Mystery Annotation

Mystery Annotation

  

Author: Alan Bradley

Title: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia de Luce Novel

Series: Flavia de Luce Mysteries, #6

ISBN: 978-0-385-34405-0

Genre: Mystery, Adult Books for Young Adults, Canadian Fiction

Publication Date: January 2014

Number of Pages: 336 p.

Other Formats: eBook, Audiobook

Geographical Setting: England; Europe

Time Period: 1951

Subject Headings:

De Luce, Flavia

Eleven-year-old girls

Fathers and daughters

Girl detectives

Girl scientists

Intelligence

Murder

Sisters

England

Plot Summary: The sixth installment in the Flavia de Luce mystery series picks up shortly where the last book, Speaking Among the Bones, left off: eleven-year-old amateur detective/chemist Flavia de Luce is awaiting the return of her long lost mother, Harriet, in early 1951 England. On this eagerly anticipated day, it seems that mystery and death cannot escape the precocious Ms. De Luce, as an unfortunate fatality occurs at a train station while waiting for her mother in her hometown of Bishop’s Lacey. Flavia sets forth to unravel this mystery, along with deeply buried secrets held within her own family, in this quickly-moving, climatic conclusion to the mystery of her mother, Harriet, and perhaps a new venture for the series itself.

Appeal

Pacing: Narrative momentum

Story: Plot-driven

Characters: Quirky, Colorful, Introspective

Setting: Detailed, Evocative, Sense of Place

Language: Narrative

Tone: Upbeat

Graphic Meter: Clean

Writing Style: Engaging; Witty

Read-Alikes

Fiction

Love and Murder by Gail Bowen

Both of these cozy mysteries have darker aspects, with family secrets affecting young girls. Preteen Flavia de Luce, the intrepid sleuth in Dead in Their Vaulted Arches and adult Joanne Kilbourn investigating Love and Murder make and resolve astonishing discoveries. – (Katherine Johnson)

Murder Among Us by Jonnie Jacobs

Though Vaulted Arches with its pre-teen sleuth occurs in postwar England, and Murder Among Us relates the investigations of a suburban mother in the 1990s Bay Area, both feature amateurs who must solve complex mysteries when the professionals fail. – (Katherine Johnson)

Eleven Pipers Piping by C. C. Benison

These English cozy mysteries revolve around secrets from the past that amateurs must solve in order to bring their worlds back into correct alignment. Both engaging narratives also feature charming village characters and include girls who have lost their mothers. – (Katherine Johnson)

Nonfiction

Dads and Daughters: How to Inspire, Understand, and Support Your Daughter When She’s Growing Up by Joe Kelly

This title will help readers who are interested in the father-daughter dynamic of Flavia and her father, Colonel de Luce.

Outrageous Fortune: Growing up at Leeds Castle by Anthony Russell

Russell, a descendent of British aristocrats describes his 1950s childhood at Leeds Castle and life in Britain during the 1950’s.

Try to Tell the Story by David Thomson

Film critic and historian Thomson describes his formative years growing up in South London during the 1940s and 1950s. He also explores the nature of family relationships, which will interest readers who were curious as to the relationships Flavia had with her sisters, aunt, and father.

Read a Preview Here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Dead-Their-Vaulted-Arches/dp/0385344058

Reader User Reviews from GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17834904-the-dead-in-their-vaulted-arches

Week 7 Prompt

“Don’t Believe Everything You Read – Fake Memoirs”

For this week’s prompt, I began by reading the Wikipedia entry on ‘Fake Memoirs’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_memoirs) and was surprised to see ‘Go Ask Alice’ by Anonymous on the list. I remember reading this in a high school Psychology class; this wasn’t too long ago, around 2006 – and I honestly can’t recall my instructor telling the class about the controversy surrounding the book, or the fact that a Psychologist, Beatrice Sparks (Sparks is listed as the author – not editor – of the book by the U.S. Copyright Office) , actually penned the book.

I was a sheltered, only child back in high school. I had received no exposure whatsoever to the lifestyle and choices depicted in the book, and had no friends who had ever experimented with or had access to drugs. We were very overprotected and naïve, and some of the passages from the faux-journal shocked me! That being said, I think that this book, even if it does not contain ANY real passages from a drug user’s diary, still has some form of literary merit. However, I feel sort of duped! I don’t think it’s ethical for professors or parents to present fake memoirs to readers or students, or publishers to present these titles to the public as nonfiction when they are in fact works of fiction. Does the fact that these specific instances never happened to the author in question, or the main character in question, lesson the impact that the work can have on the reader? Stories like this do in fact happen, and I know I was moved by the work, despite its reclassification as fiction. Elissa Gershowitz of The Horn Book Magazine claims that the nonfiction tag was intended to ‘scare readers straight,’ but I don’t know how true that claim actually is amongst its intended audience of teens.

In the late 1970’s, the book was being banned in public schools for encouraging ‘experimentation with drugs and sex and having no redeeming social or literary value’ (Library Journal, 920). SPOILER ALERT - Considering Alice DIES at the end of the book, I have a hard time believing that the book is likely to encourage its readers to go out and recreate the lifestyle of Alice, including living on the streets, trading sex for drugs, and other illustrious themes from the book. However, I can see how parents and educators may be concerned that the partying, new experiences and feeling ‘in control’ that Alice felt throughout the book, as the fictional character claimed, could be a lure for some impressionable young readers. I spoke with several YA librarians at the library where I work – where we have a HUGE number of teen patrons due to the large high school located close to us – about the title’s popularity nowadays. They informed me that the title is still popular now, and that as of last week, 2/3 of our copies were checked out. Perhaps the controversy, including the title’s inclusion on ALA’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Book List for 1990-2000, has inspired a new generation of readers to see what all of the fuss is about.

When considering the fake memoir controversy of an author such as James Frey, who sold his book through the media as a true-life account, I definitely felt more betrayed than with the story of Go Ask Alice. I never had a ‘real’ face to put to the story, but with Frey, I was angered at his purposeful deception.  In Praise of the Fake Memoir by Robin Hemley, Hemley, who has taught a class specifically on the Fake Memoir at the University of Iowa, believes that many religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, share some similarities with the fake memoir, which I can agree with. I love her statement that ‘…in the best works, Truth as such is beside the point.’  (122)

I wish I knew back in high school that Go Ask Alice a fake memoir. I really like the idea of a YA display of ‘fake memoirs’ that would invite readers to judge the book based on literary merit itself. Perhaps even packaging two books together – with one title being a true biography, and one being a fake memoir, and having the reader, upon completion of the books, decide which one they liked better (if they had a favorite), which they felt more likely to a be a true account, and other questions.

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Gershowitz, Elissa. “What Makes a Good “Bad” Book?.” Horn Book Magazine 89.4 (2013): 84. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 24 2014.

“Go Ask Alice” Banned; “Fever” Book Burned.” Library Journal 103.9 (1978): 920. Education Source. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.

Hemley, Robin. “In Praise of the Fake Memoir.” English Language Notes 49.2 (2011): 119-124. Humanities Source. Web. 24 Feb 2014.

Horror Annotation

Horror Annotation

Author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley     

Title: Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus

ISBN: 9780141439471

Genre: Classics; Horror Fiction, Science Fiction, Gothic Fiction

Publication Date: January 1818

Number of Pages: 280 p.

Other Formats: eBook, Audiobook, Large Type

Geographical Setting: Geneva, Switzerland; England; Scotland; The Northern Ice; The Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt

Time Period: 1770-1799 (Late 18^th Century)

Subject Headings:

Ethics

Frankenstein’s Monster

Grief in Men

Guilt in Men

Mad Scientist (Concept)

Monsters

Murder

Regeneration (Biology)

Revenge

Scientists

Self-Control

Social Acceptance

Plot Summary: Frankenstein is written through a series of letters that begins with Captain Robert Walton, who is writing letters to his sister, Margaret Walton Saville. Captain Walton describes a massive, looming figure he has spotted on a voyage, and the subsequent rescue of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein by Walton and his crew. Frankenstein shares his story and his hunt for the giant man to the Captain. Frankenstein reveals his past, including his childhood, scientific experiments and his ultimate creation - his 'monster.' Frankenstein's interactions with the monster are detailed throughout the book. When Victor has concluded his story, Captain Walton picks up, giving the reader a more detailed account of grotesque and unfortunate events that have transpired. 

Appeal

Pacing: Measured

Story: Interrelated Stories, Flashbacks

Characters: Faceted, Multiple Points of View

Setting: Detailed, Vivid, Past and Present

Language: Journalistic

Tone: Atmosphere, Moody; Thought-Provoking; Emotional; Tragic; Fatalistic

Graphic Meter: Clean

Framing: Epistolary, Eighteenth Century Europe

Writing Style: Descriptive

Lexile: 140

Read-Alikes

Fiction

Dracula

By Bram Stoker

Genre: Gothic Fiction, Horror Fiction

Writing Style: Compelling, Descriptive

This menacing classic introduces readers to another monster: Dracula. 

The Historian

By Elizabeth Kostova

Genre: Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror Fiction

Writing Style: Compelling, Richly Detailed, Complex

This fast-paced, creepy and suspenseful read tells the story of an Americal girl who investigates Vlad the Impaler.

The Turn of the Screw

By Henry James

Genre: Gothic Fiction, Classics, Horror Fiction

Writing Style: Stylistically Complex

This moody, psychological novel features ghosts, orphans, and a remote country house - sure to give readers the chills!

Nonfiction

Frankenstein: A Cultural History

By Susan Tyler Hitchcock

Genre: Arts and Entertainment

Writing Style: Accessible, Engaging and Scholarly

This is a lighthearted history of Frankenstein that would make a great nonfiction companion piece for readers of the classic. 

Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts

By Emily Anthes

Genre: Science Writing

Writing Style: Engaging

This thought-provoking recent title is a great jumping-off point for readers intrigued by the concepts put forth in Shelley's novel.

The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley's Masterpiece

By Roseanne Montillo

Genre: Arts and Entertainment; Biographies

Writing Style: Compelling

This disturbing literary creation explores the world of Shelley and similar authors, scientists and occultists. 

Read The Book - For Free! http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/

Reader User Reviews from GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18490.Frankenstein