Review: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low

Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone
by Dene Low
YA, Historical Fiction
208 pages
Published: 2009
4 of 5 stars

About

You would think Petronella’s sixteenth birthday would be cause for celebration. After all, fashionable friends are arriving at her country estate near London, teas are being served, and her coming out party promises to be a resplendent affair. Everything is falling nicely into place, until, suddenly—it isn’t. For Petronella discovers that her guardian, Uncle Augustus T. Percival, has developed a most unVictorian compulsion: He must eat bugs. Worse still, because he is her guardian, Uncle Augustus is to attend her soiree and his current state will most definitely be an embarrassment.
During the festivities, when Petronella would much rather be sharing pleasantries with handsome Lord James Sinclair (swoon), important guests are disappearing, kidnapping notes are appearing, many of the clues are insects, and Uncle Augustus is surreptitiously devouring evidence. It’s more than one sixteen-year-old girl should have to deal with. But, truth be told, there is far more yet to come . . . -from Goodreads

Reaction 

This book is a good time. It is an amusing satire of high society. It is mildly disgusting, and contains much to stretch (even shatter) your belief. But you want to know something? So what! I enjoyed it. One big reason why was the writing. 

This was one of those books that really uses language - uses words that have meaning and connotations, putting "big" words together into sentences that makes you sigh with relief. Like stretching. The ecstasy of using your mind and working your vocabulary! The beauty of words strung together to sound like music! It's like pulling on my favorite pair of pajama pants, or taking a deep breath when I didn't realize I was in a stuffy room. Enough metaphors? All right. But I need a word for this kind of book because I can think of at least one other I will review soon that falls into this category. Ideas? Please... 

So, this book doesn't take itself seriously, and that is refreshing for a book that takes place in this time period. Petronella really wants to do the right thing (and have some adventure) and doesn't want to hurt her uncle, but she still cares about society.... It is a quandary! Her swooning over James is comical in the sense that I felt it was making fun of all the other well-known swooning. 

Only the four main characters have any depth. Every single authority figure is ridiculous. The phrase "bumbling idiots" comes to mind. This was so blatant that it was obviously done on purpose. It created the dynamic, found in so many other YA books, of the children having to solve the problems on their own. It was interesting to see the dynamic used without having unloving, uninvolved guardians, as is the norm. I had the privilege of listening to Dene Low talk about her book, and she mentioned this book was written as an outlet while working on her dissertation. She was frustrated with academia and authority in general, and suddenly Petronella's world made sense to me. 

So. This book is an uplifting, sniggering kind of good time. Have fun!

Jadyn's Review: Josefina Story Collection by Valerie Tripp

Josefina Story Collection:
     Meet Josefina
     Josefina Learns a Lesson
     Josefina's Surprise
     Happy Birthda Josefina!
     Josefina Saves the Day
     Changes for Josefina
by Valerie Tripp
illustrated by Jean-Paul Tibbles
historical fiction
387 pages
published: 2001
Source: home library
6 of 5 stars

About

• It is about a young girl, Josefina, that lived in1824.
•  Josefina learns that you can hope and dream but things never happen in the exact manner you may want.
• She also learns sometimes you might feel the world should end because of sorrow and sadness but the world will never end in such a way. (This from the first book when she loses someone she loves.)
• All her sisters and her work together to solve their mishaps.

My thoughts 

• I like the mishaps and the way they were solved.
• I sort of enjoyed the whining, complaining, and stubbornness of Josefina and her sisters.
• I like this book because of excitement, drama, and more.
• I think this book is neat because it feeles like you're in the story.
• I like to reread it because sometimes it can be like a comfort and can help me through a situation if I go to the right book, in the right chapter, that has the right situation that can help me see the solution to my problem.
• I also enjoyed the way it ended with happiness and love.

Review: And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

And Only to Deceive
by Tasha Alexander
Historical Fiction, Mystery
336 pages
published: 2005
For: Book Club assignment from last summer *chagrin*
3 of 5 stars

About

For Emily, accepting Philip's proposal was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother. And when Philip dies on safari soon after their wedding, she feels little grief; she had barely known him. Now, nearly two years later, she learns that her husband was very different from the man she thought she had married.
Eager to find out more, Emily begins to study the priceless Greek statues her husband collected. Her search leads to the British Museum, where she discovers that a ring of forgers is stealing artifacts from the Greco–Roman galleries. Solving the crime will lead to more discoveries about Philip and cause Emily to question the role in Victorian Society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.  - from Goodreads

Reaction

I had a good time reading this. It wasn't anything amazing or compelling, but a good time. I found the situation of having to mourn someone you don't miss and then falling in love with your dead husband intriguing and sorrowful. The pain of regret and lost opportunities is awful. I liked the journal entries from Philip and freedom afforded a widow. I appreciated how Emily's character wasn't so radical she thought she didn't have to marry, but did what was necessary to ensure what she hoped was the most happiness she could find. I liked how she woke up out of her own selfishness and began broadening her education.

I got annoyed with the mystery. But that might have more to do with me than the book. I rarely read MysteryMystery books. Maybe you mystery readers can tell me if impatience is a normal emotion while reading mystery. I wanted more to be going on while it took forever to figure out 'who done it.' And I got truly annoyed with that woman who kissed back every time. Pick a side, Lady.

So, while I had fun with this book I don't have any plans to read the sequels. This one ended at a nice satisfying place. The mysteries were resolved, the romance progressed enough. I'm just fine.