Book Beginnings on Fridays/Friday 56: The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed, and Book Blogger Hop

 

        Hi! Welcome to my Friday post, which wraps up my first Week of Book Memes. When I started the Week of Book Memes, my goal was to post more regularly so that I could start interacting with the book blogging community. And, to my surprise, I met that goal 100 percent. Earlier this week I got to participate in some of the most popular book memes on the Internet, including an IMWAYR, Top Ten Tuesday list, and a Can't-Wait Wednesday...some of them for the very first time! If you haven't looked at those, feel free to check them out. And if you have already, thank you. It makes me happy to see fellow book lovers and book bloggers reading and enjoying my posts.

    To wrap up this week, I am participating in my second Book Beginnings on Fridays. (You can find my first one, which I did last month, HERE.) I'm also adding another meme onto that and participating in Friday 56.

    The book I'm shoving into the spotlight is one that my mom read aloud to me a couple of years ago for school. It's a rollicking tale that features a strong, spirited heroine and a historical setting that's described enough to pull you into the story. Its sequel is even better. Originally the author planned to write a trilogy around this character and her adventures, but sadly the last book was never published. Since then the author has moved on to writing other things, but I believe I'm going to be one of those lingering fans who will always daydream about what the last book might have been like.

Title: The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed

Author: Heather Vogel Frederick

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: October 1835. Patience Goodspeed, almost thirteen years old, departs from Nantucket aboard her father's whaling ship. Between kitchen duty and whale blubber stench, this voyage is far from a pleasure cruise. At least Papa lets Patience assist the ship's navigator since she's so good at calculations.

But the smooth sailing doesn't last long. Mutinous mates maroon most of the crew, including Patience's father and brother, on a deserted island. Can Patience rescue everyone before it's too late?

First Line: "Absolutely, positively not!" roared my father in a voice meant to be heard through the teeth of a Cape Horn gale.

My Thoughts: This first line is another winner. The first sentence alone screams conflict and a bunch of questions that have yet to be answered. For example: Whose father is yelling? Why is he yelling? What's he yelling about? What's going to happen next? At the same time I feel like the first line perfectly captures the intriguing, adventurous, and daring nature of the entire book. And, like all great first lines, it makes you want to read more!

    Now, on to page 56!

From The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed: "Your father's not an easy man with words, Cousin Patience," he [Jeremiah] said awkwardly, "and I gather that you're not entirely delighted to be here aboard the Morning Star. But I do know that you and your brother are very dear to him, something that you will perhaps see for yourself in time."

    Last, I thought it would be interesting to try and answer one of the Book Blogger Hop questions. I stumbled on this lovely idea while looking at other bloggers' Book Beginnings on Fridays the last time I joined them, and wanted to get in on the fun.

This Week's Question: Do you read books that have an autumn theme?

My Answer: Most often, no. I've honestly never read a book like that! Sometimes I'll read a contemporary fiction book that mentions autumn, or has autumn as a season in the background, but since I usually read fantasy, actual autumn themes are almost nonexistent in my reading world.

    So, that concludes today's post, and this first Week of Book Memes! I was thrilled by the results of this past week, and am already planning to do a special week like this in the future...possibly once a month so I don't stress myself out too much. Overall, I really enjoyed getting to stretch myself, read all the great, new comments, and give you a closer peek into my mental bookshelf. So, I'd say this week was a success.

    What about you? Have you read about Patience Goodspeed? If so, what did you think about it? Is your Book Blogger Hop answer different than mine? If you have a book blog, feel free to link to any of your book meme posts for today, a great review, or to the home page of your blog. I'd love to see it.

    Next week I have a very special, very awesome surprise. I don't want to spoil what I'm posting too much, but I will tell you that it is in the form of an interview. Another thing I'll write is that, in my opinion, this is the best accomplishment of Stepping Stones Book Reviews so far! I hope you're interested enough to come back and see it.