Book Review and Giveaway: Remarkable Creatures

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Tracy Chevalier, author of The Girl With The Pearl Earring, released a new New York Tim called Remarkable Creatures.  I read Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier in a matter of days, I couldn’t put it down. One lucky KLY reader is going to win a copy of Remarkable Creatures.

What It’s About

From the publisher:  “From the moment she’s struck by lightning as a baby, it is clear Mary Anning is different. Though poor and uneducated, she learns on the windswept, fossil-strewn beaches of the English coast that she has a unique gift: “the eye” to spot fossils no one else can see. When she uncovers an unusual fossilized skeleton in the cliffs near her home, she sets the religious community on edge, the townspeople to gossip — and the scientific world alight with both admiration and controversy. Prickly Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster and also a fossil hunter, becomes Mary Anning’s unlikely champion and friend, and together they forge a path to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century.”

My Take

Before I read this book, I hadn’t thought about the discovery of fossils as being revolutionary.  But not only did Mary Anning face a lack of acceptance because of her sex, she also faced outrage that someone should suggest that there were animals created by God who no longer walked the earth. For me, the concept of extinction had been so common that I never thought about the uproar it would have caused when first put forth.

If you’ve read any of Tracy Chevalier’s books, you know she can take a simple story and weave so much rich detail into it that you feel as if you know more than if you had been one of the characters and actually seen the story take place.  This one is no different.  The author takes you deeply into the feelings of the two main characters.  At the end of one of Tracy Chevalier’s books, if someone asks you what it’s about, you find yourself describing the people much more than the events of the book.

About the Author

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Tracy lives in London with her husband and son.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree at a college in Ohio, then when on to a Master’s degree from the University of Anglia, Norwich, England.  Tracy shares her favorite books, music, television shows and more at her website, www.tchevalier.com.  There are also Reading Group Guides for all her books.   The website is interesting reading itself, check it out!

Other Reviews

“So vivid you can feel the sea breeze on your face.”
–More

“Riveting . . . With this intriguing story, Chevalier convincingly creates a past time and place and gives a nod to two forgotten women.”
–Chicago Sun-Times

“[Chevalier] admirably weaves historical figures and actual events into a compelling narrative. We care for these two headstrong women as they defy, sometimes unwittingly by just being themselves, the conventions of their day. It is a remarkable story about two very remarkable women.”
– San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJqSpyr3kPs

Remarkable Creatures
A Novel
By Tracy Chevalier
Published by Plume
October 26, 2010;$15.00US/$17.50CAN; 978-0-452-29672-5

Book Trailer

Enter here to win your own new copy of New York Times Bestseller Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier.

Main entry

1. Go to the author’s website and tell me something you learned about her. Tracy Chevalier http://www.tchevalier.com/

Additional entries

2.  Leave a comment on any of my Nutrisystem Weight Loss Journey posts.  (There is a tab on the blog header called “Nutrisystem”.)  Make sure to leave a comment here, telling me you did for your entry to be counted!

2. Subscribe to Kelly’s Lucky You by email or rss feed.

3. Follow Kelly’s Lucky You with Google Friend Connect.

4. Put the Kelly’s Lucky You button on your sidebar or blogroll page.

5. Blog about this giveaway and leave the link to your post in the comments.

6. Follow Kelly’s Lucky You on twitter.

7. Tweet this giveaway (RT 1x per day). Feel free to use this sample:

Win bestseller, Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier (Girl With a Pearl Earring) @KellysLuckyYou! http://tinyurl.com/29bfsj9 #giveaway

8. Become a Fan of Kelly’s Lucky You on Facebook.

9. Add this giveaway to any giveaway linky (unlimited entries). You can use this list!

Leave one comment for each entry. Contest ends December 10th at midnight CST. A winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by email to the email address provided in the winning comments. The winner must respond within 48 hours of the notification email, or another winner will be chosen. See my Giveaway Rules page for further information. Sorry, this contest is open to US residents only.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of Remarkable Creatures to review and a new copy will be sent to the winner.

Comments

  1. 1

    She only writes at home and during her son’s school hours. If she writes away from home it sounds different.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  2. 2

    I am a GFC follower

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  3. 3

    I learned October is her favorite month because of the weather change; it’s also her birthday month.

  4. 4

    email subscriber

  5. 5

    follow GFC-missdeb1

  6. 6

    follow you on twitter-missdeb1

  7. 7

    like you on facebook-debbie coyle

  8. 8
    Lori Thomas says:

    I learned that she shares the same birth month as me =)

  9. 9
    Lori Thomas says:

    Left comment on Nutrisystem topic Weight loss tips & weekly weigh in (Lori Thomas)

  10. 10
    Lori Thomas says:

    Email & rss feed subscriber

  11. 11
    Lori Thomas says:

    Follow on GFC (Lori Thomas)

  12. 12
    Lori Thomas says:

    Follow Kelly`s Lucky You on Twitter (@crftyldy)

  13. 13
    Lori Thomas says:

    Tweeted giveaway (http://twitter.com/crftyldy)

  14. 14
    Lori Thomas says:

    Fan of Kelly`s Lucky You on Facebook (Lori Thomas)

  15. 15

    I learned her favorite holiday is halloween.
    twoofakind12@yahoo.com

  16. 16

    I am a email subscriber.
    twoofakind12@yahoo.com

  17. 17

    Tracy has a BA in English from Oberlin College, Ohio, and an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England.

  18. 18

    Follow Kelly’s Lucky You with Google Friend Connect.

  19. 19

    Follow Kelly’s Lucky You on twitter @aikchien

  20. 20
  21. 21

    I’m a Fan of Kelly’s Lucky You on Facebook. [Aik Chien]

  22. 22
    Victoria Zumbrum says:

    I am a follower and email subscriber. She only writes from school and during her son’s school hours. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

  23. 23

    I learned that Tracy had the idea for Girl with a Pearl Earring in October…and that she believes that it’s a good month in which to write. October is also her birthday month.

  24. 24
    shelby brigham says:

    She only writes at home and during her son’s school hours. If she writes away from home it sounds different.

  25. 25

    her fav holiday is Halloween

  26. 26

    i get ur emails

  27. 27

    follow on GFC as amber01sw

  28. 28
  29. 29

    follow u on twitter as Amber01sw

  30. 30
  31. 31

    like u on Fb as Amber Lusk MacDonald

  32. 32

    I learned that her birthday is in Oct.

  33. 33

    her birthday is Oct 19

  34. 34

    Subscribe to Kelly’s Lucky You by email

  35. 35

    Follow Kelly’s Lucky You with Google Friend Connect. Shelly

  36. 36

    Follow Kelly’s Lucky You on twitter. @phxbne

  37. 37
    Jennifer Ryder says:

    I learned that Tracy writes in longhand first – and at the end of the day she types it up on a computer.
    Thanks,
    Jen
    jryder416 at yahoo dot com

  38. 38
    Jennifer Ryder says:

    I’m a GFC follower(Jennifer).
    jryder416 at yahoo dot com

  39. 39
    Jennifer Ryder says:

    I’m an email subscriber.
    jryder416 at yahoo dot com

  40. 40
    Vicki Wurgler says:

    she tries to write 1000 words per writing day – three pages, and spends at least two or three days writing a scene.

  41. 41
    Raven In A Blue Room says:

    I learned that the author was born in 1962 and grew up in Washington, DC

    Thank you for hosting this giveaway

    Louis
    schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

  42. 42
    Raven In A Blue Room says:

    I subscribed to your feed via google reader

    schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

  43. 43
    Raven In A Blue Room says:

    Google Friends Connect – following your blog publicly as Louis

    schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

  44. 44
    Raven In A Blue Room says:

    following you on twitter @left_the_stars

    schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

  45. 45
    Raven In A Blue Room says:

    I tweeted your giveaway

    schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

  46. 46
    Raven In A Blue Room says:

    I like your blog on facebook (Louis Here)

    schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

  47. 47

    I learned the author read a lot as a child, a lot the same books I loved like the laura ingalls wilder books, lm montgomery books, beverly cleary books, etc

  48. 48

    email subscriber

  49. 49

    gfc follower, cindyWindy2003

  50. 50

    “Button placed on my blogs sidebar
    http://cindywindylovesblogsnfrogs.blogspot.com/

  51. 51

    twitter follower, @carafferty

  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54

    The author always wanted to be a writer since she was a child.

  55. 55

    gfc follower

  56. 56

    like you on facebook
    ruthhill74

  57. 57

    Her favorite month is October

  58. 58

    email subscriber

  59. 59

    gfc follower

  60. 60

    I left a comment on your Nutrisystem post about “Tips on Eating Out”. Since I’m single and I hate to cook, I eat out a lot. This has given me some things to think about.

  61. 61

    I subscribe to your e-mail updates.

  62. 62

    I’m a Google follower.

  63. 63

    I learned this about her – I try to write 1000 words per writing day.

  64. 64

    gfc follower

  65. 65

    email subscriber

  66. 66

    twitter follow u -kgail11

  67. 67

    I learned that she had the idea for The Girl with the Pearl Earring in October and October is her favorite month of the year!
    amoeidson@yahoo.com

  68. 68

    I subscribe via email
    amoeidson@yahoo.com

  69. 69

    I follow via GFC

  70. 70
  71. 71

    I follow you on Twitter
    giveawaygirl08

  72. 72
  73. 73

    I like you on Facebook!

  74. 74
    katklaw777 says:

    I learned that she likes to read contemporary novels, with a sprinkling of classics. some of her favs by Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Lorrie Moore, Rose Tremain, and Sarah Waters.
    thanks

  75. 75
    katklaw777 says:

    email subscriber

  76. 76
    katklaw777 says:

    GFC follower

  77. 77

    Notice she is reading Steig Larsson’s books. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway

  78. 78

    I am a GFC follower. Thanks

  79. 79

    I am an email subscriber. Thanks

  80. 80

    I learned Tracy loves to read and has read 29 books so far this year!One being Sarah’s Key Tatiana De Rosnay.

    dmraca at gmail dot com

  81. 81

    Subscriber by email

    dmraca at gmail dot com

  82. 82

    Follower GFC
    Dana R

    dmraca at gmail dot com

  83. 83

    I follow you on twitter (@DayLeeDana)

    dmraca at gmail dot com

  84. 84

    Im a Facebook FAN!
    FB name AlbertDana Arsenault

    dmraca at gmail dot com

  85. 85

    tweeted(@DayLeeDana)
    http://twitter.com/#!/DayLeeDana/status/13279307577167872

    dmraca at gmail dot com

  86. 86

    Tracy has a BA in English from Oberlin College, Ohio

  87. 87

    Follow on GFC

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