charm to it and it has all of the ideals from when it was written. It has aged considerably. The book does a good job of looking like it's neutral but it doesn't quite spare anyone. There is some anti-feminist and a few racist remarks that are subtle because this book strives to be a book written for young girls. I didn't mind that too much, but it did rankle my pc sensibilities a bit. There was one word that I didn't expect to see but wasn't surprised to see considering when it was written. To give a hint: It was published during the 1920's when the Ku Klux Klan was at its peak in membership and "Birth of a Nation" was a huge movie for its time. I'm sure you know what word I'm referring to now, but I will not state it here.

There's a scene where basically everyone pulls their daughters from the only school in town. Polly seems perturbed by this but is quickly quieted by the local old spinsters down the block. Although other women lament not being able to understand their husbands at times. And pretty much everyone gets married to the one they are "most suited" for even if it seems to be kind of against their will. But that's to be expected.

They didn't treat the older sister as well as the younger. She marries the richer husband, for most of the book anyway, but they keep saying how plain she is, how matronly, how dull, how dumb. Especially next to Polly, who is beautiful and smart and fun. But Deborah's work ethic is much better; all the more ironic that she gets a rich husband and doesn't have to do anything but have kids. She must be bored out of her mind.

The book's very into the idea of honest men doing honest work on the farm rather than becoming lawyers and doctors. The most intelligent person in the town is the schoolteacher and he's kind of nasty but makes a few good points. But he is chastised into retirement onto his farm and the only other teacher is a nonentity.

It was a cute, like I said. It has aged a bit, but its romanticism of the old way of life won't be lost on a few people. As far as I can tell, the author got the accent down right, but I'm not sure if all the poor people speak like that. The few illustrations it has are beautiful. Not sure if I should marker that word out or not. It does bother me that some young person will read it and wonder what the hell it is doing in this book.

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I give you 3.5 out of 5 yonder stars.

"Wanted" Manga Book Review

Wanted by Matsuri Hino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

• From the creator of MeruPuri and Vampire Knight, also available from VIZ Media.• 40-page bonus story included (unrelated to Wanted)

• Vampire Knight and MeruPuri combined have sold through over 150k units in the U.S. to date.

• To be previewed and promoted in the August 2008 issue of Shojo Beat magazine.

• Japanese fans have been asking for a sequel.

"In the Mediterranean at end of the 17th century, former songstress Armeria disguises herself as a boy and boards the ship of the pirate Skulls--the man who kidnapped Luce, her first love. Captain Skulls is arrogant, violent, and a skirt chaser! And unfortunately for Armeria, he discovers she's a woman..."

I enjoyed this one-shot of manga. I thought it was beautifully drawn and written. I loved the artwork! I heard that there is a second part to this series, but it hasn't been translated yet? Which is good, because there was a bit of a cliff-hanger at the end.

I enjoyed Matsuri Hino's other work "Meri Puri" which is a four book series and beautifully done.

Overall, I liked it and am looking forward to more!

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Arrr! 3.5 stars out of 5! Arrrg!

"A Scented Palace" Book Review

A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie Antoinette's Perfumer by Elisabeth de Feydeau
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"This book offers a new look at the world of Marie Antoinette through the story of her personal and exclusive perfumer, Jean-Louis Fargeon. Jean-Louis served Marie for fourteen years until 1789 when the Revolution swept across France, its wrath aimed at the extravagances of the Royal Court and those who served it. Fargeon, a lifelong supporter of the Republican cause but a purveyor to the court, was in a dangerous position. Yet he remained fiercely loyal to Marie Antoinette, beyond her desperate flight to Varennes, her execution and even through his own imprisonment and trial. A Scented Palace is a wonderful window into the world of France during its most brutal and violent days."

I was debating 3 1/2 to 4 stars. It was an interesting book, but not quite of the traditional biographical vein. I had been expecting to learn about the perfumer rather than read about his passion, but I cannot say that I did not enjoy myself.

It was nice to have a closer look at Marie Antoinette. But other than the usual fare about her majesty (her dresses, the lesbian rumors, her 'affair' with Count Axel de Fersen, the Affair of the Neckless), there isn't anything new to read about. Fargeon liked his Queen, but he was still a staunch Republican.

I read, once again, that Rose Bertin, though a talented clothing designer, is a terrible businesswoman and a bit stuck up even for being the Queen's milliner. And also had the gall to price her items at such exorbitant costs. It's still such a shame that there isn't a recently published biography of her; the closest was printed in 1908 by John Long Limited and written by Emil Langlade (according to Goodreads). I'd still like to read it though. There's a French version by Michelle Sapori published in 2004; I hope it's due to come out in English sometime soon.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic (I hope that doesn't give too much away). I liked the appendices and notes pages. It was very interesting to learn about how to make perfume. I imagine it's a tiny bit different now.

Though it was well-written, I kind of wish that some of the french statements and titles had been translated, at least once. It was distracting because I didn't know what it meant. I would've used an online translator, but I don't trust those things.

What was obvious from the first page was the author's passion for perfumery. I had no idea that there was a college whose curriculum centered around learning how to make perfumes and the history behind the art. Figures it would be in France. She was given a Prix Guerlain for this book, an award usually only given to beauty products and the like that actually make good on their promises of better skin, etc.

Overall, an interesting account of perfumery in the time of Louis XVI, but not really a biography.


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I bestow this book with 3.5 out of 5 books.

"Backstreet Mom" Book Review

Backstreet Mom: A Mother's Tale of Backstreet Boy AJ McLean's Rise to Fame, Struggle with Addiction, and Ultimate Triumph by Denise I. McLean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

SPOILERS!


It was a very quick read. It was interesting but not heart-wrenchingly dramatic or very inspiring. It was kind of a play-by-play of events but without a lot of details. It has my respect for that because I don't want to be stuck reading a pity-party book, if you know what I mean. Everything sounded very panicked and crazy and exhausting at times, but it wasn't really put together like a readable novel. While I would befriend Ms. McLean, I wouldn't name her a salable writer.


Don't expect a lot of juicy gossip though. Ms. McLean kept the book about her life and her son's. While management is mentioned and Lou Pearlman was dragged through the mud (as he deserved) and Jive Records was trounced (again, deservedly so) and overly creepy managers were mentioned as well, there isn't a whole lot of the crazy that everyone seems so intent to find out about. Jane Carter is mentioned, I think, twice. The other boys families, girlfriends and bodyguards aren't really mentioned a whole lot. They were always sort of classified as other and not necessary to the story.


The boys were mentioned, obviously, and she seemed to have a real affection for them though at times she seemed very hurt by their lack of respect. I think Nick was mentioned the least, while Kevin was mentioned often. He was the one more likely to have a fight with someone because of his temper and he seemed the most moral of the group. I found that surprising because he seems so stoic most of the time. I also found it surprising that Brian has a temper as well because he's always such a goof and seems so happy all of the time. Howie was the most humble and most likely to not have a fight or have a conflict with anyone and he sounded like everyone's favorite mellow fellow. Alex/AJ was obviously the most mentioned. A few of his girlfriends and bodyguards are mentioned by name and Kevin's girlfriend Kirsten was mentioned once or twice.


The McLeans family was mentioned a lot, because family was very important to them. And sadly, one of them passed away while AJ was at his most vulnerable.


The most emotionally driven part of this book was towards the end when AJ is in rehab. That part was very painful and it showed through the writing.


The ending is a bit corny and it makes me wonder if it was the one time the author decided to stretch the truth in the entire book, but it did make me smile for the McLeans.


Not a favorite book, but interesting.


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"Burlesque" Movie Review

"Burlesque" movie poster.

"The Burlesque Lounge has its best days behind it. Tess (Cher), a retired dancer and owner of the venue, struggles to keep the aging theater alive, facing all kinds of financial and artistic challenges. With the Lounge's troupe members becoming increasingly distracted by personal problems and a threat coming from a wealthy businessman's quest to buy the spot from Tess, the good fortune seems to have abandoned the club altogether. Meanwhile, the life of Ali (Christina Aguilera), a small-town girl from Iowa, is about to change dramatically. Hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge, Ali escapes a hollow past and quickly falls in love with the art of burlesque. Backed by newfound friends amongst the theater's crew, she manages to fulfill her dreams of being on stage herself. Things take a dramatic turn though when Ali's big voice makes her become the main attraction of the revue." (Written by Bobby_John on IMBD) 

I just saw this movie with a friend of mine last night. It was a fun movie. It wasn't fantastic and it wasn't Chicago. Though it resembled the Oscar-winning film, I doubt this movie will win any Oscars, or even get nominated. Someone had posted online that it was sort of like watching a string of music videos, and it did sort of feel like that. 

Christina Aguilera isn't a wonderful actress, though the lines she had to say weren't the best either. Although Stanley Tucci managed to turn every one of his lines into gold. Cher spent much of the movie being a funny but morose bitch. I'm not sure I wanted to see the tall and powerful diva that way. But she did break a car window and that was fun. Alan Cumming was also in this movie, though he played a bit part. 

Aguilera's boy toys looked oddly alike and I don't know why that bothered me but it did. There wasn't the good and bad, yin and yang that I expected. Which leads to one of the only clever lines in the movie: 

Wrong Guy: How does this make me the bad guy? 

Aguilera: It doesn't make you the bad guy, just the wrong guy. 

Another "Burlesque"
movie poster.

As clever as the line is, it doesn't make any sense. He is the bad guy because he was trying to buy out Cher's domain, which was why Aguilera's voice was important in saving the "Burlesque Lounge". And the reason why her character was there and the reason for the main storyline behind her character. 

As short as this film seemed to be, there could've been more editing done. They could've cut the beginning short. There was almost no reason for that first scene at all. The audience would've known she's the new small town girl in the big city. And the postcard scene made no sense; who was she supposed to send it to if we're to believe that everyone she could've sent it to is dead? 

The music was good, but I would say that only half of it was original material. The music did go with the film though. The costumes were good but there could've been more interesting stuff for them to wear. They were pretty clothes, but we have all seen sequined bras. And the dancing was suggestive and sexy, but it could've been more than just S&M and booty shaking. 

I don't know if I would watch it again. Overall, it was a hot pink version of Chicago without murder or Bob Fosse.

3 out of 5 stars.