Title:

Author: Daphne du Maurier

Published: 1938

Summary: The story concerns a woman who marries an English nobleman and returns with him to Manderley, his country estate. There, she finds herself haunted by reminders of his first wife, Rebecca, who died in a boating accident less than a year earlier. In this case, the haunting is psychological, not physical: Rebecca does not appear as a ghost, but her spirit affects nearly everything that takes place at Manderley. The narrator, whose name is never divulged, is left with a growing sense of distrust toward those who loved Rebecca, wondering just how much they resent her for taking Rebecca’s place. In the final chapters, the book turns into a detective story, as the principal characters try to reveal or conceal what really happened on the night Rebecca died.

Rating: 8.5/10

I have to admit – I’m always hesitant before I read books that have been dubbed classics. Some of them, like Jane Eyre, prove to be rather disappointing, while others, such as 1984 or Anna Karenina live up to their hype. Thankfully, Rebecca belongs to the latter category.

I won’t get into too much detail regarding the plot as there might be someone who stumbles across this with the intention of reading this book in the future. The title refers to the first wife of Mr. Maxime de Winter, whom the narrator and heroine of the novel meets and marries during the story.  While the narrator is timid and introverted, Rebecca is notorious for having been the life of the party, a woman who was loved by all. Her struggle with this feeling of inferiority is only heightened by the fact that her name is never given, despite the fact that the story is told in the first person perspective.

This doesn’t happen very often for me, but I truly did not see the ending coming. It was obvious from the first few chapters of the book the nature in which Rebecca died, but the details surrounding her death were quite a surprise to me. As was Maxime’s confession his wife about the true nature of his feelings regarding Rebecca.

All in all, this book was a really interesting read, with some great characters. Little by little, the reader discovers the mystery and secrets surrounding Manderley, as well as the reality about the nature of the first Mrs. De Winter and the night that she met her end.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Author: Jodi Picoult

Summary: In Sterling, New Hampshire, 17-year-old high school student Peter Houghton has endured years of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates. His best friend, Josie Cormier, succumbed to peer pressure and now hangs out with the popular crowd that often instigates the harassment. One final incident of bullying sends Peter over the edge and leads him to commit an act of violence that forever changes the lives of Sterling’s residents. Even those who were not inside the school that morning find their lives in an upheaval, including Alex Cormier. The superior court judge assigned to the Houghton case, Alex—whose daughter, Josie, witnessed the events that unfolded—must decide whether or not to step down. She’s torn between presiding over the biggest case of her career and knowing that doing so will cause an even wider chasm in her relationship with her emotionally fragile daughter. Josie, meanwhile, claims she can’t remember what happened in the last fatal minutes of Peter’s rampage. Or can she? And Peter’s parents, Lacy and Lewis Houghton, ceaselessly examine the past to see what they might have said or done to compel their son to such extremes.

Favorite Character(s): Peter Houghton, Josie Cormier, Jordan McAfee, Patrick DuCharme

Least Favorite Character(s): Matt Royston, Joey Houghton, Lewis Houghton, Courtney Ignatio

I don’t think I have ever found myself as emotionally affected or invested in a book before. I read this 500 page book in less than 18 hours – I carried it with me everywhere, and even read in class when the teacher wasn’t looking (bad, I know). I wasn’t able to put it down. I’ve read My Sister’s Keeper before from Jodi Picoult, so I knew that she was a good writer, but this book completely floored me.

The amazing part of this book is that you began reading it with the expectation that you are going to be rooting the whole time for the killer to be put safely behind bars – to somehow suffer. Instead, you find yourself sympathizing with everyone. You find out that Peter underwent the most horrible childhood, that he suffered everyday of his life and that no one ever tried to help him no matter how many times he called out for it. You discover that some of the very people he killed tortured him in some unforgivable ways, and were actually horrible people. And even though I never condoned his actions, I found myself sympathizing with him. I actually started to think that in some ways the way they treated him were actually crueler than him having pulled the trigger. Peter was my favorite character for the very fact that he was sensitive and kind – when he was given the chance to escape his bullying cycle by bullying someone else, he didn’t take the opportunity. He was a good person who snapped – you find yourself hating what he did, but you never really hate him for who he was. Like the say, hate the game, not the player.

I really enjoyed Josie’s character as well, even though some of the things she did to Peter in order to become popular annoyed me. Josie is an example of how its’ possible to still suffer at the hands of this popular crowd even when you are in their circle. She didn’t fit in with them, she wasn’t like them, but she morphed herself into something she wasn’t in order for them to accept her, and she was constantly afraid that they’d find out about this facade of hers. Her relationship with Matt drove me crazy, that she would allow herself to be abused in that way just to be popular and fit in (Well, at least he got his in the final couple of chapters – her hatred for him was made quite clear). She and Peter had a lot in common that she wasn’t able to see because she was so scared of ending up like him – everyone’s target. It’s sad that if Josie had remained Peter’s friend, some of the things he ended up doing would have never happened.

This book was truly amazing, and I still can’t stop thinking about it. I was actually at an Easter get-together where I saw one girl bullying a cousin of mine, and I instantly thought of this book and put her in her place. It made me think of my own school, where nothing was ever done to stop a bully. It’s sad that no one ever takes a stand for kids like Peter, and they’re left to take things into their own hands, which can sometimes have devastating consequences. After all, how far can a person be pushed until they snap and push back? Like I said, I don’t think what Peter did was right, but it was made clear in this book that sometimes there’s a fine line between victim and bully.

I haven’t said much about the adults in this book, but my favorite had to be the defense lawyer, Jordan. I’m going to have to and read the other book of Jodi’s that he was in. Patrick was also a great character, and I especially like the scene where he first gets the call about the shooting and rushes in and brings out Josie. I found Alex to be a decent character, but her interactions with her daughter were pretty pathetic – she annoyed me quite a bit with some of the things she told or did to Josie. Peter’s mother was the saddest character in this novel for me. She seemed like such a nice and pleasant person, and she ended up with a bully of a son who died in a car crash, and a depressed son who was targeted so much at school until he snapped and went on a shooting rampage. She described herself at some point in the novel as not being able to remember herself outside of being a mother, but by the end of the book she’s left childless. Her only fault was that she and her husband ignored Peter’s cry for helps – they really should of changed his school, or at least admitted that it was a problem in need of a solution, instead of telling him to “toughen up”.

Favorite Moment(s): Josie’s confession, the elevator scene, the scenes from Josie and Peter’s childhood which showed the tenderness of their relationship, when Patrick tells off Drew, when Lacy and Alex see each other for the first time in the courthouse, and some more that I can’t think of.

Rating: 9.5/10

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Published in: 1877

Summary: Anna Karenina has two plots that run side by side throughout the novel: the story of Anna and the story of Levin. Levin’s story is an expression of Tolstoy’s pastoral nature and a reaffirmation of the novelist’s vision of the simple life. The beauty of the seasons and the pragmatic work of harvesting absorb Levin. Levin’s relationship to the land and life is contrasted with Anna’s enigmatic and destructive passions. Anna’s appearance in the novel represents a rift in the tranquil world which allows physical passion and irrationality to prevail.

Favorite Character(s): Princess Darya “Dolly” Alexandrovna Oblonsky, Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky, Princess Ekaterina “Kitty” Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky, Anna Arkadyevna Karenina

Least Favorite Character(s): Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky, Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, Countess Lidia Ivanovna

What I Liked (Spoilers): Although I disliked both of Anna’s suitors, I enjoyed the tumultuous relationship that she had with Vronsky and the conflict that she experienced with her husband as a consequence of her affair. I enjoyed any scenes that included Anna or either of the Scherbatsky sisters. For me, the most memorables scenes are when Anna sneaks into her old home to visit her son when Levin and Kitty become engaged, when Kitty develops a relationship with Nikolai, when Kitty gives birth to her son, and obviously at the end when Anna throws herself under the moving train. Anna’s gradual self-destruction and depression also moved me greatly, since I was able to relate to some of her thought patterns and behavior.

What I disliked (Spoilers): There were many scenes with Levin that bored me to death, even though I enjoyed him as a character for the most part. I enjoyed the scenes that regarded his relationship with his brother and Kitty, but I could not stand all the scenes about the happenings on the farm. I also felt that certain passages were there for absolutely no reason and contributed nothing to the plot or the characters’ development.  The scenes with Alexei Karenin after Anna leaves with Vronsky angered me, but I think that’s mostly because I had such a strong dislike for the character. It also saddened me whenever Anna realized that she did not truly love her daughter, and yearned for her beloved son. Also, although I loved Kitty as a character, her juvenile infatuation with Vronsky that caused her to accept Levin’s genuine proposal almost made me throw the book across the room in frustration.

My favorite moment (Major Spoilers): I mentioned a bunch of them in the “What I liked” section, but my favorite part of the whole book is the last couple chapters of Anna’s life. Her paranoia regarding Vronsky’s love of her and her constant self-depricating thoughts cause her lead herself to her death, and at the last moment she panics and wishes that she could take back her jump.  It was gut-wrenching to read the last paragraph of that chapter when she realizes at the last moment that she wants to live, and as she feels the train crush her she begs the universes for forgiveness for her actions.

Lasting Impressions: I plan to read War&Peace, but not for awhile. Anna Karenina was an excellent novel, but it took me a very long time to read because of its length. I enjoy Tolstoy’s writing, but I’m going to stick to shorter books for now (I am currently reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller).

Rating: 9/10