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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Hyperion Book CH, 2012, 352 pp, ISBN: 1423152190

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I’m a far-ranging reader, happily reading a picture book one minute and a book for adults the next.  Professionally, being a 4th grade teacher and reviewer, not a librarian, I tend to read only YA that really intrigues me for one reason or another and I have to shamefully admit that until now what I’d heard about Marcus Sedgwick’s books — that they were dark and creepy — did not make me want to read them. But recently, I saw something interesting about his latest, Midwinterblood, just as a copy showed up in the mail and so I took it home to read.

Wow.

The book has an unconventional structure that someone told me is like Cloud Atlas, but while it does have a sort of similar time sense, I’d say it is otherwise completely different.  Beginning in 2073 on the island of Blessed, it moves back in time, with an epilogue connecting back to the book’s start. There are seven stories in total, all set on the island, heading back and back and back through time. And by way of these distinctive narratives we are startled to encounter characters we have already met in the earlier stories, characters who care, hate, most of all, two who love throughout eternity.  Separately these are ghost stories, love stories, and even something that might be termed dystopic. Playing on tropes of folklore, horror, myth, historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction, Sedgwick imaginatively weaves something highly original and completely compelling. While Midwinterblood is its own distinct thing, mulling it over now, I think of Laini Taylor’s Lips Touch Three Times and the stories of Margo Lanagan.

Most of all, it is gorgeous. Highly recommended.

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“My instinct is to absolutely recoil when talking about writing in a mechanistic way,” says screenwriter and producer Michael Hirst. With a bunch of film credits under his belt, along with the award-winning series The Tudors, Hirst talks to Mediabistro for the latest installment of So What Do You Do? Though he writes for a different medium than most of you GalleyCat readers, his advice for research and crafting characters is useful for any writer.

“The key for me with historical characters is they’re interesting because they’re human beings,” he said. “A little bit of Hemingway goes a long way here, but journalists and writers should honestly look at their material and have a real interest, a real passion in what they want to write, and they should also have a lot of knowledge, as well. You don’t write police procedural stuff unless you really know that beat, but it’s ultimately not the procedure that makes the show work — it’s the people. The more real they are, the better.”

For more, read So What Do You Do, Michael Hirst, Creator of The Tudors and Vikings?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres - I just love the way it transports you back to another place and time. As I wrote recently, Kirby Larson's Hattie Big Sky was one of my favorite audiobooks ever. And so I was thrilled to read Larson's new sequel, Hattie Ever After. It's a chance to revisit an old friend and see where her journey takes her. This is historical fiction whose character shines with heartfelt spirit. When you get to the end, you'll be sure you've made a friend for life.

Hattie Ever After
by Kirby Larson
Delacorte Press, 2013
ages 10-14
available at your local library and on Amazon
* best new book *

We left Hattie on the plains of Montana, having spent a year trying—and failing—to make a home for herself and "prove up" on her claim. I've always admired Larson for not making a sweet ending for Hattie. Life was hard on the plains, and Hattie struggled mightily. As we re-enter the story, Hattie is now 17 and working as a cleaning woman in a boarding house in Great Falls. But Hattie still yearns to carve out a place for herself. She's got big plans for herself: throwing "a lasso around a dream even bigger than a Montana farm,” she has decided to become a reporter.

Hattie leaps at the opportunity to go to San Francisco with a traveling acting troupe. The city draws her even more so, as she's sure she can learn more about her Uncle Chester - was he really the scoundrel he said he was? Nothing in Montana seemed to suggest that he really was. And though her childhood friend Charlie wants to marry her, Hattie worries that “saying yes to him was saying no to myself.” With her head full of questions, Hattie sets off for San Francisco in the summer of 1919.

Larson hits her stride when Hattie reaches San Francisco. The city comes alive with the many details she weaves into the story. From her first glimpse of Newspaper Row, with the Call, the Examiner and the Chronicle Buildings all next to each other, to an exhilarating airplane ride over the bay, Hattie is like a little child soaking in every sight.

Readers will cheer Hattie on as she steps into the Chronicle Building to apply for a job. Hattie has pluck and determination, realizing that she might need to start on the cleaning staff of the newspaper, but with a little luck and hard work she might be able to get a break. Larson builds suspense as Hattie makes new friends, investigates news stories, and gets a lucky break at the Chronicle. Throughout, she is passionate and earnest, following her dream. Many young readers who are drawn to Hattie's story will empathize with her dream of becoming a writer and making her mark on the world.

If I have any hesitations about the book, it's because this is a true sequel. It took me a while to pull Hattie's story back in detail into my mind. I had trouble in the beginning with placing each of the characters. But once I settled into the flow of the story, I was absolutely hooked.

We had the huge pleasure of hosting an event for local students to meet Kirby Larson and hear about how she researches her books. Tomorrow, I'll share some special moments from that wonderful evening.

See other reviews at Teach Mentor Texts, Bookshelves of Doom, and Read, Write, Reflect. Also definitely read the interview with Kirby Larson at Read, Write, Reflect. If you're a fan, you'll also like the guest column Kirby wrote for Kirkus Reviews on how she achieved success.

The review copy was kindly sent by the publishers, Delacorte / Random House. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

Review ©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

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In the past year there have been some interesting discussions about nonfiction books that seem like fiction (e.g. Steve Sheinken’s Bomb) and fiction books that seem like nonfiction (e.g. Vaunda Micheaux Nelson’s No Crystal Stair). The one this week on the child_lit list serve (about how to identify books like Nelson’s) prompted me to write the following response:

… I’ve been thinking about how children take in history for many, many years (written some books and articles about this) and the issues of authenticity and authority are complicated. I’ve seen errors in nonfiction books  that were highly lauded, that appear to be absolutely perfect, only because I was an expert on the subjects. As you note, writers of history have to shape and consider what to include and what to leave out so the act is not as pristine as may be thought. 

I’ve just read Andrea Cheng’s ETCHED IN CLAY: THE LIFE OF DAVE, ENSLAVED POTTER AND POET, a fictionalized, multi-voiced, poetic exploration of what this enigmatic artist’s life (there is so little firsthand material about him) might have been like. Kirkus gave it a star and describes it as “verse biography.” I see it as belonging in the same area as Nelson’s book, another fictionalized biography.

A few weeks ago I attended a session about nonfiction for children at the New York Public Library. One of the issues that came up was how to make these stories engaging and accessible for young readers. One author spoke of fictionalizing one aspect in her otherwise nonfiction book and writing about this in the back matter as a solution. Another panelist said she would not have done this, feeling a nonfiction book should be only nonfiction, I’m guessing. Illustration came up too — an artist in one case had to imagine a significant person in a picture book biography because she was unable to find any images of her.

These stories and others just make me think again and again that the telling of history is not something that can be firmly one thing or another. There are reasons to fictionalized true stories in ways that aren’t  those of the historical fiction novelist. The novelist is firstly telling a story that happens to be set in the past. The story is front and center. Dickens’ A TALE OF TWO CITIES is firstly a heartrending story; I don’t think we expect to learn a whole lot about the French Revolution reading it. But others are writing about historical situations that they want known most of all. That these lightly fictionalized works end up being in the same category as works like Dickens’ seems very odd to me. (I guess this goes way back to me railing against the use of historical fiction to engage kids in history — way, way, way back on this list:)

And I’ve got a dog in this fight. Like Nelson and Cheng I wanted to get a person’s story out, someone for whom firsthand information is limited (Sarah Margru Kinson, a child on the Amistad). I tried for many years to write it as nonfiction, but the editors I worked with felt the individual always seemed too distant for the child readers and so, with enormous trepidation, I crossed the border to fiction. I suppose it will now be termed historical fiction, but I’m uncomfortable with that because the story is still as true as I could make it and I want children to know that. I don’t see them engaging with the book as they would a work of fiction, but more as a true story. Possibly like readers will with Nelson and Cheng’s works.

It seems to me that these stories need to get out there to children. That the historical record is slanted toward those in power, that the lack of the significant source trail that we require and demand should not be obstacles in getting these stories out there. When it comes to those enslaved from Africa we see a limited number of stories over and over because those are the ones for which there are records and sources. But there has to be a way to get more stories out there and it may be we have to look at that funny place between fact and fiction as one place to do it.

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Regency Buck. Georgette Heyer. 1935. 352 pages.

Regency Buck was one of the first Georgette Heyer novels I read. It is the story of a brother and sister newly arrived in London. They are rich--or soon will be rich once they are of an age to inherit their father's money. But in the meanwhile they find themselves under the protection of a surprisingly young man, Earl Worth. Judith Tavener's first impression of Worth is something. Readers aren't exactly clear at times HOW he feels about her, but readers never question Judith's feelings regarding him. She HATES him. She does not trust him. She could easily name half a dozen men she'd rather spend time with. Not that Judith wants to rush into marriage with anyone. But to be told by a man she hates that she is forbidden to accept any suitor's proposal...well...it's frustrating. Is Worth doing it just to annoy her or does he perhaps know more of the world? Worth is also opinionated on Peregrine Tavener's love life. Though he does permit the young man to become engaged to a worthy woman. Still he would have him wait...

Regency Buck has drama and mystery. For as the novel progresses, readers learn that Peregrine's life is in danger. There are a series of attempts on his life, not that Peregrine is quick to realize his own danger or quick to judge those near him who may not be as trustworthy as he believes...

It is also RICH in historical detail. Though readers may not know just how rich it is unless they're familiar with the time period and the historical figures of the day.

I enjoyed the characterization and found the plot quite exciting!

My first review.

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Students at our school are fascinated to learn about the Underground Railroad. We use historical fiction and nonfiction to pull our students back in time. Three picture books stand out for me, because of the way that they help young children feel the tension and drama of this time in history.

Underground

by Shane W. Evans

Roaring Brook / Macmillan, 2011

ages 4-9

winner of 2012 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

watch the book trailer

available at your local library and on Amazon

This wordless book makes you think at each step of the way, as you unravel and make sense of the story. A young girl crosses to the barn to do her chores, and she's startled by a noise in the corn husks. But as you look more closely at the corn, you realize that a person is hiding among the stalks. The young girl courageously brings food packages out to the barn, but the two never speak. She knows it's a tense time - she's seen a group of mounted Confederate soldiers pass by, and bounty hunters bring reward posters to the farm.

As the pieces of the puzzle came together for my 2nd graders, they were amazed at the young girl's kindness and courage, and the runaway slave's daunting challenge escaping to freedom. We talk all the time about "reading is thinking" and Henry Cole asks his readers to do just this. On our first read, some of my students were frustrated that we never see the full face of the African American hiding in the corn stalks. But as we talked about it today, those same students talked about how much this story stayed with them. Cole's pencil drawings evoke the girl's emotions and the setting of Civil War Virginia, creating tension and mystery within this quiet book.

The review copies came from our school library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

Review ©2013 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

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Well, this one has a nice, succinct title, doesn't it? FREAKS. Misfits. Mutants. This is a strangely compelling but freakish little work, first published in Britain in 2011, and winner of The Times/Chicken House Publishing Children’s Fiction... Read the rest of this post

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Medusa!
I revised my Medusa book for Capstone press. It's Medusa's side of the story--with my Greek mythology obsession, it was a FUN book to write. It's moving fairly quickly through the editorial process, but I still don't know when it will be out on the market. I really like how the story turned out.

I think it will be in 2013, which means, at least, that I have had a publication in 2009, 2011, 2012, and maybe 2013. That also means I gotta get CRANKING on revising Slider's Son so there's a chance it come come out by the end of 2014!!!  I've also got some tips that this is not such a bad time for historical fiction as the last few years. Don't know if that's true or not, but I want to go with that thought! I have a three-day weekend. Maybe I can dig in and get something done. I've written so little this year since school started. It's easy to get disheartened, but at least I have great classes and students.

I'm teaching The Power of One in my South Africa Humanities class. I have been wondering for several years why the author Bryce Courtenay moved to Australia for the rest of his life. I JUST found out, doing some research, that it's because while he was a teenager, he started a school for Africans. Blacks were NOT supposed to learn to read under Apartheid, and he was labeled a communist as a result, and exiled from his country at age 17. Holy smoke. No wonder I love this guy. He just died three months ago. I'm sad I didn't make a pilgrimage to go meet the man. -->

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There is no easy segue from yesterday's Captain Underpants review to today's In the Shadow of Blackbirds. I primarily review children's books.  This one is definitely for young adults.

Winters, Cat. 2013. In the Shadow of Blackbirds. New York: Amulet.
Advance Reader Copy supplied by NetGalley.

Through the windows, I watched the boys proceed to a line of green military trucks that waited rumbling alongside the curb. The recruits climbed one by one beneath the vehicles' canvas coverings with the precision of shiny bullets being loaded into a gun. The trucks would cart them off to their training camp, which was no doubt overrun with feverish, shivering flu victims. The boys who didn't fall ill would learn how to kill other young men who were probably arriving at a German train station in their Sunday-best clothing at that very moment. (From Chapter 2, "Aunt Eva and the Spirits")

The year is 1918, and 16-year-old Mary Shelly Black is on her way from Portland to San Diego to stay with her widowed 26-year-old aunt. Her mother is dead. Her father has recently been arrested - swept up in the anti-German immigrant frenzy that's sweeping the country.

The sign in front of the eatery claimed the place specialized in "Liberty Steaks," but that was simply paranoid speak for We don't want to call anything a name that sounds remotely German, like "hamburger." We're pro-American. We swear! (from Chapter 13, "Ugly Things")

Young men are eagerly enlisting to fight in the trenches of Europe, and amidst it all, the "Spanish flu" ravages the population - their flimsy gauze masks are no match for the deadly virus.

The businessmen in smart felt hats rode with me, probably on their lunch break. They buried their gauze-covered noses in the San Diego Union, and one of them felt the need to read the October influenza death tolls out loud. "Philadelphia: over eleven thousand dead and counting - just this month. Holy Moses! Boston: for thousand dead." The use of cold statistics to describe the loss of precious lives made me ill. (From Chapter 17, "Keep Your Nightmares to Yourself")

The bleak situation is made all the worse by her recent discovery that her dearest Stephen, the only bright spot in her sad existence in San Diego, has enlisted in the Army, not because he desires to fight and kill German soldiers, but to show love for his country and free himself from living under the same roof as his brother, a drug-addled, "spirit photographer,"

So this is war. The declaration changed Coronado and San Diego overnight. The men are all enlisting and everyone is hurrying to make sure we all look like real Americans. One of our neighbors held a bonfire in his backyard and invited everyone over to burn their foreign books. I stood at the back of the crowd and watched people destroy the fairy tales of Ludwig Tieck and the Brothers Grimm and the poetry of Goethe, Eichendorff, Rilke, and Hesse. They burned sheet music carrying the melodies of Bach, Strauss, Beethoven, and Wagner. Even Brahm's "Lullaby."

In the Shadow of Blackbirds takes a decidedly darker turn when Mary Shelly learns of Stephen's death in the trenches of Europe.  She attends his funeral, but something is very wrong.  She can hear him, she can feel his torment.  His spirit is not at rest; and amidst the horror of war and the flu pandemic, something else is terribly, terribly wrong.  Spirit photography and séances are commonplace as millions across the country yearn to connect with loved ones lost to war or disease; but Shelly is a girl of science, of rationalism - raised in a house of reason and education.  But how can science and reason explain the anguished pleas of her deceased love?

In The Shadow of Blackbirds is gripping historical fiction and Mary Shelly Black is a tragic yet strong protagonist. Containing some of the same themes as Avi's dark, Seer of Shadows (Harper Collins, 2008) (spirit photography, rationalism vs. spiritualism), In the Shadow of Blackbirds examines these themes as well as romantic love and post-traumatic stress syndrome. The setting (San Diego and nearby Coronado Island) and the juxtaposition of love and war, disease and science combine to offer a dark and gritty debut novel.  The descriptions of trench warfare and everyday life during the massive flu pandemic are gritty and graphic, reminiscent of Mary Hooper's novel of Europe's 17th century plague, At the Sign of the Sugared Plum (Bloomsbury, 2003). The fear of death is almost palpable, made even more so by the reader's knowledge that garlic amulets and gauze masks are powerless against the killer flu. To read In the Shadow of Blackbirds is to be immersed in a grim period of American history that at times, bears resemblance to our own.


From the Author's Note,

...the influenza pandemic of 1918 (this particular strain was known as the "Spanish flu" and the "Spanish Lady") killed at least twenty million people worldwide. (Some estimates run as high as more than one hundred million people killed." Add to that the fifteen million people who were killed as a result of World War I and you can see why the average life expectancy dropped to thrifty-nine years in 1918 - and why people craved seances and spirit photography. 

Note: If you've ever watched the classic Academy Award Best Picture, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), this warning from Mary Shelly to her love will foreshadow and haunt,



Period photographs of life during the influenza pandemic of 1918 availabe at these sites:

• www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/influenzawww.flu.gov/pandemic/history/1918
• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/

There are great resources of all kinds (music, vintage video footage and photos) at Cat Winters' site.

Here's the trailer, just released today at the Mod Podge Bookshelf. I wish it hinted at the book's rich historical detail.

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The Convenient Marriage. Georgette Heyer. 1934/2009. Sourcebooks. 318 pages.

"Lady Winwood being denied, the morning caller inquired with some anxiety for Miss Winwood, or, in fact, for any of the young ladies. In face of the rumour which had come to her ears it would be too provoking if all the Winwood ladies were to withhold themselves."

The Convenient Marriage is one of my top Georgette Heyer novels. I've previously reviewed the book and the audiobook. The romance in this novel occurs after the marriage making this Heyer read a bit different.

Horatia is the youngest in the Winwood family. She knows that the family NEEDS to accept the marriage offer from Lord Rule because they are so in debt. (He's offered for Elizabeth, the oldest daughter). But she also knows that her sister could never be happy marrying for convenience when she's already in love with someone else. But why couldn't Lord Rule be made to understood the situation? Why couldn't he offer for her instead? The families would still be "aligned", her family would still be saved...and she'd be the one to have the good life in society. So she goes to Lord Rule secretly and explains the situation to him, making him a proposition of her own...

Her plan is quite bold and quite wonderful. By that I mean it is deliciously entertaining. The first few chapters of this one are so full of promise. Especially the second and third chapters. If there was an award for the best-ever-second-chapter-in-a-book, I'd nominate The Convenient Marriage.

I absolutely love this one. I love getting to know all of the characters: Horry (Horatia), Lord Rule (Marcus Drelincourt), Pelham Winwood (Horry's brother), Sir Roland (Pelham's best friend), Lord Robert Lethbridge (Rule's nemesis), Crosby Drelincourt (Rule's cousin). And that's just to name a few. I loved the storytelling, the dialogue, the glimpses into society life. It can be dramatic and romantic. Most of all I loved the characterization!!! These characters are so flawed and yet lovable!

This Heyer novel is quite memorable and very satisfying! I LOVED it.

From chapter two:

'Will you tell me how old you are?'
'Does it matter?' Horatia inquired forebodingly.
'Yes, I think it does,' said his lordship.
'I was afraid it m-might,' she said. 'I am turned seventeen.'
'Turned seventeen!' repeated his lordship. 'My dear, I couldn't do it.'
'I'm too young?'
'Much too young, child.'
Horatia swallowed valiantly. 'I shall grow older,' she ventured. 'I d-don't want to p-press you, but I am thought to be quite sensible.'
'Do you know how old I am?' asked the Earl.
'N-no, but my cousin, Mrs. M-Maulfrey, says you are not a d-day above thirty-five.'
'Does not that seem a little old to you?' he suggested.
'Well, it is rather old, perhaps, b-but no one would think you as much,' said Horatia kindly.
At that a laugh escaped him. 'Thank you,' he bowed. 'But I think that thirty-five makes a poor husband for seventeen.'
'P-pray do not give that a thought, sir!' said Horatia earnestly. 'I assure you, for my p-part I do not regard it at all. In f-fact, I think I should quite like to marry you.'
'Would you?' he said. 'You do me a great honour, ma'am.' (24-25)

Read The Convenient Marriage

• If you enjoy (clean) romance novels
• If you enjoy historical romance novels
• If you enjoy Georgette Heyer 

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Devil's Cub. Georgette Heyer. 1932/2003. Harlequin. 272 pages.

 There was only one occupant of the coach, a gentleman who sprawled very much at his ease, with his legs stretched out before him, and his hands dug deep in the capacious pockets of his greatcoat.

Devil's Cub is the sequel to Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades. (These Old Shades is an adapted sequel of sorts to The Black Moth. All the names have changed from one book to another, the details and characterizations have not.) Leonie and Justin have a grown son who happens to fight duels somewhat regularly: a son who perhaps doesn't value human life quite enough. His name is Dominic (Vidal). And he's something. Does he take after his mother or father more?! That is the question. Either way, he needs some taming in order to be any woman's ideal husband.

Mary Challoner, our heroine, sees Dominic as TROUBLE. She doesn't want him for herself, certainly, and if she has her way, her sister won't have him either. Or should that be if Mary has her way, HE won't have her sister. For she fears that Dominic would never actually MARRY her sister, Sophie. Does she trust Sophie to do the right thing? NO. Mary feels it's her duty to watch out for her sister's reputation. So when Mary accidentally receives a letter from Dominic (Vidal), she decides not to pass the letter on. He's asked for a secret meeting--an "elopement" of sorts, telling her the time and place to meet him. Sophie knows his destination: Paris; but Mary hasn't a clue. She goes--disguised, wearing a mask--in her sister's place. Her true identity hidden at first, and then her true character hidden even more by a few lies she tells him. Perhaps Mary is not behaving wisely, but, she IS brave, opinionated, feisty, stubborn...even if she's not strong enough to prevent the kidnapping.

Does Dominic mean her harm? Perhaps in his initial rage...but it doesn't take him long to do something he's NEVER done before: offer a lady his name. He is willing to marry her, and quickly, and do whatever he can to make sure her reputation is spared, that most of the scandal is avoided. He is not only willing to marry her, he WANTS to marry her. For the more Mary engages in conversation with him, the more he realizes how wonderful she is. The more she holds her own, the more he WANTS her for herself. Not that he communicates this well exactly. For Mary doesn't know that Dominic "wants" her for herself and not just to save a lady in distress because it is honorable.

So much drama and excitement...and that's just one of the stories in The Devil's Cub. There are plenty of characters, plenty of subplots. So many ways to be entertained. Readers get reacquainted with these characters from These Old Shades: Justin and Leonie (duke and duchess of Avon); Lady Fanny Marling, Justin's sister; Lord Rupert Alastair, Justin's brother. We also meet Lady Fanny's son and daughter (John and Juliana). In fact, there is a second romance in Devil's Cub: Juliana and Frederick Comyn.

Loved this one from beginning to end! It would be WONDERFUL if Richard Armitage narrated this Heyer classic. He's narrated three other titles: Convenient Marriage, Venetia, and Sylvester.

Read Devil's Cub

• If you like historical romances
• If you like or love Georgette Heyer
• If you enjoyed These Old Shades

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Beneath every history, another history.

What a marvelous book is Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. I know a lot of people didn’t like that it is written in the present tense but I found it gave an immediacy to the story it would have otherwise lacked. It is historical fiction and to write of a historical period so well known and in such fine detail in the past tense, I think that would have bogged it down. Also, I liked the interiority that calling Cromwell “he” gave the book. It made it reflective and thoughtful, it made me pay attention.

Things that surprised me. How detailed and slow moving through time the story is. We start with Cromwell as a boy getting knocked down and beaten by his blacksmith father. There is a speedy tour through Cromwell’s youth and then he is an adult working for Cardinal Wolsey. And Wolsey doesn’t die until just over a third of the way through the book. The next huge chunk is taken up with the minute details of Cromwell worming his way into the good graces of Henry and dealing with the problem of his marriage to Katherine and his desire to marry Anne Boleyn. Then the final shorter section after Henry and Anne marry, Anne becomes queen, bears a child that will become Queen Elizabeth I and then miscarries a second child. The book ends with the death of Thomas More.

For best effect, it helps to know at least a general outline of events but it is not necessary to be highly familiar with them. Knowing what is going to happen, where things are leading, creates a certain frisson. The book is dramatic irony at its best.

I did not expect the book to be funny but it was. No, I didn’t laugh my way through, but there are lots of humorous moments like this one in which Anne has sent one of her ladies off to find a Bible:

Mistress Shelton comes careering towards him. ‘My lady wants a Bible!’

‘Master Cromwell can recite the whole New Testament,’ Wyatt says helpfully.

The girl looks agonised. ‘I think she wants it to swear on.’

‘In that case I’m no use to her.’

Heh.

And there is a young man sent to work for Cromwell whom he suspects is there to spy. Cromwell takes it all in stride, he has sent his people to spy on others so it is only natural. The boy is named Wriosthesley and tells them “Call me Risely.” So Cromwell and his son and others in his house start referring to Wriosthesley as “Call Me.” That doesn’t sound so funny when I type it out, but in the book it is a hoot, you’ll have to take my word for it.

I work at a Catholic University though I myself am not Catholic. Thomas More is a saint who died for his religion. There is a statue of him by our practice courtroom. The way he is portrayed in Wolf Hall is far from saintly. A book that a student requested came in the other day about Thomas More. It was written after Wolf Hall and had a chapter in it about how Mantel is very wrong in how she characterizes More. Unfortunately I don’t remember what the title of the book was, but I thought it interesting that a work of nonfiction felt it had to address how More is portrayed in a book of fiction.

Before reading Wolf Hall my impression of Cromwell was not a positive one but as I read I quickly came to like Cromwell very much. He is not a man I would want to cross but he takes care of his own and cares deeply about them. He is a brilliant man and an opportunist. I know he meets a dreadful end but I could not help cheering him on, this son of a blacksmith who refuses to buy himself a title and an aristocratic ancestry. Towards the end of the book there is some foreshadowing of his downfall which is years away yet:

Rafe says, passionate, ‘How could I think to keep a secret from you? You see everything, sir.’

‘Ah. Only up to a point.’

And when he misses that thing it will be off with his head.

But that is for another book, Bring Up the Bodies maybe. Though according to Mantel there are three books. Since Cromwell is the star, I imagine his end won’t come until the end of the third book.

I read Wolf Hall along with Litlove and we exchanged a few emails about it. She posted about it last week so be sure to take a gander at her thoughts on the book too.

Filed under: Books, Reviews Tagged: Hilary Mantel, Historical fiction, Thomas Cromwell

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I love historical fiction. I can absorb the feel of a particular point in history, and truly gain an understanding of the events. I'm thrilled that a sequel to one of my favorites, Hattie Big Sky, is about to be released. So I'd like to share excerpts from my original post in 2009.

We're thrilled that Kirby Larson is visiting the Bay Area for the release of Hattie Ever After. You can see her at Book Passage, in San Francisco, or Rakestraw Books in Danville.

In 2009, my 10 year old and I really enjoyed reading/listening to Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Lawson - a story that shows what it would have been like to try to "prove" a homesteading claim in Montana. We can't wait to find out what happens next in the sequel Hattie Ever After, being published next week.

Hattie Big Sky
by Kirby Lawson
Delacorte Press, 2006
2007 Newbery Honor Book
ages 9 - 13
available at your local library and on Amazon

Sixteen-year old Hattie Brooks has been an orphan from a young age, bouncing from relative to relative. One day, out of the blue, she receives a letter from her long-forgotten uncle giving her his homestead claim in eastern Montana. He writes,

"You will think I have never thought of the niece in Iowa. But this letter will show you I have. If you come out here to Vida, you will find my claim. I trust you've enough of your mother's backbone to meet the remaining requirements. If you do - an you have one year to do it - 320 Montana acres are yours."

The pull is strong - Hattie has never had a place to call her own, and this is her chance. She dives right in, not realizing what's at stake. When she arrives, she finds out that she must plant 40 acres, and build 480 rods of fence in order to "prove" her claim.

This book will appeal to girls who like historical fiction like the Little House books, Julie of the Wolves, or Island of the Blue Dolphins. Kirby Lawson, the author, has developed characters that I really cared about and could feel for. Hattie could not survive without the help and support of her neighbors, Perilee and Karl Mueller. But the year is 1916, and the United States is consumed with supporting the troops fighting in World War I. In this small Montana community, many are suspicious of Karl because of his German accent. Hattie is torn - she knows that Karl is a good man, but should she risk her own safety to stand up to him?

We're **thrilled** for the release of Hattie Ever After. Larson follows Hattie's journey, seeing where this young girl's dreams will take her. If you're excited for the sequel, take a look at Kirkus Review's starred review. I completely agree: Larson writes "historical fiction with heart."

This review was originally written in 2009 for this blog - one of my early reviews! And yet, Hattie Big Sky is a book that's stayed with me year after year. The review copy came from my public library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books (at no cost to you!). Thank you for your support.

Review ©2009 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

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My novel The House Girl tells the story of two women: Lina Sparrow, a lawyer in modern-day New York, and Josephine Bell, a slave in 1850s Virginia. People often ask me why I chose to write about Josephine and who inspired her character. (They assume, I suspect, that Lina is a stand-in for myself: I [...]

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Navigating Early
by Clare Vanderpool
Delacorte Press, 2013
review copy ARC provided by Cover to Cover Books for Young Readers

It's been a long time since a book has grabbed me by the collar and sat me down in a chair and refused to let me up until I finished it.

Navigating Early wiggled its way into my school bag and forced me to read during SSR time, as I ate lunch, and while my students were at art.

I fell in love with Jack, from flat, wide open Kansas, who pukes the first time he looks at the ocean. And I fell in love with Early, who listens to Billie Holiday when it rains. I fell in love with the stories within the story -- the travels of Pi that match both the digits of Pi as well as the adventure Jack and Early have in the backwoods of Maine.

I couldn't help myself -- I dogeared the page corner at Chapter 21 -- the first time I can ever remember encountering fly fishing in a children's book (not to mention a spirited argument about why Jesus could possibly have been "a likely candidate for fly-fishing").

Navigating Early is mysterious and magical, brimful of surprising characters, and with an ending that's a sigh of satisfaction.

Move Navigating Early to the top of your must-read list. You won't regret it.



Also reviewed by
Kevin at Kevin's Meandering Mind
Katherine at Read, Write, Reflect
Colby at Sharpread

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Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed.

Bookshelves of Doom described this one as The Luxe meets Downton Abbey. As both are things I adore, how could I say no?

It's 1910. After many years in India, the Averlys are back at Somerton, but whispers of the scandal that caused Lord Westlake his job have followed them. Ada is a beautiful and bookish, and longs to be allowed to attend Oxford, but must marry well to save the estate. On the boat back to England, a brief encounter with a super-hott Indian boy (on his way to Oxford) leaves her breathless. But, once back at Somerton, there's a new stepmother, a cruel stepsister, and Rose. Rose was a childhood friend, the daughter of the housekeeper. Lord Westlake as taken a keen interest in her and elevates her to Lady's Maid, but the servants don't like it and she gets advice from all the wrong corners. Fancy dresses! Scheming servants! A boy she loves that her father would never approve of vs. a good match with a good guy who will let her follow her dreams...

I wanted to like this more than I did. I needed more from Charlotte to make her more than just an evil step-sister. The narrative sometimes goes to other characters (mostly Rose and the stepbrother Sebastian) but mostly sticks to Ada. A little less Ada and more of the other characters (would *love* to get some of Ravi's point of view) would have rounded it out a little more. Ada and Ravi are super insta-love, which bugged me. I liked the relationship as it grew, but I wasn't entirely sure what attracted them to each other in the first place, especially given their very different stations. The foreshadowing and clues about the BIG SURPRISE at the end were also pretty heavy--something that would have worked better if the entire story were a little more fleshed out. I just wanted more. All that said, it was still a fun read. I liked many of the characters and want to know more, especially about the minor ones. It's definitely the first in a series, with some very ominous things left hanging, so be on the lookout for book 2.

ARC Provided by... the publisher, at ALA.

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THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL - Shannon Hitchcock
setting: 1920's, North Carolina
age range: 12 and up
release date: February 1, 2013
study guide based on Common Core State Standards

Please tell us about your book.
It’s 1922 and Jessie has big plans for her future, but that’s before tuberculosis strikes. Though she has no talent for cooking, cleaning, or nursing, she puts her dreams on hold to help her family. She falls in love for the first time ever, and suddenly what she wants is not so simple any more.

What inspired you to write this story?
A snippet of a family story and my son’s 8th grade history project. His teacher had each student collect ten family stories. Each story had to take place during a different decade. I decided to write a novel loosely based on one of the stories Alex collected.

Could you share with readers how you conducted your research?
I read novels set in the 1920’s, North Carolina history books, memoirs written from sanatoriums, and doctors’ accounts of the disease. I also contacted a local historian in my hometown who helped me locate resources about life on a tobacco farm in the early 1900’s.

What are some special challenges associated with writing historical fiction? 
Not to tell everything you know, but just enough to add flavor to the story.

What topics does your book touch upon that would make your book a perfect fit for the classroom? 
THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL could be used in a cross curricular unit by ELA and Social Studies teachers. Keely Hutton, who’s an eighth grade ELA teacher, reviewed my curriculum guide and gave this feedback:

With JESSIE you have the perfect opportunity to tie in [the following]: 

 non-fiction pieces about the time period

TB

women’s rights and roles in family/society

health care during epidemics 

historically what was happening during those years in the US and the world

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These Old Shades. Georgette Heyer. 1926/2008. Harlequin. 384 pages.

These Old Shades has a lively, impulsive, honest heroine in Leonie.  The hero, Justin Alistair, is equally unforgettable, a man with a horrid reputation with the ladies. (Among other things, he's even KIDNAPPED a lady in an attempt to get her to marry him.) He's not called 'devil' for nothing. But try telling Leonie that Justin is anything but an absolute angel! You see, he rescued her from her mean brother, he bought her. Of course, even that isn't quite what it appears to be. For Leonie was then posing as, Leon, a young man. (She'd been living as a boy since she'd turned twelve.) So Avon first meets Leon, likes the red hair and dark eyebrows, and decides the boy would be a good page. It would be useful to him to have the boy in his household...

These Old Shades has an intriguing opening and a marvelous conclusion. (The last seventy-five pages or so are just wonderful!) There are some lively conversations in between, of course. As Leon is taken to England and transforms into Leonie. As Avon tries through two women (his sister, his cousin) to teach her how to be a lady, how to dress, how to walk, how to talk, what to say, and most importantly what NOT to say. Readers are introduced to Justin's family: his sister, his brother-in-law, his brother, his neighbors, etc. Rupert, Justin's brother, becomes a playmate of sorts for Leonie. Both being immature, teasing, silly.

There are also hints of villainy throughout These Old Shades as Justin prepares to use Leonie as a weapon against one of his own enemies...

I enjoyed elements of These Old Shades. I certainly found the characters interesting. But I didn't love, love, love this one.

Read These Old Shades

• If you enjoy Georgette Heyer
• If you enjoy historical romances set in the Georgian era
• If you enjoy books set in England and France (there's some French phrases)
• If you enjoy lively, unforgettable couples 

© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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 International Holocaust Remembrance Day Today, January 27, 2013 In honor of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on January 27, 2013, the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, dedicated this year to remembering the children who perished at the hands of the Nazis. In that vein, today we have the most awarded book in Canada, Hana’s …

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. Young Knights of the Round Table, Book 1: The King’s Ransom  by Cheryl Carpinello Muse It Up Publishing 2012 Ariana Ebook Cover Finalist 5 Stars Back Cover:  At Pembroke Castle in medieval Wales eleven-year-old Prince Gavin, thirteen-year-old orphan Philip, and fifteen-year-old blacksmith’s apprentice Bryan, brought together in friendship by the one they call The …

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If you’re a fan of historical fiction, then Donna Jo Napoli‘s YA novel The Smile is for you.  It tells the story of fifteen-year-old Elisabetta, the girl later immortalized as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.  Monna Elisabetta hopes to marry for love, but knows she’s destined for an arranged marriage.  As members of the lesser nobility in Florence, Elisabetta’s family needs her to marry well and she is bound by the limited role prescribed to her.  But Elisabetta, unconventional and strong, meets a boy she can love, Guiliano de’ Medici.     Against all odds and due to the introduction by her father’s famous friend, Leonardo da Vinci, Elisabetta meets the Medici family, the most powerful and wealthy family in Florence. She and the youngest son, Giuliano meet and fall in love. But can their love survive the violent political upheavals of the Renaissance and the overthrow of the Medici rule?  In Napoli’s hands, the mysterious Mona Lisa smile is created from love, loss, poignancy and passion.  

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Finders Keepers? by Robert Arnett illustrated by Smita Turakhia Atman Press 6 Stars Press Release:  A true story, Finder’s Keepers?  was inspired by the honesty of one young boy in India who found the author’s lost wallet and could not understand why he should be rewarded for returning to Arnett what was his.  The concept …

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. Woody’s World by E. Renee Heiss illustrated by Chelsea Sekanic Character Publishing 5 Stars Back Cover:  In 1929, twelve year-old Woody thinks little about money. Then the stock market crashes, crumbling his father’s business with it. Suddenly, money becomes very important to Woody, so he searches for ways to help his family. Sometimes his …

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