Category Archives: Historical Fiction

Darkest Hour by Carolyn Tung Richmond

29 Friday Jul 2016

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darkest hour  As a spy of the Allies during World War II, sixteen year-old Lucie Blaise was not always the most proficient.  She had messed up two operations already, and the commander of Covert Ops was nearly ready to send her back to the U.S. before she could do any serious damage to the operations.

Then came the assignment to track down and interrogate a Nazi traitor who was offering the Allies important information about a new “weapon” than the Germans were about ready to release on the world.  Lucie and two other Covert Ops girls set out through France into Germany to complete this mission.

These types of assignments are always dangerous, but the girls nearly get themselves killed several times.  How they found the spy and then were able to destroy the lab where the weapon was being created is only a part of the story of espionage and intrigue. Lucie discovers that Covet Ops has a mole, and she must figure out who that is before someone dies.

The reader should be ready for a thrilling adventure as he/she sits down to read.  The fact that there actually were many real-life women operatives during World War II makes what might seem fantastical come to life.  I recommend the purchase of this book for readers in grade 7-13.

Forbidden by Eve Bunting

06 Wednesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Ghost stories, Historical Fiction, Young Adult

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forbiddenBunting has told us a chilling tale based on events that really happened off the coasts of northwestern Scotland. In the story, Josie Ferguson goes to live with her father’s brother and his wife in an isolated village that people from other towns have little to do with.  Her relatives are emotionally cold to her, but they have accepted the responsibility to care for her until she reaches eighteen – not out of any sort of love, but because they will get money for doing so.

A young man named Eli shows up at her uncle’s home and she is drawn to him because he has a way of dealing with the family’s dog – a dog that had bitten her when she tried to go outside one night. Eli takes her to his aunt’s home to get the bite treated before it can get infected.  His aunt, rather cryptically, tells her that she cannot get emotionally involved with Eli because he is a “reporter” and is “forbidden.”

She manages to isolate the dog one day when her aunt and uncle are out on their fishing boat and goes into town to see if she can find at least one sympathetic ear.  She finds that the townspeople are as strange as her aunt and uncle, and that they have  some sort of secret which ties them together.

The entire town engages in “wrecking,” the practice of stripping wrecked ships of all saleable items that can be saved from ships that have been wrecked on the rocks of the firth.  Technically nothing can be salvaged as long as an animal or a man from the wreck was still alive.   That did not stop the “wreckers;” they just made sure that no one was breathing.

Josie finds out that her uncle and aunt are tied into the wreckers, and they actually lead ship to their destruction, but with Eli’s help, she manages to escape their grasp before she must take part in “wrecking.”

This is a fantastic ghost story, one of the best I have read lately.  The setting reminds me of Wuthering Heights, but the plot is different.  I think teen readers will greatly enjoy this tale.

 

 

Assassin’s Masque by Sarah Zettel

17 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Mystery and Suspense, Young Adult

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assassin's masque

Just when Peggy Fitzroy thinks that things might be going her way, what with her father turning up and her ex-fiancé finally out of the picture,  a new problem arises in the form of a mysterious woman. This woman seems to be known by her uncle’s mother, and Peggy believes that she could definitely be dangerous.
The Jacobites are coming ever closer to causing a rebellion that would remove George II and his family. Peggy has pledged her loyalty to the royal family, but events occur which make them doubt her allegiance. She begins to mistrust Mr. Tinderflint, the man who got her the position as a spy in the court. Who is really trustworthy, and who is lying about everything, is the point of this novel of the Palace of Spies series.
I recommend its purchase for those who already have the first two books, but this story can stand alone if the others are not available.

17 Tuesday Nov 2015

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Peggy Fitzroy continues her spy game for the court of King George II as a lady-in-waiting. She finds that the man who was betrothed to her, and who tried to rape her, has returned. She tries to find out who are the real dangers to the royal family and to herself. Her uncle is still trying to run her life – even though he had kicked her out of his home and a strange man, named Johnny Leroy becomes an unexpected part of her life. This second novel of The Palace of Spies is a stand alone, but it will make the reader want to go back and read The Palace of Spies, the first book of the series.
I think teens who are interested in strong female characters, and who like spy stories will enjoy this series.
dangerous deceptions

Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A, Nielson

01 Friday May 2015

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Young Adult

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mark of the thief

This book is a clever combination of mythology, history and fantasy. This is the first of the stories of Nic, a slave boy working in the mines of Rome.  He is approached one day and commanded to go into an area of the mine where other miners have disappeared.  His task is to retrieve the bulla that used to belong to Julius Caesar.  A bulla is an amulet given to a baby boy when he is born.  It is dedicated to a particular god and shows the protection of that god until the boy becomes a man.  Then he puts aside the bulla, a mark of putting aside his childhood, and takes his place as a Roman citizen.

This particular bulla has magical powers which Nic can enhance because he, too, has magical powers.  He did not know about these powers until he comes in contact with the bulla.  Nic finds that the reason the other miners had not returned was that the treasure of Caesar was being guarded by a griffin. Nic calls the griffin Caela, since she is from the skies. She helps him escape because she recognizes his magical powers.

How Nic manages to thwart a powerful senator, how he survives the gladiator fight, and what he learns about the power struggles in Rome are the main themes of the story.  Even though the story does have a satisfactory conclusion, the promise of more exciting tales lies at the end of the book.

I was a little upset at the anachronism with the mention of “blasting” in the mines at the first of the book.  Blasting as a form of mining could not have occurred until after the 9th century when the Chinese developed gunpowder. The Romans sometimes used fire in mining as a way of making the rocks crack, but that is not the same thing as blasting.

I do recommend this for middle school readers.  It may get them to want to learn more about Roman mythology and/or history.

Jefferson’s Sons by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Young Adult

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Although this book has been out for several years, I had not read it.  It caught my eye the other day, and I thought I would try it because the students in one of the classes in my town are doing research into African Americans.  This is one that should be added to that list – if not required.

It is, of course, the story of the children of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. However, it is more than that. It is an unusual look into the dichotomy of a man who would pronounce that “all men are created equal” in The Declaration of Independence, post a copy of that document in the lobby of his home, and yet deny his own flesh and blood the parental support that they so desperately wanted.

It is a sobering, eye-opening look into the institution that was slavery in the U.S.  The scenes are horrifying in many instances, but they are necessary to present the true picture of life in Virginia during the time of slavery.

The characters are well developed.  The author did extensive research into the Jefferson family and slavery, and she did a masterful job in presenting this piece of historical fiction to us. She does not use any dialectal language in the story.  The characters come alive and seem very real to any reader precisely because they are not different in speech or behavior. They speak, love, suffer, and die the same as any other person.  To do less with them, would be to reduce their humanity.

I did not know that Sally Hemmings was, in fact, a half-sister to Thomas Jefferson’s wife, thus the aunt of his daughter, Martha.  Martha tried to pretend that no connection to her family existed between her family and Sally’s. Yet, it was one of her daughters who taught Sally’s children to read and write.

While I knew that a mixed-race child born to a white woman was considered free, although they may still be considered black, and that a mixed-race child born to a slave was considered a slave, I did not know that a person of 7/8 white blood was considered white, but they could also be considered a slave because of the skin tone of their mother. Very confusing to me.

This book is well worth anyone’s time. I highly recommend it.  I do not know why it has not been made into a movie.

Curses and Smoke by Vicky Alvear Shecter

09 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by in Historical Fiction, Young Adult

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Curses and Smoke Any lover of historical fictional or a fan of love stories will want to read this book. Shecter, author of Cleopatra’s Moon, has once again given the reader of historical fictional a fascinating look into the past.

She has thoroughly researched the events of the eruption of Vesuvius, the lives of the people living in and around Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the Roman society as a whole.  She has included a wonderful set of notes at the end of the story so the reader may be able to see the sources of her story and of her characters.

The two main characters, Tag and Lucia are from two very different social strata.  Their lives are intertwined because Tag’s father is the physician for Lucia’s father and for the gladiators at his school. Lucia, is supposed to marry a much older man, but she wants to understand the causes of the natural mysteries she has begun to notice, and she definitely does not want to marry an old man.  Lucia has been taught to read, but she remains the property of her father and will later be the property of her husband; therefore, her wishes are of no importance. The love between Tag and Lucia develops as Vesuvius sends out more and more warnings about the coming eruption.  But, the people of Pompeii have never experienced an eruption, and they ignore the coming doom of the town.

The reader will come away with a realistic view of life and love during the first century.  Pompeii itself is a treasure of the past, but Shecter has put together other pertinent information that will expand the knowledge of the reader about Roman and its people’s. The book is suitable for grades six through twelve although adults will also enjoy it. I can easily recommend its purchase.

Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen

01 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Scan0028       Lady Thief is the second book of the Scarlet series. These books are a retelling of the Robin Hood stories with a big twist. The reader of the first will know that Scarlet is also known as Will Scarlet, but Scarlet is in reality Maid Miriam. She came to be known by Robin Hood’s band as Will Scarlet in the first book. In this tale Lord Gisbourne, the man she was forced to marry, but a man she doesn’t love, is competing with Robin Hood for the title of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Scarlet really loves Robin Hood, of course, but she can’t do anything about that love because she is already married and does not want to add the sin of adultery to her soul.

When the royal court, Queen-mother, Eleanor of Aquitane, and Prince John come to Nottingham to name the new sheriff, Scarlet learns more about her family and about her connection to the royal family. She learns of the high price she must pay continue to keep Robin Hood safe.

This is a fast-paced, suspenseful story that will leave the reader hoping the next one comes out quickly. I recommend its purchase, especially if you have already have the first.

Come August, Come Freedom: the Bellows, the Gallows, and the Black Slave, Gabriel

26 Thursday Dec 2013

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      Once in a while, I run across a book that is so well-written and so riveting that I cannot put it down.  I stayed up until nearly two in the morning to finish this book.  Even though I knew the outcome of Gabriel’s uprising

     I recognize that this is historical fiction, but the events are thoroughly researched, and the author has included facsimiles of historical documents within the text. It, of course, is the story of the first well-organized slave rebellion in the US.

     The slaves, led by a blacksmith named Gabriel, modeled their revolt on the American revolution and the revolution in Haiti.  They were trying to get their freedom and an equal voice. Even though they did not succeed, they did get the attention of many people in the US and thus the ultimate freedom of the slaves in America.

      I don’t often highly recommend books, but I honestly believe that this one should be required reading for all students of American history.  I  highly recommend it for the middle school and the high school library.