At First Sight ~ Nicholas Sparks

At First Sight is the sequel to True Believer (which I wasn't all that impressed with), and it's been sitting on my nightstand, unread, for years. I grabbed it a couple of nights ago because I forgot to bring my Chronicles of Narnia book to bed with me and didn't feel like getting out of bed to retrieve it. So a spur-of-the-moment decision led me to finally begin reading this book.

In True Believer, we were introduced to Lexie Darnell, a small town librarian, and Jeremy Marsh, a science magazine columnist. Jeremy had left NYC for Lexie's hometown of Boone Creek, North Carolina to investigate mysterious lights seen in the town cemetery. He never anticipated falling in love with Lexie just a few short weeks after meeting her. He'd been married before, and gotten divorced because (among other things) his wife had wanted children, which Jeremy had been physically unable to provide her.

At First Sight begins where True Believer left off. Jeremy and Lexie have just discovered that, by some miracle, they are expecting a baby. Lexie's grandmother, Doris, somewhat of a psychic, swears the baby is a girl--and she has yet to be wrong in her predictions. Jeremy, realizing that he doesn't want to ever be away from Lexie, proposes. They begin making preparations for spending their lives together; they plan the wedding, buy a new car, and buy and renovate a house.

Life is crazy enough at the moment, but Jeremy begins receiving anonymous e-mails warning him that Lexie may be hiding things from him. Even his best friend questions the quickness with which everything has happened, concerned that Jeremy is rushing into marriage with a woman he hardly knows. When, during a routine ultrasound, it's discovered that there may be complications with the baby, Jeremy and Lexie rely on their love for each other to carry on.

I had my likes and dislikes with this book. It wasn't one of my favorite Nicholas Sparks books by any means, but it wasn't my least favorite, either. I liked the simpleness of both Jeremy and Lexie. They were ordinary people, but the love they felt for each other was tangible. Also, I was completely surprised by the ending; Sparks is great at writing endings with an unexpected twist. Overall, a pretty good story.

3.75/5

In other news, I saw on TV tonight that a Prince Caspian movie will be coming to theaters on May 16. Prince Caspian was my favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia books (as well as my favorite character from the books), so I'm actually pretty excited to see the movie. I remember that I wasn't all that impressed with "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" when I saw it on DVD, but having read the books now, I want to give it another try. Maybe I'll enjoy it more, knowing the story.

The Last Battle ~ C.S. Lewis

In the last days of Narnia, King Tirian has heard rumors that the lion Aslan is back, and commanding the Narnian creatures to commit terrible acts. Tirian discovers that the Aslan in question is actually a false Aslan, a donkey wearing a lion skin. As a final great battle between good and evil threatens to change everything as they know it, the inhabitants of Narnia find themselves confused and unable to determine who to follow.

When the last battle is raging, Tirian finds himself in an old stable. When he looks around, he is astonished to see that the inside of the stable is nothing like he thought it would be. Inside he finds a beautiful green meadow, blue skies, and seven of Narnia's previous kings and queens, among them Lucy, Edmund, and Peter Pevensie, as well as Jill and Eustace, and Polly and Digory (who witnessed the creation of Narnia in The Magician's Nephew, and are now on hand to witness it's destruction). In one of my favorite sections from the book, Tirian says:

"It seems then, that the Stable seen from within and the Stable seen from without are two different places."

"Yes," said the Lord Digory. "Its inside is bigger than its outside."

"Yes," said Queen Lucy. "In our world too, a Stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."

Beautiful.

It took some time for me to decide how to rate The Last Battle. I didn't particularly like it, until the very end. But the ending was so beautiful, so allegorical, that my opinion of the book changed completely. The last 30 pages alone make the book worth reading.

4/5

The Silver Chair ~ C.S. Lewis

Eustace and Jill are hiding from bullies at their school, when Eustace tells the story of his time spent in the land of Narnia. Thinking they'd rather be in Narnia, they call upon Aslan and ask to be transported to the magical land. Jill comes face-to-face with the lion, and he gives her four signs that will help her and Eustace on their journey. They have an important mission to accomplish in Narnia--finding the missing son of King Caspian, who is growing old and wants to find his son before he dies. Prince Rilian has been missing for a decade. Many brave Narnians have tried to find him, and all have failed. With help from the Marsh-wiggle named Puddleglum, Jill and Eustace leave on a dangerous journey to discover the whereabouts of Prince Rilian, in hopes that they can reunite him with Caspian before it's too late.

I found The Silver Chair kind of boring from the start. I don't know if it's because I've read so many Narnia books in such a short time, or if I just wasn't interested in it. Eustace and Jill were dull (I'm sad that Eustace was so boring in this installment because I found his character very interesting in the previous book), and I found them both annoying at times. I even found Puddleglum to be a boring sort of character until almost the end of the story, when he saves the children and Rilian from the Queen of the Underworld, who was attempting to place an enchantment upon them.

Definitely my least favorite of the Narnia books so far. I did enjoy the underlying message about following Aslan's (God's) instructions, though. Jill and Eustace were slow to remember what Aslan had told them, and as a result they were faced with unexpected troubles.

I hope The Last Battle is better! I'm looking forward to seeing how the series ends.

3/5

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ~ C.S. Lewis

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie, along with their bratty cousin Eustace, are transported through a painting into the land of Narnia. They find themselves onboard the Dawn Treader, King Caspian's boat. Caspian and his crew are on a voyage to discover what happened to the seven men sent to sea by Caspian's evil Uncle Miraz. The friends want to explore as much of the East as they can, and hope to sail as far as Aslan's country at the End of the World.

This book takes the reader on quite an adventure. I found myself totally immersed in what was happening to Caspian, Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace. I think my favorite part in the book was when Eustace woke up to find that he had turned into a dragon. I loved the transformation he went through, not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally.

I also loved the very end of the book, when Edmund and Lucy are talking with the lion, Aslan. Aslan has just informed the two children that they will never be in Narnia again, and they are understandably upset. But what upsets them most of all is that they will never get to see Aslan again, or meet him in their own world. Aslan says "But you shall meet me, dear one. . . . There I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

As much as I enjoyed this book, though, I think it's time to take a break from the Chronicles of Narnia series. I'm all Narnia'd-out. So, I'm planning on reading One Tuesday Morning for my church book club, and then resuming the CoN books. A break will do me good.

4/5

Prince Caspian ~ C.S. Lewis

On their way back to boarding school, one year after returning from Narnia, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are summoned back to the magical land; only things in Narnia are much different than they were when the four siblings ruled.

Hundreds of years have actually passed in Narnian time, and the Pevensies are shocked to behold the ruin that has come to their beloved land. Miraz, the wicked King who now rules over Narnia, has forced the magical creatures of Old Narnia into hiding.

Caspian, the nephew of King Miraz, takes a great interest in the Old Narnian ways. When his tutor informs Caspian that he (Caspian) is the true heir of Narnia, and that Miraz is plotting to kill him, Caspian flees to the forest, where he comes across Dwarfs, Giants, and other creatures of Old Narnia. When Miraz's army attacks, Caspian blows Queen Susan's horn, which transports the Pevensies back to Narnia. Together, they defeat Miraz and restore Old Narnia to power.

This was my favorite book of the series so far. I was hooked from the first sentence because I knew that Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy would be featured more prominently in this book. Caspian was a great character, as well, and it was interesting to read about his family and about how he was the true heir to the Narnian throne.

4 down, 3 to go. I sure am glad that these books are all only about 100 (or a little bit more) pages long, since we're reading all 7 of them for my family book club this month!

4.5/5

The Horse and His Boy ~ C.S. Lewis

Shasta is the son of a poor fisherman who treats him like a slave. When he meets a talking horse named Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah (aka Bree), the two decide to run away together. Along the way they come across Aravis and her horse Hwin, who are also fleeing to safer lands. The four decide to travel to Narnia together, but face many difficult challenges.

When they arrive in the city of Tashbaan, Shasta is mistaken for a prince and "rescued" from the streets. He is taken to the palace of the Tisroc, who wants to marry Queen Susan of Narnia (who is visiting the palace with her brother), whether she wants to marry him or not. Thinking Shasta is really the prince of Archenland, Queen Susan and King Edmund have no qualms about discussing their plan to escape to Narnia in front of Shasta, who becomes privy to some very important information that will help him on his own journey.

This book started out strongly, and I was hoping that my interest would be held throughout. Alas, it wasn't. My interest started to wane in the middle, and while the book did get a tiny bit more interesting toward the end, it wasn't enough to make me really like The Horse and His Boy. I seem to be on a rollercoaster ride of sorts when it comes to the books in The Chronicles of Narnia series. Here's hoping that Prince Caspian is more to my liking...

3.5/5

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe ~ C.S. Lewis

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy have moved to the country to escape the air raids in London. One day while playing hide-and-seek with her siblings, Lucy decides to hide inside of an old wardrobe. When she realizes that the wardrobe has no back panel, Lucy walks through it and finds herself in the land of Narnia.

Lucy becomes friends with a Faun named Mr. Tumnus, who tells her about the evil White Witch, the self-proclaimed "queen" of Narnia. When Lucy returns to her siblings and shares the story of her adventure in Narnia, no one believes her. Soon, though, Edmund ventures through the wardrobe and into Narnia, where he meets the evil witch herself. She mesmerizes him with her beauty and bribes him with sweets, and when she asks him to return to Narnia with his siblings in tow, he promises her that he will.

When all four of the siblings find themselves in the magical land, they aren't sure who to trust. Edmund escapes from the group to tell the White Witch that his brother and sisters have come to Narnia, while Peter, Susan, and Lucy meet with the powerful lion, Aslan, who helps them fulfill their destiny to become rulers of Narnia.

I enjoyed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe much more than I did The Magician's Nephew. The story was entertaining, and the characters were interesting. A good, fun read.

4.25/5

The Magician's Nephew ~ C.S. Lewis

This is the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia series, which my family has decided to read this month. It's the story of Digory and Polly, and their magical journeys to other lands, thanks to some rings that were given to them by Digory's Uncle Andrew (the magician referred to in the title of the book).

After following Polly into an unknown land, which they named the 'Wood between the Worlds', Digory sees numerous ponds of water. Using the rings to travel between worlds, Polly and Digory jump into one of the ponds and end up in Charn, a dying world, where Digory frees an evil witch. The witch follows Polly and Digory back to their world, and the two children plot to return the witch to her own land. Thinking they've once again found the pond that leads to Charn, they jump in, only to find themselves in a different world. They hear a lion singing, and trees, animals, and all manner of things begin to grow out of the ground. The "birth" of Narnia has occurred.

There were times when I really liked this book, and times when I got bored, but overall it had a good message and was fairly interesting. There were definitely allusions to the Creation, as well as Adam and Eve being tempted to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. I liked the Christian overtones.

Books 2 through 7 continue the Narnia story. I'll blog about them as I finish them.

3.5/5

Little Women ~ Louisa May Alcott

I know there are many people out there who adore this story of the four March sisters. I'm not one of them.

"I think books shouldn't be one word longer than they need to be (a judgement, I realize, that is horrifically subjective in execution). I like nice, tight stories." - Shannon Hale (from her blog)

I think Shannon Hale is right on the money. Books should only be as long as they need to be to tell the story. Little Women is 472 pages long; if it had been cut in half it would have been a much better story! The book was too long, too wordy, too boring, with much too much detail. Entire chapters could have been removed, and the resulting book would have been so much better. Yes, that's how I feel...

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are the sisters in the book. Honestly, I don't think I had a favorite of the four. They all annoyed me at times. My favorite character was actually Laurie. I'm sad that Jo didn't love him as more than a friend. I'm glad he found his happily ever after, even though it wasn't with Jo.

After days and days spent reading this book (I even took a break from reading Little Women to read Change of Heart because LW bored me too much), when I finally finished it, the first words out of my mouth were "Hallelujah, it's over!" I couldn't wait for the book to end. Sure, there were some good parts that actually held my interest, but they were very few and far between. Sorry to all you Little Women lovers. I cannot count myself among your number.

2.5/5 (and the 18th crossed off the list of the 100 Greatest Novels)