Tagged: catherine
The Redheaded Stepchild by Kelly I. Hitchcock
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Cady O’Donnell is The Redheaded Stepchild, the heroine without any grandiose heroic actions. In this disjointed collection of short stories, we follow Cady as she tries on every hat in the this-is-your-life store to see what fits and works best in the adventures she shares with her special head of hair. Each chapter acts as a screaming independent connection between the most formative years of her life, as she meets, lives with, and loses one of the most influential people in her lifetime. Set in a rural community in Minnesota, The Redheaded Stepchild is an archetype of life in small-town America and a testament that the broken family is the new whole family, just as Cady O’Donnell shows how the unwanted stepchild can be a everyday hero.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from Kelly Hitchcock in exchange for an honest review.]
Sometimes, after reading fantasy and science fiction you lose sight of the fact that normal life makes good fiction as well. The Redheaded Stepchild is just that: a tale about normal life out in rural America, which is also applicable to rural Canada. And as someone who grew up in a very rural area, I can say with absolute certainty that Kelly Hitchcock portrays rural life incredibly well without any embellishments.
Our heroine Catherine, or Cady for short, isn’t a kick-butt action heroine that you find in a lot of sci-fi and fantasy. She’s just an average girl trying to deal with a dysfunctional family situation. Her family’s poor but not starving, her father is divorced and has remarried and she’s going to college to make a better life for herself. No, nothing truly unusual or overly dramatic here. But that doesn’t mean The Redheaded Stepchild isn’t interesting. What it does mean is that you get a slice of normal characters trying to deal with normal life, a true rarity in fiction. It sort of puts things in perspective as we watch Cady grow up through several disjointed short stories. (Of course everything is tied together in the end, but I found it was an interesting way to tell Cady’s story.)
Really, what else is there to say? Cady was a great character with a believable character arc, the plot was not fast-paced but it was interesting and Kelly Hitchcock’s quality of writing is excellent. The Redheaded Stepchild probably isn’t for everyone, but if you’re tired of fantastic stories and want a slice of normal life, this would be a great book for you.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Catherine: The Great Journey by Kristiana Gregory
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
4 January 1744, Zerbst
She leaned forward, taking my chin in her hand. “You must tell no one what I’m about to say—not your brother, not even Mademoiselle. Understand?”
I nodded. Was she afraid that if others knew the truth they might convince me to run away, thereby spoiling her scheme?
“If the King approves of you…then you and I shall be driven by sleigh out of Prussia, all the way to St. Petersburg, to meet with Empress Elizabeth….She has selected you, my poor ugly daughter to be Peter’s fiancée. Unless you spoil things, the two of you will marry and one day rule all of Russia.”
I know very little about Russian history, so Catherine: The Great Journey was eye-opening to say the least! Did you know Catherine the Great’s real name was Sophie and that she was named Catherine when she was in Russia because of the bad connotations her name had there? I sure didn’t. That’s why it wasn’t only Catherine’s amazing character in this novel that appealed to me, but it was also the history added in.
So far Catherine is my favourite character in the entire Royal Diaries series. Considering that by now I’ve read over half of the books in the series, that’s saying something. In the young Catherine we see the effects of her abusive mother on her worldview, but also her innate thirst for knowledge that would carry on into her later life. This is one princess who makes a point to learn the language of her country and be a good wife if only because of her ambitions to become czarina. An ambitious princess? Shocking, especially in this series aimed at young girls (8-13). But is it satisfying and does it make sense within the context of the story? Absolutely!
The rich descriptions of Russian life are insightful and interesting without Kristiana Gregory ever having to default to Professor Mode and start lecturing. This is the kind of book you is enjoyable to read as an adult, despite being aimed at a much younger audience. Not only do we get to learn about Catherine’s private struggles, but she is actually concerned and knowledgeable about the world around her, including her future country. Amazing, isn’t it?
I give this book 5/5 stars.