Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: The Secret of the Red Gate Farm Author: Carolyn Keene ISBN: 9780448095066 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap Part of a Series: Nancy Drew Mysteries Type of book: Oriental, offensive, nature cult, counterfeiting, passive, farm, boarders, young adult Year it was published: 1931 Summary: When Bess Marvin purchased an expensive bottle of Oriental perfume, she never expected to stumble into a mystery. Now Bess, Nancy, George, and their new friend Jo are out to unravel the secrets of a mysterious conspiracy, a secretive cult, and a ring of counterfeiters in The Secret of Red Gate Farm. Characters: Predictable as always, although I couldn't for the life of me understand the whole code system, and I'm beginning to really have a hard time believing that these things couldn't be solved until Nancy comes along. The evil characters are very one dimensional and are evil because they are evil. The good characters are good. There really is nothing to talk a...

Name of Book: The Secret of Shadow Ranch Author: Carolyn Keene ISBN: 9780006925262 Publisher: Grosset and Dunlap Part of a Series: Nancy Drew Series Type of book: Western, cowboys, ghosts, 1900s, mystery, young adult Year it was published: 1931 Summary: Nancy drew arrives in Phoenix, Arizona, eagerly looking forward to a fun-filled vacation at Shadow Ranch, but abruptly finds herself involved in a baffling mystery. The ranch is being haunted by a phantom horse and maliciously damaged by an unknown enemy. Local people believe that the ghostly animal is carrying out the curse of Dirk Valentine, the romantic outlaw who was killed many years ago at Shadow Ranch, where he had gone to fulfill a promise to his sweetheart. Suspecting that a treasure hidden by Valentine may be at the root of the Shadow Ranch mystery, Nancy undertakes a challenging search, aided by her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne. The first vital clue is found in an antique watch and sparks a serie...

Name of Book: The Good Earth Author: Pearl Buck ISBN: 0-7432-7293-5 Publisher: Washington Square Press Part of a Series: The house of good earth trilogy; Sons and A House Divided sequels Type of book: generational, farming, famine, rise to wealth, 1800s, China, gender, Year it was published: 1931 Summary: Though more than sixty years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer Prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics. "I can only write what I know, and I know nothing but China, having always lived there," wrote Pearl Buck. In The Good Earth she presents a graphic view of a China when the last emperor reigned and the vast political and social upheavals of the twentieth century were but distant rumblings for the ordinary people. This moving, classic story of the honest farmer Wang Lung and his selfless wife O-lan is must reading for those who would fully appreciate the sweeping changes that have occurred...