2013 ... the close of the year

As 2013 winds its way out, it's a time to reflect on how I have stood up to the challenge I'd set myself over the last year. My self-imposed target was to have read 70 of the BBC Top 100 Best Reads, and, annoyingly, I have missed it by just ONE book. I am still reading what would have been the 70th book (The Grapes of Wrath), but won't have finished it by the end of today! Overly ambitious maybe ... on reflection, I should have actually looked to see how long many of the books on the list actually are. I did get through a few of the monsters, such as War and Peace, The Stand and Gone with the Wind - but brother did they slow me down. Overall, I have enjoyed this particular challenge - reading books I would probably never have chosen to read if they were not on this list. Books that really surprised me were The Stand (have downloaded another Stephen King off the back of that experience, something I never would have done before), Memoirs of a Geisha and The Alchemist (two books of beauty that will stay with me for a long time) and the Harry Potter series ... I really started to enjoy them despite myself! And then there were books that I cannot understand what all the fuss is about - Catcher in the Rye for starters! And, I have to admit, I've been really struggling with The Grapes of Wrath for two months now and I'm not even halfway through it! Although I've just missed my target, I'm not going to beat myself up about it as I came really close, read some great books, and had an excuse to read a few that were written for youngsters that I missed out on during my own childhood. I will definitely be reading more titles from this list as time goes on, but maybe not in such a focused way! I think I'm definitely ready for a bit more fun in my reading list. And so onto 2014 ... 

The Story of Tracy Beaker (31) - will anyone foster this girl?

In this apparently self-penned story of a 10-year-old girl living in care, we find out that Tracy Beaker is an outwardly tough girl, fed up of being in care, and to make herself feel better, constantly brags about her glamorous mother, who lives in Hollywood, and who will soon be swooping back into her life and taking her away from where she is staying, after which they'll go and live happily ever after. Abandoned from an early age, Tracy has gone through two foster homes, neither of which worked out for her, and now she finds herself in a care home. Her best friend is no longer her best friend and Tracy pours all her heartbreak and loneliness out onto the pages of her journal ... describing what she would like to do to the various people who she feels have let her down. The Story of Tracy Beaker, by Jacqueline Wilson, genuinely feels like it is written by the central character herself, which is an achievement in itself. Tracy is imaginative and sensitive (but tries not to show it ... she "never cries" but has "hay fever attacks" when sad or upset!) Feeling increasingly isolated, Tracy's life takes a turn for the better when the home welcomes a new visitor - a writer who has been commissioned to write an article about children in care. "Cam" makes a big impact on Tracy, and they talk about writing and life in general. By the end of the book, Tracy thinks she might have successfully persuaded Cam to adopt her, and life is looking up for our feisty heroine. This is a book where a child tries desperately to hide what she is truly feeling behind her challenging behaviour and vivid imagination. It is sad and touching, but also funny. I can see youngsters really taking to this character and empathising with her feelings, but I fear I am probably too old to appreciate it more fully.  

My STAR rating: TWO.

Length: 158 print pages.
Price I paid: Free, borrowed from local library.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Holes (83) - a dark tale in the desert

Holes, by Louis Sachar is the story of Stanley Yelnats, a young boy who is the victim of a miscarriage of justice - just the latest in a long line of bad luck his family have had for hundreds of years. Falsely accused of stealing, he is sent to Camp Green Lake, a boys' juvenile detention centre. In this place, the boys all must dig one hole every day, in the baking heat of a desert sun. Slowly, Stanley realises that the digging is not about "building character" as acclaimed by the warden, but they seem to be searching for something. The incentive to "find something interesting" in their hole is to have the rest of the day off. Stanley becomes friends with a fellow in-mate Zero, who he teaches to read in exchange for help digging his daily hole. When Zero runs off into the desert one day, the assumption of the guards is he will come back when he's thirsty, or become buzzard food - either way, they are not bothered. When he doesn't return, all traces of him are erased at the Camp - well, who's going to notice if this orphan disappears - but Stanley cannot stop worrying about him and heads out to try and find him ... This is a quick read, but an interesting one. We find out about the Yelnats' family curse and how the history of "Green Lake" is intertwined with it. The boys are the stars of this book - how they interact and talk to each other feels very authentic. I enjoyed this tale of friendship which is rich in descriptive text as well as dialogue. You cannot help feeling hot and dusty too as you follow Stanley in his search for his friend, which leads, ultimately, to a discovery that will affect all at camp Green Lake.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 233 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from local library.
Formats available: print; standard audio CD; ebook.

Anne of Green Gables (41) - sweet Canadian childhood tale

With time running out this year on my challenge, I was looking for some shorter books to read of the Top 100 List, and came across an audio version of this book for just 95p, so I went for it. Am really pleased that I did. Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery is the gentle tale of a red-headed, freckle-strewn orphan named Anne Sterling. Anne has not had a good start to life. She has been living in an orphanage for some years, with no sign of anyone wanting to adopt her. Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who have a farm on Prince Edward Island and want to adopt a boy to help them. There's a mix up, and instead of a boy being sent to the Cuthberts, Anne is sent instead. Initially wanting to send this odd girl back, who never seems to stop talking, Matthew persuades Marilla to give her a chance. Slowly but surely, Anne melts the heart of her adoptive mother and worms her way into her affections. We follow Anne as she makes a new life for herself and changes things for those around her in the countryside of Canada. Smart, funny and filled with the endless wonder of the world around her, Anne also has a penchant for getting into trouble. This is a likable, gentle tale that warms the heart without being too cloying. It's an easy read, with lots of things to amuse and a little darkness for good measure. Definitely worth the effort.

My STAR rating: THREE.

Length: 496 print pages.
Price I paid: 95p (a bargain for an audio book!)
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Emma (40) - misunderstandings, matchmaking and snobbery

Good old Jane Austen! Whether it's a nostalgia thing - with remembrances of the Sunday afternoon drama on the BBC of my youth, which would invariably be an adaptation from Dickens or Austen, I cannot help but warm to the style of this author. Emma is not drama on a big scale - no big car chases or things blowing up - instead, the drama is intimate and personal. A misdirected comment or look had ramifications that would impact on the lives of those around you. Emma Woodhouse is our heroine, and she is the centre of society in the village. Devoted to her father who fears danger in everything outside his home, she regularly sparks off Mr Knightly, an old family friend, who tries to keep her in check when he sees her going astray. Emma decides to take the humble Harriet under her wing, and thinks that Mr Elton, the new vicar, would be a suitable match for her - instead of the local farmer who had set his cap at Harriet. Emma persuades Harriet to her way of thinking, but after rejecting the farmer, is appalled to discover that Mr Elton has set his sights on herself, rather than her friend Harriet. Emma rejects him, at which point his true character is revealed and he slinks off to Bath and returns with a catty, self-serving rich wife. Enter Frank Churchill, the son of her best friend's husband. He pays Emma a lot of attention and everything thinks this will end in marriage. Emma is initially flattered, but is determined not to marry, and also thinks that he might be a match for Harriet (she is a determined matchmaker!). Then there is the delicate and mysterious Jane Fairfax, who is staying nearby and who Emma somehow feels is a rival of some kind but can't quite put her finger on it until she starts to worry that her oldest friend, Mr Knightly, might have some feelings for this beautiful creature. Too concerned about sorting other people's love lives out for them, she did not realise that she should have been focusing a bit closer to home... and suddenly realises that no-one can marry Knightly except herself! This is a well written tale of manners and as with all Austen there is humour and a lightness of touch. Lots of characters, all interwoven into this tale where you hope that it comes good in the end.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 358 print pages.
Price I paid: free.
Formats: print; abridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.

I Capture the Castle (82) - a journal of delight

Who knew that the diary of a seventeen year old girl could be so thoughtful, funny and deep. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith (who is probably better known for writing One Hundred and One Dalmatians) tells the tale of the artistic, but down-at-heel Mortmain family. The father wrote an acclaimed book many years ago, but since that time, his wife has died and he remarried the exotic Topaz - an artist's model who plainly adores him - and moved to a dilapidated castle on a forty year lease. He has been suffering writers block ever since and becomes increasingly distant from his children - Rose (pretty, but not very practical), Thomas, the youngest child and Cassandra - the middle daughter. It is Cassandra, an aspiring writer herself, who is the voice of this novel, which is set sometime in the 1930's. Now as poor as church mice, having sold anything of value, the family is struggling to feed themselves. Cassandra starts to write a journal to get all her feelings and thoughts out  - even if they are starting to veer towards despair. Then, the Cotton family arrive from the USA. They are the new landlords, but instead of the long-awaited eviction notice for non-payment of rent, this new family takes the Mortmains under their wing. Rose, fed up of being poor, sets her sights at Simon, the eldest brother - whereas Cassandra forms a friendship with Neil, the younger sibling. When Simon asks Rose to marry him, she says yes, trying to convince herself that she really is in love. All looks good until Cassandra falls for Simon herself, and it becomes increasingly obvious that Rose is only in it for the money! Things come to a head on the romance side at the same time as Cassandra and her brother put into action an extremely risky plan to get their father writing again! This might sound like your average romantic novel, but it is not. There is a lightness of touch to the tale and some beautiful descriptive passages of the countryside, the characters and, bizarre as it may seem, living in poverty. It's a great read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the excellent narration of Jenny Agutter in the audio version I invested my time in. More than happy to recommend this book, though I think it is one more for the female half of the population!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 432 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99.
Formats available: Print; abridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.