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Literary Friday: The Rosemary Spell

Friday, February 5, 2016




Happy Literary Friday!  So sorry for posting this late, but I'm slow moving this morning.  This week I read The Rosemary Spell by Virginia Zimmerman.  It's this quarter's book club selection for Page à Vu.  Click on the button below and visit the blog!


Page à Vu
According to Goodreads:

Best friends Rosie and Adam find an old book with blank pages that fill with handwriting before their eyes. Something about this magical book has the power to make people vanish, even from memory. The power lies in a poem—a spell. When Adam's older sister, Shelby, disappears, they struggle to retain their memories of her as they race against time to bring her back from the void, risking their own lives in the process.

I really enjoyed this little book.  It's characterized as a middle grades book probably because the main characters are in middle school, but I think YA readers will enjoy it, too, given the supernatural qualities of the magical book.  Thought to be a Shakespeare false codex, the mysterious book contains a list of flowers and herbs found in Shakespeare's writings.  The rosemary spell is from Ophelia's mad speech:  "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray [you], love, remember." This book would enhance the reading of Hamlet and/or Macbeth.
The codex itself is found in Rosie's room which at one time belonged to a famous poet, Constance Brook.  Rosie and Adam are partners working on a classroom poetry project and decide to choose Constance as their topic.  They believe she's their only hope in saving Shelby from the void, but when they visit her at the nursing home it's clear that Alzheimer's has taken its toll on her once sharp and creative brain.  Constance does have a few lucid moments, and with her hints and their research, Rosie and Adam think they know how to rescue Shelby, but they are pushed for time because the spell becomes permanent at the start of the new moon.
The timing could not have been better for my reading this book because we are reading Hamlet now in school, and next week we'll read a few sonnets before moving on to Macbeth.  I've already decided to assign The Rosemary Spell as independent reading next week.  
Thanks to Beth, Angie, and Kenzie for a great choice for this quarter!



This book also contributes to my Gothic Book Challenge hosted by Diana @ Book of Secrets.


What have you been reading this week?  This is a link party!

Until next time...
Happy reading!
Ricki Jill

7 comments

  1. Ricki Jill I hope you are feeling better with the flu, you poor sweet friend. OMGosh where do you find all these delightful books I wanna read?!
    xoxo,
    Vera

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  2. This book sounds fabulous. I am off to order it. Have a great weekend.

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  3. Sounds like a good one! I enjoy reading YA books from time to time.

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  4. Hope you are feeling better. I'm still hacking, but I did get out in the garden today for a bit. It was likely not a great idea, but needed to get some things done. The book sounds interesting. I recently read The Death of a Unicorn. It was an OK read, but didn't wow me. Not the quality of Downtown Abbey, though it was supposed to appeal to those of us who are DA fans.

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  5. Hi Ricki Jill. I just have to pop in a say that i have just finished reading The Red Notebook. I LOVED it!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your love of reading and books. Now I am trying to track down the President's Hat but no one out here has it :(
    Anyway thank you for this!!'

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  6. I'm so glad you liked it! :D I was surprised how many layers it had, given it's position as a Middle Grade. I think you're right, that was a default because of the age of the MCs. But really, this book has some maturity to it. I loved it, although the concept of the void freaks me out. How could you not abuse that power, knowing it exists? And why not utterly destroy the book, knowing what it does?!

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  7. Hi Ricki Jill, I always enjoy seeing what you're reading! Hope you're feeling better, I sent a little Valentine's love your way. ♥

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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