CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE Book Blog Tour Stop - Review + #Giveaway

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the publisher and Rockstar Book Tours
in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.

I was so excited when I was asked to review the new CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE book as part of the Rock Star Book Tour.  Why?  First, I am a huge Charlotte Bronte/Jane Eyre fan, and both of my girls are into YA Historical Graphic Novel books right now.  After getting hooked on graphic novels over the summer as part of their summer reading, they have been looking at the libraries and in book stores for new books to read.  So, when I received an advance copy of this book the other day, I knew they would be both excited to get their hands on it, and read -- especially my youngest who is a big history buff, and loves all the classics.

Here is more about this new YA Historical Graphic Novel book from Glynnis Fawkes -- be sure to read on after my review to learn how you can enter to win 1 of 3 CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE books up for grabs. :-)

About the Book:

Title: CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE

Author: Glynnis Fawkes

Pub. Date: September 24, 2018

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 112

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Amazon Paperback, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

"Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless?
You think wrong!--I have as much soul as you,--and full as much heart!

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is a beloved classic, celebrated today by readers of all ages

and revered as a masterwork of literary prowess. But what of the famous writer herself?

Originally published under the pseudonym of Currer Bell, Jane Eyre was born out of a
magnificent, vivid imagination, a deep cultivation of skill, and immense personal hardship and
tragedy. Charlotte, like her sisters Emily and Anne, was passionate about her work. She sought
to cast an empathetic lens on characters often ignored by popular literature of the time,
questioning societal assumptions with a sharp intellect and changing forever the landscape of
western literature.

With an introduction by Alison Bechdel, Charlotte Brontë before Jane Eyre presents a stunning
examination of a woman who battled against the odds to make her voice heard."

---

Usually I not big on YA Historical Graphic Novel books like my girls, but having a love for Jane Eyre, I was excited to sit down and read it. I really liked the black and white illustrations/pencil illustrations, compared to full-color illustrations, which at times can be too flashy or deter from the story you are reading. I was able to read this book in under a half hour, and when I reached the last page, I was smiling, as I really enjoyed the book, and loved how this book is meant as a reminder to girls and young women that they have a voice and to make sure their voices are heard. In today's day and age, women have to still take a backseat to men in the workplace. Luckily, though, more and more women authors are popping up and they are turning out bestselling books, one after another. They no longer have to use pseudonym to publish their works. I was really excited to have my girls both read this book, which did an amazing job at shining light on Charlotte Brontë, and how she battled against the odds to have her voice heard. And, I am so glad that she did, as Jane Eyre is truly a classic and worth reading time and again. I loved the back story of all the challenges Charlotte faced, as well as the support and inspiration, which led to the publication of this classic. Without Charlotte and her literacy works, I don't know where we would be today. She helped change the landscape of Western literature, and provide opportunities for other women like her to use their voices and put words to paper and push to have them published. 

After I was done reading this new graphic novel, I passed it along to my girls to read, they, too, love it. We had a very lively talk about the book, and Charlotte Bronte, and struggles she faced back them, and how she overcome them to publish her well known classic. I reminded my girls to dream big like Charlotte, and never give up on their dreams, even when the struggles seem to outweigh their successes. If you are a fan of Jane Erye, or have a child who loves historical graphic novels, I highly recommend you pick up Charlotte Bronte Before Jane Eyre. This is one of those books you will be left smiling with, once you are done, and find yourself eager to read it time and again.

---

About Glynnis:

I'm an cartoonist and illustrator living in Burlington, VT.

My most recent book is Charlotte Bronte Before Jane Eyre, Center for Cartoon Studies
Presents series, will be published in September 2019 by Disney/Hyperion. Also in September,
Secret Acres will publish Persephone’s Garden, a collection of autobiographical comics that
have appeared in the New Yorker and other places. 

I began working on excavations as illustrator in 1998 and have worked on sites in Greece, Crete,
Turkey, Israel, Cyprus, Syria, and Lebanon.  I continue to work in Greece every year.   My
illustrations have been published in several books and many articles.  

Many of my personal comics reflect a career in archeology and family life.  Greek Diary is
about working on a dig and traveling with children.  My drawings about my children were
published regularly on Muthamagazine.com  and were nominated for an Ignatz Award at the
Small Press Expo in 2016.

Another project, Alle Ego, is about my first trip to Greece and how it launched my work in the
direction of archeology.  A draft of this book won the MoCCA Arts Festival Award in NY in 2016.
I drew most of it during a residency at La Maison des Auteurs in Angouleme, and I plan to return
to work on this book in the future. 

I’m currently working on a middle grade adventure set after the eruption of Thera in Late Bronze
Age Greece.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest |  Tumblr | Goodreads 

---GIVEAWAY---

Thanks to the author and publisher, three lucky readers will win a finished copy of  CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE (*US ONLY) to enjoy. To enter, please complete the entries on the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

-- CHARLOTTE BRONTE BEFORE JANE EYRE Blog Tour Schedule and Stops --

And, when you are done entering this giveaway, be sure to check out the other blog stops for this book tour, which include personal reviews and excerpts....

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/2/2019- Odd and Bookish- Excerpt

9/3/2019- Country Road Reviews- Excerpt

9/4/2019- dwantstoread- Review

9/5/2019- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt

9/6/2019- Lifestyle Of Me- Review

Week Two:

9/9/2019- Christen Krumm, Writer, Reader, Serious Coffee Drinker- Review

9/10/2019- Careful of Books- Review

9/11/2019- Character Madness and Musings- Excerpt

9/12/2019- Fictitiouswonderland- Review

9/13/2019- Fyrekatz Blog- Review

Week Three:

9/16/2019- Little Red Reads- Excerpt

9/17/2019- Book-Keeping- Review

9/18/2019- Life of a Simple Reader- Excerpt

9/19/2019- Kati's Bookaholic Rambling Reviews- Excerpt

9/20/2019- Inspired by Savannah- Review

Week Four:

9/23/2019- History from a Woman’s Perspective- Review

9/24/2019- Wishful Endings- Excerpt

9/25/2019- Just Another Reader- Review

9/26/2019- Jade Writes Books- Review

9/27/2019- Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile- Review

Week Five:

9/30/2019- two points of interest- Review

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.