Customer Reviews

Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Blossom Culp is an unlikely heroine: living hand to mouth in dilapidated quarters, with a light-fingered mom who scrounges food and items to sell in the dead of night. But she is also one of the few freshmen at her school with ESP. Yet not even Blossom could have predicted that she would be chosen as the natural contact (medium) in this world and time for the spirit of a wronged Egyptian princess!

Blossom and her mom live (more like squat) in squalor on the wrong side of the tracks in a small town in 1914, when women did not have the Vote. Then a new History teacher sails into town and quickly gets both her class and their mothers into an uproar. And just what ancient secret was left hastily forgotten in an old traveling show tent? Does Alexander have what it takes to join a high school fraternity with dare-devil initiaion rites, while Blossom is ostracized by the girls? Clever plot and zippy dialogue combine to make this a fun read.

This book starts when a new teacher comes and then this girl named Letty calls a meeting to get rid of her. In the middle of using a device used to call the spirits, Blossom calls a goddess. The goddess gives her a challenge to get her goods back to her or else she will be cursed. Can she survive this quest or will she be cursed. Find it out in this exciting book of mysteries. I recommend this book because it is very exciting and it refreshes you in the morning when your going to school because it will make you think and concentrate which will refresh you.

This is better than "Dreadful Future". Peck has restored the slow, exquisite, romantic tone of the first two installments, and the storyline is stronger, but it still doesn't rise to the level of GIHB.

I will say upfront that I adore Blossom. Her strong will, her practicality and resourcefulness make her a character that I'm frankly surprised doesn't get more press when people are recommending books for young women. But I wish there would be less emphasis on her interaction with Letty and her minions. It's really not worth her time to worry about such things in the first place, and her crude "revenge" schemes are beneath her. I liked the perspective she had in GIHB, when she observes that she could have taken over the Sunny Thoughts/Busy Fingers, but wasn't interested, because there was a wider world available to her. I like her better when she's doing her own thing and not getting drawn into petty power games.

Secondly, when is Alexander going to man up already? Every time something out of the ordinary happens, he starts whimpering and begging for mercy like a little girl. I could understand that in GIHB, when he was 13, but he's going on 15 by now, and it's about time he started showing a maturity level at least equal to Blossom's. If he doesn't, she should just forget about him.

And as far as that goes, I wasn't entirely satisfied with the resolution of that love triangle. Alexander glares at Blossom for "losing" the INB pin so he "couldn't give it to Letty"; meanwhile, she claims to see "relief in his eyes". Or, maybe she's just seeing what she wants to see. If it really is that way, Peck should have been less ambiguous and had him say, "Well, I was going to give it to you," and have Blossom's jaw hit the pavement.

I did like the suffragette teacher, and the third appearance of Old Man Leverette. But as far as that goes, where's Daisy-Rae? Okay, so maybe she didn't "work", but that underscores what I said about DF: it is best simply forgotten. Or, as Dorothy Parker said, thrown with great force.

I read all of Richard Peck's books as a child and young adult, and am now getting my daughter started on them. Blossom Culp was always one of the most entertaining heroines I knew. Her world, brought to life by one of my favorite authors, was so foreign to me, and I loved and cherished every bit of her stories, as I did all of Mr. Peck's books.

Although this book is not as essential as 'The Ghost Belonged to Me' and 'Ghosts I Have Been' at the core I really enjoy Peck's stories about Blossom and Alexander. Sure there are cliches, but school pecking orders and wrong side of the tracks themes are timeless ones in adolescent literature which he handles deftly. Peck also does a great job describing the time period in all these books, without feeling like he's pushing historical details on you.

I was very pleased with the book I purchased which arrived in excellent condition and very quickly.

I was a fan of Blossom Culp since Ghosts I have Been. But in this last adventure, I felt cheated. Not nearly as good as Ghosts, I found the story silly even for this media. And the whole things with Alexander, Im sorry but a smart girl like Blossom would have given up and moved on to better guys.

I read all of thes books in this series when I was a child (well over 20 years ago!) with the exception of this one. I don't know how I overlooked it, as Richard Peck was one of my favorite authors. When I ordered this book, I reread the entire series and they were as good as I remembered! Actually they were even better since I now had this story to go with it! A great book in the continuing story of Blossom Culp and one I intend to share with my kids. It has definetly stood the test of time!

I got Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death two years ago and I started reading it FOR THE FIRST TIME recently. I thought this book was realy cool because there is the overall plot, which is trying to find all of the princess' belongings, and other plots along the way. I REALLY should have read this two years ago.

Although this may not be the best of Peck's Blossom Culp books, it is still great reading. The unlikely heroine, Blossom, has an engaging narrative style. A great book for adults as well as kids!