If I could give I WAS HERE by Gayle Forman more than 5 stars, I so would! Wow. Of course I read I WAS HERE in one day in one sitting. I simply could NOT put the book down. As I came to the end, I was weeping, deep, heart-wrenching, soul-deep sobs because this story is just that powerful and because, yes, I too have once or twice in my life "gone there" (Richard). My son asked me how I could FEEL THAT POWERFULLY about a book. Just read it and you might begin to understand. Gayle has another winner on her hands with I WAS HERE.
It's all about each individual making a statement, "I was here"--having an impact--leaving an imprint--knowing that others CARE--knowing that he/she is IMPORTANT. Don't we all wonder these things? Don't we all wonder if anyone would even care if we were no longer here? Isn't that exactly what IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is all about--knowing that you've made a difference in SOMEONE'S life???
But not even all those things....it's also about finding and knowing ourselves--knowing who we are....finding our own identity and
owning it and loving ourselves. Cody (isn't that a wonderful name for a female character in a 21st century book?!) has lived her whole life in Meg's shadow until Meg does the unthinkable--she commits suicide. Cody's life is turned upside down, not just because she was Meg's best friend and she misses her best friend, but also because Cody had lived so much in Meg's shadow that she didn't even know who she herself was--what she wanted in life. It's in her search for answers to Meg's decision to take her own life that Cody finds her own identity and learns that no matter how much we love someone, no matter how much we do for someone, we can never know, truly, ALL there is to know about our loved ones. We can only know ourselves.
All I can say is, go read I WAS HERE by Gayle Forman NOW.......
So while I can't get enough of The Countess, I have to say that Charlie Courtland's THE HIDDEN WILL OF THE DRAGON, 2nd
in her series about The Countess (see my previous post on DANDELIONS IN THE GARDEN) is not one that I enjoyed reading. Yes, I'm still fascinated by the story of the Countess, her legend, and the speculations about her legends about what is real and what isn't. From that perspective, I wanted to read every word of THE HIDDEN WILL.
But the story here just is not well written. I'm sorry Charlie. I don't know what happened or where your editor went, but he/she was NO help to you. The grammatical errors stood out like sore thumbs and took away my enjoyment of reading such a fascinating story. I tried very hard, Charlie, not to pay attention to the grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors, but some of them were so simplistic that even a 4th grader would know better. For example there were several incorrect uses of the word "too" when "to" was meant.
With a little more editing and clean-up in that respect, THE HIDDEN WILL OF THE DRAGON would be well worth the read and I would recommend it with high stars. As I say, I am absolutely fascinated, morbidly so, with the Countess, so regardless of grammatical/spelling/punctuation errors, I am going to continue reading any and everything about her that I can get my hands on.
There's no reason why you can't make those corrections, Charlie Courtland, and put your book in the class of literature [about the Countess] not to be missed. (Please, please, please don't be offended by my comments!!!)
Haha! The first book I finish in 2015 is a fictionalized text telling the story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, DANDELIONS IN THE GARDEN by Charlie Courtland. Awesome! I accept that much of the parts of this version are completely made up by Ms. Courtland for the sake of fictionalized literature, but considering the fact that much of what we know about the Countess is not actually KNOWN anyway, it is always interesting to read what new authors think happened with the Countess. I am absolutely fascinated by Elizabeth Bathory. Her story is one that draws me like a moth to a flame. I can't explain what it is about her that is so incredibly fascinating since so many of the details of her story are so incredibly gruesome, but I the fact remains that I am. I don't know the exact number of books I have or that I have read concerning the Countess, but I would guess that this one is no less than the 5th fictionalized version not to mention the ones I have and/or have read that are based on actual accounts--as historians have the information from legal and historical documents to share. I have watched the movies about her that I have been able to get a hold of. Many of the movies about her are foreign films which makes watching them difficult.
Did you know that you can buy things like mouse pads, coffee
mugs, light switches, and other such trinkets with images of the real Elizabeth Bathory? I've never gone that far in my fascination with her, but I do find it absolutely fascinating that things like that are available for those who want to buy them. Oh, and there is even a wine in honor of her! Apparently you can even go visit her castle and stay in a hotel in the village where they serve food and wine dedicated to the Countess' infamous legend.
Personally, I think what draws us more than anything is not just the blood and gore associated with her, but the fact that there are so many different legends that it is difficult to determine what is fact and what is fiction. It does seem to be a consensus that the Countess Elizabeth Bathory murdered MANY young women--quite a few of them virgins--and murdered them in gruesome ways, quite often torturing the young women hideously prior to their deaths. Some texts say that she killed only about 200 while others say that she killed more than 600 girls. Since I also believe that Elizabeth had a violent temper and that she could fly into a rage faster than a you can shoo a fly, I do believe that the number of murdered girls was a high one.
Of course my fascination will continue as I begin reading the 2nd book in Ms. Courtland's series called THE HIDDEN WILL OF THE DRAGON. I am sure that these books will not be the last ones I read about the fascinating Countess!
Here a few links in case you want to read a little more about her for yourself.
http://www.infamouslady.com/
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bathorys-torturous-escapades-are-exposed
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/21/travel/blood-countess-slovakia/
