Books read during LEAF part 1

Inkheart
Cornelia Finley
563 pages
Inkheart Trilogy

My one-sentence summary:
This is what happens when you let storybook characters out of their pages and the worst villain you have ever known comes out to conquer you, your family, your world, and your powers.

Summary: (Direct from Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OBBV44/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

From internationally acclaimed storyteller Cornelia Funke, this bestselling, magical epic is now out in paperback!

One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.  

This is INKHEART--a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.

My opinion:
I liked this book. I am glad I finally read it. However, I am still unsure if I will read the rest of the series.


The Princess, The Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight
Gerald Morris
310 pages
The Squires Tales

My one-sentence summary:
New take on Arthurian legends from the point-of-view of a girl.

Official summary: (Direct from Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16PCI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

Ever since the murder of her mother and guardian, Sarah has been searching for the knight she holds responsible for their death. But vengeance may not be as satisfying as she thought it would be.

My Opinion:
A real page-turner with nice plot twists, imagery, and things that made me happy. I really enjoyed this book. All the characters were really cool and enjoyable. The ending was pleasant. I love that you can enjoy the book as stand-alone novels, because that’s how I found this one. Also, the historical accuracy about the treatment towards Jews was A1. A book can be a fantasy and still have historical accuracy. If fiction books are sometimes the only way people remember/lean history, then start least put the right facts in there.I recommend this book to ages 14 and under.

Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
853 pages

My one-sentence summary: 
This a book sorta on the butterfly effect as the actions of one character's appearance in life changes the whole dynamic of everyone's relationships.

Summary: (Direct from Barnes & Noble.com :http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anna-karenina-barnes-noble-classics-series-leo-tolstoy/1105958283)

Vladimir Nabokov called Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina “one of the greatest love stories in world literature.” Matthew Arnold claimed it was not so much a work of art as “a piece of life.” Set in imperial Russia, Anna Karenina is a rich and complex meditation on passionate love and disastrous infidelity.
Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky. Desperate to find truth and meaning in her life, she rashly defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and son to live with her lover. Condemned and ostracized by her peers and prone to fits of jealousy that alienate Vronsky, Anna finds herself unable to escape an increasingly hopeless situation.
Set against this tragic affair is the story of Konstantin Levin, a melancholy landowner whom Tolstoy based largely on himself. While Anna looks for happiness through love, Levin embarks on his own search for spiritual fulfillment through marriage, family, and hard work. Surrounding these two central plot threads are dozens of characters whom Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together, creating a breathtaking tapestry of nineteenth-century Russian society.
From its famous opening sentence—“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”—to its stunningly tragic conclusion, this enduring tale of marriage and adultery plumbs the very depths of the human soul.

My Opinion:
Weird book. Two main characters’ actions dictate/influence the actions of all other characters. I did not like Anna as her incapability to make a decision on anything made everything harder for everyone else. Plus she was two-faced and vindictive. I was not torn up by her fate. She sorta deserved it. Levin was just confusing and too intellectual for myself. Most of the time, I could not understand most of what he had said. However, I am glad he found happiness.

I can understand why this book is a classic. However, it is not one of my favorites. Nor will I recommend this to you. Read this at your own risk.