Amy Butler GreenfieldCritiques

Group read for museum reading group. Interesting enough to finish.

Given what an interesting life Elizebeth led, this is a boring biography with little emotional engagement.

Enthralling look at the cochineal bug which makes red dye. Interesting for everyone not just those interested in natural dyes. People fought and died for this stuff. A good read and a fine example of the micro history trend.

When hired by an eccentric millionaire to tease out secret messages in Shakespeare's plays, Elizebeth discovered a hidden talent for code breaking. During WWI and WWII, Elizebeth and her husband William both became the premier experts, and key players in the fields of cryptanalysis.

Although this book was well written and engaging, I felt like I had read this book, or a similar one before. Both Elizebeth and William's lives were utterly fascinating. It was intriguing to read about both their successes and failures. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

This biography tells the incredible true story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a cryptanalyst during both World Wars, who worked to crack codes and ciphers used to mask military and spy messages.

Keep bringing on the stories of overlooked folks who made a big difference! Elizebeth (and no, that's not a typo, apparently her mother really didn't want her nickname to be "Eliza") is a fascinating woman, and I loved the story of both her and her husband William who both worked for the U.S. government in various capacities. In a time where women seldom went to college and ended their careers when they had babies, Elizebeth bucked the norm with the full support of her husband. The prose sometimes made me want to pull out an editor's pen, and maybe cross out one or two of those sentences that compared researching a part of Elizebeth's life to decoding. But this YA biography will have a lot of appeal beyond that age group.½

Another woman buried in history by the patriarchy, now resurrected for our edification. Elizebeth Smith Friedman was not simply the wife of cryptologist William Friedman, but was a formidable code breaker herself. While she was apparently well known in the 1930s because she was a woman codebreaker, she went "dark" to protect her work, and after death, poof, gone from history.

But what I loved most about her story was the humanity of it. Elizebeth did not lead a glamorous life. Most of it she toiled away for the government and had her work claimed by others, like the FBI.
She had a loving relationship with her husband, who supported her working and loved her brilliance, but it was made difficult by his bouts of severe depression, severe enough that he underwent electroshock therapy.

Elizebeth grew up on a farm in Indiana, the youngest of many children, and began her career in 1917, after finishing college, when she was hired by an odd millionaire named George Fabyan. She was hired to help find the secret codes embedded in Shakespeare's work! (Well, she concluded there weren't any.) Here she met her future husband, William.

Eventually they escaped the clutches of this odd man, and went to work for various branches of the armed forces. During her working life, Elizabeth served as a cryptologist during World War I, Prohibition, and World War II. Her work made a real difference in each of these events.

And here we were, growing up in the 50s and 60s, thinking all women who came before us stayed home and tended house, well, maybe except for Rosie the Riveter during WWII.

History (even the name History implies a "him") really is written by those in power. But things really are changing for women in the 21st century.

One thing I do wonder: why was this book marketed as Young Adult? Much of the content, especially about her married life, would not appeal to teens.

Lolli Jacobsen

Only reason I gave it three stars rather than four is that the prose is a little slow at times. Otherwise, it was pretty good. See my full review over in my blog here.

Chantress I can't deny that what drew me into Chantress was really the premise. I love when books stray away from the norm, and Lucy's story sounded like one that had awesome potential! Sadly about halfway through the book I found myself flagging in wanting to finish it.
 
It's not that the premise isn't fresh. I've never heard of a Chantress before, and Amy Butler Greenfield does a great job of sharing their background. The problem is that in order to build this world, there is a huge info dump required. I learned so much about what it meant to be a Chantress, but never really fell in love with the concept.
 
My other issue was that Lucy didn't seem real to me. Although this is marked as a young adult book, I felt like her character would have done better as a middle grade character. Her whole personality is very young. I understood that she grew up secluded from the world. I was willing to give her that. However I never felt like she evolved at all as a person.
 
By the time the romance aspect came into play, I just wasn't feeling it.I did ultimately finish Chantress, so it kept me reading. I can't say that I'll be back for more of Lucy's story though.

Really good.

MC is smart. When I was screaming at her NOT TO GO INTO THE BASEMENT, she didn't go into the basement! How many characters do that?

THe romance was well-done, but I was pretty cynical about it, so...

And the plot. Man, I don't what it is about Historical Fantasies, but I haven't yet come across one I didn't like.

Definitely want the next book.

This was a fasctinating book - so much information that I knew the top layer of, but had no idea all the history that lurked beneath! I love reading about how some tiny event, object or person can shift the entire world history ... and this book is full of those lovely gems. A more in-depth look at the entire timeline would take many many books, as this covers everything from ancient red dyes through Cortez and Spanish rule of the Americas, and on into 20th century chemical dye creations. So while the author basically paddled through the shallow end of the history swimming pool, she did it very well. I never felt like asking the book "but wait! what about that thing you mentioned earlier?" - all loose ends are tied up. A very well-written book - I don't think I ran across a single sentence that made me wince and think "needs an editor!" or "where was the proof-reader when this sentence was approved?". Very good work - direct, detailed, yet also gives a big-picture view of the history of not just red dye, but dye in general.

The one quibble I have with the book is with the figures (illustrations/photos). The text references the photos by figure number ("see fig 2") - but the figures themselves ARE NOT LABELED THAT WAY. Gah! You have to physically count 1, 2, 3 etc in order to make sure you're looking at the correct figure. And there's no actual photograph of the item that has a starring role in the book, nor is there a photograph of the plant it lives on. Nor is there a photo of the dried, powdered dyestuff. But there is a scientific drawing in the figures that isn't even labeled or described on the photo page! Very very frustrating. Hundreds of pages in the book about this ingredient, and no photos of it.

So while the writing gets 5 stars, the lack of photo labelling and lack of wanted photos takes it down to 3 stars - so averaged at 4.

Chantress Alchemy is the sequel to Chantress, and it surpassed my expectations. I was pulled in from the very beginning.

Lucy has grown up so much from the first book. She still has many insecurities when it comes to her magic, though. Nat is acting really weird in this installment, and it seems like our favorite characters from the first installment have lost their minds. We also meet a few new characters. Some of them I adore, and others were terrifying.

There is more romance in Chantress Alchemy, but it isn’t overpowering. It takes place in the background. I love that because it doesn’t take away from the plot of the story. Now the plot is great. It’s a mystery, and everyone is trying to find out who took the piece needed for the alchemy experiments going on. I liked that we get a look at alchemy since it was very popular in this time period. I also enjoyed the fact that I didn’t realize who the culprit was until it was announced in the book. I freaking love when that happens.

Chantress Alchemy is definitely stronger than the first book! I hope we get to see more of the new characters in the next book. You never know who you can trust.

First I have to say that I adore this cover. It’s stunning! Secondly, I thought I knew what kind of magic this book would be talking about, and I was wrong. But wrong in a good way, because this was so much better than what I went in thinking.

I love Lucy. Her innocence is so sweet, and she only wants to try to help free the kingdom the Lord Protector. I think she was naive is some parts thinking she could use her magic on others without their permission. She begins to realize that she shouldn’t do that. It’s fun watching her interact with people because she’s been isolated for most of her life, and is pretty awkward. The secondary characters were done well, also. I love Nat. He’s cautious, and isn’t sure how he feels about magic. Penebrygg is so sweet, and Lady Helaine is crazy. Well, maybe not crazy, but drives you nuts because she’s so pushy.

Chantress starts off pretty slow, but events pick up pretty quickly. She’s constantly on the run, and trying to hide. I like that there was a bit of history mixed into the story to make it more real. We also see how awful, and enchanted, people can get when it comes to power and magic.

I enjoyed Chantress, and hope the next one is just as good.

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of this and truly enjoyed it. I am a sucker for magic that relates to music, and I love how detailed the Chantress magic is, and I am intrigued by the mysteries left to explore. This wrapped up with a satisfying ending, but I am eager to see what will come in the sequel!

A fascinating history of cochineal cultivation and use, including the various schools of thought on its origins during the period of Spanish monopoly. For a book of this type (popular history of commodity X), this is very well done indeed.

Lucy, shipwrecked on an island at 8, is forbidden to sing by guardian Norrie. On All Hallows Eve 1667, at 15, she sings, and is swept into darkness. She wakes to hear powerful men hunt Chantresses who sing magic into the world. At the Invisible College she finds sanctuary, plots to overthrow the evil Lord Protector, and distrustful scientist-apprentice Nat. Only a Chantress can overcome the Protector, and Lucy is the last in England.

The story opens with young Lucy living virtually alone on an island. It would seem that she has lived here her entire life. But why you ask? Well to protect her from danger of course! Her mother put her here for her protection, telling her to never remove her pendant, but not why. And then of course mom disappears, leaving Lucy lost and confused, and certainly unaware of the risk she takes by removing said pendant.

Immediately upon removing the pendant she hears music, and automatically sings in response. Her song transports her almost directly into the hands of the Lord Protector, no place any Chantress ever wants to be, even one who doesn't know that she is a Chantress. For the evil Lord Protector has done his best to eliminate Chantresses, women who sing magic, as only a Chantress can destroy him. Now she must hide, and try to learn a lifetime's worth of spells to protect herself, all the while the Lord Protector searches all London for her.

Personally I found this book to be lacking in the plot department. Aside from a slow and somewhat tepid romance with Nat, very little seems to happen, especially in the middle of the book. Sure, Lucy is learning to use her powers and her character grows as part of the process, but I don't think any of us needed the process to last for more than one hundred pages. It would have been nice if some of that time had been devoted to giving us more of the Invisible College and it's members.

What action there was came and went so quickly that it was difficult to find myself invested in the results. Part of the problem was the lack of a strong villain - we are told how wicked and terrible he is, when we should have been shown. And while the characters were interesting, at least what parts we saw, they felt a bit out of step with the time period for me. The characters came across as being a bit too modern for the era they live in.

Also, the creative license taken with the historical era and the strong leanings towards fantasy made the book come across as conflicted. It seemed as if it wanted to be historical fiction sometimes and fantasy at others, ending up leaving both its characters and readers confused. I'd have preferred if the author had just picked one genre and stuck with it throughout.

With all that said, I did still enjoy the book as a whole. It was creative and felt fresh, which was a nice change of pace from several books I had read in the same period of time. And upon finishing I learned that is just the first book in a series, so hopefully all that lengthy, careful, world-building will payoff in future books.

This review and more can be found at www.popcrunchboom.com!

The beginning of the book drew me in more than most books. Lucy was shipwrecked on this island with only her guardian Norrie. As Lucy grew up she knew only the life she had lived with Norrie on the island and that meant absolutely no singing. But as the days grow closer to All Hallows Eve the year Lucy is 15, she begins to hear voices singing when she is outside. The intense desire to sing is too strong for Lucy and her curiosity combined lead to a life-changing occurrence when Lucy opens her mouth and sings. Instantly she is thrown into an unfamiliar world and is fortunately found by Nat, an apprentice and member of the Invisible College. With his help and the guidance of the Invisible College, Lucy learns about her ability as a Chantress, her power to overthrow the evil Lord Protector, and the strength that lies within her.

Greenfield did a great job of introducing a unique story into the Young Adult fantasy genre. I enjoyed her take on magic and the story arc of Lucy. Although the overall story seems similar to other novels in the sense that one girl has the power to "save the world" from evil, the specific story of Lucy was entertaining. The idea of singing as a form of magic isn't unique when looking through history, but the way Greenfield presented it in this story made it seem fresh. I know that I haven't read anything recently with this type of magical power and it was refreshing to experience a new thing on the fantasy market.


What made this story really work was the setting. Having Lucy's story take place in the late 1600s really made the story believable as a reader and really matched the form of magical power she chose for Lucy. This setting was a prime time for the rise of science and the condemnation of anything "witch-like," "unexplainable," or paranormal." This made the secondary characters' actions believable as well.

What I really loved about the book was the slow relationship build between Nat and Lucy. For a good number of books, the attraction is instantaneous and the relationship (or chemistry) builds fast. But with Chantress the relationship grew slowly. It wasn't a so-slow-I-don't-think-it-will-ever-happen kind of slow, but an easy, natural, more like real life kind of slow. Nat wasn't trusting of Lucy and her powers and Lucy didn't trust Nat and his ties with the Invisible College. Both characters grew in trust and eventually into like. Since this is the first book, the relationship is still building and I can't wait to see it develop more in the following novel.

Another thing I really liked about Chantress was one of the villains. Lord Protector, the main villain, was a typical "I want to rule the world" kind of villain that needed a reality check. But the Shadowgrims were what impressed me. I loved new creatures because I love how the authors had such a great imagination to invent them. The Shadowgrims reminded me of the flying-monkeys in The Wizard of Oz as well as the dementors from Harry Potter. Shadowgrims are ravens that can read your minds. They have a certain way of torturing you until your mind tells them everything they want to know.

"'And attack they do,' Penebrygg said. 'But not with beaks and talons. They brush their feathers against your skin feeding on your thoughts as they once fed on carrion and flesh. Their touch is like fire, scorching and searing you. The terror scalds your very soul. And as you burn, the Shadowgrims pick at your mind, stripping away thoughts they later share with Scargrave'" (p.64).

Readers do get to see this in action too. I know the above passage is more tell versus show like readers like to see, but I like the description all the same. I'm sure it scared Lucy just as much as it intrigued me.

That leads me into my few faults with the story. There was some more tell versus show then I would have liked to have seen within the novel. This brought the pace of the story down. I know it's really hard to show instead of telling as a writer. It's something I struggle with myself, so I can sympathize. Hopefully Greenfield with clean this up in the second book with more action now that Lucy is a more developed character.

The middle of the book was also a little slow while building up for all the action at the end. It focused a lot on her trying to gain control of her powers while the Invisible College continued to learn more about the right time to take down the Lord Protector. Although this was the slowest part of the book, it was also the part where we saw more glimpses of the Nat and Lucy relationship development. The characters interacted more together alone and were able to blossom as a love interest.

Overall, the novel was an interesting read. If you like YA fantasy with some romance I would definitely recommend the book to you. I have high hopes for the second book to continue the story. I can't wait to see what direction she takes it in and what challenges will arise for Lucy. Will Lucy and Nat's relationship build more? Are there any more chantresses out there?

I did not realize this was Junior fiction when I ordered it, but it was an enjoyable story none the less. A young orphaned boy and girl from London are taken hostage and sold in America as indentured servants. This is a good story for young boys and girls to read and understand how good they have it now!

((This review can also be found on my blog Underneath the Books))

I'd like to start off by saying that I've never been a fan of historical novels. I'd pick one up and never get as close as to finishing it. This genre just wasn't intriguing for me - especially when most of them dealt with subjects I never cared enough about. But fantasy novel put in 1600s? Yes, I'll take that. And let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed. What I do not understand though, is that it took me more than a month to finish it. Usually, I read books I don't like for this long. Maybe it was the fact that I'd always find another book to read that sounded more intriguing than this one, especially when it's slow-paced at the beginning and I had a hard time concentrating enough to get through all phrases I wasn't used to and the slowness of the book in general. However, that slowness wasn't particularly bad for me. In fact, I felt as it was necessary. In my opinion, if an author put more action in the middle, this book would lose its purpose. Everything was built the way it should've been - MC finding out she's not your usual teenage girl, MC finding herself in another place, MC learning about herself, MC training, and then a finale. I did notice that a lot of readers complain about it, but I thought it was well built and well planned.

The romance in this book is one of my favourite parts. In fact, there almost isn't any until about 70% of a book. As well as the book, it wasn't rushed, it wasn't unnatural, it wasn't sappy and corny as hell (which I'd really grown to hate), but it was just the way it was supposed to be - sweet enough, almost your every day teenage love (though not really, but as natural as the real "I'm in love" can get).

Lucy wasn't annoying. I'd even say she was very entertaining character to get to know and to listen to. She had her fears, she had her doubts, and she had her bravery not a lot of characters have in these-days novels. Actually, I don't think I was annoyed by any character all that much. All of them were likable enough and even though there were moments where some of the characters irked me, I could not hate them. None of them are truly evil, except for one, though I think even he has a good side in himself, just like all of us. They were all complex and very well thought of. In conclusion, characters were the ones that made this novel even better.

All things considered, this book was enjoyable, though slow-paced and a bit hard to get through at time. It's one of the better I read this year, that's for sure, and it made me want to read more historical novels. I think I'll give them more chance from now on. However, this is definitely not a book for everyone - some will like it, some will hate it, some will find it boring. I liked it and I'm looking forward to reading its sequel.

The Good Stuff

Unique premise
Nice to see the accurate historical information included after the story
Likeable heroine although you might want to smack her a couple of times
Fabulous moody setting, felt I was part of the story and the ravens creeped me out
Beautifully written with a stunning cover
Unusual combination of fantasy and history
No ins ta-love - well developed romance - extremely well done

The Not So Good Stuff

Really, another trilogy - enough already publishers. This book would be perfect as a standalone
Mother is horrific

Favorite Quotes/Passages

"I'm afraid that informers are everywhere, my dear. Fear is the very air we breathe. There is no room for dissent, no freedom to speak one's mind. Even the most innocent acts are now considered sedition and can land a man in front of the ravens."

"And I'm done keeping secrets. It never works out the way you think it's going to, anyway."

"My father used to say that if anyone is to be trusted, it is not the person who seizes power. It is the person who turns it down."

4 Dewey's

I received this at the SimonTeen Blogger party at Book Expo America 2013

I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.
Wow! I'm more than a little speechless after reading this book. Chantress is the incredibly captivating story of a 15 year old named Lucy who finds out she is something forbidden: a Chantress. Her voice has power to sing things to enchantment. But the Lord residing over London wants to take her out, because she is the only one who can defeat him. Throw in an adorably torn guy named Nat, secondary characters that capture your heart, and a plot that will leave you breathless, and you have the magic that is Chantress.
From the first chapter, I couldn't put this book down. It reads very quickly, and the plot keeps you up at night to finish reading it. I think this is the first in a series, and if so, I cannot wait to find out what happens in the sequel. If you like historical fantasy, or if you have decent taste in books at all, you should pick this book up as soon as possible.

I'm always searching for engaging YA fantasy novels to love, so I was absolutely thrilled to find Amy Butler Greenfield's Chantress. Set in 1660s England, the novel follows Lucy, a girl that had been, until recently, marooned on a lonely island, alone except for her guardian Norrie. When Lucy disobeys Norrie's strict rule of no singing, her entire world changes as she discovers who she truly is and the responsibilities that sit squarely on her shoulders... and her shoulders alone.

The magic in Chantress is accessed through song and singing. At one time, there were many chantresses, but, we soon discover Lucy is the only one left after the rest were hunted and killed, scapegoats for crimes they did not commit. Lucy, who has lived on the island for as long as she can remember, knows nothing of Chantresses, so this first novel focuses heavily on Lucy's training and education, as she's the only person that has the power to overthrow the Lord Protector who terrorizes England with his evil Shadowgrims.

Though the plot of Chantress was relatively slow, I didn't find myself bored by the pacing. As a fan of adult epic fantasy, I appreciate world building, which I think Greenfield accomplished artfully. Additionally, I found this first installment to be primarily character driven and I adored the characters. Lucy may be the main character, but I enjoyed the prominence of the secondary characters. Seeing as Lucy has so much to learn and, therefore, cannot be the source of very much of the reader's information, the secondary characters are very important to the reader's understanding of the novel's setting and practices.

I have to admit, the Shadowgrims and the villain weren't very scary, but this wasn't an issue for me. Lucy spends much of the novel training and interacting with various characters, but she's yet to make any big moves against the Lord Protector. I fully expect the next book to deal much more closely with the dangers and villainous actions of the Lord Protector.

One of my favorite relationships in Chantress was Lucy's friendship, and budding romance, with Nat. Nat is a scientist and very bookish and is, at first, quite distrustful of Lucy and her magic. This relationship is not easy for either of the characters, but, as a reader, I loved the tension between Lucy and Nat. I definitely am excited to see what happens between these two characters in future installments.

Overall, I really enjoyed this first book in the Chantress trilogy. It didn't feature very much action, but, since I was invested in the characters, I wasn't bothered. I'll be reading the next two books in the trilogy and am excited to see what Greenfield offers next.

15 year old Lucy have been living on isolated island with her old servant Norie since they survived the shipwreck. She has been warned many times never to take of her necklace or listen to the songs on the wind or (heaven forbid) sing. And Lucy is not forbidden to sing for the same reason as me - because she has the vocal capacity of Scuttle, the seagull from The Little Mermaid. No, if Lucy sings, the darkness will find her. *insert ominous music*

But one time Lucy just can't resist the melody she hears in the wind and... her adventure begins. Transferred from the island to a heart of a 17th century London, Lucy is out of her depths while trying to find out more about her family, her strange singing abilities and the current political going-ons.

I will be honest, there were some things that simply did not work for me in this book. I could not just wrap my mind around signing magical spells for example. When I tried to imagine that scene it always turned out to resemble a bad musical. And also I wish the side characters were a little bit more detailed. They were given an unique set of distinguishing virtues (or faults) but sometimes they felt a little bit shallow like they needed more depth. But since this is Amy Butler Greenfield's young adult debut, I am willing to be a little bit forgiving. Especially since she worked against some usual young adult novel tropes.

Yes you heard me. No usual irritating cliches here. No insta-love or love triangle romance. The attraction between Lucy and Nat starts out slow and progresses even slower while they get to know each other. Also I liked that Lucy does not get anything easy. She is stubborn, persistent, hard-working, willing to admit her mistakes and work hard to correct them. As Albert Einstein once said: "Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work..."

Chantress is an out-of-the-ordinary coming of age story about the usual problems: family, first love, dealing with changes in your body, trying to find your identity and place in the big big world... It's a perfect read for young adults because it has a clean romance without sexual language and with a good set of values and messages shared. This is a book that you can with a clear conscience recommend to any teen or young adult that is a fan of historical fantasy.

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for a honest review.

This book reminds me of an optical illusion that looks like one thing when you look at it one way, but looks like something totally different when viewed another way – think of the ubiquitous Escher posters... Viewed from one perspective, A Perfect Red is a quirky and witty, albeit highly selective, history of Western Civilization from 1500 to the present, with a special emphasis on the Spanish Empire. From another perspective, it is a 261-page history of the trade in a particular commodity that has no economic significance today but was marginally important 200 to 400 years ago.

The commodity in question is cochineal (Dactylopius coccus), a red dye prepared from the bodies of a kind of insect that attacks and lives in and on prickly pear cacti pads that grow in Mexico and the American Southwest. The Spanish conquistadors discovered that native Mexicans could dye clothing a brighter, more vivid red than any available in Europe. The dye was prepared by a painstaking labor-intensive process of scraping the bodies of the insects off the cacti. Cochineal became a valuable export for the Spanish Empire because other Europeans could not duplicate the intense red color it produced.

The insect that produces the dye is so small that in the days before good microscopes, Europeans (including the Spaniards) had no idea of the nature of the dye. Most of them thought it was a form of inorganic matter. The finished product was quite valuable and easy to transport, so it attracted many pirates. However, it was extremely difficult to produce anywhere but Mexico because the prickly pear cacti did not thrive in many other places and the live insects were very sensitive to cold. The Spanish maintained tight security on the production of the product and enforced severe penalties on anyone who attempted to break the crown’s monopoly.

The story of how the Spanish maintained their monopoly and how other Europeans tried to discover the secret of the dye is an interesting one that stretches from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In the process of telling a little story (the dye trade), the author's “back story” account encompasses the reigns and characters of Charles V and Phillip II, the Hapsburg Empire, the conquests of Mexico and Peru, and the continuing rivalries of Spain, England, Holland, and France. In this respect, the dye trade acts as a microcosm of a much broader European history, a conceit that Greenfield handles deftly.

However, the author’s technique of filtering the history of Western Europe through the lens of the red dye trade breaks down in the 19th century. Spain’s monopoly in cochineal persisted, but by then the country had declined significantly as it gradually lost its overseas empire and faced bankruptcy. Moreover, the German chemical industry developed synthetic dyes of comparable quality. I think Greenfield overstates her case when she attributes the rise of the whole German chemical industry to efforts to find a substitute for cochineal. And when she traces those efforts to the development of poisonous gas for World War I, the chain of causation is too diffuse to be credible.

So back to the optical illusion. When the book is viewed as political history seen as a partial function of the cochineal trade, it works pretty well from 1500 to about 1830, but then has nothing worthwhile to say. If viewed as merely a history of the trade in a particular red dye, it is no more significant than a history of the trade in copra or jute.

Evaluation: This is a good book for those who like niche knowledge, or who prefer history in more entertaining forms.

(JAB)½

An amazing account of the origin of the highly sought after red dye. I admit I had to read this for a class, but this book wasn't specifically assigned to me; I chose to read this for a book report because I saw the word "red" in it, and I didn't care what it was about as long it was about red (which is my favorite color if I didn't make it obvious). Anyway, I don't regret my decision one bit. My only regret is not buying a copy of the book (I borrowed the book from my university library) because it's just one of those books I want to pick up from my shelf and refer back to it. Plus, this book encourages interaction. Let me explain. The author does well in having the reader think about each chapter because she ends each one with questions. I often found myself grabbing my pencil to write some notes on my book (which I often do) but had to restrain myself this time because the copy I was reading wasn't mine.

The only qualms I have about this book is I felt like the author jumped around a lot, and I sometimes felt confused about the time period she was referring to, but that didn't detract from the book's enjoyment, so it's not a big deal. All in all, this is a highly interesting non-fiction book to read. I'm usually not into the non-fiction genre, but I sometimes felt like this particular book read like a novel at times because the author was not only giving a detailed account of the facts, but telling a story of many characters who were involved in the search for the perfect red. So what are you waiting for? Discover the origins of the color for yourself!½