It's summer in the Lake District and the four Walker children want to sail across the lake and claim an uninhabited island for their own. After getting permission from their mom and dad, who is over seas and sends OK by telegram, the children set off. They pack all their provisions, including food and tents, and sail to their island. Once camp is set up, they explore and find a evidence that someone has already been on the island. There don't seem to be any other people so they make the place their own.
In a few days, they find out who was previously on the island, when another sail boat goes by with a black pirate flag. It's the two Blackett girls, with their boat Amazon. The two declare a friendly war with each other, with the purpose of fighting the captain of a houseboat who fires his cannons at them.
The imagination of these children entertains them for the week or so they are out on the island. It's the kind of imagination I hope my children will have and the kind of book children would love because of how imaginative it is.
As a grown up, I wished for the ability to sail to my own island, make camp, and just hang out. Help was close by for the kids if they ever needed it and food readily available. Sounds like a dream to me!
This was such a charming book.
First Line: "Roger, aged seven, and no longer the youngest of the family, ran in wide zigzags, to and fro, across the steep field that sloped up from the lake to Holly Howe, the farm where they were staying for part of the summer holidays."
Rating:
(4.5/5)
Isabelle Mauriac is kicked out of school and returns to Paris, to live with her dad, right as the city is fleeing from the horrors of WWII. Isabelle's father sends her away, to the countryside and her sister Vianne. The journey there is almost impossible. There's not enough food, they get shot at, and people are left behind. Isabelle meets Gaetan along the way and they talk about doing more for their country. Gaetan sees Isabelle to her sister's house and leaves her abruptly.
Laurel returns to her childhood home to gather with her younger sisters and brother to prepare as their mom gets sicker and sicker. Laurel keeps thinking back to the day when she was a teenager and she saw a man walk up to her mom, argue a bit and then saw her mom stab the man, killing him. Laurel never questioned it as a child but now that her mom may not be with them much longer, she wants answers. The story splices what Laurel finds with a narrative from her mother during 40s era England, during the Blitz of WWII.
When Luke returns home after burying his wife of sixteen years, Natalie, after she passed away from cancer, he focuses on his three children and keeping a normal life for them. At the front door, he notices a blue envelope with Natalie's handwriting addressed to him. She has written him a letter, from more than a year ago, in the event that she doesn't survive. She reminds Luke that she loves him and didn't want to leave him. Luke clutches to this additional piece of his wife.
I really enjoy Douglas Coupland. I've read many of his novels with Microserfs at the top of my list, followed by Girlfriend in a Coma and All Families are Psychotic. I like the weird characters and even weirder situations they get in to.
Scully moves to Ireland ahead of his expecting wife and child, as they purchased a cottage in Ireland on whim. Scully needs to fix the house up, Jennifer his wife needs to sell their home in Australia. The Irish quickly notice a new person in the area, despite the cottage being rather remote, and Scully makes friends with Pete-the-Post who delivers his mail but also helps him with odd jobs. Pete delivers a telegram informing Scully that Jennifer has sold the house and she's coming with Billie on Sunday.
Xinran is a radio show host that talks about women's issues. This gives her access to women all over China to hear their stories because they trust her and it's easy to open up to her. As China "opens up" following the revolution, women are finally able to speak about their stories. Xinran tells us these women's stories, as it seems that even in the 90s, China still wasn't quite ready for them. These stories include tales of rape and abuse. The Red Guard takes away parents who don't believe in Communism, an earthquake destroys a village, a child keeps a fly as a pet while she's in the hospital. Each story is unique and each has the ability to break your heart.
Drew is a smart, but lazy, American ex-pat living in Turkey. When his friend Kadir asks him to hide something for a day and someone ends up murdered because of it, Drew knows he's stumbled upon something dangerous. With a background in religious studies, Drew finds out that previously undiscovered Dead Sea Scrolls are at stake here. These scrolls are expected to have knowledge in them that would change Christianity, which makes it not too surprising that so many people are after these scrolls and that they are willing to kill for them.
When Ava finds out she's HIV positive, and her hair styling business starts to dry up because those in Atlanta are scared of her, she decides she needs a change of scenery. Ava returns to small town Michigan, where her widowed sister still lives. Joyce is happy to have Ava back, and puts her to work helping with her woman's group, the Sewing Circus. Joyce is trying to educate the women of the small town on how they should be treated, safe sex, child care, and other essential life skills. Of course, not everyone in the town agrees with these teachings and try to throw a wrench in Joyce and Ava's plans.
Zack Lightman is a video game geek. He's spent countless hours honing his craft and has become one of the top ten ranked players of Armada. Then, one day, he sees one of the enemy's fighter planes outside of his school's window. Zack decides he's losing it, just like his father did before he died.