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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! EmmanuelleGrey "Emmy" Rossum (born September 12, 1986)is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first starred in a string of movies includingSongcatcher (2000), An American Rhapsody (2001) andPassionada (2002). Her role in Mystic River (2003) garnered herwider fame. She then starred in the blockbuster filmThe Day After Tomorrow (2005) and The Phantom of the Opera(2004) for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe.She has since starred in Poseidon (2006), Dragonball:Evolution (2009) and Dare (2009). ... Read more

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She may be a miracle,
but she’s no Proper Young Lady!

It isn’t easy being a pioneer in the state of Washington in 1899, but it’s particularly hard when you are the only girl ever born in the new settlement. With seven older brothers and a love of adventure, May Amelia Jackson just can’t seem to abide her family’s insistence that she behave like a Proper Young Lady. Not when there’s fishing to be done, sheep to be herded, and real live murderers to be captured! May is sure she could manage better if only there were at least one other girl living along the banks of the Nasel River. And now that Mama’s going to have a baby, maybe there’s hope. . . .Amazon.com Review
Twelve-year-old May Amelia is too busy chasing sheep, fishing for salmon,and keeping pace with the antics of her seven Finnish brothers to botherwearing a dress or scrubbing behind her ears. Unfortunately, she's beingpressured to clean up her act. "It seems like everyone is conspiring tomake me a Proper Young Lady," she observes in frustration. "I do not thinkbeing a proper Young Lady sounds like any fun at all."

The old-fashioned language in this historical novel seems strained attimes, and the quirky use of capital letters is an unnecessary distraction,but this book is still a lot of fun. Why? For one thing, the story is setin the far, untamed reaches of the West at the turn of the 20th century,and offers encounters with Chinook Indians, dark forests, and the twistsand turns of the Nasel River. And then there is May Amelia--asheadstrong as rushing water, and the only female born on this stretch ofthe river since her family can remember. She is known (when she's not deepinto trouble) as the Miracle. Will this feisty female ever settle down andbecome the little lady everyone expects her to be? Will her pregnant mothergive birth to another girl so May Amelia can finally have a sister? You'llhave to read the whole story to find out. (Ages 10 and older) --MariaDolan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (98)

Warning for parents
I'm so glad I read this book before giving it to my voracious, but sensitive readers ages 8 and 10.May Amelia is a well developed character, and my daughters would definitely relate to her and be interested in her story.But, the sweet baby sister she has always longed for dies while in May Amelia's care.May Amelia wakes up feeling relieved to have such a good night sleep without the baby crying, and then realizes that she's dead.It has haunted me ever since I've read it, and I have adult skills for coping with all the suffering in this world.

It's one thing to read about infant deaths in pioneer times in a history book, but in this case, an empathetic reader is going to feel the shock and grief that the character is feeling, and the guilt also.The baby's death and it's aftermath are the central events of the book.

May Amelia Jackson, the only Jackson girl
The best book ever written. Since reading this in 2007, I have searched for another May Amelia in reading 100 more books. I have not found another May Amelia.There is a grief chapter, who would have thought.It is written with a touching sense of wonder I consider Top Of The Line. This book is my ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE of books.I savor for when I will be able to read it again. It is not a perfect book though, at least for first time through. But upon multiple readings, you forgive for the minor and expected imperfections and it becomes a perfect book to you. The audio book version of the book is the only audio book I have ever really liked.It is read by a young girl (now a movie star), and the book is in first person. There is none of the usual false dramatization given by adult readers, the dramatization is just natural. The reader does seem to embody the character.

A great novel for all ages.
I'm a little late in reviewing this book, but I couldn't resist writing one anyway. I read it for the first time when I was 8, and read it again yesterday (being 12 now), and have enjoyed it both times.

The story follows an 12-year-old May Amelia Jackson, an adventurous tomboy living in 1899 with her seven older brothers. I'll try not to spoil the ending for you, but May gets into plenty of trouble and can never learn to be a proper young lady. Life only gets harder when death strikes the family. It's not the most action-packed book ever, but it's still intriguing and exciting.

I disagree with two complaints about the book, the first being that the novel is violent and inappropriate for children. Yes, the abusive behavior displayed toward the children by their grandmother can be scary for children. Parents should certainly be aware of that before buying the book. But let's face it - there are mean and abusive people, and it's a part of life. And the violence is nothing too graphic. So skip that chapter if you don't like it - but even if you don't, you won't be scarred for life.

The second is that the book's lack of quotation marks and random capitalization of words is distracting and strange. But I think it only makes the story more realistic. Since it's told from May Amelia's point of view, and she's Finnish and doesn't speak perfect English, her less-than-perfect grammar makes it seem like she really wrote this and makes the reader really get to know May. It's not just a description of her life, it really is her. Also, the capitalization isn't random - it's for emphasis, and again, it's more realistic this way. A real 12-year-old girl could've written it.

Rather Dull
I can't believe this was a Newbery Honor book. Pickin's must've been slim that year. The first half of this book is dull, just ordinary information about the character's life. It's not until about half way through that there's any kind of conflict--a bit too long to wait. But the second half of the book isn't much better than the first. And the ending was lacking. The characters in the book spoke using no contractions, which I found odd. I don't know anyone who speaks without using contractions. I don't think they even did that back in 1900. It made reading the dialogue somewhat ackward. I notice that other children's writers do this too. But I don't understand why. This book has a lot in common with Boston Jane. Both characters are tomboys, they spit, the Chinook Indians, and there's even a character in this book by the name of Jane. I liked the Boston Jane series, but not this book. i just though it was a bit dull.

May Amelia-miracle child
May Amelia the main character grows up with an all boy house at the turn of the 1900's. The author Jennifer L. Holm does a great job capturing the readers attention. In every chapter there is suspense and excitment like when she got chased up a tree by a mother bear, or when she almost got killed by a rushing stream of logs and was saved by an incredable string of luck. This book should fill childrens libraries,and in my opinion is one of the best books I have ever read. If I were you I would check it out!!!!!!! ... Read more

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Features - Elle First: Must Know: Hottie Gabriel Macht..."The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou"...Albums to rock 2005...more. Me, Inc.: Teri Schindler gets a "life MBA" and learns that reinvention is serious business. Southern Exposure: Can a New Yorker become a Southern belle? Hillary Kerr channels Scarlett. Cherchez LaFemme: Tommy Lee extols the attributes of Angelina Jolie and the love of a good-footed woman. Plus...Songbird: Supermoel turned pop star Carla Bruni has a hit song - and a charmed life as shown in her layout here! Plus much, much more! ... Read more

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Kindle edition of Gaston Leroux most famous novel with an active table of contents. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (110)

One of the Best Books I have Ever Read
I am 13 an avid reader and the classics are my favorite kind of books to read. So my Language Arts teacher recommended I do the advanced reading challenged and to my delight I found that the Phantom of the Opera was a book I was allowed to read having loved the movie and fallen in love with the musical I went to the nearest bookstore and bought a copy. It was fascinatingI flew through it.was able to unerstand it and I just loved every bit of it. Having read Jane Eyre, Three Musketeers, and Count of Monte Cristo, I was used to the old writting. The book was amazing and the Phantom and Christine have stolen my heart again. Although, I have always said that Christine should have stayed with the Phantom, sure, he did kill a few people and terrify her but he really did love her and Raoul just wanted to protect her and blah, blah, blah. But still it was an amzing book and I recommend it to all the classic lovers no doubt.

Not like the movie at all
I have tried to read this book before but just couldn't get into it.It is funny that getting it as a free download on the Kindle finally opens it up and makes it accessible in a way that I couldn't put it down.It feels a bit dated in places because it is very arch and melodramatic at times, but the Phantom is such an amazing and deeply felt character that it is very much worth reading if you have not.Four stars.

The Original - It's Not the Bible
Well, I've been accused of never having read Gaston Leroux's original work nor heard of Jerrold E. Hogle's literary dissection of the original work.Funny...this is the copy that I purchased and have highlighted, written inside, and dissected to death.Nevertheless, I'll move on from that comment left in the review of my own work.

So Gaston Leroux!This is where it all began - the story of the Opera Ghost.Much different in many ways, yet similar too, of Webber's adaptation.I personally don't count the story to be absolute truth, because Leroux was a fiction writer, who I believe used his profession to weave a tale he wished us all to believe was truth. Don't forget, he lived in a time when being an illusionist was quite the thing!Even authors made illusions they wanted their readers to believe was truth.Nevertheless, it's a tale with a timeless message of wanting to be loved in spite of our looks and not-so-perfect personalities.We relate to the Opera Ghost on many levels.

The story, if you dig deep enough, is riddled with symbolism.The writing itself, is probably not as totally enjoyable in English as it may be in the original French tongue.I don't consider Leroux to be the most fantastic author I've ever read, but I do consider his story to be one that will never die because its message is poignant from generation to generation.

Its characters are different in many ways too.Erik seems to be more of a madman, Christine - well, is Christine - the tough nut to crack who manipulates two men to her advantage and tells hideous lies to the monster to buy her freedom.Raoul is quite the crying emotional young man, who I'd say is a little obsessed with his little Lotte.The remainder of the characters are there for our enjoyment as well.

It's a great story, which has subsequently been rewritten and adapted a hundred times, if not more.Even I'm guilty of it.

I will say, I did enjoy Anne Perry's introduction, which is more on the humanity side rather than on the literary side such as Hogle's interpretations in the back.I tend to lean toward what we can learn from the story as human beings, and not what can bore me in a classroom setting.After all, it's the heart of the story that touches us more deeply on the simple elementary elements that we all relate to and understand.It's the emotions, longings, passions, and the characters that keep us coming back time and time again to anything Phantom.Frankly, I'd rather be an amateur with a heart.Otherwise, it just shows I really don't understand the underlying message of the story at all.

4.5 stars; this edition has some formatting issues but the story itself is wonderful
I love the musical but had never read this book before.So I downloaded it to my Kindle for free.The formatting was okay on the Kindle version; chapter starts were a bit hard to see and there were some formatting errors. All of the color plates were missing with an insert stating (color plate here).Overall the story itself was wonderful and really added to my understanding of the musical.

I think just about everyone should be familiar with this story.It is the story of an Opera Ghost who is mentoring Christine Daae to become a great opera singer.Of course when the Opera Ghost's wishes are not met by the new managers who run the opera house a series of disasters befall the opera company.Christine becomes increasingly entangled with the Opera Ghost and her childhood sweetheart, Raoul, tries his best to save her.

The book starts out a bit slow.It is told from the point of view of an investigator who is trying to piece together the whole story behind the Phantom of the Opera.Things really pick up as the Opera Ghost starts to torment people and Christine and Raoul start their false engagement.

My favorite part was the last third of the book when Raoul and the Persian are trying to navigate the area beneath the theater.

This book fills out some major parts of the story that you don't get in the musical.There is a lot more background on Raoul and Christine's childhood.More time is spent explaining the past of the Opera Ghost, Eric, and what made him the way he is.At the very end the investigator details how all of the ghostly things that happened in the story were done.Also the scenes under the opera house are much more vicious, involving a incredibly unique torture chamber, threats to flatten a few blocks of Paris, and more.

I was surprised at how engaging the writing style was.This was not a tough book to read at all, it was incredibly engaging and easy to read.There is a sly sense of humor in parts of the book and I found myself laughing out loud a couple times.I really enjoyed it.

My only complaint (and my husband's complaint) is that I kept humming parts of the musical as I read the book!If you are a fan of The Phantom and the Opera musical definitely check out this book; it makes parts of the musical make a lot more sense.It is much more interesting and creative and engaging than the musical too!The first third of the book is kind of slow but if you can make it though that, the rest of the book is definitely worth it!

The Dark side

Not as good as the play, this film nvbertheless is mostly well done. The music is excellent, Bulter needs to work on his singing but the point is how we treat people who look different then most of us and the tragic need for love that goes unforfulled. The legths one can and will go to get love only to watch it go away.We can relate to this film and all the characters, yet I think most relate to the Phantom most often. We all, in our wa, face what he faces in our lives, we kno how he feels. I wish they has left the music as they did it in the play as it added so much more to the play then the movie. ... Read more