Book: On Growing Up Tough

Book: On Growing Up Tough
Author: Taylor Caldwell
Year: 1971
Publisher: A Fawcett Crest Book


When writing a novel there is always room for the author’s own opinion especially when the book consists of reflections of their own childhood. But when opinion goes to the point of judgemental and arrogant, it can be a huge turn off for the reader.

You don’t come across a lot of successful writers who are ultra-conservative in their personal beliefs. Many play the role of neutral or lean on the curve of open-mindedness. Taylor Caldwell has little concern for your opinion and she expects you to adhere to her own.

What I believed to be a memoir of the author’s early years turned out to be an opinionated series of hodgepodge chapters pieced together to form incoherent thoughts. After a little research, I realized that the chapters were a series of articles published by Caldwell in the magazine American Opinion. It was lovely that the reader is completely unaware of this before diving into this 160-page novel. What was assumed to be a quick read became a nightly burden to finish.

The front cover is deceiving and definitely follows the old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover.” And don’t because this book has a young woman holding her baby next to her assumed to be husband. In the background is a wooded area and cloth tent. So maybe we will be diving into a pioneering adventure. Well yes you do, but only for a chapter (and probably the most interesting of all the chapters).

She begins her book in England at a young age. She grew up with strict, middle-class parents who taught her tough love from the start. Her life even as a four-year-old is filled with chores and duties. She attends school and begins to receive an English education. Without much explanation, the family uproots to America.

Though the first few chapters seem to follow the pattern of a typical memoir of her early life, I am suspicious right from the start. The first chapter is titled Mrs. Buttons and speaks of her aunt who snips the buttons off coats she is donating to poor. She explains this as a typical liberal way to donate. Meaning that her aunt has never met the poor and assumes that they could surely afford to buy their own buttons.

Now Mrs. Buttons seems like an awful woman who donates on the notion that it is the right thing to do, but doesn’t actually want to deal with these unfortunate people. But please Ms. Caldwell can you explain to me how this has anything to do with liberal views? Your argument is weak and you describe that this was one of the incidents in your childhood that turned you into a dedicated conservative? It just doesn’t make much sense to me.

As a child she comes across as a little deviant. In one example, she fakes a heart condition and a serious fever to go home early from school in a chapter titled The Child-Lovers. Caldwell basically refers to child-lovers as people who don’t follow the traditional views of child raising, education, and discipline and who see children as innocent angels who need to be coddled. She wrote this book in 1971 and died in 1985. In the 1970s teachers were still disciplining children with the strap. One could only imagine how she would feel about teaching methods in the 21st century.

Caldwell believed that all children were as devious as she was and that they still are today. She writes:

“Children have not changed. And they are still wickedly clever. They fervently agree with new doctrine that they are innocent flowers, pure and uncorrupted and piteous, the prey of heartless adults…Discipline is now unknown…The schools are in total chaos (Caldwell, 62).”

She also has strong opinions on children working at a young age. She believes at the age of ten they should be doing work for money for their neighbours. By puberty, they should know that they are no longer children and as young adults they should be working after school to take up all their free time.

She makes the point that this is how she raised her own children. Can this even be called a childhood? Responsibilities are one thing. A part-time job in high school seems acceptable. But a person works their entire adult life and one could develop resentment towards such a parent of this nature. Not to mention, with a world full of creeps, who wants to ship their ten-year-old over to their suspicious neighbour's to do housework.

She also speaks on the roles of men and women and how it is currently ruining American life. These are excerpts from her chapter titled Women’s Lib. She writes:

I told my daughters: Marry men who will not permit you to work after marriage. Marry strong men who will take care of you and cherish you, and not tell you their business, and will refuse your help. I had told them from the very beginning that unless woman is powerfully (and by birth) motivated to the arts and the sciences and the professions, and is deeply gifted and cannot be denied, she should refrain from going out into the market places with mediocre abilities…She must then keep to her resolution: Never again to earn money outside her house. Never again to be a ` partner, shoulder to shoulder with her man.` Never again to be independent.

I have accomplished the one success of my life: I have brought up daughters who have manly and cherishing husbands, who have never wanted to earn money outside their pleasant homes, who have concentrated on the sole and natural business of women. To be good wives and prudent mothers, soothers of the masculine brow, good cooks, pleasant companions, and truly feminine. I wish I`d had a mother just like me (111).

… It`s up to you, in behalf of future generations, to lull them back and to again become superior. Who wants Equality with men? No woman in her right mind. Remember this: The strongest sign of decay of a nation is the feminization of men and the masculinization of women (116).

… The decay and ruin of a nation always has lain in the hands of its women (117).

Does this not seem bizarre to you? At the very least hypocritical coming from a woman who spent much of her life working. I am not referring to her work as a writer either. She also talks about when she worked hard in the factories just to make rent and to put food on the table. Even though writing might not be as strenuous as nine to five jobs, it still consumes a lot of personal time to write books. Time she is suggesting that should be dedicated to her husband’s dinner preparations.

Some of her other chapters include attacking women’s rights, mocking healthcare ethics, and criticizing any government programs. It is not about whether or not Caldwell should have an opinion on these topics, but as the examples show she takes these opinions too far and they are extremely narrow-minded. The reader begins to loose respect for her jaded views of the world and her critical judgments.

Book: A Piece of Cake

Book: A Piece of Cake: A Memoir
Author: Cupcake Brown
Year: 2006
Publisher: Three Rivers Press

I love discovering a new book. Sometimes it is just as interesting as the story itself. Often it is just by accident. My favourite book about the Holocaust was discovered at a bookstore closing for only 50 cents. My favourite trilogy was advertised in a magazine I was reading on the way home from Cedar Point. I also find a lot of good reads in the bargain section at Chapters. Why pay more when you can get it for a great deal?

Sometimes I wonder if I hadn’t walked into that closing sale…
Or if I hadn’t been bored and read that magazine…
Or if I didn’t shop in the bargain section…
Would I have ever discovered any of these books?

I can’t help but think probably not. And this particular book is no different. I was working as student assistant in my university’s athletic building. Mostly I just manned the door, demanding student cards for entry, but this particular day was different.

We were cleaning up after a high school robotics function and I discovered this book under the bleachers. I wasn't hard to miss. Its bright pink, sprinkle cover screamed up at me, A Piece of Cake: A Memoir by Cupcake Brown. I was hesitant. I mean a book about cakes?

I threw it to the side and continued with my cleaning. On break I read the back cover. The words sprang alive. Hustling. Prostitution. Drug Dealing. Gangbanging. Unlike its flashy cover, the novel seemed to be dark and grim. Not a feel good book.

At the bottom, had a picture of a middle-aged lawyer named Cupcake Brown and this was actually her memoir.

I was intrigued. How do you go from gangbanging to being a San Francisco lawyer? I stashed it in my book bag. The robotics competition was long over and there was little chance that the person who had left it would be returning for it.

The novel starts off with a bang. Cupcake finds her mother dead, her father turns out not to be her biological one, and the biological father wants nothing but insurance money so he throws her into foster care along with her brother. The insanity of foster life drives her into a new world of sex, drugs and violence. There is no one left who cares about her so why should she care how she self-destructs?

The story is quite graphic. She gives details into her gang world that she eventually leaves behind. There is also her hard drug use and alcohol. She experiments with cocaine and LSD. She will trade nearly anything for drugs including sex.

The author’s brief bio on the back cover gives the ending away. It is clear that if she becomes a prominent lawyer that she finds a road to recovery. And she does but it isn’t without a lot of struggle and it doesn’t happen overnight. Coming clean to her boss about her drug use is just the beginning. She actually never sees herself as drug addict (many users don't) and she truly believes that she would be able to stop at any time. She doesn’t realize how little she knows about addiction.

She finds counselling in woman named Venita or just V as Cupcake usually refers to her. V is a recovered addict and doesn’t take any of Cupcakes nonsense or excuses. As a former addict, she knows how much bull a recovering addict can come up with and it is because of her firm guidelines that Cupcake begins to see success in her own life.

As the story winds to a close, I can’t believe what great book I found. I pass it along to all my fellow reading friends so they too can be inspired by the story of Cupcake Brown.

This was until I told a co-worker to read it. She just had to burst my bubble and put that seed of doubt in my mind.

She too loved to read and when I suggested the book, she just happened to be reading it. What are the chances? She said it was okay, but said she just wasn’t convinced by it. How could she not love it? And then she reminded me of James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces and how his story brought millions of people together to believe that people could overcome their horrible past when in reality he made most of it up.

And then I couldn’t think of Cupcake’s story in the same light. As someone who isn’t an addict, it would be difficult for me to remember the amount of details she recalls in her story. I could give a good account of it, but it definitely wouldn’t be exact. How did I think someone who was so strung out on drugs at the time would be able to recall all the events she had experienced in her past life? Was this just another case where the person wrote it as "they" remembered it?

I am still unsure of my feelings towards the book. A good read: yes. A true memoir: questionable.

My Summer with Harry Potter

Books:
1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003)
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

Author: J.K. Rowling
Published: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Originally I wasn't sure if I wanted to write a review on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Everyone has read the books and the few who haven't are unlikely to be swayed. But after careful thought, I figured I wanted to share my views on both the books and the movies.

A lot of people have criticized the movies for not staying directly on the storyline, but I have to admit that the movies are what got me interested in the books in the first place.

In my grade six class, after much gushing about the series by the majority of the class, my teacher gave into having our co-op student read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This was spring of 2000 (before the films had been introduced). My first reaction:this book is complete and utter nonsense. I mean I had just turned 12 and you want me to get into a story about a boy who attends a magic school and spends his spare time fighting off mountain trolls and flying on broomsticks in a game referred to as Quidditch. It didn't help that it was being read (in a monotone voice) by an unenthusiastic grade 12 student who couldn't properly pronounce any of the magical lingo. Thank god it was already June and we didn't have to finish reading it.

A year and half later, the movie was set to be released in November and my parents had promised to take my brothers to see it. Though I wasn't a fan, I was not one to turn down a free movie and popcorn. Who knows, maybe it would all make more sense on the big screen. I was hypnotize by it to say the very least. The wizarding world came to life before my eyes and I loved it.

Surprisingly though, it didn't entice me to pick up the second book. I'm not sure why. Maybe I thought I would be disappointed once again by the writing. The following November 2002 released the second movie and though I didn't find it as intriguing as the first, I also wasn't left disappointed.

I decided over the Christmas holidays to read the Prisoner of Azkaban. By the end of my two week break, I was also done with the Goblet of Fire. It was fun reading about characters who were the exact same age as myself at the time. Rowling had the ability to make her characters relate to kids who didn't have magic in their own life. Though they were studying fictional subjects, they still were going through the same stresses of being a teen.

I had to wait until the summer for the 2003 release of the Order of the Phoenix, which came out days before my big swim meet. I sucked it up and waited an extra two weeks before venturing into the fifth book in order not to loose my focus.

At this point the movies were now coming out one and half years apart. The third movie was released in June 2004. With a different director, the third movie cut out a lot of the book, but showed a more artistic view of Hogwarts.



In 2005, the sixth book was released which quickly became one of my favourites. With many twists and surprises throughout the Half-Blood Prince, I wasn't able to put it down and I finished it in days. I ended up re-reading it more slowly through a second time.

When the final book was released in 2007, all the fans were extremely excited. I was excited as well, however I hit a roadblock along the way. I began reading it and got stuck. Stuck at about page 250. I couldn't focus. I couldn't read. I remained stuck for two years. It wasn't just Harry Potter, but all books. I had a reading roadblock until the summer of 2009.

Maybe it was just fear of the end. What was I going to look forward to every few years? I did finally read it and I was relieved by the end results. And it wasn't really over. There were still more movies to be released.

Over the next few years, the movies progressively got better with each release. When I had heard that the final installment was to be released as two films, I was glad that the writer was aiming to stay true to the final chapter of this epic series. I naturally watched all the films before each of the final parts. The new films quickly became favourites.

A few days after watching the final installment, I realized I wasn't really ready for it all to be over. I could watch the movies over and over, but it wasn't the same as reading the details of Rowling's writing. I decided to spend the summer reading books one through seven. The first four books I had only ever read once each and these weren't read in order. While waiting for the fifth book, I read the Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. This time I was going to do it the right way.

I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I might be trying to fill a literary void in my life. All great novels make the readers wish there were more books to come. A continuation of the story. But this wasn't just one book, it was seven and with all the books in the world, was I wasting my time by reading some over again? I'm glad to say I didn't waste my time and one summer I will likely read them all again.



1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Book: Sets up the wizarding world. Hogwarts comes to life and the audience meets a boy who has not realized and could never comprehend his full destiny.

Film: The actors are only young children when they are thrown into their roles. Acting is moderate though well-done for kids who haven't experienced their full emotional range needed for these characters. Director Chris Columbus gives vision to Rowling's world.

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Book: Actually found the book far more interesting than the movie. Begin to learn specific traits in the three main characters.

Film: Found the film to be the worst of all eight films. Actors haven't learned their characters. Professor Lockhart comes across as obnoxious in the film rather than comical as Rowling portrayed him in the novel. Director Chris Columbus has little creativity in the second film. Though many complain some films do not stick enough to the plot, the second film seems to lack any originality.

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Book: It was a personal favourite of mine. First book that really allows the reader to explore outside of the castle and into the entirely magical town of Hogsmeade. There are new teachers such as Professor Lupin and Hagrid that every reader is cheering for. The constant presence of Sirus Black and the Dementors is felt on a continual basis. There seems to be little concern about Voldemort and this book really sets up the fourth in the series.

Film: This film was directed by Alfonso Cuaron and unlike Columbus, he took his creativity almost too far. There were a lot of complaints about this film cutting out too many important scenes from the book (for example they do not include a scene when Sirus Black breaks into the boys' dormitory). This film however shows far more diversity in both the scenes and in the characters' acting and for this Cuaron should be applauded.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Book: This book is almost a two-part story. The first part is the triwizard tournament competition between the three competing schools. The three tasks take up majority of the storyline as Harry competes in a series of challenges far above his wizard knowledge. There is a constant mystery surrounding this novel and we see different characters' viewpoints in this story. The second part of the story is the return of Lord Voldemort. Though they coincide with one another, the author still keeps the stories separate in their own way.

Film: This film was directed by Mike Newell. It was a good film, however the book was so long that much of the story was eliminated in the film in order to fit it in the time frame. In reality, this film could have been made in two movies due to the novel's length. If you hadn't read the book, the movie tends to be confusing for the viewer because of the choppy plot. This film shows the characters becoming teenagers and dealing with typical teen dilemmas such as asking someone to a dance.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Book: In the Order of the Phoenix, we see teenage angst at its best. Harry is a combination of angry, sulky and depressed throughout most of the story and therefore is constantly putting up a wall against his friends. After many people think he is crazy and attention-seeking for his tales of Voldemort, he finds himself very alone throughout the year. He does help form a secret student group called Dumbledore's Army which takes on the new teacher and headmistress, Professor Umbridge.

Film: The rest of the films are all directed by David Yates. The fifth film doesn't portray Harry's pain and feelings of being alone nearly enough. The character of Professor Umbridge steals many of the scenes. Played by Imelda Staunton, she is the useless Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and ears for the Ministry of Magic. She later becomes the Headmistress of Hogwarts and her tyranny is felt throughout the school. It is under the direction of Yates that these films truly hit their stride in my opinion. Until this point, many of the true Potter fans never really felt that the films lived up to the epic novels by Rowling.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Book: As previously mentioned, the Half-Blood Prince was one of my favourite books of the series. This is the first time the author really lets you into the past life of Voldemort. Harry and the reader go back into people's memories of Voldemort and his history. The twists and turns let the reader realize how Voldemort came to power and how there is only really one way to destroy him through Horcruxes (objects that contain small bits of his soul).



Film: The film showed depth in both its direction and characters. We see many different aspects come into play. We learn more about Voldemort's past, but we also see the change in friendships between the characters of Hermione and Ron and between Ginny and Harry. Again there is a lot of teenage drama unfolding throughout the script that keeps things interesting.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Book: This book takes place mainly outside of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are out searching for ways to find and destroy Horcruxes. They spend the first half of of the book in the wilderness of Britain trying to figure out a plan on what little information Dumbledore has left them. Throughout the book their friendships are tested and they often find themselves alone and aggravated. Eventually they find themselves back at Hogwarts because they know that the only way to find all the Horcruxes is to return to the one place where Voldemort felt was his home and naturally this is where the final battle unfolds.

Film 1: The producers did the final book justice by splitting it into two separate films. In order to preserve the books integrity, the first film took place mainly in their forest travels which they searched for Horcruxes. The three main characters find themselves turning on one another out of frustration and searching for any possible lead in desperation. They wind up at the Ministry of Magic, the house of Luna Lovegood, and Harry's birthplace in Godric's Hollow.

Film 2: The final film mainly consists of the long-awaited battle between Voldemort and Harry. Everything comes together when Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to return to Hogwarts to search for a Horcrux that was once a possession of one of the Hogwart's founders. We also learn the truth about the role of Severus Snape and we say goodbye to a lot of good characters because of the battle. It has good triumphing over evil and the film is a great finale to the series.

My Cakes

Drop Flowers with Silver Pearls



Shaggy Mums



Homemade Chocolate Autumn Leaves



Thanksgiving Cake



Birthday Flower Cake



Pink Cupcake



Homemade Chocolate Roses



Rose Cake

Book: A Reliable Wife

Book: A Reliable Wife
Author: Robert Goolrick
Year: 2009
Publisher: Harper Perennial

Robert Goolrick's novel is filled with mystery, suspense, and romance in the early 20th century. Set against a Wisconsin backdrop, the novel begins with Ralph Truitt waiting for his prospective wife at the train station.

The reader is informed that Truitt had placed an ad in newspapers across the country looking for "a reliable wife." Truitt is a local businessman whose fortune and businesses in a small Wisconsin town have managed to fuel the entire local economy.

Truitt, who is looking for a suitable woman, is instantly attracted to a woman who describes herself as "a simple, honest woman." What he never expects is Catherine Land to show up on the train's platform.

Looking nothing like the picture she sent, Catherine is neither simple nor honest. With a vial of poison buried within her suitcase, Catherine has her own agenda in Wisconsin. A quick wedding, a short marriage followed by an unsuspecting death by arsenic for her future Mr. Truitt.

What develops is what neither one could ever have anticipated. There is an accident shortly after Catherine's arrival and Truitt is so close to death that she fears they won't even make it to the alter. After spending long hours attending to his needs, Catherine begins to develop feelings that she never expected.

What was suppose to be a scheme to earn a quick fortune, has taken a turn. With her original plan pending on Truitt's death and her lover waiting back home for the money, Catherine is torn on what to do. She soon learns she too is being used. Truitt's is hoping to utilize her to reunite him with his son.

The shocking twists and turns within the novel will have the reader turning the pages for more. Just when the reader believes they have figured out the plot, Goolrick surprises us again.

Author: Victoria Holt

Known as one of the queens of Gothic Romance, I discovered Victoria Holt in the bargain section at Chapters. I hate to admit that what attracted me at first glance was the cover. Most Holt covers, I have learned now, are a flashback to 1970s paperbacks with trashy covers of Fabio-looking men and melodramatic heroines (please don't let this deter you from reading). This cover, however, was a more modern edition. It was a copy of "The Time of the Hunter's Moon" (1983). It had a mysterious girl and house on the front. I was curious so I picked it up for only $5.00.



Holt was born in 1906 and grew up in England. Her real name was Eleanor Hibbert and Victoria Holt was one of many pen names that she wrote under. Some other names include: Jean Plaidy, Philippa Carr, Eleanor Burford, and Elbur Ford. She wrote mainly historical and Gothic Romance novels.

Many of Holt novels revolve around young English girls who are working in boarding schools or as a governess for a wealthy manor. Many of the story lines are similar. A young 19th century English woman falls for an older man with money and influence. It sounds like we have heard this one before. Jane Austen? Charlotte Bronte? But why mess with something that works? The different element Holt adds is that she reins in the reader with an element of mystery that isn't found in typical classic novels.

My current Victoria Holt novel? "The House of a Thousand Lanterns" (1974). Set in England, as the novel progresses, the reader is drifted to China. A young woman, who is deceived by her husband and left with nothing, finds refuge in her mother's wealthy employer. His love of Chinese artifacts intrigues her to study his work as a merchant. After learning his work, she travels with him to his Eastern home named The House of a Thousand Lanterns located in China. Just the name alone intrigues the main character, Jane. As mysterious as its name, the house holds its own secrets...

Top Five Victoria Holt Novels
1. The Time of the Hunter's Moon (1983)
2. Mistress of Mellyn (1960)
3. The Black Opal (1993)
4. The Shivering Sands (1969)
5. The Secret Woman (1970)

Me

Favourite things? I have so many. I like writing, gardening, baking, cooking, painting, drawing, antiques, swimming, jogging, photography, biking, kayaking, hiking, movies, adventuring, vacationing, fashion, learning, music, and most of all reading (just to name a few).

With my journalism degree done in just over a month, it is time to figure out what to do with my life. I don't envision myself working a typical office job so my goal is to figure out what I'm good at. I'm a bit of a free-spirit and I march to my own drum. I don't feel alone in this path-finding predicament. My entire generation seems to be struggling to find their place in the world.

This blog was designed for me to have an outlet to write. I have always wanted to be a writer, but I can't go get a job at a writing factory. It isn't a practical job straight out of university. A lot of people would love to call themselves a professional writer. Until my future novel tops a bestseller list, I will have to bide my time some other way.

Along with writing, I found a love for reading at an early age. "Reader are leaders" my mom use to say and I remember being so jealous when my older brother learned to read before me. He had an entire box full of flash cards that I was to inherit once I entered grade one.

As I got older, sports, art, film, antiques, history, food, culture, and gardening peaked my interests. This blog is dedicated to everything I love with an emphasis on books. If I were to be a journalist, I would love to write book and movie reviews. The goal of this blog is to hopefully figure out my path in life and have readers find a few good books to read.