The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

one sentence summary:
A woman suffering from depression is treated with isolation and fresh country air by her doctor husband, it does not end well.

Review:
Ok, I know this is a short story, you can read it here http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1952 it is only 6000 words long. Originally published in 1892 it tells the story of a woman who is suffering from depression and they way that women's illnesses were treated at that time. Wonderfully written in the first person it follows the decent into madness that isolation and boredom can bring on. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. It is well written, uses great vocabulary and nicely illustrates a low point in women's history.

10/10

Land of the Lone Star Series - Tracie Peterson

one sentence summary:
Following the American Civil War Texas is in turmoil, but despite it all love finds a way.

review:
The writing is surprisingly good for the genre of "Christian Romance", you may be wondering what the heck I am doing reading a Christian romance novel to begin with, well I have a soft spot for Amish romance stories, and I do enjoy historical romance, so I decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised, I think that the historical setting had a lot to do it, being Christian made sense back then, the lack of scientific discovery and the need to be able to explain why life was so hard. I believe that if I were reading a novel with this many God references set in modern times it would just drive me up the wall, but the historical setting made it all ok. As I said the writing was surprisingly good, with the historical details and the characters being front and center of the story. Peterson did a fantastic job of creating bad guys you couldn't help but hate and couples that you couldn't help but root for. I learned a lot about the history of Texas at this time as well which was really interesting. I also really liked (in the first book) how Peterson tried to reconcile Christianity with the Natives as well, it was interesting to see the characters develop and draw conclusions about their own faith based on the beliefs of others. I recommend this for someone looking for light, romantic, well written, smut-free reading.

6/10

Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez

one sentence summary:
a boy and girl fall in love, she marries someone else, he beds 622 other people, what will happen when they meet again?

review:
This is not an easy read, thus is not recommended for occasional readers, but if you consider yourself a reader I would most likely recommend it to you. It is a beautifully written work and while I understand that love is a difficult thing to write about in a realistic way, the love in this novel is so possible it almost becomes surreal. It moves from love to hatred/obsession and back to love in a rather believable story line. the characters are all well thought out and wonderfully flawed. Well worth reading if you enjoy reading.

6/10

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

one sentence summary
Four sisters have only each other to rely on.
review
This is a quaint read, it is enjoyable and highly entertaining. It does have a bit too much religion for our modern sensibilities but it is still a worth while read. It shows how important family is by drawing four very different characters together through family and love. Aimed at female preteens/teens this novel offers a number of important life lessons.  I recommend it to anyone who likes to read.
8/10