The Striped Ships

Rating:
Summary: The Tapestry of Bayuex Still sould Be Read
Review: I loved this book! The characters where well defined and I thought it gave a great image of the horror that Saxons experienced during the Norman Conquest. The story was believeable and the discription in it was incredible! Juliana's escape from Hastings and the Eloise McGraw described way living in Canterbury was amazing. However, if you didn't like this book I can understand if you thought that Juliana's life would still be undecided once she finished the Bayuex Tapestry. But istill think this is one of the best books i have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: The Tapestry of Bayuex Still sould Be Read
Review: I read this 229 page novel for my Honors 9 Geography 5 themes project. This book is based on a 1066 period of time that happened in various places around England. The Normans took over parts of England and destroyed a lot of the people's lives and really effected their economy. One brave, strong girl by the name of Juliana travels from heart-braking place to another in search of something her heart desisres. She finds out what it is in the end while going through loss of family, hard work, devistating sights, and adventures you won't forget. I like how the author uses very good literary devices to get you "involved" with the book. There were nights where I just didn't want to put the book down because it was really exciting. One thing I thought was difficult about this book was, the word choices McGraw chose. A lot of the words were advanced so I would not reccomend this book for a real young person. I am in grade 9 and had somewhat hard time understanding it at times. But what was really helpful was McGraw put a glossary in the back of the book which helped A LOT. I had never known that such a devistating thing took place over in England and by reading this book it helped me understand the hardness that the people went through. There were a few parts that were a little grusome, but not too bad for a book that deals with war. I would strongly reccomend this book to people who are interested in the history of England, or just want a good novel to sit and cuddle up with. But if you read this book you need to understand that it is not just a relaxation book; it is about an awful war that took place.

Rating:
Summary: Good job!
Review: This is a children's book, but I'm 25 and I still enjoyed it. I wish that there had been a little bit more about King Harold and Duke William, but the story is still a gripping one, set in that all-important year of 1066.

Rating:
Summary: Only So-So
Review: Yeah, so I read "Mara Daughter of the Nile" and LOVED it. Naturally I ran to the library to find all of the Eloise McGraw books possible. I stumbled upon this book. "Mara" was a lot ot live up to and this novel fell sort. Yeah, it was beleivable and the charactors were good. The history part was good too. But where is the suspense, the intrigue? Juliana found here nitch in life while embodering the tapestry, but when it was over, then what was she to do. Here problems weren't really solvered. Her life was not yet stable. Truley the end was unsatasfactory. And now we come to one of the biggest problems it just seemed more juevenile then the previous books. So, I'm going to try the next McGraw novel in hopes that it lives up to my expectations. Will the Golden Goblet be Satisfactory? One never knows.