The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Lydia:  This is a great book. The fascinating thing is that the pages are black! First, it starts out with pictures. It had a lot of adventure and a little bit of mystery.  I loved it!

Jessica:  I was surprised to find this very fat book in the Caldecott Award section of our library.  I pulled it out and thumbed through it, and sure enough, the pictures are quite amazing!

It's a very unique book--half of the story is told via pictures, much like an old black and white movie (very fitting, once you discover what the story is about!).  I don't want to ruin any of it for you, so I won't expose the plot.  It was very interesting and very appropriate for younger readers.

I was also delighted to discover that there is a movie based on the book that will be released this year, starring such greats as Ben Kingsley and Christopher Lee--Lydia and I are definitely going! :)  Here's a link to the book's website as well:  http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com

Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

You have to prepare yourself if you're going to read this one.  I'm going to spoil everything for you and tell you that yes, it is a tragedy, and no, it doesn't end well (which is, I suppose, the definition of tragedy . . . ).  But somehow knowing that at the outset helped me, because I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen and how much worse it could get.   I could hardly put it down--and I'm afraid I ended up absolutely loving it!  And of course being completely frustrated with half the characters . . . I could actually sympathize with my husband's complaints of the lack of communication skills in my British movies.  I don't think I'll be showing him this one.

Like Dickens, I can see why Hardy felt compelled to write about the social ills of his day.  And like Dickens, I have to admit that Thomas Hardy is a wonderful author.  He gets into the minds of the characters so thoroughly--the hardest thing for me was that he kept saying, "Had he said such-and-such, she never would have etc. etc. etc."  All the more tragic!  I admit that I wept for Tess more than once (and once at the gym--why do I always hit the sad parts while I'm exercising?).  Although this book was originally met with outrage, I thought it taught a very poignant lesson about purity, chastity, and respect for women--one that at the time was much-needed and is probably needed even more today.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I'm on a classics kick, as you'll begin to notice.  My amazing mother is teaching English for an England study-abroad program this spring, and has enlisted my voracious reading appetite in tackling her long list of required books.  It's a fun excuse to read my head off!

I started with The Picture of Dorian Gray because I bought a copy at the grocery store for $1--and because it was fairly short.  Years ago I saw the black & white version, but the book is much, much better.

This is Oscar Wilde's sole novel--I didn't realize it, but his other writings were only plays or essays.  And you can tell--his dialogue reads very much like a play, the characters playing verbal tennis as they toss their comments back and forth.  These are followed by long (some of them quite long) descriptions.  But still, it is a book that keeps you reading, and Wilde is quite good at invoking reflection.

His play The Importance of Being Earnest is one of my favorites.  One of the main characters in the novel (Lord Henry Wotton) reminded me quite a bit of Algernon Moncrieff--both characters say things they don't mean--things to shock "society."  Often then say the opposite of what is reasonable, but the great difference is that Algy says them in jest, while Lord Wotton says them specifically to tempt Dorian Gray into wrongdoing.  While Wilde never comes straight out with a moral--in fact, at times he seems to be agreeing with the villains--the book teaches a definite lesson.  I think it would be a great book for teens to read with parents and discuss (have I pushed that enough?).