I can't believe I'm not the only person to have ever read this book. I read it first when I was about 10, around 21 years ago. It has always stuck with me. But every time I've ever told anyone about it they've never heard of it. It was such an imaginative book, I felt like I was actually there as I read it. I've been drawn back to it over the years and I believe it is still at our local public library, but I've never had a copy of my own. I would love to know where I could get a copy. It's too bad a book this good is so hard to find.

I found this book when I was 10 or 11 at the library and I instantly bought a copy. I read it many times and told all of my friends about it. In highschool I made the mistake of lending it to someone and have never seen it since. I have looked high and low and have gotten many other people I know involved in my search. It is the most wonderful, vivid story I have ever read. I went through a book search company and they found a hardcover edition for me. Even at 26 yrs. old I still love this book. It's the kind of story you wish would really happen to you and it makes you want to go looking for secret entries to caves in Cornwall, England and any other mysterious places you hear about. I was thrilled to see it here on Amazon.com and even more to see other people love it as much as me.

It's a story that somehow captured my imagination so fully that it left me in a state of wonder.. I was very young when I last read Under Plum Lake, but I can't seem to forget the impact it had on me, so long ago. I too hope to someday share this book with my children, for few books manage to paint a more magical picture so vividly in the mind. When I think about it I feel deep nostalgia, and I'll keep looking until I find a copy for my own.

The best read I've had in a long time. It took me away into a different place and time, but yet I related to all of the feelings and emotions of the story. I am 19 years old and will enjoy reading this book even when I'm 50. LOVED IT!

I have read this book over and over and will continue to do so for a lifetime! The story is not only a love story, but it also teaches values that seemed to have been lost in this day and age. The author describes the landscape in breathtaking detail. You feel as if you are there! The characters are full and rich. The heroine is young, gutsy and what every woman could wish to be. The hero is not typical, cranky, shy, strong and honorable. This couple actually waits until they are married to make love!! I laughed, yearned for them and cried with them. It is a book that will leave a warm feeling in your heart. You will never want to see it end.

What a wonderful, touching, romantic story! This book goes on my top ten list of absolute favorites. You not only get a "real" love story you get a taste of "real" life in the early 1900's. I want to tell you so much about this story but I don't want to give away any of the details and take away from the pure pleasure you are going to get by reading it. I am telling you, you will just love this story. I do want to say, when you reach Chapter 22 go lock yourself in a room without interruption until you finish the story. Its the most griping, emotional, wonderful ending I've ever experienced.

I agree wholeheartedly with Ursula K. Le Guin's comments on the back cover, and with the published reviews; along with an exciting plot, Ms. Farmer gives readers a thoroughly imagined future setting, moral passion, and characters we can relate to on a human level. Little Matt has lived all his life (until age 6) in a shack in the fields with his loving guardian, the cook Celia. When other children discover him, Matt is both scared and excited. He longs to make contact with the other kids, but, when he tries, both wonderful and terrible things start to happen to him. Gradually Matt begins to understand that he is a clone, born specifically to provide body parts for El Patron. Although most people despise clones as less than animal, Matt is lucky to have a few people who love him - and he also has a sharp intelligence and determination. Will these things be enough to help him avoid his preordained fate? Published as a children's book (for ages 12 and up), "House of the Scorpion" should also be read by all adults with any taste for science fiction. I'd love to see it get the Nebula as well as the Printz award! It's a challenging book, for teens and adults alike, but also engaging, stimulating and rewarding.

The House of the Scorpion is what you would call a book 'beyond its time'. Not only is the setting a century from now, but the sensation of feeling as if you were in a time warp flying through the future (well not quite as expressive as the Jetsons') is accompanied with reading the book itself. Nancy Farmer gives the life story of a young 'boy' who is actually a clone of a 140+ year old drug lord named Matteo Alacran, (or El Patron as he is more locally called throughout the book) ruler of the country of Opium (an area within 'former' Mexico and the US). Of course, the clone is also given the same name as well (Matt). In the beginning, Matt was grown within a cow (yes cow) from DNA given from El Patron. Despite his old age, El Patron creates his clones as a way to help him live on through the use of a clone's organs once his own grow bad. However, clones usually have their brains destroyed so any form of rebellion would be prevented. As for El Patron, he does exactly the opposite. Instead, he gives his clones the lap of luxury to give them confidence until it's too late.
As a young boy, Matt is shielded from the outside world from his caretaker Celia, cook of El Patron's mansion. As time progresses, Matt is later discovered and winds up in the Big House (El Patron's house). From here on Matt begins his long journey of self discovery to find out who and what he really is. However, no journey goes without obstacles. Tom, a son of a US senator's wife (ok the wife cheated a little), terrorizes Matt's life by doing whatever possible to make his life a nighmare. Likewise, the entire estate of the Alacran's segregate Matt from itself for what Matt is. On the other hand, Maria, daughter of the US senator (no cheating this time) ends up being Matt's secret crush, that is despite some difficulties in the beginning. Tam Lin is another of Matt's favorites. Originally being a 'terrorist', he is one of El Patron's top bodyguards and becomes Matt's as well. Tam Lin teaches Matt of nature and survival as he (Matt) soon learns these techniques and lessons would come to great use in the near future (You'll have to read why...hey I can't tell everything :)]. Secret passages, hospitals, exploration, captivity, love, self-discovery, and an all out war of mind over body plus much more is what one would find in this guaranteed Farmer classic: The House of the Scorpion.

Other info:
Reading Level: Middle School +
Recommendations: Great for school reports and projects or just for fun!
Overall: Guaranteed to send shivers down the spine and tears in the end! Will keep you begging for more!

It all started in a little house in the poppy fields of Opium. A little boy named Matteo Allacran lived in this little house. He lives with a woman named Celia, but she is not his mom. One day two people visited the house when Celia was at work. Their names were Maria and Tom. They visited the house a couple days later and tried to get Matt to come out of the house. He had to break open the window and jump out. When he landed he landed on all the glass. The visitors had to carry him all of the way to their house. When they got there, a maid come out and carried him into the house. That?s when Matt found out his very deep secret that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He wasn't a human. He was a clone. A clone of the most powerful man in the world. El Patron. He was then put in a prison like place for a very long time. He was then rescued by Celia and was sent to El Patron. He was extremely old. He was about 140 years old!
Fourteen years later, he finds out a very deep secret about what clones are used for. He was then about to be used for it, but he escapes to the border and is then caught by a keeper. He owned an orphanage. He was then sent to another orphanage with two other people. Their names were Fidelito and Chacho. He also made another friend named Ton-Ton in the other orphanage. The keepers treated the ophans very bad. If they did anything wrong, then they got beaten. They decided to run. They made it, but there were many obstacles ahead. Find out what happens next in: The House of the Scorpion!

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! I JUST FINISHED READING IT FOR THE SECOND TIME. ITS AMAZING HOW JACKIE COLLINS CAN CREATE A WORLD, A WORLD THAT YOU JUST DONT WANT TO LEAVE. THE CHARACTERS IN THIS BOOK ARE SO REAL THAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOUVE KNOWN THEM FOREVER. THIS BOOK IS LIKE A DRUG, YOU WONT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN, I GUARANTEE THAT! I CRIED FOR THE SECOND TIME AND IM A LITTLE DEPRESSED SO IVE GOT TO FIND A NEW JACKIE COLLINS TO READ!!!

American Star was the first book that I read by Jackie Collins. I loved the book. The love story of Nick and Lauren kept me intrigued and I could not put the book down. I read it in three days. I definitely suggest you read this book, it is a winner.

American star was the first Jackie Collins book I ever read and since then I've never been without one. The fast pace and characters are addictive. American Star combines sex,murder and life into one package that won't leave your hands until you're finished with it. A crowning triumph for J.C

Okay, maybe this is a terrible way to review a book, but I have to say that Earlene Fowler has created a character that I know if he were real I would have a major crush on!! Gabe Ortiz! I am absolutely addicted to this series of books and I am not sure I can make it until the next one. But on a serious note I think the reason Seven Sisters and all of her books are so enjoyable is the character development. I wish Dove were MY grandmother and all these characters were part of my life.

This is the seventh book in the Benni Harper mystery series and takes place in San Celina, California.

Benni Harper the curator of the local folk art museum and her husband Police Chief Gabe Ortiz seem to have worked out a lot of their earlier marital problems when Sam, Gabe's son tells them that his girlfriend Bliss is pregnant. Bliss, happens to be a member of the very wealthy and influential Brown family.

Both families seem to rally around the young couple and even Gabe's beautiful ex-wife appears for the first time in this series. At a party celebrating Bliss and Sam's engagement, a Brown relative is found murdered. Benni tries not to become involved in the case, but is forced into helping by Ford Hudson the officer in charge of the homicide investigation.

This interesting story is a little darker than the other mysteries that Benni had been involved with and takes us into the tangled web of old family secrets and the truth about the seven sisters.

Earlene Fowler did it again-Seven Sisters is a hit! I enjoyed the reunion with several characters from earlier in the series-like D-Daddy. Earlene has a magic feel for just when to add a new character or revisit the old ones. I never get bored. Benni Harper is so easy to get to know. It is no wonder that clues fall into her lap-folks just want to share their lives with her. I enjoyed sharing a late evening with Benni myself, as I couldn't put down this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It reminded me that true blessings in life can be found right where you are, in spite of your circumstance. It's a series of true short stories about life experiences. Each story has its own thought provoking way to view life. It's about lessons learned in both good and difficult times and seeing the value of finding a way through the difficult times by what you've learned in the good times. It's a book about hope. It lives up to its title of stories about strength, refuge and belonging and has something to offer every reader. It shows how loving-kindness is essential in finding the path to knowing peace and joy in life.

MY GRANDFATHER'S BLESSINGS is a sincere, authentic book of thoughts and stories for people of all faiths. In her gentle, readable prose, she writes compellingly of her wonderful grandfather, her cancer patients, and other friends from her rich and creative life. All readers will find inspiration and soulful entertainment in this book, which demonstrates repeatedly that serious illness -- even cancer -- can be a valuable source of understanding and appreciation. MY GRANDFATHER'S BLESSINGS is not another trivial New Age tract. I recommend it to everyone.

Of the hundreds of books I have read, I consider this one of the very best. By way of background, I am a Board-certified clinical dentist with 17 years experience and three years of post-doctoral training. This collection of essays explores the value of our contributions to life, and the value of life's contributions to us. Although Dr Remen is an experienced oncologist, she has found most of her lessons by observing "the mysterious simple things," including her beloved grandfather's gentle and loving suggestions.

These stories almost seem mystical in their value and goodness. They are wise and profound, despite (rather than because of) her clinical skills (medicine and medical business have usually emphasized competence and quickness rather than anything akin to compassion).

I read one chapter of her book each day, along with my religious readings, and rarely finish the chapter without a tear in my eye and a glimmer of insight. She is a superb teaacher and I'd recommend her book to anyone who wonders how they are ever going to show caring or kindness in the kind of world they live in.

This has to be Mrs. Oke's best book ever! I've read many of her books but this one is my personal favorite. The characters are realistic and you can't help but get excited when Ariana and Laramie fall in love. But my favorite part is when Laramie gives his life to the Lord!

If you like Mrs. Oke then you definitely need to read Leigh Ann Roberts' books! I just discovered her and am truly thrilled by her new and refreshing story lines!

This was my all time favorite book by Jannette Oke. It is very engrosing. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Ariana is the perfect example of a Christian woman. The ending is the best part. I love the part when Laramie reads his mom's journal and finds out that he and Ariana were in the same wagon train and that their mom's were best friends. I cried when he found the lace cuff in the little box. I again cried at the end when he read the journal. Laramie is the kind of character you could fall in love with, I did!! Thanks Jannette for writing such wonderful books, I love them all.

A Gown of Spanish Lace is the story of Ariana, a sixteen year old schoolteacher. She is abducted from her school right before a storm. She is taken by her captors far from her home. There she loses track of time but never loses her faith in God to take care of her. She is befriended by Sam, one of the outlaws who abducts her. Sam is in charge of guarding the prisoner but then things change. Laramie, son of The Boss, is put in charge of Ariana. This is all part of The Boss's plot and reason for taking her. After Laramie is put in charge of Ariana things take on very interesting turns. People begin to realize they aren't who they thought. I can't say anymore without giving the story away.

This book was a wonderful read. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to find out what would happen between Ariana and Laramie. I found myself feeling sympathy for not only Ariana for being in the situation she was in but also for Laramie. He was also in a situation he wasn't comfortable or sure about.

Janette Oke writes such wonderful books. Her characters are so real one almost believes they really did live in the past. Though her books are set in the prairie times the messages in them will be current for all of time. This book is so well written. Events happen at such a pace the reader doesn't have time to catch their breath or stop for a break. You simply must read ahead to find out what happens. I loved this book and was so sorry it ended. I must say I was beginning to get a little worried toward the end when things weren't looking good for Ariana and Laramie. This is a must read book.

In "Irish Rebel" we get a long-overdue follow-up to the Grant family of Royal Meadows Farm, first visited in Nora's first book "Irish Thoroughbred" in 1981, then followed up in 1988 by "Irish Rose". This new novel tells the story of Keeley Grant, the daughter of the heroine of Irish Thoroughbred. A daughter brought up in privelege, Keeley has found her own calling, and that is in the operation of a riding academy for the "haves" and "have-nots" alike. Brian Donnelley is an Irish horse-trainer who comes to Royal Meadows to take over the training of Keeley's father's stable. Inevitably sparks fly between Brian and Keeley and Brian is able to melt Keeley's "ice princess" facade.

The title is a bit misleading because although Brian has some definite commitment and "settling down" issues, Keeley is clearly the focus of this book and in a way she's a rebel in her own right. This book also shows how far Nora Roberts' writing has come since 1981 (read all 3 books in progression, and you'll see what I mean!). This book has all the style elements of some of her best works, and is just a very nice, enjoyable, low-stress read.

"Irish Rebel" is another fabulous book by Nora Roberts. I always love Nora's series because we get to revisit old friends. In this case we are reunited with Travis and Dee from "Irish Thoroughbred", Nora's first book. This story, however, is about Travis and Adelia's daughter, Keeley Grant. "Irish Rebel" is full of fun and romance and it keeps the reader's full attention from beginning to end.
Keeley's parents, Travis and Dee, the owners of the renowned racing stable "Royal Meadows" have just hired a new horse trainer, Brian Donnelly. Brian has come all the way from Ireland to work for the Grants because he has a remarkable gift for training champions.
When Brian first arrives, he believes that Keeley is a spoiled princess who has never had to work for anything, but he couldn't be more wrong. Keeley is a strong-willed and compassionate woman who teaches under-privileged and abused children to ride.
Brian and Keeley grate on each other's nerves, but they can't deny the powerful attraction they share. Keeley has never had much time for men in her life, and has never found a man who could hold her attention, but with Brian she seems to have met her match.
As Brian discovers more and more about who Keeley really is, he finds himself falling in love with her. Now this Irish rebel, who has spent his life moving from one place to another, wonders if it's finally time to stop running and put down some roots. Will love triumph and keep Brian at Keeley's side?
You'll just have to read the book to find out!
"Irish Rebel" is a truly entertaining and enjoyable read. The romance between Keeley and Brian is fresh and passionate, and all of the characters are richly portrayed and very likeable. This is a wonderful and well-written romance and I guarantee that you will love it like I did. You will get more out of "Irish Rebel" if you have read "Irish Hearts", which contains the two previous books in this series, but it can easily stand alone. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this fantastic book!
I hope that Nora Roberts will write the stories of Travis and Dee's other children very soon.

Almost 20 years ago, Nora Roberts wrote her first romance book called Irish Thoroughbred. This book told the story of Dee Cunnane, recently arrived from Ireland, and Travis Grant the owner of a large horse farm in Maryland. Continuing the story in Irish Rose, published a few years later, readers were introduced to Dee's cousin, Rose, also from Ireland, who finds herself falling in love with the owner of another horse ranch in the United States. Since that time, Ms. Roberts has become a most beloved romance author continung to dominate the field with her trilogies, romantic suspense, category offerings and even futuristic mysteries written under the name JD Robb.

Now Ms. Roberts returns to Maryland's green fields and horse country in her latest book, Irish Rebel, where we meet Dee and Travis's oldest daughter, Keeley. Keeley Grant is very much like her Irish born mother, headstrong and determined to succeed in all that she tries with little time for romantic interests. But she more than meets her match in Brian Donnelly who has journeyed from Ireland to work as a horse trainer for the Grants. Sparks fly almost immediately and the before the reader knows it, they are once again furiously turning the pages to see what happens next.

Although I have read many of Nora Roberts's titles, she never fails to interest me as she weaves a wonderful tale and this book is no exception. I do hope she will continue writing about the Grants and their children, but if not it's been a pleasure to spend time with them again.

I grew up on Georgette Heyer romances and I am so sorry to find that so many of them are out of print. My mother, sister and I have literally read two copies of "The Grand Sophy" to pieces!

She's a positive role model that transcends 19th century England and contradicts the waifish pseudo-sex goddesses of the 90's. I wish more young women would read this marvelous book and not feel so ashamed of who they are or what they look like!

The very first romance novel I ever read (and I'm not including Jane Austen in this category) was "Black Sheep" by Georgette Heyer. I enjoyed the book so much that I immediately began haunting used book stores, hunting for as many of her novels as I could get at a time. That was more than two decades ago, and Georgette Heyer has remained a firm favourite ever since (in spite of her rather dated opinions about the merchant middle class, etc). "The Grand Sophy" ranks up there with other of my all time favourite Heyer novels (the ones that I rate about 10 stars) like "Sylvester," "Sprig Muslin," "The Foundling" & "These Old Shades," -- they're all excellent reads that every Regency-era romance novel addict should read at least once!

Other reviewers have done excellent jobs in giving plot synopsis, so I'll leave off doing the same except to note that the novel deals with the humourous and outrageous efforts of a visiting cousin, Sophy Stanton-Lacy, to sort out the myriad of problems that all those around her have (mainly her Rivenhall cousins like Herbert and Cecilia) become entangled in. What makes this novel 'work' is not only the clever plotting and the numerous escapades that Heyer has Sophy pull, but also the brilliant manner in which Heyer draws her characters. In Sophy Stanton-Lacy, for example, Heyer has created a young heroine who while incredibly managing, bossy, independent and very determined, and yet who is so utterly charming that you cannot help but root for her to come out on top -- this in spite of the fact that your sympathies may lie elsewhere. And I did have sympathies elsewhere! The first time I read the book, I felt quite sympathetic towards stuffy cousin Charles. Here was a young man, the only sensible person in a rather flighty family, who had had to contend with some crisis or another for goodness knows how long, all he gets for his efforts is abuse from his family! Yes, he is stuffy and easily angered, but his family was enough to give even me the megrims (and all I was doing was reading about them!)

"The Grand Sophy" is a riot of a read. Heyer sketches Sophy's escapades in such a humourous and entertaining manner that we cannot help but be charmed. Cleverly plotted, possessing elegant prose and characters that are just so alive and real "The Grand Sophy" proved to be the kind of book I wish I could find and read everyday.

This book was voted one of the 400 best novels ever to come out of the 20th century; chosen out of Heyer's entire oeuvre to represent the best of her work. They made the best choice. Heyer invented a genre, that of the Regency Romance, which became cheapened by countless imitators and emulators as well as many very good authors who got lost among the dross and the sweeping statements which consigned the Regency Romance to an undeservedly low-rated place. The Grand Sophy shows Heyer at her very best - it is a outrageously funny book that still has me laughing out loud (I had to stop reading it on the train because other passengers began to complain), it presents a cast of strongly drawn and complex characters, premier among whom is the titular Sophy - Sophia Stanton-Lacy, the irrepressible, indefagitable young woman with a personality the size of all England. From her extravagant arrival at her aunt and uncle's house accompanied by a monkey, a parrot, an Italian greyhound, and a very fine horse - to say nothing of her strong managing nature and charisma, she takes her rather hare-brained cousins in hand, sorting out their entanglements, scandals and romantic peccadilloes in a helter-skelter way. A book for those who always know the best for everyone else, unless you don't want to encourage them. It is a fast-moving, extravagantly amusing, richly detailed and satisfyingly convoluted novel in which Heyer skilfully draws myriad loose ends together with an incredible lightness and sureness of hand - her great talent. Many imitators tend to do so with too heavy and ponderous a style. Buy, borrow or beg this novel - but don't read it in public unless you're good at suppressing laughter. And even better - unlike several of Heyer's best novels, where the language can be somewhat offputting, this book is among one of the most immediately accessible for the novice to Heyer.

It has been awhile since I've read a book in this series, but returning to it I felt like I had never taken a break. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin have become my good friends, and O'Brian swept me away with their exploits instantly. Even thought the style is decidedly un-modern, O'Brian's narrative thrust is irresistible. In this, the third volume of the series, Jack is still in debt due to the Admiralty refusing to honor a war prize based on a technicality, thus putting his engagement to Sophie in danger. Maturin is in real danger as the new Lord governing the navy broadcasts his name in a public meeting, thus raising possible questions about his role as a spy. Stephen's heart is troubled as well; he still moons over Diana Villiers, from the events of the second book.

How can you possibly dislike a book that contains a line such as this: "Jack, you have debauched my sloth." Yes, O'Brian has a certain amount of levity, although it is often hidden underneath the layers of the manners of the time. His style is somewhat like that of Jane Austen, where the most cutting of phrases are being said in the nicest of ways. You either like this sort of thing or don't. I like it, when I catch it, but I yearn for annotations, just knowing that there are some subtleties that are escaping me.

"H.M.S. Surprise" is Patrick O'Brian's third book in his epic 20-volume 19th-century maritime series. Captain Jack Aubrey, on blockade duty along France's southern coast, must extricate his friend, ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, from a delicate situation. Then, aboard the H.M.S. Surprise they sail to South America, India and beyond, weathering storms, battling enemies, and stewing over their respective romances.

Once again O'Brian delivers an excellent book, spare prose and nautical realism sweep the reader on deck. And, of course, the ending is a cliff-hanger, so you'll have to read the next book.

Like the preceding Aubrey and Maturin books by O'Brian, this is a beautifully written, meticulously realistic tale. In this, the third book of O'Brian's seafaring saga, things take a painfully tragic twist.

In the setting of the sea voyages, the dual romantic dramas of Captain Aubrey and Doctor Maturin continue to unfold. What reader can truly care that the bold and dashing Diana Villiers has been subjected to all sorts of low, nasty gossip, when Maturin has realised that his love for her has survived it? And will Aubrey's fiance, Sophie, break their engagement in the face of his long and silent absence at sea? Especially with a charming new minister in the neighborhood...

Always before, in spite of rivalries and breaks, the good captain and doctor's fortunes have risen and fallen pretty much together. But in this book, only one will win through to joy.

Aside from the poignant human drama, this book holds the most dramatic description of a storm at sea that I have ever read. O'Brian's prose drove my heart rate to amazing heights for the usually non-athletic pursuit of reading! His gift for succinct description is purely wonderful.

Another wonderful book in a series of wonderful books.