West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 (Dear America)

West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 (Dear America)
Average customer rating:

Beautifully written!

awesome

Very exciting

West to a Land of plenty (876)

Not the Best in the Series

West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi, New York to Idaho Territory, 1883 (Dear America)
Jim Murphy
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Fiction | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
1800s | Fiction | United States | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Action & Adventure | Children's Literature Guides | Classics by Age | Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths | General | Humorous | Literary Criticism & Collections | Poetry | Popular Culture | Read-Aloud | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Short Story Collections
Dear America | Historical | Series | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Great Railroad Race: the Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868 (Dear America Series)

A Line in the Sand: the Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence, Gonzales, Texas 1836 (Dear America Series)

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, 1847 (Dear America Series)

My Face to the Wind: the Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska 1881 (Dear America Series)

When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer, New York City to the Western Front 1917 (Dear America Series)

ASIN: 0590738887

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully written!.......2007-01-14

One of the best dear america books yet! There was really a special way this beautiful novel touched how I felt, especially the realisticly childish, yet wonderful way, that this author wrote this young Italian girl's diary. When disaster hits Theresa's traveling family, I felt as of this actually happened to me. My other favorite dear america books were: voyage on the great titanic, for a nice, long, and detailed read, one eye laughing, the other weeping is for a nice, sad, story, and dreams in the golden country for lots of info on Jewish culture, and a great read. across the wide and lonesome prarie and the great railroad race are also GRRRReat reads!!!!!
My name is Nykkie, and i am 11 yrs. old, so get out there and read dear america, a FUN way to learn history!

awesome.......2007-01-11

I found the Dear America series when I was in the fifth grade. Although I stopped reading them a long time ago, I still love them and think of them a lot. They are the PERFECT books for young girls, especially if they like history like I do. The journals makes them personal and the characters are relatable even though they lived long before us. My favorite thing about the Dear America series is that it takes famous moments in history (the Titanic, Oregon Trail, Pearl Harbor), but they also do times and events that aren't so well known to young girls like facoty girls or coal mines. I also love the epilogues, they complete the story.

The story of Teresa Angelino Viscardi is no acception. This and Coal Miner's Bride were and are my favorites of the series. It isn't just another "Oregon Trail" story. The charcaters face danger and yet there is happiness as well. I highly recommend this book and the entire Dear America series to any young girl.

Very exciting.......2006-06-13

Very exciting story about a girl and her Italian-American family's train ride to the Idaho Territory. I enjoyed reading about Teresa and her large family. They seemed very realizic especially the nosy little sister.

West to a Land of plenty (876) .......2006-03-09

Leave behind your possessions, home, friends, and family. Has that ever been asked of you? The reality of her situation is realized by Teresa Viscardi. When her father and uncle decide that it is best for their families to leave their homes in New York's Little Italy, they travel to Idaho to start their new lives. Jim Murphy who wrote West to a Land of Plenty incorporates colorful characters like Teresa's sister, mother, father, and grandmother. They all help each other on the way to their new homes. While on the road to Idaho, Teresa and her family not only meet new people, but also face sickness and death. They learn to cope with loss in many different ways. This book is really interesting because it is in the form of a diary and if you love historical fiction, definitely put this book on your to read list. I highly recommend West to a Land of Plenty.

Not the Best in the Series.......2005-10-09

Dear America is a great series of historical fiction books. I love historical fiction because you can learn history without even knowing it. All the Dear Americas are good, but some may want to pass this addition up.
Teresa Viscardi and her Italian immigrant family of her father, mother, sister, grandmother, uncle, aunt, and cousin. They previously lived in New York City, but Teresa's father decides they should move out west to Idaho along with many others to found a utopia to be named "Opportunity." Teresa likes New York, and complains about leaving. Teresa also often complains of how much her family agitates her, especially her pesky little sister Netta, who makes corrections and gives her opinion on Teresa's grammar in the diary. But then, tragedy strikes the entire family on the trail, and Teresa realizes how invaluable family really is.
Although some of the book was interesting, the action often lagged and the writing style was droning on and on monotonously. Teresa was likable, yet you sometimes felt distant from her. Plus I hated the epilogue.
West to a Land of Plenty was a passable entry in Dear America, yet I suggest you try two other similar, better books in the Dear America series about westward expansion; Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, and All the Stars in the Sky.

Average customer rating:

Thank you!
Dear Zoe
Maybe "Z" is the Shape of Everyone's Life
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
heartbreaking

Dear Zoe
Philip Beard
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Lost in the Garden
Speak Softly, She Can Hear: A Novel
Dead Connection
Me & Emma
Inexcusable

ASIN: 0670034010

Book Description

Hours away from pushing the button on a self-publishing deal, lawyer-turned-novelist Philip Beard was won over by the combined efforts of a bookseller, a sales rep, a publisher, and an agent, and brought the book to Viking. With its extraordinary backstory already covered in Publishers WeeklyÂ's Â“Hot DealsÂ” column, Dear Zoe has got built-in buzz thatÂ's just going to keep growing.

BeardÂ's stunning debut is an epistolary novel written from fifteen-year-old Tess DeNunzio to her little sister Zoe. After ZoeÂ's accidental death on September 11, 2001Â—a day so many others diedÂ—TessÂ's family is numbed by their personal tragedy. Already acutely aware of her odd place in a home where her mother and stepfather now have children of their own, Tess begins her letter as a means of figuring out her own lifeÂ—from her two-hour-a-day hair and makeup ritual to her complicity in ZoeÂ's death. Only after she moves in with her real father, a well-intentioned deadbeat, and stumbles into a halting romance with the sweet but aimless boy next door, does Tess begin to open her heart once more.

Not since The Lovely Bones has there been a study of grief, adolescence, and healing that rings as true as Dear Zoe. In Tess, a girl on the verge of womanhood, Beard has crafted a pitch-perfect narrator and a debut novel of rare power and grace that will remain with readers long after the book is put down.

Customer Reviews:

Thank you!.......2007-08-22

Thank you for this wonderful, wonderful book. I wanted to stop reading it because I was afraid I'd be too sad but I couldn't stop once I'd started.

Dear Zoe.......2007-08-20

Dear Readers --- If you want to spend a few days curled up with a book that may change your life, then "Dear Zoe" is, hands down, the paramount choice. Have a full box of Kleenex nearby, though; I became a human waterfall while reading this book, empathizing with this young girl and her pain. I saw so much of my ownself in her, even though it has been decades since I was that age. Yet, I too went through the soul-shifting lifechange that was 9/11. I know my worldview will never again be the same after that day. I can distinctly recall thinking that was the beginning of the end of the world, and I spent the whole day on the phone gathering my husband and girls to come home so we could die together. God, how quickly we forget! I/we lost an innocence, a groundedness that day. We took so much for granted. This book reminded me, however, that one terrible occurrence, such as the death of a loved one, can shift one's world in much the same way. Additionally, my husband and I have raised three daughters, and I saw so much of each of my own girls in these three. A note for the author: Mr. Beard, you somehow managed to insert yourself into the psyche of a 15-year-old girl and you were right-on with frightening precision. I felt my own past exposed and I don't know how you did it, but seeing you do it was redeeming. Kudos to you and yours for tapping into and laying bare for us, the readers, the angst of a teenage girl! Lastly, I do not often buy books to keep; I usually read from the library. However, this is one book I will buy to keep on my shelf and to loan out to loved ones, with the only request being that it come back to me so that the cycle can continue.

Maybe "Z" is the Shape of Everyone's Life.......2006-11-22

"Maybe 'Z' is the shape of everyone's life," writes Philip Beard. "You're going along in what feels like a straight line, headed for one horizon, the only one as far as you know, and then something happens..."

But my zigs and zags were few in Philip Beard's slim novel, "Dear Zoe." On this level of writing, it's smooth sailing. Beard is a skilled writer, and his style is seamless enough that he accomplishes the very difficult writer's task - not only of crossing genders in this first person narrative by a female, but with the voice of a very young female - all of 15 years old. And he does it convincingly.

So convincingly, in fact, that I felt myself as reader engage as I should, that is, to lose awareness of self and surroundings, soon immersed completely into the storyline and characters. "Dear Zoe" is a letter, written across time, from one sister to another. Zoe, however, will never read this letter. Zoe is gone, killed in a car accident, and this letter is, perhaps, how older sister Tess copes with her loss, her grief, even her guilt.

This extended letter is about Tess but also about her extended family. It is family like any: not without its dysfunctions, not without its baggage and broken places, with elaborate wounds and still healing scars. When a member of a family unexpectedly dies, everyone grieves, each in his or her own way and own pace, and it can at times meld a family together, at others rip apart. Beard portrays all of this messy and zigzagging process, but without any melodrama, always sensing when to draw the appropriate line.

Then comes the true test. Nearing end, the storyline veers into an event in American history that is almost impossible to mention without imploding into melodrama. When I realized the backdrop this author was setting up for his story, I nearly winced, but, wait, what's this? Oh, my. Beard makes it work. Work so well, in fact, that he accomplishes the individualizing of something nationally, even internationally shared, and brings it down to one heart, one life, one experience, felt by one person at a time. This personal tragedy is of a size, immense and miniscule at once, that each reader will be able to absorb and comprehend, and through comprehending the miniscule, the immense suddenly gains full impact. Just as numbers that trail off into endless zero's at some point become incomprehensible, so perhaps we as human beings cannot truly comprehend tragedy unless it happens one soul at a time, passed gently on from one hand into the next.

Having accomplished this feat, the author, and "Dear Zoe," has earned my highest recommendation.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2006-10-20

On September 11th, 2001, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in numerous acts of terrorism against the United States. Even now, five years later, people still ask the question, "Where were you on 9/11?" I remember watching, on that fateful day, news coverage that left me horrified, aghast, and haunted. Where was I on 9/11? At work, on a day that started out like any other and quickly turned into one that no one will ever forget.

If you asked Tess DeNunzio, the fifteen-year-old girl at the center of DEAR ZOE, where she was on 9/11, she'll be quick to tell you that she was at home with her younger half-sister, Zoe, waiting for the school bus like any other day. Except for that one moment, when she let her gaze wander elsewhere, and Zoe ran into the street, into the path of an oncoming car. For Tess and her family, 9/11 is a day they'll never forget.

DEAR ZOE is Tess's letter to Zoe, her way of healing from her sister's death and coming to terms with the changes that have taken place in her extended family. This isn't a story about September 11th, 2001, in the ways that most of us have come to view that day. As Tess puts it, "...just like all the people who go to New York and cry over the rubble. I want to tell them all to go home. I want to tell them to go home and hold their children or their lovers or their parents. I want to tell them that they are using that place as an excuse to be sad and afraid when there will be reason enough for that in their own lives if they just wait."

According to recent facts, nearly 150,000 people die every day. That's about 1.8 people every second. And yet no one seems to remember the other 147,000 people that died on 9/11. That includes myself. Until reading DEAR ZOE, I had never stopped to consider that there were other people around the world who were grieving for lost loved ones who had
nothing to do with an act of terror.

Thanks to Mr. Beard, I now have a new way of looking at that day in history. I also have the story of Tess and Zoe, which will stay with me for much longer than it took for me to read the book. Love, loss, regret, and forgiveness mingle within the pages of DEAR ZOE to form a story that, quite possibly, you'll remember even five years later.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

heartbreaking.......2006-09-23

Fifteen-year-old Tess is still reeling from her three-year-old sister's death a year ago. On that fall morning when millions of Americans mourned thousands of others, Tess and her family only mourned one death: Zoe. Dear Zoe is Tess's letter to her lost sister, not meant to be mailed, of course, but to get her feelings on paper. She explains everything, from her life before Zoe, before David (Zoe's father and Tess's stepfather) even, to her downwards spiral after the accident, her move to her father's house, and the things she discovers there. As Tess writes to Zoe, layers are pulled away slowly and cautiously, bit by bit, until we can see the raw grief of a girl who doesn't know what to do or where to turn. Her other sister, Em, helps her, but also hurts her because she's not only a reminder of what is lost, but she's also struggling with her own grief. Jimmy Freeze, the boy next door at her dad's house, helps keep her mind off things, but Tess hasn't decided yet whether or not that's a good thing or a bad thing. This book is heartbreaking and compelling, and though Tess's letter begins stoically and matter-of-fact, her barrier soon dissolves and her raw emotion is apparent. This book will surely touch your heart and force you to appreciate your siblings. The familial issues at hand are common of many families, not only those which have suffered a loss, and Tess could be anyone you know: your best friend, your sister, your cousin. This first novel from Philip Beard is most definitely a winner.

Average customer rating:

A Wealth of History and Opinion
A Powerful Exposition
Excellent Primer
Okay for starters
The feminist movement....a look back in time.

Dear Sisters

Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America
Sweatshop Warriors : Immigrant Women Workers Take On the Global Factory
Threads: Gender, Labor, and Power in the Global Apparel Industry
Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America, 1967-75 (American Culture Series)
Common Sense and a Little Fire: Women and Working-Class Politics in the United States, 1900-1965 (Gender & American Culture)

ASIN: 046501707X

Amazon.com

Although the title and subtitle of this outstanding collection pretty much say it all, readers will be delighted to have these leaflets, essays, op-ed pieces, cartoons ("Wonder Woman with a Speculum" is especially fetching), and other essential and/or ephemeral documents of the women's liberation movement, dating from about 1968-1977. Much of the work collected and commented on here was collaborative or anonymous (almost all of it has been preserved by chance), and it has also been substantially abridged to make room for as much material as possible. Nevertheless, it supports a vivid picture of the hope, defiance, and giddy enthusiasm that characterized the women's movement in those years. The section on women's health--in which feminists have made such enormous strides--is especially cheering. --Regina Marler

Book Description

This rich collection of original materials provides a lens through which to view women's liberation, the most influential social movement in the history of the United States

Today's women are so comfortable in their authority that they often forget to credit the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s for paving the way-from the kitchen to the boardroom, from sexual harassment to self-defense, from cheerleading on the sidelines to playing center on the team.

Distinguished scholars and active participants in the movement, Linda Gordon and Rosalyn Baxandall have collected a colorful array of documents-songs, leaflets, cartoons, position papers-that illustrate the range of people, places, organizations, and ideas that made up the movement. Dear Sisters chronicles historical change in such broad areas as health, work, and family, and captures the subtle humor, unceasing passion, and overwhelming diversity that defined the women's liberation movement.

Customer Reviews:

A Wealth of History and Opinion.......2006-10-05

This book offers such a fabulous collection of ideas. The information and ideas one can gather from these pages is both a great way to trace the roots of feminism as well as to decide where we go from here.
Each section and piece has introductory information giving a setting of time, place and situation before the writers present their views. There are so many ideas, ideals and beliefs that while not always agreeable or congruent, can be applied to today's feminist movement. There is virtually nothing in the book that isn't valuable as either an example of progress or the seed of a new branch for the feminist tree.

To understand the position in which women today navigate life, this book is essential reading. Interesting, entertaining and informative, it ought to be required reading

A Powerful Exposition.......2004-04-16

'Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women's Liberation Movement' is a potent collection of compelling and profound feminist literature. Rosalyn Fraad Baxandall has compiled a formidable anthology of writing from myriad leaders, both past and extant, who have shaped the movement's history and continue to affirm its relevance. The text is as varied as the authors' experiences, and never once does it lose its focus. For me, Gloria Steinem's minimalist contribution epitomizes the argument and foreshadows the positive influence of today's political correctness. On page 67, Ms Steinem writes;

'Traditional literature has for too long been the primary source for stereotyping women's roles. For years, men have been reciting the following nursery rhyme as if it were a mantra designed to maintain the staus quo:

Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

It is now time to rewrite the facile rhyme and expose the fallacious reason:

Why should Polly put the kettle on?
Why not Pedro, Chang, Habib or John?
Gender stereotyping's past and gone,
We'll ALL make tea.

So Pedro, put the kettle on,
And Chang, you wear the lace apron,
And Habib, butter Polly's scone,
And John, you pour the tea.

And if Polly wants a second cup,
Then guys, YOU fill the kettle up.
And when it's boiled we all can sup;
Ah, sweet equali-tea.'

I was so impressed with this book that I bought two copies - one for each eye.

Excellent Primer.......2002-11-06

Excellent and well-selected look at the Women's Liberation Movement from those that lived it and made it, offering a glimpse into a time that has gone and cannot return. Sometimes we forget how far we've actually come and how much good the movement has already done, but DEAR SISTERS reminds us of the strides of those in the past, so that we may be inspired for the future. Sometimes angry, sometimes hilarious and sometimes foolish, DEAR SISTERS never makes the mistake of being boring. Subtitled "Dispatches From the Women's Liberation Movement," it offers just that - dispatches from the women on the front lines of the movement from its infancy to well up into the late 90s, telling their story through their own vibrant, unforgettable words and images.

DEAR SISTERS is not COMPLETELY exhaustive; the well-heeled feminist will notice obvious skips over black sheep like Valerie Solanas, who is now the redheaded stepchild of the movement. But as a primer, and a document of the times, there is hardly anything better.

Okay for starters.......2001-08-26

I really wanted to give this book higher ratings, but was shocked at how thin the book was compared to my active imagination of a supersized feminist doccument collection. While this would be a superb primer for somebody who is new to feminist theory (especially in the late 20th century) I know there was more to the movement than was included in the selection. For some odd reason, the content was much skimpier than it logically would have been, and the layout left much to be desired for visual asthetics. Photographs of the demonstrations/actions would have helped to break up the monotony of a very intense book and reinforced the energy that the movement exuded. I was disappointed that the book was not more visually engaging for those readers who wanted to delve further into the roller-coaster experience that was the women's movement. Also disappointing is the black and white format of the booklet. Even with less advanced graphic design and mimeograph machines, the women's liberation movement produced some awesome graphics and brochures in vibrant colors. In this respect, the book unwittingly undersells itself to potential audiences--both vetrans and newcomers to feminism alike.

The feminist movement....a look back in time........2000-12-08

As a fifty-one year old woman who was at one time the epitome of the radical feminist, reading Dear Sisters was a revelation. We really have come a long way, baby. This was a look back at a time that has obviously mellowed in my memory with age. The extreme view point of many of the writings came as a surprise to me, even though I was in the forefront of the movement at the time and most certainly entertained opinions that were no less extreme or radical. I reflect now that in spite of obvious arenas still lacking in parity, women today have much more power, autonomy and equality on most fronts than thiry years ago. Women in positions of authority are not only common today, but accepted and seldom considered an oddity. In spite of the failures to pass the ERA, it is hard to find much support today for keeping women from their just due. Dear Sisters is a facinating reminder that this was not always the case. In spite of the fact that some of the articles included in this book hit me as not just extreme, but also somewhat silly, it is a great historical reference. I would recommend this book not just to other aging feminists like myself, but to the young women of today who may not recognize how dramatically different times were for their mothers. This book will give them a guided tour through the struggle that brought us where we are today.

Average customer rating:

One of the Top All Time Classic SVH books
Great...
Where Dangerous Love left off
A unique story
BEST OF THE SERIES

Dear Sister (Sweet Valley High #7)
Francine Pascal
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Twins | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

School | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

All Night Long (Sweet Valley High #5)
Double Love (Sweet Valley High #1)
Playing with Fire (Sweet Valley High, No 3)
Secrets (Sweet Valley High)
When Love Dies (Sweet Valley High #12)

ASIN: 0553276727
Release Date: 1984-11-01

Book Description

Sweet Valley is stunned by the news: Beautiful young Elizabeth Wakefield lies in a coma, on the brink of death after a horrible motorcycle accident.

Elizabeth's boyfriend Todd is consumed by guilt; he was driving and escaped unharmed. He feels totally helpless. All he can do is wait for a change in Elizabeth's condition--a change that might mean the loss of the only girl he's ever loved.

But no one is more shattered than Elizabeth's twin, Jessica. As she keeps watch over the silent body of her sister, she's overwhelmed by despair. Without Elizabeth, can life go on?

Customer Reviews:

One of the Top All Time Classic SVH books.......2006-02-18

This is probably one of the most memorable books from the SVH series. "A senseless tragedy" changes the persona of Elizabeth Wakefield; she becomes wild, reckless, and shameless to say the least. Her sweet, loyal and ethical persona has evaporated as an outcome of her accident, leaving a trail of devestation in her wake towards her friends and family.

Jessica notices the sudden change in her sister, and is immediately held responsible for her sister's actions; by both her parents and her friends. Here Jessica has to assume the role of the more "responsible" twin, which she loathes since it is getting in the way of her social life. Jessica changes only enough where she has to take on the responsible role of chaperone for her sister as well as defender to her sister's actions. In short, the character roles of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield have (for the first and only time in this series) reversed. Only Elizabeth takes the role Jessica normally holds to a much higher and wilder level (i.e. allowing Bruce Patman of all people, attempts to seduce her twice). Jessica is left having to make excuses for her twin and stuck having to babysit the Percy twins, another stressor in her life that she could do without.

Todd's character is amazing. Even though Elizabeth has snubbed him countless times throughout, he still shows his commitment and devotion for "the only girl he's ever loved". He rescues her numerous times from her disasterous and reckless behavior, which only adds strength to his already revered character. His allience with Jessica is suprising, but not too surprising to notice that it lasts only as long as Elizabeth is going through her "mysterious illness".

Although there is a little critical note in which should be addressed. Personally, the book should have ended with Elizabeth hearing about all of her wild and crazy actions, or at least started up in the next book, "Heartbreaker." Also, it is not mentioned how Elizabeth gets out of the scrapes of her term paper or with her relationship with Enid. These key issues should have been addressed more fully.

All and all, a great book. One of my personal favorites in the series despite the personal criticism.

Great..........2006-02-11

This book was great. Evne though I read ti a long itme ago I'll try to write a good review. Elizabeth is in a coma from the motorcycle accident with Todd. Todd comes out ok, not hurt. Than all of a sudden... Elizabeth wakes up. Everyone thinks it's over with, it's a happy ending, but there wrong. She starts acting like Jessica! It gets to the point were she goes out with Bruce and she goes to his house! I know,shocking, I recomnd this book to any sweet valley fan.

Where Dangerous Love left off.......2005-03-07

Elizabeth Wakefield is in a coma after a motorcycle accident with Todd Wilkins,He had been in an the accident,too.He didn't get hurt.The Wakefield's cousin,Rexy,who isn't in any of the Wakefield Lagacy story's has been killed in a motorcycle accident.Everyone at SVH,including Enid Rollns goes for a ride on Todd's motorcycle. When Elizabeth comes out of it,She's just as wild and boy-crazy as Jessica.She kisses Bruce Patman.

A unique story.......2004-09-03

If you're a die-hard fan of - or recent convert to - any of Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley series, it's easy to appreciate the escapist / fantasy reading involved. Much harder to appreciate is the driven formulaic writing approach adopted by Kate Williams; yet how else is it possible to churn out novels in such rapid succession without using a template of some sort? It's true that the later Sweet Valley High novels show much less imagination and originality in narrative style than the first 20 or so in this series. And it's also true that number 7 - Dear Sister - stands out as a story unique in its focus for a teenage romance series: the implications of deep and seemingly permanent psychological trauma for a young woman after a horrific motorcycle accident; the changed and almost surreal relationships in this young woman's life in the aftermath, especially that with her identical twin sister. Williams writes with a compassion, intensity and tenderness that seems lacking when the stories choose to focus on boys, dances and power-plays within the boundaries of the high school arena. Dear Sister explores death and disability, and the unpredictable power of the mind and subconscious, in a courageous stretch of the traditional boundaries of the teen romance genre - yet also with the inevitable understanding that not only will Elizabeth Wakefield not die, but that she will also recover.

Elizabeth and Jessica are identical twins, sharing not only incredible physical beauty but also a special bond that began in the womb. Throughout the Sweet Valley High series, readers are never allowed to forget how special Elizabeth and Jessica are - not just to their family and friends, but predominantly to each other. Selfish, cruel and manipulative, Jessica is nonetheless her sister's fiercest defender and most devoted friend. Likewise, it is only when she is being protective of Jessica that loving, generous and honest Elizabeth can surprise her readers by being unfair, unjust and even merciless. This special bond between the twins, however, is strained almost to breaking point in the aftermath of Elizabeth's accident in Dear Sister. She regains consciousness from a coma only to wake in a world in which she cannot remember who she used to be, and why she should still want to be that person.

Dear Sister is told primarily from Jessica's point of view, so readers never get too close to exploring the psychological depths of darkness lying dormant in Elizabeth's mind. We can only assume that her inner world is surreal and unstable because of her outward actions - actions that contradict who `Elizabeth Wakefield' is meant to be, and which frighten and sadden Jessica because they speak of another personality: her own! Jessica's identity crisis, and her struggle to cope with new responsibilities and expectations, is treated with great sympathy and tenderness by Williams, and though it's blatantly apparent that Jessica is the author's favourite character in the series, in this instance, Jessica truly does deserve what she gets. Not only is she threatened with the loss of her beloved twin - through the initial threat of death and then through psychological trauma - Jessica must also continue to protect Elizabeth from her own destructive behaviour, and the consequences these have upon both their lives - shielding Elizabeth's pathological change of character from their loving family. Elizabeth becomes a hard and almost gruesome caricature of Jessica at her worst: selfish, heartless, aggressive, rebellious, almost crazed. It's a very unlovely picture of the girl who is always used by the author as a foil to her popular, fun-loving (and by no means innocent) twin, and readers will be taken aback by her hateful behaviour towards Todd Wilkins, her adoring boyfriend whose motorcycle she rode and from which she was thrown. Jean and Joan Percy, identical twins who visit the Wakefield household in midst of all the turmoil, underscore the loss with which Jessica is threatened if Elizabeth is unable to get well. Like Elizabeth and Jessica, they also share a special bond unique to twins.

Bruce Patman, always the villain incarnate in the Sweet Valley High series, is justifiably malevolent in Dear Sister, though it must be owned that his status as `villain' is mostly due to his infamous relationship with Jessica - as opposed to a more complex or deeper study of the nature of his exploitative traits. Here, however, his attempted seduction of a vulnerable and mentally unhealthy Elizabeth gives readers a more specific reason to dislike and distrust his character. There is an almost tangible tension and expectation in the scenes in the Patman beach house - a reading experience you'd expect more from a thriller than from a teen romance. How Elizabeth finally regains her memory and identity in the dark is so simple, so rational and yet so wholly unexpected that it neatly merges with the escapist / fantasy tradition of this genre without losing its believability.

BEST OF THE SERIES.......2004-01-12

I read this book so long ago and its still with me now. I think it was the first book to ever make me cry and I will always love it for that. Sweet Valley High gets an awful lot of rap for being unreal and out of date but I have to say that I think they are almost timeless-can any of us ever say that we wouldnt love to be almost anyone of the character portrayed. DEAR SISTER is a gorgeous gorgeously sweet book and certainly, to my opinion, the best of the ENTIRE series. I loved both Elizabeth and Jessica as a child and still love to have a flick through my ancient battered falling apart copy today- I;m twenty-one! I really think that this is a book perfectly designed for young girls. The pious social messages are tonic to a nasty nasty world. Lose your self in the lives of the twins for a while and i promise you you'll come out loving, laughing or at the very least smiling.

Dear Baby: Letters from Your Big Brother

Average customer rating:

Dear Baby: Letters from Your Big Brother
Sarah Sullivan
Manufacturer: Candlewick
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

New Sibling | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

I'm a Big Brother
A New House for Mouse
Moonthief
Best-Ever Big Sister
My New Baby (New Baby Series)

ASIN: 0763621269
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Book Description

A young boy records the ups and downs of life as a new big brother in a scrapbook of funny, earnest letters and other touching memorabilia.

There's a baby on the way! Of course, Mike is very excited and curious about his new sibling. And he's very eager to assume his new role as a big brother. To start, he's decided to record his observations and experiences in a series of letters to the baby, displayed here along with playful illustrations of Mike's own drawings, family "snapshots," and even a sonogram. Whether Mike is feeling like an "invisible boy" or boasting of his new sister's talents, whether furious when she breaks his favorite toy or proud to save her from a hot curling iron, his account of his first year of life as an older brother evolves into a very special keepsake — and a funny, honest, and heartfelt tribute to sibling relationships.

DEAR SISTER # 7 (Sweet Valley High (Numbered Paperback))

Average customer rating:

DEAR SISTER # 7 (Sweet Valley High (Numbered Paperback))
Francine Pascal
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Double Love (Sweet Valley High #1)
Playing with Fire (Sweet Valley High, No 3)
Secrets (Sweet Valley High)
All Night Long (Sweet Valley High #5)
Sweet Valley High #13 Kidnapped!

ASIN: 0553251066
Release Date: 1984-11-01

Dear Sister: Medieval Women and the Epistolary Genre (Middle Ages Series)

Average customer rating:

Dear Sister: Medieval Women and the Epistolary Genre (Middle Ages Series)

Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Medieval | World | History | Subjects | Books

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Medieval | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Letters of Hildegard of Bingen: Volume II (Letters of Hildegard of Bingen)

ASIN: 0812214374

Dear Sister, Once Abused: A Story of Hope and Freedom from the Bondage of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Average customer rating:

Sisterhood
ýDear Sisterýý a primer for victims, families and therapists
Wonderful Book
Dear Sister, Once Abused

Dear Sister, Once Abused: A Story of Hope and Freedom from the Bondage of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Victoria Lynn
Manufacturer: Aradiance Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Adolescent Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Abuse | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Dysfunctional Relationships | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0971573700

Customer Reviews:

Sisterhood.......2004-06-15

Although my sister had died before I read Dear Sister, Once Abused, I gained necessary insight into her challenges with childhood sexual abuse. This was the best book I could have read on this subject for my situation. There were many similarities. This book has helped me and I will pass it on to others."

ýDear Sisterýý a primer for victims, families and therapists.......2003-09-15

If Dear Sister, Once Abused, the first book written by psychiatric nurse Victoria Lynn, were a conventional first-person account of discovery and recovery from childhood sexual abuse (CSA), sympathetic readers would expect a higher than usual quotient of self-absorption and finger-pointing.

They will be pleasantly surprised that Dear Sister's...deeply troubling story is coupled to specific information and techniques that other victims, their families and friends as well as clinicians, therapists and clergy may use to understand and deal effectively with the seemingly chronic after affects of childhood sexual abuse. Lynn also hopes that reading about the lasting damage they cause may even dissuade some perpetrators and provoke them to seek help.

Lynn tells her story in conversational language that creates the distinct impression that she's invited you into her kitchen for a confidential "straight-from-the-soul" chat - tangents and all --over a cup of coffee. Her obviously cathartic report candidly bares many excruciating details-- confounding setbacks and exhilarating breakthroughs.

Plagued all her life by serial physical and emotion maladies, Lynn's vivid "breakthrough" recollection at age 42 that she had been molested as a three-year-old sets of an obsessive quest that illustrates dramatically the life-long residual affects of childhood sexual abuse.

The details of her struggle make a compelling case for early intervention and vigilance by parents, health care providers, teachers and clergy. "That's why I wanted to write the book in the first place - to help victims and people who can help victims," she says emphatically.

"Although I had the telltale symptoms, mother admits she did not know what to look for and none of the doctors she took me to ever suggested I might have abuse trauma," Lynn writes. She notes that key telltales are eating disorders: one expert claimed "that 90 percent (or more, in his opinion) of those suffering from an eating disorder have a history of sexual abuse," she writes.

Understandably Lynn's search for "my truth, as I know it" upset those near and dear,, but, in the end, brought deeper understanding as to why relationships with her mother, father and step-father -- who took over parenting duties when Lynn was just seven-had been strained, frightening and contentious.
When her paternal grandmother finally seems to confess that Lynn's recovered memory is accurate, but that the abuser was her recently deceased grandfather, not her father as Lynn had suspected, the grandmother adds dismissively - "you can't blame a dead man." In keeping with the way people of her generation often dealt with painful issues from the past, her grandmother chides: "Why can't you just forget about something that happened so long ago?"

The confession - and subsequent loss of a close relationship with her grandmother-- propelled Lynn into another mental and physical tailspin, yet "It helped me to have my my own knowledge of what happened to me in order to continue healing," she noted.

Lynn's journey forces her to reevaluate the roots of her life-long fear of her mother, the downright cold and aloof relations with her father, who apparently would have preferred a male child to Victoria -- " His European upbringing had convinced him a son made a man manlier -- and I was his second daughter," she writes, and a somewhat checkered relationship with her step-father.

Even the breakthrough flashback presented life-threatening traumas. "It's my belief that victims can die not only of shock from abuse itself, but from the shock that almost always accompanies the breakthrough flashback as well," she said in a telephone interview. "It is not uncommon for traumatized victims to consider or attempt suicide and other self-destructive acts."

Although the book underscores that there is much a victim can and must do on his/her own, Lynn lays out specific tactics parents, spouses, children, siblings and friends can do to speed the healing process. She illustrates her points with many touching examples of how her husband and six sons coached her through set-backs and tough times.

Further, she emphasizes the importance of getting professional help, but cautions: "as is true of any therapy, the most benefit is derived if the therapist is well trained...Someone who is not well trained can cause even more trauma." Ditto the importance of using pharmaceuticals to control depression and anxiety as well as the need for gradual weaning under the supervision of trained medical personnel.

Because she interweaves her story with practical suggestions, the book is likely to become a primer for clinicians, parents, educators, victims, students and clergy. Each chapter follows this general format: chapter topic and discussion; here's what happened to me; here's how I responded; here's what you can do; here's how others can help; here are the outcomes.

Oddly, Lynn virtually ignores the impact CSA may have had on her first attempts in high school to forge romantic relationships with boys. She remembers avoiding a particularly handsome classmate "because he was so good looking, I worried he wouldn't be very reliable. As intimacy (with men) barriers continue to fall - remember God probably had a purpose in mind when he gave me a nurturing husband, and six sons to raise -- perhaps I'll have something to add in a second edition of the book."

Lynn's "everything but the kitchen sink" healing formula includes the need for spiritual/religious tools, although she hastens to add "one needn't be religious to employ spiritual resources. Meditation-"prayer is a powerful form of meditation--" can be enormously helpful, particularly in the "forgiveness" stage.

Concluding a cathartic open letter to her abuser, her dead grandfather, she writes: "I can look at your picture and see you as the handsome soldier grandma fell for. Who am I to judge? Only you and God know what went amiss for you. I feel mercy toward you-not really love-but mercy is an improvement."

Above all, Lynn's book demonstrates that she is indeed improving. She assures that with time, clinical help and support from their families and friends, so too can most victims of childhood sexual abuse. This is good news indeed!

Wonderful Book.......2003-05-22

As I read through the Pages of Dear Sister, Once Abused, I found myself finally understanding the reasons why my life was in such a turmoil. I understand what I have to do to heal. Now I have hope.

Dear Sister, Once Abused.......2003-05-15

Victoria Lynn, psychiatric nurse, draws upon her experience and talks openly about her healing process from childhood sexual abuse. This book is a powerful resource for adults who have suffered abuse and for their families and friends. Well written and hopeful, it is about a journey that connects with human suffering and opens hearts to understanding.

Dear Sisters: A Womanist Practice of Hospitality

Average customer rating:

Dear Sisters: A Womanist Practice of Hospitality
N. Lynne Westfield
Manufacturer: Pilgrim Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Soul Stories: African American Christian Education
Educating Congregations: The Future of Christian Education
The Postmodern Life Cycle
Big Questions, Worthy Dreams: Mentoring Young Adults in Their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith
Nurturing Faith And Hope: Black Worship As A Model For Christian Education

ASIN: 0829814493

4 Titles By S.B. Hough (aka Rex Gordon) : Dear Daughter Dead Fear Fortune, Father Sweet Sister Seduced The Tender Killer

Average customer rating:

4 Titles By S.B. Hough (aka Rex Gordon) : Dear Daughter Dead Fear Fortune, Father Sweet Sister Seduced The Tender Killer
S. B. Hough (aka Rex Gordon)
Manufacturer: Perennial Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MT5BLC

Product Description

4 Titles By S.B. Hough (aka Rex Gordon) : Dear Daughter Dead Fear Fortune, Father Sweet Sister Seduced The Tender Killer. four mmpb books.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books