Honolulu by Alan Brennert

Born with the name Regret, the protagonist of this story deals with both external and internal struggles to discover who she is and how she will find where she belongs. Regret's story begins in Korea, where her secret love of reading and her passion for writing must be concealed from her rigid father and passive mother. Once Regret discovers that she will not get her father's approval to pursue an education, she takes matters in her own hands and finds herself in Hawaii with an entire journey through many obstacles right in front of her. Regret's story, from her poetic narrative to her powerful ambition is a memorable tale that weaves many different cultures together, creating a new environment and home for Regret, and she discovers opportunities that she could only dream of. The road to Hawaii may not have been paved in gold, but Regret's ambition and perseverance offers a great lesson in growing up and finding who you are. 

I recommend this novel to Historical Fiction lovers, people who love Korean culture, Hawaiian culture and Japanese culture. By creating her own chogak po, Regret blooms where she is planted and never gives up on creating a home that is all her own.     

Jane by April Linder

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is one of my favorite literary stories. It's not very often that you come across a great modern day adaption of a tale you already know and love. I found Jane a year ago, right before I graduated college, and it quickly became a favorite on my book shelf. 

In this adaption, Rochester is a recovering rock star, and Jane is a nanny on the road to self discovery and the freedom to do what she believes she can. The novel is told in Jane's point of view as she is hired to work for Nico Rathburn, a rock star that even Jane has heard of, due to her brother's love of rock music. With the many rumors and countless People articles about Nico's road to success, mysterious fall out and his upcoming album, Jane must find who the real person is behind the mask. As she adjusts to the new enviornment, and meets Maddy, Nico's daughter, she expects to barely see the celebrity, even on his own grounds, but he has other plans, and Jane soon finds herself in a completely different world than she has ever lived in. To find who she is, and even the true Nico Rathburn, Jane goes on a journey, both intellectual and spiritual to find where she belongs and how much she should listen to her own heart.

I recommend this novel to anyone who loves Jane Eyre, Rock Stars and Star Crossed Romance. Jane's voice is refreshing yet it stays true to the original and Nico Rathburn is an enigmatic character. 

Dreams and Wishes

Wallflower in Bloom by Claire Cook

What do you do when you've lived your life for everyone else? Deidre Griffin has done just that and more. She is in charge of her famous brother's schedule, right down to the tee. With her whole life wrapped around her family's PR for the new age guru Tag, Deidre tends to fall in the background and watch her brother shine. But what she has always wanted to do is dance and live her life for herself. Dragged down by everyone's expectations, and going insane from the fact she seems to be nothing but a scheduler in her family's eyes, Deidre decides to risk it all, and use her brother's massive fan club to gain her own fifteen seconds of fame in the spotlight. As one thing leads to another, from the endless supprt Tag's fans give her to the actual offer on Dancing with the Stars, Deidre learns that in order to be herself, she must follow her heart and trust that she will land on her own two feet.

I enjoyed this novel. It was told in a voice that I found extremely familair and amusing. Deidre's family is not your usual group of people, from their quirks to goofy obsessions, you learn to see them as Deidre does, and you see Deidre as a person whose only obstacle is herself. Once she gets past the most difficult hurdle, Deidre learns more about life than she would have if she was still stuck in a job she only stayed with for fear of her family's disapproval. I recommend this book to anyone who feels like they have not bloomed themselves. It's important to recognize what the real obstacle is when you look at your life and your dreams. A fun and enlightening read.

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

First, I would like to say that I recommend this book to everybody. Whether you like Winnie the Pooh or Taoism. It's interesting just how relative the principles in this book are, to some of the other books I have read about worry, stress and life drama. If you think of Pooh, and the way he views life. The way he goes through life, he has a lot of wisdom and allows things to be, and he just IS! The book will describe this better of course, but there's a song from this book that kind of sums it up:

"How can you get very far,

If you don't know Who You Are?

How can you do what you ought,

If you don't know What You've Got?

And if you don't know Which To Do

Of all the things in front of you,

Then what you'll have when you are through

Is just a mess without a clue

Of all the best that can come true

If you know What and Which and Who." - Winnie the Pooh

Not only is this book charming and light hearted, it presents deep wisdom in the guise of the fable of Winnie the Pooh. The stories and characters are an allegory representing different types of people in the world. How they think. What they do. How they view the world. But the wisest and most relative of all is P'u.

Many Waters by Madeleine L'engle

I enjoyed this imaginative take on Noah's ark, and the twins were finally given an adventure of the their own, to show how clever and brave they are. Their personalities added a comical balance to the series events of Noah's task, and the people who will do anything to stop him. The seraphim and nephilim have their own conflict, while Noah's family, and his neighbors deal with the harsh environment of the desert and the cruel actions of Tiglah and her family, who want Noah's land fro their own. With the twins thrown, literally, in the middle of the conflict, they must learn why they were sent before Noah's Ark is complete, and how they will stay true to the original story. Yalith, Noah's daughter and the closest person to the stars, must decide how she can maintain the balance between seraphim and nephilim, as well as the family conflicts that threaten her way of life, and the power struggle of Tiglah's family versus Noah's task. 

This story was a philosophical adventure told in a familiar medium. The twins, who never have experienced anything strange, and never gone on an adventure before are put to the test in more ways than one, and must decide when and how they will get back home without changing history and the future of their world. 

I recommend this book to fans of the first three books, and history fans. Although the facts are not completely straight, the book delves into important questions about the origin of Noah's story and what life could have been like at the time of the story. 

A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'engle

"In this fateful hour

I place all Heaven with its power

And the sun with its brightness,

And the snow with its whiteness

And the fire with all the strength it hath,

And the lightning with its rapid wrath,

And the winds with their swiftness along their path,

And the sea with its deepness,

And the rocks with their steepness,

And the earth with its starkness,

All these I place

By God's almighty help and grace,

Between myself and the powers of darkness!"

- Patrick's Rune

As Meg's mother in law, Mrs. O' Keefe uses this rune one cold Thanksgiving night, the powers of darkness surround the Murry family. There is a threat of nuclear war by the dangerous Madog Branzillo, and Mrs. O'Keefe tells fifteen year old Charles Wallace that he must find a way to stop Branzillo by using the rune. Charles takes her very seriously, even though she calls him Chuck, and begins a journey through space and time, using this rune as a guide to find the Might Have Been that created the threat of nuclear war. Although he goes alone, his older sister Meg, goes with him by kything, being with Charles in spirit, helping him if she can and watching over his dangerous task, to change and restore balance in time. Charle's companion is the unicorn Gaudior who can ride the wind to different times in the same place. He guides Charles to learn through time by kything or becoming different people over the course of history, until he can find the answer to the past and change the future. But they are not alone, the evil Echthroi are trying to prevent them from changing history, and they will stop at nothing to destroy Charles Wallace and Gaudior as they question human nature and discover the event that caused Madog Branzillo to be. 

This was my favorite book out of the trilogy when I was a kid. Charles Wallace is an amazing character, and his purpose in the story is always great. It was fascinating to watch Charles and Gaudior slip in and out of time, and learn how humans evolved throughout the years, and how the rune was passed from generation to generation. I recommend this book to anyone that loves A Wrinkle in Time, and epic adventures that can change the course of the future.