It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (11)

Alas, the start of another week. But happy Monday anyways!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey in which we bloggers share what we have read in the past week, and what we're currently tearing through this week.

Last Week I Read:

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

Currently I'm Reading:

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

GENRE

Y.A. Historical Fiction (349 pgs.)

SYNOPSIS

When Ruby Jacinski meets bad boy Paulie Suelze at a dance, it's not just their perfect kiss that has Ruby spinning when the night is over. Paulie gives Ruby and idea--one that just might rescue her from dull factory work. Jobs are scarce in 1940s Chicago, but Paulie tells Ruby about a place where she can work as a taxi dancer--a girl paid ten cents a dance to lead lonely men around the floor. It's an intoxicating world of dance halls, fancy dresses, and jazz--and Ruby thinks she's finally found a way out of the tenements. But it's not all romance and glamour, and soon Ruby is in over her head. Her regular patrons want more than just a dance, she's struggling to keep her job a secret from her family, and Paulie has stolen her heart... even though she's still not sure she has his.

MY REVIEW

When I first stumbled upon this book at Borders, I knew I was going to take it home right that minute. Key word: 1940s. I live and breath the 1940s! I love the music, the fashion, the life... basically everything. So just off the bat I have to say kudos to Christine Fletcher for thinking outside the box and writing a Y.A. novel about the 1940s.

Our main character Ruby is more of a diamond in the rough type. She's decent and good on the inside, but the situations she finds herself in and the choices she makes aren't all that great. For example, her boy Paulie is introduced to us as a bad guy. When Paulie shows up, everyone knows who's boss. He's been kicked out of the army and is just a pretty sketchy figure in general. But still, Ruby hangs on to him. Even then she has the nerve to act surprised when SPOILER she finds out that Paulie has shot someone, stole his moeny and his car? END SPOILER Really? I could've seen that coming a mile away. But I guess that's the beauty of being 16 and "in love"... lessons must be learned.

The character I really, REALLY liked was Peggy DeGroot. Even just from Peggy's description:

"She looked about twenty, with the most perfect waves in her reddish brown hair... She had a crooked tooth in front, pushing a little ahead of the others. Freckles and clear hazel eyes.

'Ruby Jacinski.' I shook her hand. 'I love your nails.'

They were long and rounded, painted carmine red with the moons left bare" (38-39).

When I was reading that I thought to myself, "That's me." It was like Christine Fletcher was describing me. Even down to the freckles and the nails! Even that coincidence aside, Peggy is the most admirable character in this novel. She isn't afraid to tell it like it is, and she puts her heart into everything she does.

The history in this book was absolutely fantastic! Christine Fletcher did such an amazing job with researching every little detail about Chicago in the 40s. The only problem is I wish I was there!

The only thing that could've been better about this book was the writing. I felt like I really had to get into Ruby's character in order to sympathize with her. Also, some plot events in the novel seemed too good to be true... it seemed like some stuff that happened in the book wouldn't happen in real life. But I guess that's fiction for you.

All in all, a good read, especially for someone like me who adores the 40s!

MY RATING

4****

Follow Friday (4)

Happy Friday everyone! The weekend is finally here, and it couldn't have come a moment too soon.


To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Host { Parajunkee.com } and any one else you want to follow on the list
Follow our Featured Bloggers - http://baileysbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing.
Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments
Follow Follow Follow as many as you can
If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!
If your new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (10)

Happy Monday everyone! It just so happens to be my tenth "It's Monday!"

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey in which we bloggers share what we have read in the past week, and what we're currently tearing through this week.

Last Week I Read:

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Currently I'm Reading:

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher

Book Haul: Borders

Greetings and happy Sunday everyone! I had the fortunate chance to stop by Borders today. No, I didn't come back with a huge haul, but it's enough to make me happy... for now. Here's a sneak peak at my two new titles...

Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher (Genre: Y.A. Historical Fiction)

With her mother ill, it's up to fifteen-year-old Ruby Jacinski to support her family. But in the 1940s, the only opportunities open to a Polish-American girl from Chicago's poor Yards is a job in one of the meat-packing plants. Through a chance meeting with a local tough, Ruby lands a job as a taxi dancer—a girl paid ten cents to dance with any man—and soon becomes an expert in the art of "fishing" as she works her patrons for meals, clothes, even jewelry. Drawn ever deeper into the world of dance halls, jazz, and the mob, Ruby gradually realizes that the only one who can save her is herself.


The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Genre: Fiction / Classic Literature)

A dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years. Taking the reader in and out of London drawing rooms, to the heights of aestheticism, and to the depths of decadence, The Picture of Dorian Gray is not only a melodrama about moral corruption.

Friday is for Fairytales (4)

Friday is for Fairytales is a meme hosted by Irena at This Miss Loves to Read. Every Friday, you can choose a fairytale you love, or simply find interesting or haunting, and review it or simply say why you like it so much, or why it has captured your attention. Instead of a fairytale, you can choose a favourite fairytale character and describe him/her and tell us why you like them, or you can simply share an experience connected to a fairytale. Fairytales can be old and modern, written by a known author or anonymous, written down or passed on orally, short or in novel form (like re-writings of fairytales), international or typical for your country alone. In this case, present your country’s fairytale and we can all become acquainted with a new fairytale. So, make a post every Friday that is connected to the world of fairytales, be it a review, a character description or your own fairytale experience. Let’s celebrate fairytales and share our love for them.

MY POST IS ABOUT: Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault

Sleeping Beauty, for me, represents all that a classic fairy tale should be. You've got the good side, and you've got the powerful evil side. You've got a beautiful, lovely princess, and you've got a handsome prince charming. Plus, a clever story to boot. What else could you ask for?

Sleeping Beauty, I have come to discover, is not your typical fairy tale princess. I mean, she's no Belle or anything, but she faces alot of challenges of her own. How would you feel if you knew that on your 16th birthday you were cursed to either fall asleep for a hundred years or die? I think the Disney version of this movie REALLY emphasizes all of the distress that Sleeping Beauty goes through, which is quite a lot.

There's nothing like a handsome prince charming fighting dragons and evil witches to come and rescue you. I think that this story is so romantic. The Prince and Sleeping Beauty are destined to be together, and no magic, evil or good, can get in the way of that.

This has been one of my favorites since I was a small child. I always used to love to pretend that I was Sleeping Beauty, lying peacefully sleeping, just waiting for my prince charming to come and sweep me off my feet.

Book Blogger Hop (3)

Time for another hop!! Hosted by the wonderful Crazy-For-Books.

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!

This week's question/topic comes from:

Anne @ My Head Is Full of Books

Post a link to a favorite post or book review you have written in the past 3 months.

I decided to post a link to a review that I wrote actually just two days ago. This book review was for The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This was one of my favorites/the most special because this book was such a journey for me, and to finish and review it was really an accomplishment.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley