Tag: genre: horror

• Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books for Halloween

  Posted at 10:16 am by Laura, on October 29, 2013

  Top Ten Tuesday, a concept started by The Broke and the Bookish, is a themed post that connects bloggers to bloggers, bloggers to readers, and readers to readers. Every Tuesday has a special topic, and this Tuesday is Top Ten Best Books To Read For Halloween.

  

  Best topic, because this is essentially tapping into my graduate thesis!

  1. The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle — A vampire contagion spreads across the country, but somehow avoids all religious grounds. Katie, an Amish girl, is exposed to the terror and has to convince her community to fight for survival. If you’re looking for chills and apocalyptic horrors, read this. Check out my review! 

  2. Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough — This folktale and eerie song is absolute truth for a little English hamlet post-WWII. A family is cursed to have at least one of the youngest children captured by Long Lankin, a haunting poltergeist that has consumed children since the Middle Ages. I couldn’t sleep for days! Check out my review.

  3. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson — What would happen if Jack the Ripper murders happened in modern time, and even the cameras all over London couldn’t catch him? That’s what Rory is about to discover. This book is for anyone with a deep fascination with the 1888 murders. Check out my review!

  4. The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd — H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr Moreau has another secret: Dr Moreau has a daughter, and she’s in for a big surprise. If her father is considered a monster, then what does that make her? If you’re in for a sci-fi twist, read this book and my review.

  5. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson — We all have two sides to our personality…but which one is your true self?

  6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte — This is more than a love story. This is a story about two tormented families across generations, ruined and corrupted by one man whose only wish was to be accepted.

  7. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield — An author is on her last legs and has one more tale to tell. She hires a biographer to record this story, and the biographer makes some haunting discovers about a mansion, some deranged twins, and a horrifying house fire. One of my absolute favorite books (and a new one out in a few weeks); check out my review!

  8. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness — Albeit not frightening or a ghost story, this book is packed with magic, lore, history, and alchemical science. If that doesn’t scream a book to dive into during a magical time of the year, I don’t know what does. Read my review!

  9. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill — Best. Ghost. Story. Ever.

  10. The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter — The Hardscrabble children are sent to live with their aunt in London, but they wander through many adventures and come across a boy who is half human, half animal. A creepy and wonderful middle grade novel worth checking out.

  What are some of your favorite Halloween recommendations?

  Posted in books, Top Ten Tuesday | 15 Comments | Tagged books, genre: fantasy, genre: gothic, genre: horror, genre: mystery, genre: sci-fi, top ten tuesday

• Book Review: “The Outside” by Laura Bickle

  Posted at 9:15 am by Laura, on September 13, 2013

  The Outside by Laura Bickle 

  Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
  Published: September 2013
  Genre: young adult, horror, paranormal
  ISBN: 9780544000131
  Goodreads: 4.05
  Rating: ★★★★★

  After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation.

  And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all?

  Katie, the Englisher Alex, and Englisher Ginger, are thrown out of Katie’s Amish community and placed under the Bann. The only way they can survive in the wastelands thronging with vampires is to find untainted holy ground, kill, or use holy relics and symbols to deflect attacks. As they journey north with a horse and a wolf, Katie struggles with her faith, the concept of humanity, and the power of God’s forgiveness as she commits every sin to survive. When she’s confronted with a scientific “cure,” she must choose her battles: to take the cure and become less human in the eyes of God, or live a life abandoned and on the run.

  Just as horrifying and gripping as The Hallowed Ones, this book promises everything and more for this struggle for humanity. The landscape is hauntingly bare, the night is filled with anxiety, and the day is filled with worries over food, sleep, and survival. Every abandoned home and store is examined thoroughly before entering, in hopes the food hasn’t spoiled, the home is warm, and the vampires have not created a nest. Every human is looked upon with caution, and even holy ground is considered unsafe.

  Katie’s internal struggles were absolutely fascinating to read. She’s confronted with all sorts of issues while she fights to survive Outside. First, there’s violence. Although it is in the name of self-defense, she struggles justifying it when her Amish faith says she must turn the other cheek. Second, there’s theft and vanity. She and Alex constantly steal from abandoned stores and homes, and she has to shed her Amish clothes for English ones. There are other issues, such as pride and greed, that she struggles with in her faith. Katie moves further and further away from her upbringing, and it distresses her immensely. Each move she makes, she gave careful thought, and frequently asks God for forgiveness for her transgressions.

  Alex and Katie’s love was beautiful. It’s not the all-consuming passion so often read about in young adult novels. Alex respects her, seeks her opinion on matters and treats her like an equal. Katie loves his commitment, his steady presence. All they need is a look, a hand to hold, a piece of food to share. Their bond was peppered with tenderness I have not read in ages. And I think that’s what makes this book great overall: it is the end of the world, a fight for survival, and the time on the run is spent treasuring every moment, the good and bad.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 1 Comment | Tagged book review, books, genre: horror, genre: paranormal, genre: post apocalyptic, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” by April G. Tucholke

  Posted at 7:57 pm by Laura, on August 24, 2013

  Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April G. Tucholke 

  Published: August 2013
  Publisher: Dial
  Genre: gothic, horror, paranormal, young adult
  ISBN: 9780803738898
  Goodreads: 3.89
  Rating: ★★★★

  Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery…who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

  Violet and her twin brother Luke are practically orphans, their artists parents gone on a long European artistic holiday for over a year. In order to pay for their crumbling seaside manor, Violet puts up a notice for a renter in their guesthouse. Within hours, River West blows in, with his vintage car and linen slacks and devil-may-care smile. Violet is drawn to him without understanding why, and knows that every word out of his mouth is a lie. As children become bewitched, a man commits suicide, and news of nearby towns going insane, Violet begins to connect the events to River, and is determined to stop it.

  The publisher’s summary is a lie. In a good way. Do not be misled into thinking Violet will be another dim-witted “heroine” who can’t help but fall in love with the bad guy. No, Violet is not in love. She never is in love. Her every action with and towards River is for a reason, and that reason is not blinding love. River and Violet are like Heathcliff and Cathy, only not as animalistic and passionate. Imagine if Heathcliff had a supernatural power that controlled Cathy’s emotions. River is Heathcliff in every possible way a character is a Byronic hero. Violet is Cathy, born of wealth but with a free spirit and an unexpected tendency to transgress social boundaries. Unlike Heathcliff and Cathy’s passionate love (and equal hate) for one another, River and Violet step around each other, one heavily drawn to the other while the other is filled with loathing.

  The connections between River’s family history, Violet’s family history, and other family histories in the town of Echo are a bit reminiscent of Great Gatsby and Wuthering Heights blended together, as well. There’s the wealth and parties and sex and drinking and drugs of the roaring ’20s, mixed with familial commingling, forbidden love, and supernatural fears of the devil and hell and sin. An absolutely fascinating blend.

  What’s so great about this book is that River isn’t exactly a bad guy or a good guy. His character is a very complex one. Tucholke urges the reader to face the complexities of humanity. River has power, and it’s not always used for good intentions or ill, selfless or selfishly. He’s an addict, through and through, and his words and his actions make it difficult for Violet, and the reader, to trust him. I love that.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: horror, genre: paranormal, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Raven’s Gate” by Anthony Horowitz

  Posted at 1:18 pm by Laura, on August 19, 2013

  Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz 

  Publisher: Scholastic
  Published: October 2006
  Genre: young adult, gothic, horror, sci fi
  ISBN: 9780439680097
  Goodreads: 3.91
  Rating: ★★

  Raven’s Gate was closed long ago by five children. On the coming Roodmas black magic festival, blood sacrifice can re-open the portal. Professor Dravid sees power in orphan Matt, 14. But all who help the lad die. His new guardian Mrs Deverill, with the Yorkshire village of Little Malling, are powering up the abandoned local nuclear plant for the evil Old Ones to return.

  Fourteen-year-old orphan Matt is accused of a crime he did not commit and is sentenced to a year’s time within the government’s LEAF project — Liberty and Education Achieved through Fostering. When Mrs. Deverill brings him to Hive Hill in Yorkshire’s Little Malling, Matt instantly realizes something is not quite right. The villagers are mad. All the roads lead back to the same intersection. And a strange abandoned nuclear power plant is lighting up at night. Matt risks his life to find the answers to all of his questions, included the most avoided of all: what is Raven’s Gate?

  Horowitz has made a name for himself in young adult fantasy and horror. He has everything a great writer should have: good plots, engaging characters, steady pacing, and enough mystery to keep the reader going. Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I found it lacking. It simply did not hold my interest.

  I will note though that there are plenty of chapters here that lived out my worst nightmares. There’s a whole section dedicated to Matt riding a bicycle in the middle of the night to escape Hive Hall. He comes to an intersection of five roads, and with each path he takes, he ends up back where he started. It was a never-ending nightmare, moving quickly and yet going nowhere, never escaping. The horror elements of this novel were spot on, and the science fiction aspects between nuclear energy and black magic could be very intriguing for those with that particular taste.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: horror, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Dead of Winter” by Chris Priestly

  Posted at 8:50 am by Laura, on July 27, 2013

  The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestly 

  Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s
  Published: January 2012
  Genre: young adult, gothic, horror
  ISBN: 9781599907451
  Goodreads: 3.58
  Rating: ★★★

  After Michael’s parents die, he is invited to stay with his guardian in a desolate country house. He begins to suspect something is not quite right on the day he arrives when he spots a mysterious woman out in the frozen mists. But little can prepare him for the solitude of the house itself.

  On the day of his mother’s funeral, Michael’s family lawyer offers him a new life to live under the guardianship of the man his father defended in the war. Sir Stephen is a wealthy man and eager to take in Michael as a ward, and Michael, with nothing to his name, cannot refuse. But the journey to Hawton Mere proves to only be a precursor for what’s to come at the manor. He spots a woman in the mist, terrified, wet, and screaming — but no one else can see her. As he steps foot in the manor, stranger things begin to take hold, and each night is filled with chilling haunts.

  The elder Michael recalls his visit to Hawton Mere and the strange Christmas he spent there. This epistolary beginning and ending to the book was reminiscent of Susan Hill’s Woman in Black — the reader knows no matter what the narrator encounters the narrator will live, but will clearly be haunted by it. Although not as spooky as the previous ghost stories I’ve read, I can easily see why the older Michael would still be disturbed. The creepy, massive house; the mad and deeply disturbed guardian; strange noises, creaking floors, and turning knobs; and the dripping woman from the mist looming around the moat.

  The language recalls the Victorian writing style easily, and I was left quite impressed. It’s difficult to emulate that language without it sounding forced or cheesy. Priestly also threw in some classic gothic elements, like the woman in all white, a nightgown, wild among the marshes, the setting as the marshes, childhood traumas, burning manors, and everyone somehow connected to one another. Overall, it was a good, quick read.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: horror, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Long Lankin” by Lindsey Barraclough

  Posted at 12:04 pm by Laura, on June 23, 2013

  Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough 

  Publisher: Candlewick Press
  Publishing Date: January 2012
  Genre: young adult, horror, gothic, mystery
  ISBN: 9780763658083
  Goodreads: 3.70
  Rating: ★★★★★

  When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Bryers Guerdon, they receive a less-than-warm welcome. Auntie Ida is eccentric and rigid, and the girls are desperate to go back to London. But what they don’t know is that their aunt’s life was devastated the last time two young sisters were at Guerdon Hall, and she is determined to protect her nieces from an evil that has lain hidden for years. Along with Roger and Peter, two village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries – before it’s too late for little Mimi. Riveting and intensely atmospheric, this stunning debut will hold readers in its spell long after the last page is turned.

  Cora and Mimi are sent by their father from London to Bryers Guerdon to temporarily live with their great-aunt Ida. Ida, however, does not want the girls and keeps trying to convince their father they should leave. Cora, headstrong and determined to make the best of this visit, makes friends with some neighbor boys, Roger and Peter and the rest of their family. As the days pass and Auntie Ida’s stern warnings to stay away from the church and to keep all doors and windows locked tight, Cora and Roger soon learn of a chilling family secret, and Mimi is the target victim of a long-standing family curse.

  Holy Mother of God.

  I could not put this book down, but I also could not read it without turning on all the lights and blasting happy Christmas music at night. Even in the day I kept seeking out more light and cheerful noise. Although the protagonists, Cora and Roger, are roughly age 10 and Mimi is 4, this is not a book for children. The content and the atmosphere are perfect for young adults, but may be a bit too terrifying for some.

  Barraclough took an old folk song and spun a chilling tale from it. The poem itself gave me chills (small excerpt below): 

  Said my lord to my lady as he mounted his horse:
  “Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the moss.”

  Said my lord to my lady as he rode away:
  “Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the hay.

  “Let the doors be all bolted and the windows all pinned,
  And leave not a hole for a mouse to creep in.”

  The doors were all bolted and the windows all pinned,
  Except one little window where Long Lankin crept in…

  Barraclough also captured all the classic gothic tricks in this chilling novel. First, an old and crumbling estate. Cora and Mimi are constantly fighting through cobwebs and choking on the rotting air. Second, a family history that needs to be uncovered. Cora is a curious sort, to her aunt’s disdain, and begins to ask all the adults in the area all sorts of questions about the crumbling church, the tree with rags and children’s shoes, why Ida still lives in a rotting mansion, why there is Latin writing all over the place, who knows who in the village and why are people worried Mimi will disappear, etc. Third, documents and religious implications are scattered throughout. Cora finds a tin box filled with writings on the history of Bryers Guerdon and the Guerdon family, all recorded by a parish rector from Ida’s time and dating back to the 1500s.  Finally, sightings of haunted children, ghosts, and spirits, and things that rattle and slither and go bump in the night, fill these pages. Every sound is significant. Every sighting has a purpose.

  Frightening, immensely chilling, well-plotted and deeply fascinating, this book is worth a read if one is looking for a perfect ghost story. I haven’t read any recently published ghost stories like this since Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black. 

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 3 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: horror, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Hallowed Ones” by Laura Bickle

  Posted at 10:13 pm by Laura, on April 3, 2013

  The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle 

  Publisher: HMH
  Publishing Date: September 2012
  Genre: young adult, fantasy, gothic, horror
  ISBN: 9780547859262
  Goodreads: 4.05
  Rating: ★★★★★

  Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the church. But before Rumspringa arrives, Katie’s safe world starts to crumble. It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields, followed by rumors of massive unrest and the disappearance of huge numbers of people all over the world. Something is out there…and it is making a killing.

  Unsure why they haven’t yet been attacked, the Amish Elders make a decree: No one goes outside their community, and no one is allowed in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of their land, she can’t leave him to die. She refuses to submit to the Elders’ rule and secretly brings the stranger into her community — but what else is she bringing in with him?

  Katie is looking forward to her Rumspringa with Elijah in three weeks. It’ll be the one and only time she can live by her own rules before deciding whether to be baptized into the Amish church. She’s already a bit rebellious, questioning the Elders instead of blindly obeying. But after a helicopter crash and a few Amish disappearances, Katie decides to take matters into her own hands. Once an Outside stranger enters her world, her little rebellions pile up. Katie, fully aware of the Darkness infiltrating her small community, implores the Amish to toss their prayers and passive ways and fight back.

  This was a terrifying book. I hardly slept. With each of Katie’s rebellions (questioning Elders, then buying comic books, then stealing Coke, breaking the quarantine, allowing a stranger to come in), a new horror strikes the page. One minute she is walking through a field, the next a white horse bursts through the trees carrying a saddle with a bloody boot still hooked in the stirrups. One minute she’s milking the cows, the next she enters a home drenched in blood from a family slaughter. Every sentence is agonizingly suspenseful, making the eagerness to turn the page both foreboding and exciting.

  Bickle clearly worked hard to get Amish culture correct in this book. There are moments when Katie explains a tradition or a way of life, but it flows so smoothly with the story I hardly noticed the stopping time for Amish Culture Lessons. I am also extremely happy with the way Bickle portrayed vampires. These vampires are the real thing. These vampires are the ones Victorians feared, the kind that spread like disease, they destroyed rather than seduced, that hypnotized, that cannot enter homes or holy ground, that can only be destroyed with stakes, garlic, and a beheading. These are the very first vampires in folklore, and they are fearsome.

  What’s fantastic is that Katie, and the Outsider Alex, rarely describes the vampires’ appearances. They are called “things” and “monsters” and “the Darkness.” Katie can see they were once human, but their movements, behavior, and red eyes show the most base, evil instinct of humanity: literal blood lust and desire to kill. She is awed, shocked, and frozen in fear, her mind incapable of looking at something that appears to be human and seeing such evil.

  That is a true a proper gothic vampire and gothic reaction. I applaud Bickle. I applaud her for making me  afraid of the dark this week, for making me happy that I’m not living near cornfields now, and for bringing terrifying vampires back into young adult literature.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2013 | 5 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: fantasy, genre: gothic, genre: horror, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Carmilla” by Sheridan Le Fanu

  Posted at 8:34 pm by Laura, on February 28, 2012

  Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

  A young Anglo-Austrian woman living at her father’s castle is the narrator of this novella. When a mysterious and beautiful stranger is stranded at the castle in odd circumstances and becomes a guest, the heroine quickly forms a close bond with her —but she subsequently discovers that her “friend” has a dark and lethal secret.

  I read this in two hours, standing still in the kitchen as my housemates cooked and ate around me. Time did not seem to pass at all, I was so engrossed.

  A classic vampire novella (and in recent light, a lesbian vampire novella apparently), this chilling, tale offers readers a whole new experience and conception of “vampire.” With the Twilight series, we’ve romanticized and de-villainized the vampire to a laughable degree. Anne Rice sexualized and humanized the vampire. Bram Stoker offered a classic capable of reworkings for every decade since – the fear of contagion, fear of AIDs, fear of homosexuality – that allows the reader to be awed and terrified of and attracted to the vampire ideal.

  Carmilla contained several popular ideas of the modern idea of vampire – being staked, puncturing humans with the teeth, sleeping in coffins – while dismissing other notions such as bursting into flames in the sun; Carmilla was perfectly capable of walking in the daylight.

  The history behind Carmilla’s character is haunting as well! The most intense image that is still seared into my brain is of her in her coffin, laying in a pool of blood several inches deep, eyes wide and skin healthy. So terrifying! Le Fanu wonderfully crafted thrilling images and suspenseful events in this short Gothic tale!

  Rating: of 5

  Goodreads: 3.79 of 5

  Posted in Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: classics, genre: fiction, genre: gothic, genre: horror, genre: mystery, goodreads, review

• Gothic Literature

  Posted at 8:41 pm by Laura, on January 6, 2012

  This semester, in my final literature course, we’re focusing on the Gothic elements! My favorite genre. Here’s what we’re reading starting next week!

  Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White

  Great Horror Stories, a compilation with Stoker, Poe, and Lovecraft; Sheridan Le Fanu’s In a Glass Darkly; and Classic Ghost Stories, another compilation that includes Dickens!

  Posted in books, Update Post | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: classics, genre: fiction, genre: gothic, genre: horror

• My Top 3 Books of 2011

  Posted at 9:50 am by Laura, on December 31, 2011

  I scrolled through my 50 Book Challenge list and, despite all the starred ones, three left a lasting impact on me during the year of reading. I’ve limited my list to three new books – plus two favorites I’d reread for 2011. These two books I reread nearly every year, I love them so much.

  

  The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

  By far one of the most chilling and haunting ghost stories I’ve ever read or heard. Today, we find horror films filled to the brim with blood and gore and massacres – so much so that we’ve become immune to the violence. Hill’s story, however, is literally spine-tingling. Set in Victorian England, a young lawyer travels to a manor to deal with the property left by an old woman. Immensely spooky things happen – the classic horrors of strange noises, faint visibility, the sensation of something touching you when you are in an empty room – which left me nervous at night an unable to sleep for a week.

   

   

  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

  I was skeptical to read the trilogy, at first, mostly due to people comparing it to the Harry Potter series (and, as a fan of that from the beginning, I find that untouchable). The summary description also makes it sound like a sci-fi novel, a genre I’m not particularly drawn to. One summer day, I gave it a chance – and I couldn’t put it down! The writing is meant for a younger audience, very simple and to the point, but the plot moves and the characters are fascinating and there are cliff-hangers everywhere. I’ve recommended this book to everyone I know. It truly is remarkable.

   

   

  

  One Day by David Nicholls

  I am an Emma. My closest friend is a Dexter. The trials these two go through, their friendship shrinking and growing with time, the different directions in life – it’s unbelievable how strong they are. They each have immense flaws, and that is what makes their bond so beautiful. It was as if I were looking into several of my friends’ friendships rolled into one. The things Dexter and Emma say to each other, to break the other down or to cheer the other up, is exactly what every person wants to say and needs to hear. Witty, charming, and heartbreaking, I highly recommend this book.

   

  
  

  And now for the books I reread in 2011: two of my favorite classics!

  Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

  While I love Pride & Prejudice to pieces, I find this short and sweet novel incredibly uplifting, cheerful, and entertaining. Mr. Darcy hardly holds a candle to Mr. Tilney – he talks to Catherine! Catherine’s imagination is wild and fun, spinning everything she observes into a horrifying Gothic mystery. My own fascination with Gothic literature is probably why I relate to Catherine on some level. Austen’s typical use of satire pokes fun at the concept of a Gothic novel and the silliness of Bath society. A quick and enjoyable read.

   

   

  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

  My absolute all-time favorite book, and a real Gothic novel. Written like an autobiography, a memoir, and based partly on Brontë’s life, Jane Eyre moves me more than any other book has. I find myself running back to it every year when I need Jane to talk some sensibility into me, to reassure me. Some argue Jane is one of the first feminist characters, what with her self-respect and the independence she asserts to everyone she meets. She is a strong character, regardless of your stance in feminist literature. Beyond her, there’s the dark story behind Mr. Rochester, the hauntingly beautiful setting of Thornfield, and the creepy moans from the walls at night.

  Happy New Year! Read many books!

  Posted in Reviews 2012, Update Post | 1 Comment | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: classics, genre: fiction, genre: horror, genre: mystery, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• 

• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent and librarian, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I have a passion for Victorian culture, Gothic lit, and music. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to knit, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm obsessed with popcorn. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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