You Were There Before My Eyes–Book Review!

This book is wandering mammoth of a story, in roughly the same vein of generational stories like The Thorn Birds, but it falls short of the aforementioned’s greatness because of some serious flaws.

The first thing that jarred me was the shifting third-person perspective that bounces from person to person in the same chapter, and often back and forth on the same page. I don’t mind shifting perspectives in a story, but a clean change in perspective at a break mark or a chapter heading gives the reader a comfortable shift instead of a mid-paragraph awkward jump.

There was also the near-unforgivable naming of the two main characters of Giovanna and Giovanni–again, VERY uncomfortable for a reader (even if they are extremely common Italian names). About a quarter of the way in, their names changed (for the most part) into John and Jane, which was a slight improvement, but the damage of the previous choices was already done, and I was annoyed.

Being a historical story, I expected history–and lots of it–and that’s where the story delivered. I learned almost everything I needed to know about the early development of the Ford empire and how its founder evolved into the man who became buddies with Hitler. But even there, I struggled to enjoy the story because often times those sections of the book felt more like strings of facts and less like a story.

By about three-quarters into the story, it picked up and I was almost propelled to the end, but three-quarters is a long way to drag a reader into a story before they’re hooked.

However, there is something “everyday-ish” to the story, a sense of familiarity that I felt with the characters and the story. The writing style lends itself well to this, even with the previously mentioned errors.

So ultimately, taking the whole of it into account, I’m giving it 2 1/2 stars, rounded to 3.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Disney Princesses Reimagined as Books

The Princess Book Tag

Since Disney Princesses have been reimagined as pretty much everything under the moon (like hotdogs, really?!), it was inevitable that the reimagining would come around to something I’m passionate about–books!

(Although, I’ll admit, I do love a good beef hotdog.)

Thanks to my good friend R. Q. Woodward for tagging me in this fun reimagining!

The rules: 

• Mention where you saw the tag/thank whoever tagged you
• Tag Zuky’s and Mandy’s posts so they can check out the wonderful Princess fun throughout the blog world (Book Princess Reviews & Book Bum)
• Play a game of tag at the end

 

THE PRINCESSES AND THE BOOKS:

🍎Snow White – This Book (like the Movie) Started It All

Favorite debut book from an author:

It’s not technically a first book, but a first fiction book: Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet. This book is an enchanting tale of an unappreciated, special girl (Auralia) that I think artists of any genre can relate to. It instantly struck a chord with me and will always have a place on my shelf.

 

👠Cinderella – A Diamond in the Rough

Just like Cinderella, you didn’t expect much out of this character in the beginning but they turned out to be a total gem.

I don’t know about a specific character, but there was a book I happened across recently that turned out to be an unknown gem for me. Still Life With Breadcrumbs by Anna Quindlen. I picked it up as I was rifling through random books at a used bookstore and started reading the first couple pages (to see if it was something I’d want to read, not knowing the author). I read through the whole first chapter and knew it was something I was going to love. It’s homey but different, with enough elegant prose to satisfy but a plot that’s easy enough to be comfortable.

 

😴Aurora – Sleeping Beauty

A book that makes you sleepy or just could not hold your attention

Allegiant (and Insurgent) by Veronica Roth. I liked the first in the Divergent series, but after that came a big mess of a second and total disaster of a third book. I finished them all, but after a few chapters into Insurgent, it was a miserable experience. I couldn’t understand the characters’ motivations or mood swings. The science felt flimsy. And I definitely couldn’t believe it when characters repeatedly claimed “this is the only way” when they wanted to rush from one bad idea to another (when other options had not been decently explored beforehand). Ugh.

 

🌊Ariel – Under the Sea

A book with a water/ocean setting

This one took me the longest to think up. While there are many books written in proximity to the ocean or water, I feel like I haven’t read many where it’s central to a lot of the story.

One of the first to come to mind was Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, the unfortunate story of a gentleman frog who goes fishing and gets himself caught. Then I thought of The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare and had to mention that one. It has a lot of the sea in it, especially at the beginning and with the main character Kit’s upbringing in the Caribbean being an integral part of who she is.

 

📚Beauty and the Books

Name a book with the best bookworm/book lover

Not sure if you could call her a bookworm, but I’m going with Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Heck, that’s part of the reason Darcy deems her of worth, so yeah. Moral: read books and the right significant other will appreciate you. 😉

 

❤️Jasmine – The Thief and the Princess

Name a book with an unlikely love story (either in terms of romance or a book you didn’t expect to love so much.)

I’m going with Bathsheba Everdeen and Gabriel Oak in Thomas Hardy’s Far From The Madding Crowd. They are two very different people, who are constantly thrown together but kept apart until finally *spoiler* Bathsheba comes to her senses.  Plus, I’m pretty sure Gabriel Oak is the quintessential perfect man.

 

🌎Pocahontas – The Real Life Princess

Name a book that is based on a real life person you want to read/have read

Okay, this is a man’s book, so hopefully he doesn’t take offense to being listed in a princess tag (should he ever come across it), but I have On Writing by Stephan King on my “to read” stack at my desk. It’s a memoir and his take on the craft of writing, and I’ve heard it’s an amazing book for any prospective writer to read.

 

🐉Mulan – The Princess that saved her Country

Name the fiercest heroine you know

It’s hard to pick just one here, but I think I’ll go with Mara from Mara: Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Mara starts out as a slave, desperate for her freedom and jumps at a risky opportunity to gain it–not once, but twice. She works as an agent for both sides of a cause before realizing (too late) that she truly wants to make a choice between them.

 

🐸Tiana – The Princess With The Coolest And Most Diverse Crew

Name a diverse book whether it is a diverse set of characters (like Tiana’s group of Naveen, Louis, Ray, and more) or just diverse in general

Winnie the Pooh. You have the chronically depressed Eeyore, an attention-deficit-disorder Tigger, anxiety-ridden Piglet, OCD Rabbit, and absent-minded Pooh-bear; what’s more diverse than that?

As far as human diversity: like Robin, I thought it was very well done in Rysa Walker’s The Delphi Effect, but it wasn’t central enough to the story for me to really nominate it in this category.

 

💇Rapunzel – Let Your Longggggg Hair Down

Name the longest book you’ve ever read

I’ve just started (and paused for CampNaNoWriMo–I’m awesome with my timing) Tolstoy’s infamous War and Peace. Because I actually enjoy long epics with numerous storylines, political subtexts, and cultural implications.

🏹Merida – I Determine My Own Fate

A book where there is no love story/interest or it isn’t needed

The Chosen by Chaim Potok. I remember this being one of the first “difficult” books I read as a child. Not to say that the books I’d read up to that point didn’t have difficulty in them, but they hadn’t affected me to the same depths that this book did. I need to go back and reread it to see if it still holds the same poignancy I remember.

 

❄️Anna and Elsa – Frozen Hearts

A book in a winter/cold setting

 

George R. R. Martin’s infamous A Song of Ice and Fire series has a good deal of Icy settings, especially as the series progresses with Winter coming and the threat of white walkers looming with it.

The Willows in Winter is probably more fitting a choice, but it’s been so long since I read it as a child that I don’t remember much from the story.

 

⛵Moana  – How Far I’ll Go

A character that goes on a journey

 

Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. I know it might be more of a quest than a journey, but the trip to the Lonely Mountain is more than half the book, and the journey of the mind that Bilbo undertakes is just as much of an accomplishment.

 

A Game of Tag

I tag…whoever is reading this (ha, I have you now!). 😉 Give your own book reimaginings in the comments below or feel free to make your own blog post! I’m always eager for some good book recommendations. And Disney Princess reimaginings.