When i was in college in new orleans, i had the pleasure of being Ms. Pusker's student in her children's literature class. that was the first time i was ever introduced to the Belfers, and even though i am not jewish, i intend to share this book with my daughter. i know that these books are a modern version for the life that Ms. Pushker led in southern louisiana, so that makes them even more special! Read them, they are really good!

Swaying on her suburban porch swing, Toby asks her best friend, Donna, for forgiveness. The High Holy Days are here, it is Rosh Hashana, and Toby heard her rabbi's sermon on the topic of repentence and change. She is sorry for teasing Donna's younger brother. Toby then explains to Donna the high holy days and their meaning, the synagogue in the city, apples and honey, Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre, challah (though the illustration doesn't draw it round), and the shofar. The book ends with a honey cake recipe from Toby's late Gram'.

Toby lives up to his rabbi's wishes to help others, give charity, and apologize for any hurts caused; and as she follows his instructions and explains her Jewish heritage to her best friend Donna, she discovers new meaning in her background and life in this warm story of self-discovery and confidences sparked by a Jewish tradition.

I found this book a very frustrating and ultimately disappointing read. Within the first few chapters there is a death that is suspected of being a murder. A reasonable person might think the solving of the mystery surrounding this character's demise might be a central plot element. Wrong. The novel also covers social mores and class structure - i.e. one's "place" in Victorian society as determined by sex, race and relative wealth, conditions for blacks and especially black women in turn of the century America, development of electric power and the ramifications of its development for society and industry, the Buffalo Pan-American exhibition, the assassination of President McKinley. You name it, it's in there. A smorgasbord that somehow misses being a feast. Potential plot elements are picked up and just as quickly dropped like so many hot potatos. Characters do illogical and improbable things - our heroine, the self-possessed headmistress of a girl's school, bearing Grover Cleveland's love child? Since we meet her as a savvy and mature woman it's hard to conceive of her as that young and dumb. Characters romantically involved one minute who hadn't previously so much as held hands then acting like virtual strangers upon the rising of the sun. I found myself soldiering on to the bitter end just to see how Ms. Belfer was going to wrap it all up. When I read the last word I pitched the book across the room glad to be able to get on with my life. Advice to Ms. Belfer: Try again but next time don't be so ambitious. Advice to potential readers: If you really want to read this get it at the library.

The star of Lauren Belfer's debut novel, "City of Light," is Buffalo, New York. When you think of exciting cities, perhaps Buffalo doesn't spring to mind immediately. However, Belfer's "City of Light" was an entirely different place in the early part of the twentieth century than it is today. At that time, Buffalo was a hub of industry, a major port city, and a place of social ferment. The very rich threw lavish parties and politicians who aspired to high office were careful to cultivate Buffalo's elite and influential citizens.

Although the novel is full of carefully researched historical tidbits, there is also a fictional story in "City of Light." Louisa Barrett is an unmarried woman in her thirties. She is the headmistress of the Macaulay School where proper young ladies receive an enlightened education. Louisa is a strong-willed individual with a shadowy past that she keeps carefully hidden. She is also a devoted godmother to Grace Sinclair, who is one of her students in the Macaulay school.

Grace's late mother, Margaret, was Louisa's closest friend. Grace's father, Tom, is a controversial figure who uses Niagara Falls to generate electricity, and there are those who resent Sinclair's exploitation of nature to make huge profits for both himself and the titans of industry. Is Tom Sinclair a megalomaniac or a visionary? Is hydroelectric power the wave of the future or a selfish use of nature for man's enrichment? These are some of the issues that Belfer raises.

Belfer weaves many other historical strands into this 500 plus page novel. She discusses the plight of African-Americans and women at the turn of the century. She shows how industrialization was a two-edged sword. The Robber Barons got rich, but the poor lived in squalor and they were sometimes maimed or lost their lives working in unsafe factories and industrial plants.

For a first novel, "City of Light" is an astonishing accomplishment. Belfer creates a vivid and colorful world that engulfs the reader in a kaleidoscope of images. Louisa Barrett is a strong central character. She is smart, beautiful and vulnerable. Louisa has a strong sense of self-worth as well as an instinct for survival in an often cutthroat world. There are many other fascinating characters that Belfer beautifully depicts in "City of Light." Maria Love is a self-important society matron whose charitable deeds always come with strings attached. Grover Cleveland uses his ties to Buffalo as a stepping stone to the Presidency of the United States. However, Cleveland's womanizing comes back to haunt him more than once.

As fascinating as "City of Light" is, it has some minor flaws. The narrative occasionally gets bogged down in melodrama, and it is a little too long. However, Belfer's "City of Light" is, in many ways, a marvelous achievement. The author has created a self-contained world that comes to brilliant life and her elegant prose is a joy to read. Belfer is definitely a writer to watch and I await her next novel with great anticipation.

I read this book in two days and wasn't disappointed with a single word. Louisa Barrett is the headmistress of a private school for girls in 1901 Buffalo, NY. She runs with an elite crowd of millionaires who have socially accepted her despite her rather humble origins. Louisa becomes involved in intrigue surrounding the death of a man involved in the construction of a controversial electrical power plant which would be powered by the waters of the beautiful Niagra Falls. Her involvement endangers everything she has worked carefully to achieve in both social and professional realms. Another thread in the plot is Louisa's concern for Grace, the daughter of Louisa's deceased best friend -- concern for Grace's safety and concern that Grace's true identity will be exposed. The early push for Civil Rights, labor unions and social reform is addressed, as is political corruption on the federal level.

Many suspense novels today are mind candy. City of Light offers much more. Belfer provides detailed historical information regarding the early development and practicality of electricity and the environmental issues surrounding use of natural resources -- an issue of tremendous relevance still today. Louisa is an intelligent woman in a time when women were more valued for their weaknesses than their strengths.

Belfer's prose is very comfortable and readable. This book will keep you guessing and thinking.

A very straight forward practical book. Batik and Tie Dye Techniques focus' on the beginner's needs for basic tie-dye stuff.

I used this book in my art classes and found it to be down to earth and basic. My students were able to use it with good results.

This book provides a complete technical summary of batik and resist-dye techniques, with unusually high design quality ... very inspirational.