My New Favorite Book! North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

This is one of the only books I have read that the movie is just as good as the book. I watched the movie North and South a couple months ago and today I finished the book. Now I can say I know what my favorite book is! A couple of my friends at school told me about North and South and I thought it was about the Civil War, but then I watched it and it is about the North and South of England.

The story is about a woman named Margaret Hale. She lives a quiet life in the South,

but her father chooses to uproot her family and move to a northern manufacturing town named

Milton. Margaret gets to know both the upper class and the lower class, the masters of the mills and the mill workers. She sees both

their faults and their good characteristics, and sympathizes with them. This story is a lot like Pride

and Prejudice, but I have to admit, it is better. I know, I know, how is that possible?

The reason is that North and South talks about harder circumstances where

the people are more interesting and it is not all about who is going to whose dinner party.

Elizabeth Gaskell wrote this book in this time period, so it is a window into how it really was and a

true account of how life was lived.

I was really shocked at how well they cast all the

characters. You know how it is when you see a movie based on a book, you expect to be

disappointed, but not with this movie. The only draw back at seeing it is that it is four

hours long. It was made into four one-hour-long episodes. This makes it so there is nothing

missing from the book and I dont see how they could have made it any shorter. I fell in love with

the movie because the music, it really catches everything they are trying to say. The setting is

perfect and the costumes amazing!

I

I have read many, many books, and it is really saying something that this is my favorite. I

hope I can spread the word about this book because I am shocked that not that many people

know about it. So read it! and love it like I do!

Two Great Classics

I read the Secret Garden and A Little Princess when I was just a wee thing. I think every one did. But how long has it been since you read it last? I remember going to the library and every time I did not have a book in mind to read I would check out A Little Princess. That was like my soul book and it still is. It is a classic for all ages. Every time I read it I want someone to share it with, so I am sharing it with YOU!

The book A Little Princess, if you did not already know is about a little girl named Sarah Crewe. She is sent to live at an all girls private school where she is pampered and spoiled because she is very rich. He father invests all his money in a Diamond mine that ends up failing. So, Sarah is reduced to being a servant in the school. This little girl is so cute. She is determined to be just as nice as a servant as she was when she was a "princess." This story is so sweet, and just makes you want to be better.

I read the Secret Garden when I was not feeling too great one time. I hate the month of February more then any other month because it is dead and there is no Christmas to cheer it up. I read the Secret Garden in that month, so right when all the snow melted and I could go out side, I went straight to a forgotten patch of weeds in out back yard. A long time ago when we were growing up Val named it the secret garden. Ha ha ironic. So I rescued this little pile of dirt and I went out there every day. I felt the same way the girl in the story, Mary Lennox, feels. She used to be a cranky, angry, little girl but going out side, working with her hands and being in the fresh air really made her happier. I would go out side bare foot and get dirt under my fingernails but I loved it. And I loved my little plants. I could care less that we go a lot of good vegetables form my garden, I just liked watching them grow.

Both these books were written by Frances Hodgson Burnett and they are both little classics. They teach cute little truths in a fun and heart warming way. I recommend them to EVERYONE! not just Little princesses.

The Hunger Games

I was introduced to the Hunger Games by a friend in my ward. She raved about it and told me about it months before I read it. But the second I finished that book I was doing the same thing! Now most of my friends and their friends have read it and the second book Catching Fire.

So why is this book so good? Well it is supper different, nothing has ever been written like this before, and it is exiting. I read this book at a very busy time, but I still stayed up until 2 in the morning reading because there are no stopping places. From chapter one you are hooked until the last page. The second book is just as good.

OK so the plot: It is about a girl who lives in the poorest of 12 districts, in a nation that use to be America. Each year there are two "tributes" a boy and a girl from each district picked at random to be tossed in to an area to fight to the death for the entertainment of the Capital.

That is all I want to say about it. I usually hate book summaries because they give half the book away. and it sounds a lot more violent than it really is.

I suggest buying this book. It is ok to get from the library but it is one you will want to read over and over again, because I can predict you will read it so fast the first time you won't remember any of it.

The latest sensation in new blogs!

Emily gave me this idea to do a new blog! Since I am not going to school I have loads of free time, so my biggest form of entertainment is a book. So I would say I am some kind of expert. Now I am going to blog about books that I love and have read and think are good. If you are looking for a good book to read you can check out this blog. Plus this gives me a way to talk about the books I have read without talking my Mum's ear off. Hope you Enjoy!