scotland – INGRID E FABER

Little Bird Flies (book review)

Posted on April 23, 2020May 9, 2022 by iefaber

by Karen McCombie
Historical Fiction – Middle Grade (book 1)

My Synopsis:

12-year-old Bridie lives with her family on a remote island of Scotland in 1861. As much as she loves her island, her family, and her best friend, she fears being “stuck” on the island forever. She’d never admit this to her hardworking family or anyone else for that matter, but when change comes to the island in a bad way, they are all forced to think about options beyond their island home. It’s not exactly the adventure Bridie had hoped for but she must face life’s challenges and make the best of some very difficult situations.

Why I Picked This Book:

This was a no-brainer for me. I love middle-grade books, I love historical fiction, and I love Scotland. I bought this before I traveled to Scotland last year as something to have upon my return to sort of “keep me in Scotland”.

What Was Disappointing:

Me. I was disappointing. I have such a difficult time committing to books, it’s in almost every book review I write; “slow start”. I know it’s me, but I also know I can’t be the only person out there to have a form of ADD, possible dyslexia, and/or simply be bogged down with so much in life that concentration is difficult. So yes, this book had a very slow start for me. So much so that I’ve started and stopped reading it more times than I’d like to admit. I guess the first chapter didn’t draw me in enough. It was a bit too much internal dialogue from a character I didn’t know enough about or care about yet. But by all means, DO NOT let that stop you if you are a reader like me who struggles with getting attached to books. I IMPLORE you to continue reading!

Why I Kept Reading:

I can’t say I kept reading because the adventure kicked in and the paced quickened. I mean, it picks up and I sped read through the entire second half, but this is definitly more of a “quiet” book. What made me keep reading was how the writer made me fall in love. I fell in love with the island, with Bridie, and fell deeply into the entire isle setting of 1861. Karen McCombie is a time travler and made me one too. She made me fall in love with Bridie’s home as much as her characters did. I became and islander. I was one of them. I was there. When a writer can make me love a character, that’s always great. But when a writer can make me love a place, that’s amazing to me. So when that place is threatened by the new Laird of the island, I was absolutley emotionally invested.

Take Away:

Admittingly, I don’t believe my younger self would have read this book. It’s a slow book along the lines of “The Secret Garden” or even “Treasure Island”. Stories I loved as a child in movie versions, but could not hold still long enough to read them. There were points in my reading that I thought “how is this a kid’s book?” but had to remember loads of kids (my sister and all four of her children included) who read ferociously without any troubles at all. And beyond taking one to 1861 island life in Scotland, this book deals with family, death, being ‘different’, responsibilities, cultural barriers, class wars, and of course, history. And all of this is brought to you from a 12-year-old girl’s perspective as she deals with her own grief, guilt, and hopes as she watches her world change in ways she never could imagine. She’s a powerful young character that would do anyone well to get to know.

Final Thoughts:

This book was such a nice surprise. I thought it would be interesting, I didn’t know it would grip me in such a way that I would be crying a bit while writing it’s review. Good tears and sad tears, because that’s just how life is right? The writing in this book does everything I hope to acheive as a writer. Yes, I finished this book last week or so and I am STILL emotional over it. Every synopsis I have read makes it seem as though there isn’t much to it: She lives and an island and you know she gets off because there’s already a sequel that takes place in America so really, what’s left to find out? Do not deprive yourself of reading about Bridie’s adventures. Even if you start slow like me, dive deep into this story because it has much to tell.

Post-Script:

To the author – thank you for Patch the dog!

Book Review: Women Of the Dunes

Posted on January 15, 2020May 9, 2022 by iefaber

By Sarah Maine

Historical Fiction / Cultural; Scotland

MY SYNOPSIS:

Libby Snow is an archeologist with a passion for a Viking legend her grandmother passed onto her from her grandmother. When work takes her to Scotland to excavate a site believed to hold a body tied to the Viking legend, Libby is excited to unfold the truth. Instead, she finds a Victorian age body from what appears to be a crime scene that may have actually involved her great-great-grandmother or someone who knew her.

The legend, the crime, and Libby’s family history are all tied together in a terrible knot. She tries to untangle her own family mystery, but she is also dealing with the family on whose estate this excavation & crime has taken place. Their dark secrets are blocking Libby from unveiling the truth of both the legend and of her family.

WHY I PICKED THIS BOOK:

I was preparing for a trip to Scotland and brought two books with me: ‘Kidnapped’ by Robert Louis Stevenson, and this book. The idea was to stay in Scotland even as I read, and should I not finish the books by the time I returned, I’d still be in Scotland via the book. Also, I really enjoy historical fiction and certainly love a decent crime novel. This had a lot of my favorite things all tied into one.

WHAT WAS DISAPPOINTING:

My typical complaint; it was too slow to start. I remember saying to my sister one night in our lovely B&B in the highlands, “I don’t know if I’m going to finish this book. It’s just not going anywhere and I’m feeling a lame romance coming on.” Not to mention it took a while for the story to even get to Scotland. I very rarely am quick to take to a book so this is nothing new for me, but I really did think I was going to stop reading this one. I just didn’t care about Libby or her curiosities. Also, as the story shifted from one age to another telling one of three stories, I (with my short attention span) had a bit of a time keeping up and becoming emotionally attached at all. If I hadn’t been on vacation in lovely B&B’s every night I may not have continued – boy am I glad I did!

WHY I KEPT READING:

The body. Obviously I can’t give anything away, but there is a point when what I thought was going to turn into a lame romance turns into an interesting crime novel (and more). Plus Libby finally got to Scotland. There were more characters, more secrets, I was more emotionally invested, and just like that, I couldn’t put it down. The back and forth between the three stories became more interesting to me as they slowly revealed their connections to each other.

TAKE AWAY:

This is a beautiful novel that not only takes you to Scotland, but it also explores a lot about family more so than it does history. There is mystery and action and plenty of odd twists and turns that kept me involved with so many of the characters. The relationships here are so real, the setting so vivid, Sarah Maine does a fantastic job putting you right there with the other characters to feel their hopes and fears. You finish the story and end up missing their home, their faces, even their voices. Fantastic writing that has me wanting more of this writer’s work.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I finished this book back here at home in Philadelphia but it was a great way to stay overseas just a bit longer. This book, regardless of what seemed like a slow start for me, kept me in a place for a long time. I visualize the island and the house in my mind more like a memory of somewhere I have been rather than as a fictitious place I read about. I highly recommend this book to lovers of travel, mystery, and family dynamics.

POSTSCRIPT:

I just want to have a cup of tea in that kitchen please.

TBR list

Goodreads Monday – “The Art Of Dying”

Posted on January 6, 2020January 1, 2020 by iefaber

Goodreads Monday is a great way to talk about a book from your TBR list. Originally started by Lauren’s Page Turners, most people do these weekly, (such as Confessions of a YA Reader who partakes in several fun blog themes) I prefer to do mine monthly and this month I choose the second book of a two-part series.

“The Art of Dying” caught my attention simply with the title. As Tyler Durden says in “Fight Club” ;

“In the Tibetan philosophy, Sylvia Plath sense of the word I know we’re all dying.”

I quite agree and with that, this title took my fancy.

Rather than being about philosophical principles, this story is a historical crime novel. A historical crime novel that takes place in Edinburg Scotland. So many of my favorite things rolled into one.

I hunted down the first book (“The Way Of All Flesh” ) which I completed over the holiday break. Without giving a full review on that book, suffice it to say I now want to read its sequel. Here is its blurb from GoodReads:

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry

Edinburgh, 1850. Despite being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr. James Simpson – a whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances.

Simpson’s protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher are determined to clear their patron’s name. But with Raven battling against the dark side of his own nature, and Sarah endeavoring to expand her own medical knowledge beyond what society deems acceptable for a woman, the pair struggle to understand the cause of the deaths.

Will and Sarah must unite and plunge into Edinburgh’s deadliest streets to clear Simpson’s name. But soon they discover that the true cause of these deaths has evaded suspicion purely because it is so unthinkable.

Living Life, Random Thoughts

New Year’s Eve

Posted on December 30, 2019May 9, 2022 by iefaber

This post is from last year. For reasons I will not go into, I have not been actively reading or writing any blogs. But I’ve updated this site and wanted to repost this particular entry from last year. I hope you enjoy.

Today is the eve of a new year. We, together, say goodbye to the previous 12 months we have decidedly named one year. We measure time in years, months, hours, minutes and less. How do we measure that time spent? Is there a way to measure your moments, your events, your worth? Some will say that it’s just another year and there is no difference for them. This is understandable, yet something has changed somewhere and we must all admit this fact. Continue reading “New Year’s Eve” →

TBR list

Goodreads Monday

Posted on May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 by iefaber

I reactivated my Goodreads account yesterday so I figured I’d chime in on this post I always see on Confessions of a YA Reader’s blog. However, as she mentions, Goodreads Monday is hosted by Lauren’s Page Turners. So cheers to both of these fantastic bloggers.

Goodreads Monday is a way to talk about a book from your TBR list and just kind of show it off. As I mentioned, I just yesterday reactivated my Goodreads account so it’s a bit sparse at the moment, but I really needed a way to keep a list of all the books I wish to read one day. The book I’m showing off today is one I heard of this morning on Twitter.

Repro_LittleBirdFlies_cvr.indd Little Bird Flies by Karen McCombie.

Bridie lives on the remote Scottish island of Torrnish, the youngest of three sisters. Although she loves her island, with its wild seas and big skies, she guiltily nurses a secret dream of flight – to America and the freedom of the New World.

But her family are struggling under the spiteful oppression of the new Laird, and it seems that even some of the Laird’s own household are desperate to leave. When the Laird’s full cruelty becomes apparent, there’s no more time for daydreams as Bridie needs to help the people she loves escape to safety.

The first in a gripping, dramatic new series from much-loved author, Karen McCombie.

I love historical fiction and I love middle-grade books so this is a must. Not only that, three of my grandparents are from Scotland AND I have a trip planned there this year. This book has to be pushed up to the top of my list. It doesn’t seem to be in any of the libraries close to me so I may have to purchase it instead and add it to my real bookshelf.

That’s it! That is Goodreads Monday!