Better than your 9th Grade World History Class

Fall of Giants is an engaging look at World War I through the lives of  five interrelated families.  Seeing WWI through the eyes of Americans, Germans, Russians, the English, and Welsh makes it much more real than the history books.  

Unfortunately, the horrors of our past often turn into stories that have no affect on our current lives.  As George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”   — Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense, Scribner's, 1905, p. 284.  This historically accurate novel helps ensure that we do not do just that. 

Leviathan & Behemoth

Barking Spiders!

The best man for a job is a girl; a fifteen-year-old girl posing as a boy that is.

For those who love adventure and science fiction, this is a great new young adult series by Scott Westerfeld. Complete with amazing illustrations, Leviathan is a combination of historical fiction (WWI) and science fiction (advanced machinery of German Clankers and animal cross-breeding of British Darwinists). There are two main characters, Prince Aleksander and airman Deryn Sharp. Deryn, however, steals the show.

Happily, the second in the series, Behemoth, is already here but we will have to wait until October 2011 for the final book, Goliath.

I Love Surprises!!

There are many, I am sure, who would consider me an indiscriminate reader. There are very few topics or genres that I avoid, and if someone gives me a book, I'm usually willing to at least give it a try. Sometimes, though, I will start to read a book with the preconceived notion that I'm not going to enjoy it very much. When these books turn out to be wonderful, it's such a pleasant surprise!

Ordinarily, I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, and I'm particularly not a fan of civil rights novels for children and teens. I just feel that, while rushing to make their point, these books tend to get very simplistic, hollowly written, and manipulative. Morning in a Different Place by Mary Ann McGuigan surprised me, then, by being nuanced, interesting, and moving. It is the story of a 13-year old Irish American girl who is growing up in 1963 with an African American best friend and an alcoholic father. Touching on issues of race, class, and social change, the author offers up a very good read.

Heartsinger is a slender novel by Dutch author Karlijn Stoffels, which is ostensibly the story of two musicians--Mee, who can see into people's souls and sing their sorrows, and Mitou, who brings great joy to everyone who hears her songs. I'm so glad that I ignored my feelings that it was going to be corny and vague, as it is beautifully written! Stoffels weaves together the disparate stories of numerous characters to create a whole that is far greater than the sum of its gorgeous parts. The reader doesn't always understand how the different tales are going to fit together, so when the connections become clear, it's all the more delightful.

Gilbery & Sullivan Set Me Free by Kathleen Karr

A totally great read. Funny, serious and enlighting all at the same time. Kathleen Karr writes about life in a Massachusetts's women prison in the early 1900's. The main character, Libby is the youngest inmate,only 16,who learns about prison life very quickly. Libby and fellow inmates are allowed to be in a choir by the chaplin and then in a play "The Pirates of Penzance". You will be rooting for Libby and her friends before chapter 2. Historical fiction with a different twist. The book is based on a true story, the Massachusetts's Sherborn Prison for Women did put on a play in 1914.