Samantha Hastings

I loved this movie.  It had everything I could possibly want in a movie: great acting, compelling story, beautiful scenery, sumptuous costumes, romance and it was clean!      Watch the trailer.   "Belle" is based on a real story and a intriguing painting of two cousins: Dido (Belle) and her cousin Elizabeth were raised by their Great Uncle and Aunt, Lord and Lady Mansfield.  In the movie, both ladies portray how difficult it was to be a woman (whatever your color) during the 18th century with very few options outside of marriage.    Dido's uncle is the chief justice (kind of like the head of the supreme court) and there is a huge case about a slave ship and whether or not you can insure human cargo.    Two gentlemen of good family who are interested in the cousins.   Enter a young idealistic man who wants to change the world.   I don't want to give spoilers.  A thought-provokin...

Title:   How does the title help you understand the book better? Would your reading or understanding of the book change if the title were different? Could you think of alternate titles for the story? Does the title refer to another piece or literature or a religious figure or symbol? Wide Sargasso Sea : The novel’s first working title was “The First Mrs. Rochester”, followed by “False Legend” and “Solitaire”.   Rhys also titled it, “What the Hell or Where’s Jane.”   Would a different title have changed your reading of the novel?   Do you like any of these titles better? Epigraph:    How would you compare the epigraph to the book as a whole, a specific character, or a theme of the story?     An Unfinished Life:   Why do you think Spragg chose to add an epigraph to the beginning of the book? How would you compare the epigraph (excerpt from poem “Not Dying” by Mark Strand) to the book as a whol...

Rewritten fairytales, or fractured fairytales, are old stories told with new twists.   WILDWOOD DANCING   by Juliet Marillier Five sisters who live with their merchant father in Transylvania use a hidden portal in their home to cross over into a magical world, the Wildwood, where they dance with their pet frog.   Companion novel: Cybele’s Secret . THE GOOSE GIRL   by Shannon Hale On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and must become a goose girl to survive.   The first book in the Books of Bayern series. Another great title is The Book of a Thousand Days.   PRINCESS OF THE MIDNIGHT BALL b y Jessica Day George Twelve princesses wear out their shoes dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the king's gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse.   The sequel is Princess of Glass . Try also, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow .   Enchanted   by...