A Few Works by Austen

In the last couple weeks I've plowed through three different Jane Austen novels. Rather than post three times, I thought I'd just do a mini review on each of them and give you three for the price of one. Woohoo!

Emma. I'd give this one a solid A. The story is of a young gentlewoman who tries her hand at matchmaking with somewhat disastrous results. Things all end up for the best, of course, but the journey is full of mixups and general mayhem that make for an entertaining read.

Mansfield Park. This earns a B in my book. Its very different from other Austen novels--the tone is more serious and there's a real sense of social commentary that I find absent from a lot of her others. (Well, the others do have social commentary but its carried off in a much lighter manner.) The story is about Fanny Price--a young girl sent to live with her wealthier cousins. Thrown into a world with morals much unlike her own, Fanny must stand fast against the onslaught of the negatives that wealth can bring.

Northanger Abbey is also a B book, though its much different from Mansfield Park. The writing style is different than any other Austen book I have read--even just her approach to telling the story--but its still a good time all around. And short! On another site I read that scholars have called this book Austen's "Gothic parody" and I see where that's coming from. Catharine Moreland is enraptured by Gothic novels and when life seems to throw her into the middle of one...well, read the book and find out how it all goes. Oh, this was also the only Austen book with a character I just hated. I think the reader is supposed to, but STILL. Boo on John Thorpe.

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

I have a weakness for a good fluffy fiction. You know the kind that you will forget pretty quick after you read it, but its super fun while you're in the middle of it? And you're in the middle of it for a very short amount of time because you read the book so fast? You know? You with me? Yeah, those are the kind of books I love.

Jean Ferris' Once Upon a Marigold is a pretty good example. Its a fun young adult novel set in a fantastical world of princesses, trolls, and giants who guard the castle. The action revolves around Chris--a commoner who lives in the forest with his troll foster father--and the girl he is smitten with--Marigold. Marigold, it turns out, is a princess with special powers/curses (depending on how you look at it). Chris figures he has no chance with the girl, but as a friendship develops...so does the fun. Oh, and then Chris finds out the queen is planning on quietly getting rid of Marigold so she, the queen, can rule forever? And the excitement just builds from there!

The story is fun, fast-paced, and original enough to keep you guessing. I laughed out loud at a couple different places--the characters are fabulous!--and barely put the book down until I was finished. Thank goodness for school holidays...

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, quick read that will make you beam! inside and out. Seriously. Its a happy book.

B+