The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

 

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

Nan A. Talese/Doubleday

Published in 2008

ISBN 9780385530842

353 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

APART OF THE GOODREADS 2011 READING CHALLENGE.

2ND REVIEW. 1ST REVIEW IS HERE.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



After Victor Frankenstein goes to London to study at Oxford, he meets Percy Bysshe Shelley. They become fast friends, but with Shelley's radical views, will Victor get an idea that will put him on the road to darkness?

This is the second time I'm reviewing this because I want to. :X Actually, I'm re-doing some (most) of my reviews so that I can make them (hopefully) better. With this one, I will compare it to the original a little bit more.

Anyways, in this retelling of Frankenstein, Peter Ackroyd makes it out so that a fictional character actually knows historically accurate people. I still find that part of this part kind of intriguing, and it also made this book rather interesting than if the author just told it through Victor Frankenstein's and a little bit from his monster's perspective. However, now that I read the original, I don't know what perspective is better since they both were interesting, so they both get equal points in that.

Although how both Mary Shelley and Peter Ackroyd told the story gets equal points, the descriptions and the growth of the characters actually goes to Peter Ackroyd. With Mary Shelley's, it is mostly someone re-telling Frankenstein's story as Frankenstein tells him it, so the growth and descriptions really don't have that much to grow. So, basically, I like how Peter Ackroyd tells it because the way he makes the characters grow appeals to me more than the original. Also, in Ackroyd's version, the person who turned out to be the "monster" was someone Victor Frankenstein knew and maybe even friends with. I found that also very interesting and even gave the monster even more of an identity than Shelley's version. The characters are also completely different in Ackroyd's version. It has the same thing happen to a character in each book, but the circumstance and character are off. I also like how Ackroyd did his version in that aspect as well since it had a little bit more depth and development than the original.

Let's see, some other things that are different, but I wish Ackroyd put in his version. In Mary Shelley's version, I actually felt like crying and feeling pity towards both Frankenstein and his monster. However, with Ackroyd's version, it had less emotion. Also, the ending is more disappointing and confusing than the original. The ending in the original is more emotional and appeals more to me.

Now that I had a chance to read the original, I think it would have been better if some of the original's aspects, like some of the emotion, was in this book. So, I rated it a four stars this time because, despite the original re-telling thing, I like the emotion and ending of the original Frankenstein more.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Peter Ackroyd
Goodreads: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd
Library Thing: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd
New York Times Book Review: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein
A Study of Reading Habits: Peter Ackroyd - The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein
Everything of Something: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill

 

Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill

Balzer + Bray (Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)

Published in 2010

ISBN 9780061853289

408 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Hardcover)
Barnes & Noble (Hardcover)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

2 out of 5



In the village of Salem, during the 1690's, several young women accuse many people of being witches -- which is now known as the Salem Witch Trials. In Wicked Girls, this book is told from the perspective from the lead girls: Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, and Margaret Walcott. Each having their own reason for doing so, they have to decide whether or not it is too late to tell the truth.

I really don't know what to say about this book without revealing too much about the book and spoiling it. However, like with most historical fiction books, if you know the history and the book is completely based on it, you already know how it will end. :( Well, that's how it is with this novel, but it is still kind of interesting. ;) I'll just compare this novel with the one I read back in high school. :|

Compared to The Crucible by Arthur Miller, which is a play and considered "non-fiction", Wicked Girls is told by three of the girls and is a fiction novel. Also, the person who leads the group of girls is different, it's Abigail Williams in The Crucible, and in Wicked Girls, Ann Putnam Jr. starts it, but it ends with Mercy Lewis leading them. There is also a difference in who seem to pity in them, in Wicked Girls, you pity the girls, and in The Crucible, you pity the people the girls accuse. I don't remember, but you also see a new side to how the girls are treated after they put an end to the accusing. In The Crucible, I don't think the author ends the accusing in the actual play part. Also, I think you don't even meet Isaac Farraer, the guy that Margaret Walcott marries, in The Crucible. As you can tell from the comparisons, there are some very distinct differences between books, even though they have the same topic.

Personally, I didn't really like this book, but I like the idea behind the book. However, it felt like something was missing from the book -- it could have used more substance, action, and plot. The way it was left and how it was written made it feel like one of the Dear America books, but lacked the descriptions and substance the Dear America books have. I definitely would have liked it even more if it expanded it with more description and substance to it. >.>" Oh, by the way, I finished this book in one day, that's how short, unfulfilled, and (a little) interesting it feels like. Also, it felt more like a junior fiction book, like how the Dear America books are, than a young adult book, despite having a little sex scene in it. >.< However, that scene didn't go that into detail, so you don't have to worry about it too much. ^^ I also hated how it was in verse format. Don't know why, but I just didn't like it. ^^;

The idea is worth reading, but the lack of descriptions, details, and action makes it feel too incomplete and short. >.>" Read at your own risk. ^^; It would have been rated an one if it weren't for the idea behind the book, but no higher than a two because the author failed to pull it off with the lack of the things I mentioned

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Stephanie Hemphill
Goodreads: Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Library Thing: Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Book Envy: Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Simply Books: Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
My Reading Room: Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Book Whisperer: Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Dog-eared and Well-read: Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

 

The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

Nan A. Talese/Doubleday

Published in 2008

ISBN 9780385530842

353 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

5 out of 5



When Victor Frankenstein goes to London to study at Oxford, he meets Percy Bysse Shelley, and they form a friendship. Will this radical thinker change Victor's musings into creating life. If he succeeds this madness, what will befall him and those around him?

In this retelling of Frankenstein, Peter Ackroyd makes it out so that Victor Frankenstein, a fictional character, actually knows Percy Bysshe Shelley, Godwin, Lord Byron, John Polidori, and even Mary Shelley, historically accurate people. I find that part of this part kind of intriguing, and it also made this book rather interesting than if the author just told it through Victor Frankenstein's and a little bit from his monster's perspective.

The description and characters' personality were all wonderful, but whether it is from solely from this author, borrowed from Mary Shelley, or a combination of his and Mary Shelley's works, I wouldn't know. Reading this retelling has made me want to read the original writing of the novel, so I can compare and see how much is his and how much is from the original. Also, the person who turned out to be the "monster" was someone Victor Frankenstein knew and maybe even friends with. I found that also very interesting and even gave the monster even more of an identity.

Let's see, I don't really know what I didn't like about the book, but the ending may be a little disappointing and unfulfilled for some (most) people. To me, the ending is only a little disappointing and unfinished, but the ending is still a little bit intriguing. Also, I think the ending of this book differs from the original. I'm not sure. :|

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Peter Ackroyd
Goodreads: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd
Library Thing: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd
New York Times Book Review: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein
A Study of Reading Habits: Peter Ackroyd - The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein
Everything of Something: The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein by Peter Ackroyd

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

 

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Multnomah Publishers

Published in 1997

ISBN 1576738167

479 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.
I OWN A SINGLE COPY.
BOUGHT THROUGH AMAZON.COM.

Review/Rating:

5 out of 5



As a prostitute, the only way Angel can stay sane and survive is by keeping what she hates the most always in her mind, never forgetting it for a second. What she hates the most are men who only use her, and she always thought men are all the same, that is, until Michael Hosea. One day, when Michael saw her walking, God told him to marry Angel, and so he goes to convince her. It takes several visits to convince her and break what she thinks of men, but when Michael is about to give up, an accident causes them to live together. After they arrive at his house, he is faced with a new challenge: Convincing Angel that he really actually does love her. Though, whenever someone thaws her frozen heart, she runs away out of fear. What will it take for Angel to stay and love Michael? Well that depends on if she can face the one thing she always tries to run away from.

I don't normally read Christian fiction, but the summary of the book is what drew me to it --- not the fact it was about religion or had religion aspects in the book. I don't really like Christian fiction due to the fact that normally it is too much religion and not enough plot put into the book --- this book doesn't do that. :)

This book is really inspirational and heart-warming; I was pretty much trying not to cry throughout half of the book. ;) Even though it is a retelling of a biblical story, this book was so good that I couldn't put it down --- I read it in less than 2 days. I love the descriptions she uses (and the author uses a lot of them). :) This book left me thinking of several things that other Christian fiction books don't let me think about --- other Christian books shove religion down your throat. :( Another thing I like about this book, despite being Christian fiction and about God, it doesn't really shove it down your throat --- it has a plot that really gets to people and lets them think about things instead. Though, personally, I was reading it for the romance part of the book. :P And the ending of the book is pretty good --- not really rushed and there's an epilogue chapter to find out what happens to them in the end. :)

I'm not going to post anymore than that because, well, you should really read it. :) Just one more thing, I wouldn't read this if you are immature in thinking, since there are sensitive and serious issues in the book. :)

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Francine Rivers
Goodreads: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Library Thing: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Average Girl Reads: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Tina's Book Reviews: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers