The Goose Girl, A Northern Light

The Goose Girl ~ 383 Pages

"When she mentioned how much time she sat alone; the next day Geric brought her books on Bayern History, and some tales of courtly love, evil, and justice. He was afraid at first that he had erred again and that she had never learned to read, and then he was relieved that she had."


Here's another retelling of (what else) The Goose Girl, by the Brothers Grimm, by Shannon Hale. I have reread this book a bunch of times, and it never gets old. I love this book because it stays so true and close to the original story, and yet it is it's own story. I love Shannon Hale because she makes things like talking to animals and commanding the elements seem like normal, because it all makes sense. I think everyone would enjoy this book, even if you don't like fantasy. I know most people have read this book, because it was really popular about four years ago, but if you haven't, I recommend it.

Some people say it's too gruesome for people to read, to which I say, do you know nothing of the real story? It's a Brothers Grim story. It's not exactly without some gore. But it's not disgusting or over descriptive. I didn't even notice it, but some reviews make is sound awful. It's not.

I don't have much else to say. Shannon Hale actually made this book the first of four in a series, each book about a different character. (Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Forest Born.) I haven't read Forest Born, but I think I'm going to put it on hold today.

The Goose Girl is 383 pages, so when I finished it, I had 7,982 pages left.


A Northern Light ~ 380 Pages


I smiled, thinking that my teacher sure was dramatic.
"Cripes, Miss Wilcox, they're not guns," I said.
"No, they're not, Mattie, they're books. And a hundred times more dangerous."


I actually read this book first, but I wanted to blog it second because don't they say "last the best of all the game"? To say I enjoyed this book would be an gross understatement.

When I put this book on hold because of a recommendation, I thought it was a typical murder mystery. It  has a death, but it's not about that. The murder in the book is a true story. The letters in the book are the real letters. But it's not about solving the murder, it's not about who-done-it. It's about a young woman, and trying to survive and become something in a small town in 1906.

It's about Mattie Gokey, and her dream of going to college. It's about what is acceptable to your society, as opposed to what you think is right. It's about keeping promises that may hurt you. It's about racism. It's about what love really is, and what it really isn't. It's about coming of age. It's about hope. It's about books.

I don't even know what to say. This book reminded me of my favorite book, (The Book Thief) even though the subjects have almost nothing in common. It's just written so well.

I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone. Especially girls at a turning point in their lives. I know I'll reread this book sometime in the future. Long story short; amazingly talented author, awesome book, good read. 7,602 pages to go.


p.s. I'm 205th now for City of Fallen Angels

Read on,

Jamie