Wednesday, February 20, 2013

a great and terrible beauty

I've got a review of a great book for you today, but first, let's talk parenting.

Baby D had his 2 month checkup on Monday, and I got a ridiculous amount of information thrown at me. The one thing the doctor said that I'm having a seriously hard time with is not to rock D to sleep at night or for naps. She said to put him down in his crib when it's time to sleep, and let him "fuss it out" until he learns to self-soothe.

Now, I'm all for a little self-soothing. I don't want to have to rock my 16 year old before bed every night. But, come on people! He is TWO MONTHS OLD! 

And besides, who doesn't like a little cuddling before bed?

Seriously, could you deny this face a little cuddle?


You should know that he is a champ at sleeping. He's sleeping through the night most nights, from about 10 pm to 5 am, so we are obviously doing something right.

I really don't see how something as simple as rocking the sweet baby for 5 minutes before his nap can cause detrimental effects down the road.

But hey, I don't have an M.D.

What about you? What is your opinion on the "cry it out" method?
Because I pretty much think it's for the birds. I'll rock my baby just as long as I can, thank you very much.

And now, onto the books!!!


Book: A Great and Terrible Beauty
Author: Libba Bray
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Series: The Gemma Doyle Trilogy
Pages: 403

I read this book many years ago, and it's one that I could read over and over again. It is told from the perspective of Gemma Doyle, a 16 year old English girl who was raised in India. On Gemma's 16th birthday, she sees a vision of her mother being mysteriously murdered in the marketplace, and only a few moments later it comes true. 

A mysterious boy named Kartik, a member of an ancient order called the Rakshana, finds Gemma in the marketplace and warns her that she must close her mind to these visions, or horrible things will happen.

With her mother dead, and her father developing an addiction to laudanum, Gemma is shipped off to England to attend Spence Academy, a harsh and unwelcoming boarding school. 

There, her visions continue to grow, until one night they lead her to the caves behind the school, and she stumbles upon a diary written many years earlier by someone named Mary Dowd. Mary writes about experiencing the same types of visions as Gemma, and of something called the Order, a powerful group of women who possessed special powers. 

Gemma and her new found friends Felicity, Pippa, and Ann begin to play around with the rituals in the diary, never thinking it might actually work, until one night, they open a door between realms and stumble upon a more magical world than they could possibly imagine. 

But there are those who do not want them to possess such power and magic, and it becomes increasingly more dangerous for them to visit the realms.

Maybe this book appeals to me so much because, let's face it. What young girl didn't dream of possessing magical powers and being able to influence the world around her? I'm also fairly sure I was born in the wrong century, and would love to have lived in the 1800's (minus the whole "women are lesser beings" shenanigans)

Overall, it is an extremely entertaining book that will have you dying to continue the series;
book two is Rebel Angels and book three is The Sweet Far Thing.

Let me know if you enjoy this book!




1 comment:

  1. I rock Carson every single night!! He is 19 months old. I am not a fan at all of the cry it out method...I have had other friends who did it and I find that they have had a lot of trouble with their children being very clingy when they go anywhere or try to do anything. Denise said she rocked all of her kids to sleep every night until they wouldn't let her anymore. They are all very successful people!! I say keep on rockin'!

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