Book Review: She Walks In Beauty

She Walks In Beauty by Siri Mitchell. 2010. April 2010. Bethany House. 400 pages.

"Get dressed, Clara. In your visiting costume. We are going out." My aunt's words were at once both commanding and precise--as precise as her posture: a series of ninety degree angles, seated upon one one of my bedroom chairs. She was perpendicular in the extreme.
There were far more important matters to consider than geometry, however. I bit the inside of my lip to hide the smile that threatened to escape. We were going out! And we never went out. We never went anywhere. Not since Aunt moved in with us the month before. Several times I had been given permission to visit with my friend Lizzie Barnes, but only in the company of Miss Miller, my governess.

Set in New York City. In 1891. Clara Carter--like it or not--is about to make her debut in New York Society. She'd hoped for one more year, at least. (Though in an honest moment, she'd admit she would much prefer never to debut at all.) But when Clara's aunt learns that the De Vries brothers have returned early from Europe, all plans changed. Clara must catch herself a De Vries. Catch herself an heir. It is her duty, according to her father, Dr. Carter, to marry well, to marry money.

Clara is having to relearn just about everything. How to sit. How to stand. How to walk. How to make conversation. (There are so many things that she's not allowed to talk about!) How to dress. How to eat. Even how to sleep. You see, her aunt is insisting that Clara's waist be eighteen inches. She must wear her corset twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Laced so tightly, that everything becomes a struggle.

Of course, some things she's just beginning to learn. How to cut someone (socially). How to dance. How to flirt with a fan. How to be noticed.

Clara's aunt insists that love doesn't exist. That love has nothing at all to do with marriage. But Clara doesn't want to believe it. She feels that love is out there, that she could be throwing away her chance for real love, lasting love, for money.

Clara's life of operas, balls, and dinner parties might seem fun. But appearances can be deceiving. Clara learns that lies and secrets seem to be at the center of almost everything. Is it worth it? Is being popular, is being one of the "it girls" worth sacrificing everything?

I really enjoyed this one!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: As Young As We Feel

As Young As We Feel. Melody Carlson. 2010. March 2010. David C. Cook (Pub). 352 pages.

Marley had hoped that her former high-school friends might've grown up by their thirty-fifth reunion. Unfortunately she was disappointed. Oh, most of them had matured somewhat, at least externally. She observed more bald heads, wrinkles, and gray hair than she recalled from their last gathering, and she was relieved to see that many had let go of old cliques and social boundaries. But others, like Keith Arnold, were still jerks.

As Young As We Feel is the first book in a new series by Melody Carlson. And I'll gladly admit it has an interesting premise. Four women, all in their fifties, have one thing in common: they're all named Linda. Abby. Janie. Caroline. Marley. These four met in first grade, decided to go by their middle names forever more, and form the 'Four Lindas' club. They didn't necessarily stay friends after grade school, and certainly not after high school graduation. With three of the four moving out of their hometown of Clifden, Oregon. One to L.A. One to New York City. One to Seattle. This thirty-fifth high school reunion brings them all together--but not quite the way they expected. You see, Cathy Gardener, another classmate, drops down dead in the middle of the reunion, right there on the dance floor. Her death acts as a catalyst to these four taking the time to reanalyze their lives and their need for friendship.

By talking with each other, they learn that they have so much in common. They're unhappy, unsure, depressed, restless, emotionally drained. They feel hopeless, lost, lonely. They feel life has let them down. What can they do to reconnect with their lives? How can they turn their lives around? What can possibly inspire them to live life again?

Friendship may just be the first step in their journeys.


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible