Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. Hyperion. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Companion to Code Name Verity. The Plot: It’s summer of 1944 and Rose Moyer Justice is in England, a pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary. She’s a pilot, and she’s an American, and she’s only 18, but she’s in the ATA because [...]
Review: Boxers and Saints
By on September 6, 2013
Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang. First Second. 2013. Review copy from publisher. Boxers & Saints, Volumes 1 & 2. The Plot: The story of the Boxer Rebellion is told through the eyes of a Boxer and a Christian. Each volume is a standalone; but it’s best to first read Boxers, then Saints, and [...]
Pick of the Day: Hero on a Bicycle | Audio
By on September 5, 2013 Leave a Comment
Hero on a Bicycle is set in Italy in 1944 presents the story of a 13-year-old boy and his encounters with the Partisans in Nazi occupied Florence during World War II. Narrator Simon Vance’s incomparable vocal style is a perfect fit for this intense and suspenseful work of historical fiction. Check out the starred review of this audiobook.
Review: Saints
By on September 5, 2013
Review: Boxers
By on September 3, 2013
Boxers by Gene Luen Yang. First Second. 2013. Review copy from publisher. Boxers & Saints, Volume 1. The Plot: In 1894, Little Bao is the youngest brother of three in Northern Shan-tung Province, China. He likes watching the traveling operas that visit the village in springtime; his older brothers tease him; he admires his father. [...]
All in the Family
By on August 28, 2013
Today we look at three historical novels about very strange families. Taking things chronologically, first up is Sarah Dunant’s Blood & Beauty, about the very real, and very twisted Borgias of Renaissance Italy. Wikipedia lists among their crimes “adultery, simony, theft, bribery, and murder (especially by arsenic poisoning).” I quite like that parenthetical at the [...]
Review of the Day – Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger
By on August 23, 2013
Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad By Monica Edinger Illustrated by Robert Byrd Candlewick Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0-7636-5038-4 Ages 9-12 On shelves October 8th It’s no secret that nonfiction in children’s literature is the buzzword of the day. Thanks to the rise of interest in the Core Curriculum State Standards, kids are [...]
Review of the Day: Rifka Takes a Bow by Betty Rosenberg Perlov
By on August 21, 2013
Rifka Takes a Bow By Betty Rosenberg Perlov Illustrated by Cosei Kawa Kar-Ben Publishing (a division of Lerner) $17.95 ISBN: 978-0-7613-8127-3 Ages 4-8 On shelves now. History is written by the winners, they say. I’m going to lump personal history into that too. As far as I can tell, if you live long enough to [...]
Weekly Reviews: Literary Mysteries
By on August 12, 2013
Gavin Extence’s debut novel earns today’s starred review. This is a unique book, which will be especially popular with the many fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and with Kurt Vonnegut readers. Every year, when I booktalk to my students, they bring up Haddon’s novel. It is still a widespread [...]
Tudor Trilogies
By on August 1, 2013
It’s tough to tell, because some titles are duplicated, but the Library of Congress seems to list somewhere on the order of 200 novels under the subject headings “Great Britain–History–Henry VIII, 1509-1547–Fiction” and “Henry VIII, King of England, 1491-1547–Fiction.” Hey, we even reviewed one of them earlier this year. And those 200 titles don’t include [...]
Weekly Reviews: Murder in London
By on July 22, 2013
Two excellent murder mysteries set in 19th century London begin our week. Veteran action/thriller writer David Morrell mixes fact and fiction in his latest, Murder as a Fine Art. It has been so successful that he plans to write at least one more book featuring Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily. Morrell was awarded the International Thriller Writers’ [...]
Review: Dark Triumph
By on July 18, 2013
Dark Triumph: His Fair Assassins, Book II by Robin LaFevers. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Nantes, Brittany, 1489. Lady Sybella is deep in danger and intrigue. Part of it is because she has been trained by the convent of Saint Mortain to be an assassin. Part of it is [...]
Weekly Reviews: Alex Winners Redux
By on July 15, 2013
And speaking of Alex Award winners, today we have two more reviews of novels by previous winners. Neil Gaiman is one of those magical writers who seems to be able to write for any age level, with a Newbery Award under his belt, popular graphic novels for teens and adults, and two Alex Award winning [...]
Review of the Day: A Song for Bijou by Josh Farrar
By on July 2, 2013
A Song for Bijou By Josh Farrar Walker Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Bloomsbury) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-8027-3394-8 Ages 9-12 On shelves now Now let us discuss the middle school book. It is, arguably, the most forgotten book of its kind on a library and/or bookstore shelf. The book written for your average everyday [...]
Review: Hattie Ever After
By on May 9, 2013
Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson. Delacorte Press. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Sequel to Hattie Big Sky. The Plot: June 1919. Hattie Inez Brooks has a dream: she wants to be a reporter. She’s seventeen years old. She doesn’t have a high school diploma. She’s an orphan. She doesn’t have any money. She’s [...]
Weekly Reviews: Setting
By on May 8, 2013
We write a lot about genre and the types of books that teens enjoy reading. But what about setting? Do teen readers care about sinking into the setting of a book? This is an element that teens rarely mention when they share what they enjoy reading, or how much they liked a particular book. But [...]
Review of the Day: A Girl Called Problem by Katie Quirk
By on May 2, 2013
A Girl Called Problem By Katie Quirk Eerdmans Books for Young Readers $8.00 ISBN: 97800-8028-5404-9 Ages 9-12 On shelves now. Who says that mystery novels for kids all have to include the same tropes and settings? I tell you, half the time when a kid comes up to a reference desk asking for a mystery [...]
Two Books, Two Stars
By on May 1, 2013
Two magical books topped off our April reading, both earning starred reviews. The Golem and the Jinni is a mash-up of Jewish and Arab folklore, historical fiction and fantasy, new and old world sensibilities. Helene Wecker’s debut seems destined to be among the best of the year. The publisher has certainly gone all-out. The physical package is richly [...]
Life After Life: A Dialogue
By on April 30, 2013
Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life is one of the most buzzed adult books of the year so far. It has starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly. Outside of the library world, it’s gotten glowing reviews from Entertainment Weekly, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and many others. And it [...]
Weekly Reviews: Historical Fiction & Reviewer Spotlight
By on April 15, 2013
Today we highlight three recent historical novels set in a variety of time periods and locations. I also thought it would be fun to highlight one of our AB4T reviewers, Connie Williams, who has been reviewing historical fiction since the blog began. First, a brief introduction to the reviews. Orphan Train moves between contemporary Maine and [...]
