Lesa Boutin

Monte Cristo for teens

 

My favorite book, ever, is the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. I've always wanted to share it with kids, but its complicated plot is long, and  not many are willing to hang in there to finish it. So when I saw that Airman, by Eoin Colfor, was being likened to Monte Cristo I knew I had to read it. Fantastic book. I was not disappointed,

In the 1890s,Connor Broekhart is literally born in an air balloon, and without a doubt is destined for greatness. When, at the age of 9, he saves the king's daughter he is greatly favored and knighted for his actions. By the time he is 14 Connor is groomed to be a great man of science, educated by the best. When he realizes, and proclaims, his feelings for the king's daughter, and the feelings are reciprocated, it seems Connor's life is set. But like Edmond Dantes, in Monte Cristo, favor brings enemies. And when Connor stumbles into a plot, and the actual assassination of the king, he is falsely accused of conspiring in the act and sentenced to prison on an inescapable rock island. As Colfer describes life on the prison island you wonder if Connor will be able to survive. On the first day when he's beaten and battered, then dunked in water with feeder mites, you would think it can't get much worse. But when Connor meets Malarkey, a thug hired to beat him daily, and you read the tattoos on the mans chest, a price list of the cost for beatings, stabbings, and mamings, you wonder if he'll make it through another day.

This is a fabulous read if you like swashbuckling, betrayal, poison, and even some humor. I do!

About the video clip below

In 2001 Christopher Paolini came to our small town for a school visit. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go--somebody had to stay behind with the kids who didn't qualify for the visit. But, it didn't take long for the buzz to get around the school. The kids loved! the book. Over time I learned some of the young man's story and I was inspired. Here I was,at 40 something (exact age and weight go to the grave with me) and a coward who was still afraid to even let my friends and family know I was writing a book, and this young man had written and self published one! I believe it was a real boost for me to get over some of my jitters and get busy.

I salute you, Christopher Paolini and hope you not only do book 4 in the Eragon series, but go on to do all that your heart desires.

Christopher Paolini Interview

making a fool of myself over a book

You know it's a good book when reading it in an airport makes you gasp aloud. Or when you're sandwiched in the middle seat of the plane, and you absolutely screech at a scene that evokes mirth and excitement, causing you to pitch forward, hoping the people on either side of you don't think you're a lunatic for reacting to a book like that. I was not at all prepared for this book. I was told it was fantasy, and to a degree it is, but it is sooooo much more.

Andrea is a rebellious princess in a medieval world who longs to be her own person, but her parents demand that she become a lady. Sound like a plot you've heard before? Just wait. When Andrea finds an opening (for lack of a better word) that allows her to leave her world and enter a parallel world, modern day California, she believes this to be the place she belongs. I like the way the author reveals Andrea's experiences as she adjusts her archaic lifestyle to that of the twenty-first century. Andrea is awed by the "cubical rock" called a mall! and amazed at the way clothing hangs ready made for purchase.

Still, this is only the beginning to an action packed adventure. As Andrea inadvertently ends up back in her world, setting off a chain of events that plunge that world into war, a much more complicated story evolves, yielding many unexpected twists and turns. You will not be able to put this one down.   

Read this book!!

 

The inner beast

 This is a twist on the traditional Beauty and the Beast. Kyle Kingsbury is an arrogant, spoiled, rich kid who gets his kicks hurting others. But his latest prank, embarrassing the Goth girl at the dance, lands him in a heap of trouble. Goth girl turns out to be a witch who puts a spell on Kyle, turning him into a beast. Kyle has two years to find true love or remain a beast forever. This a great read (during a snow storm at midnight) and if you care for fairy tales at all, you'll love this one.