jeb124

For anyone who is interested, I am back in the States after 6 months at Tel Aviv University in Israel. I had a great time, and I definitely plan on going back. I'll post pictures and details over the next few days (hopefully), but in the meantime I thought I'd let everyone know I'm home.

 Dimitri during the interview with Sophie.

Epiphany

This is the end. They’re close, closer than he’d ever believed they’d get, so close he’d started to believe they might just make it. He turns away and hides his face in his hands. How could he forget such an important detail? All of their work, teaching her etiquette and royal history and horseback riding, it’s all been for nothing because he never told her –

“There was a boy, a boy who worked at the palace,” Anya says. “He opened a wall.”

He never told her.

She laughs at herself. “I’m sorry, that’s crazy. Walls opening…”

He never told her.

She’s perfect. Too perfect. It isn’t the first time he’s had that thought since they set out from St. Petersburg – it had been lingering at the back of his mind for a while now – but for the first time, he truly allows himself to consider it, because he never told her.

He never told anyone – not even Vlad. No one knew what he’d done that night. No one but the Dowager Empress Marie herself.

It is all he can do to stay silent and standing as the blood rushes from his face and his heart bursts into staccato.

No one but the Dowager Empress and her granddaughter Anastasia.

He rushes from the room, holding in his shock until he has sat down –collapsed, really – on the front steps outside. Inside, Sophie continues her interview with the Grand Duchess Anastasia, his dead princess, alive and grown up and just beyond his reach.

People of the Book is an incredible novel, well written and fascinating. The characters are all amazingly real, as are the historical and modern worlds they inhabit. Some of the events in the book, such as the Spanish Inquisition, are difficult to read about, but Geraldine Brooks treats them with respect.

 Hanna, Boston, Spring 1996

( Vocabulary )

( Quotes )

Saltwater, Tarragona, 1492

This chapter, though excellent, as all of the chapters have been, was somewhat difficult to read due to Brooks' brutal rendering of the horror of the Spanish Inquisition.

( Vocabulary )

( Quotes )

Hanna, London, Spring 1996

( Vocabulary )

Quotes: none this section

A White Hair, Serille, 1480

( Vocabulary )
Quotes: none this section

Hanna, Sarajevo, Spring 1996

( Vocabulary )

Quotes: none this section

Lola, Jerusalem 2002

No vocab or quotes

Hanna, Arnhem Land, Gunumeleng, 2002

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( Quotes )

 So I took a quiz to see which character from The West Wing I'm most like, and apparently, I'm Sam. I'm not sure why the picture isn't showing up. Here's what he looks like: 



The idealistic speechwriter is well-liked by just about everyone. He's known for his excellent writing, sense of humor, and tendency to be clutzy. Although being younger than the rest of the staff, he's often treated as so, much to his dismay.

:: Which West Wing character are you? :: 

Sam is one of my favorite characters on the show, along with Josh and Toby. I always thought I was more like Toby, but this is the second quiz that's given me Sam - the last one was several years ago- so maybe I'm wrong. Do you think I'm like Sam? If you have an opinion, let me know. Here are some quotes by and about Sam from the series:

( Quotes )

My sister Michelle commented a few weeks ago that she thinks Dad would be some sort of woodland creature if he were an animal. I'm not sure why, or even how the subject came up.

Right before the start of winter break, something, I can't remember what, made me think of a book I used to read when I was little: Mrs. Katz and Tush by Patricia Polacco. I decided to try to find it when I got home, but then I got busy (by which I mean absent minded, mostly,) and I never bothered. The thought has been lingering in the back of my mind ever since, so I was amused when I saw yesterday's Writer's Block prompt.

Today, less than 24 hours short of turning 20 years old and feeling nostalg I searched the house and found not only Mrs. Katz and Tush, but a few other old friends as well. 


Mrs. Katz and Tush is the most memorable book from my childhood. Mrs. Katz and Tush is a picture book about the friendship between a young black boy named Larnel and his elderly neighbor Mrs. Katz, a Jewish immigrant from Poland. They bond over an abandoned kitten, Tush, which Larnel convinces Mrs. Katz to adopt, and Mrs. Katz teaches Larnel about Jewish traditions, culminating in a shared Passover seder.

I haven't read the book in over ten years, but there is one scene I still remember: Mrs. Katz takes Larnel to the cememtary with her to visit her late husband. While there, she explains to him the Jewish tradition of putting stones on the graves of loved ones to mark a visit. I found our paperback copy, slightly tattered but still intact, in the back room in the basement. I'll probably reread it tonight.

I found another book by Patricia Polacco in the same box as Mrs. Katz and Tush: Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair, the story of a town where no one reads and the woman who reminds everyone of the power and magic of books. I've always loved reading, and this book was all about why reading was important, so I loved it. 



One of my favorites, mostly because the main character shares my name, was Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. While I've long since lost my copy of that book, I still have the Harper Trophy paperback copy of it's sequel, Julie's Wolf Pack. 





Another favorite of mine, for much the same reason, from when I was even younger is Julie Wyatt Schenk's "Julie's Journey" picture books, illustrated by Mildred Wyatt. The only one I have left is a tattered but complete copy of the first book, Julie Finds a Friend. I've searched the Internet but I can't find a single image of that book. I might scan the cover and add it later so people can see it. Mildred Wyatt's illustrations are very pretty.

One book I distinctly remember from when I was a kid is Minnie's Yom Kippur Birthday by Marilyn Singer, the story of a girl's birthday during Yom Kippur. It was a  hardcover with a blue spine and there was a note from Grammy on the inside cover. I looked everywhere, but I can't find it. We must have given it away.
 

Well, now that I've thoroughly bored any readers that bothered to stick around, I'm off to dinner. I turn 20 tomorrow. Yeah me!
  

I left my old notebook at school, so I can't finish the reviews for People of the Book until after winter break. In the meantime, here are my thoughts on The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff:

This was a fun read. The complex fantasy world isn't explained enough, but the story is good and characters are interesting and likeable. I loved the pop culture references - Torchwood, Supernatural, and the Dresden Files were all mentioned in an offhand way that felt natural and appealed to my geeky inner fangirl.

( Vocabulary )

Wine Stains, Venice 1609

A lot of vocabulary on this one, and only one quote, but still a very interesting chapter. The shame and conflict of the rabbi in particular was so well portrayed that I felt uncomfortable reading it.

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Hanna, Vienna, Spring 1996

Vocab

Vanguard: The foremost or leading position in a trend or movement

Vitrine: A glass-paneled cabinet or case for displaying articles such as china, objects d'art, or fine merchandise

Quaff: To drink (a beverage) heartily

"The big hospitals in Boston merge into one another - Mass General, Brigham and Women's, Dana Farber - it's like a giant industrial park devoted to illness." page 135

"If you don't tell me what you're seeing, I'm going to run you through with your own scalpal." page 143