Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book: Bury Me Deep Author: Christopher Pike ISBN: 0-671-69057-4 Publisher: Archway paperback Type of book: Hawaii, vacations, past ghosts, 1990 Year it was published: August 1991 Summary: Jean is on her way to Hawaii for a week of fun in the sun. But the vacation gets off to a gruesome start. The boy sitting beside her on the plan suddenly chokes and dies. Jean tries to push the incident out of her mind when she arrives on the island, but finds it impossible. Part of the reason is because Mike keeps coming back to her in her dreams. Horrible dreams filled with cold blood. Two of Jean's friends are waiting for her in Hawaii—Mandy and Michele. They have already made friends with two young men who teach scuba diving at the hotel, Dave and Johnny. Jean and Johnny quickly become friends. But there are problems in paradise. Dave and Johnny have recently lost a partner in the ocean. No one knows how he died. No one can find his body. But then Jean finds Mik...

Name of Book: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Author: Choderlos DeLaclos ISBN: 0-14-044116-6 Publisher: Penguin Classics Type of book: Epistolary novel, 1700s, aristocrats, ancien regime, darkness, France, pick up artists, naivety Year it was published: 1782 (version I have 1988) Summary: 'If this book burns' proclaimed Baudelaire, 'it burns as only ice can burn.' Marie-Antoinette kept a bound copy of this notorious study of sexual intrigue in her private library; and it was condemned by a criminal court forty years after its publication in 1782 and publicly incinerated. The satanic hero and heroine of this greatest of eighteenth-century novels- a pair of depraved aristocrats- plot and achieve the seduction of a young convent girl with the calm detachment of mathematicians solving an algebraic formula. Honest to the point of cynicism, this is a fascinating exposure of an aristocracy shortly to perish in the French Revolution. Chara...

Name of Book: A House Divided Author: Pearl Buck ISBN: 1559210346  (671-78797-7 Version I have) Publisher: Pocket Books Part of a Series: House of Earth series: The Good Earth, Sons prequels Type of book: China, revolution, international student, 1900s, Former AM/WF Year it was published: 1935 (version I have 1975) Summary: The epic of China begins with soil, and with the simple peasants like Wang Lung whose story was told in The Good Earth . It rises and swells on the fortunes of the warlords and merchants, men like the Sons of Wang Lung. It surges anew in modern China- Communist China- in the third generation of the House of Wang. A House Divided brings Wang's grandson to America, where troubled and alone, he must choose between the old values and the new, between two generations- one dead, one powerless to be born. Characters: The characters are well rounded and understnadable to some extent. In this part, Pearl Buck attempts to explore Wang Yuan's...

Name of Book: The Patmans of Sweet Valley Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-57023-4 Publisher: Bantam Lark Part of a Series: Sweet valley Saga Type of book: 1825-1972, potted American history,  Sweet Valley, wealth Year it was published: 1997 Summary: In 1825, sixteen year old Sophie, the Duchess of Edmonton, falls in love with Henry Patman, a dashing stable hand. But Sophie's sister, Melanie, has also fallen for Henry's rugged charm. And Melanie will do anything to keep Sophie and Henry apart. John Patman loses his heart to London actress Katherine Richmond. He's too poor to ask for her hand in marriage, so he swears he'll strike it rich in the oil fields of Texas. But how long will Katherine wait? Dr. Cassandra Vanderhorn meets wounded soldier Spencer Light in a World War II veterans' hospital. After he recovers, they marry, and he returns to the front. Then Cassandra receives a telegram bearing terrible news... Marie Vanderhorn has f...

Name of Book: The Fowlers of Sweet Valley Author: Francine Pascal ISBN: 0-553-57003-X Publisher: Bantam books Part of a Series: The Sweet Valley Saga Type of book: 1773-1989, France, multi-generational saga, SV Year it was published: 1996 Summary: Discover the sweeping, romantic history of the men and women who made Lila Fowler who she is today! Beautiful sixteen-year-old Lili de Beautemps is rescued from guillotine during the French Revolution by a dashing young man--but he disappears before she can even thank him. Will Lili ever see him again? While working as a maid in the Marquis de Bocage's chateau, Celeste Chardin unexpectedly wins the love of the Marquis's son, Marc. Will Marc give up his family riches to be with her? Wild and reckless Rose de Bocage grew up with Pierre Oiseleur in the turbulent 1890s. But when Pierre declares his everlasting love for Rose, she tells him she'll never settle down. Will she regret that decision forever? Isa...

Name of Book: Number the Stars Author: Lois Lowry ISBN: 0-440-40327-8 Publisher: Yearling Type of book: World War 2, resistance, bravery, 1943, secrets, Germans, Jews, Denmark Year it was published: 1989 Summary: Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think about life before the war. But it's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching in their town. The Nazis won't stop. The Jews of Denmark are being "relocated" so Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be part of the family. Then Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission. Somehow she must find the strength and courage to save her best friend's life. There's no turning back now. Characters: The Danish, Johansens in particular, are portrayed as a loving and well rounded family, along with others. I checked a history book I had, whether or not this book might kind of like a...

Name of Book: East Wind, West Wind Author: Pearl Buck ISBN:  1559210869 Publisher: The World Publishing Company Type of book: 1920s, China, East, West, values, interracial relationship, Asian male/ White female, struggles, duty, obligation Year it was published: 1930 (Version I have January 1944) Summary: East Wind: West Wind is told from the eyes of a traditional Chinese girl, Kwei-lan, married to a Chinese medical doctor, educated abroad. The story follows Kwei-lan as she begins to accept different points of view from the western world, and re-discovers her sense of self through this coming-of-age narrative. Characters: I'm not sure how I could describe the characters, except they all change throughout the novel; Kwei-lan changes into someone who disliked and was unhappy with Western culture into someone who does accept Western traditions and values. She also looks up to her husband all the time, one attitude that she doesn't change at all. Kwei-Lan'...