Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Historical Fiction for Young Adults Book List

Do you enjoy reading historical fiction? Are you looking for some more? Check out this book list...


1) "The Red Necklace" by Sally Gardner

 Although clearly reveling in the trappings of melodrama, Gardner keep tight control over this lush tale of magic, betrayal and Revolution. Yann, of Roma blood, has been raised by the dwarf Têtu, and together they assist a famed stage magician. When the evil Count Kalliovski murders the magician, hoping to discover the secret of his astounding automaton, Yann is smuggled off alone to London, to safety and education. He returns to a Paris on the brink of revolution, seeking not only Têtu but Sidonie, a young aristocrat whose unhinged father loathes her and has promised her to the Count. Richly emotional scenes switch between London and Paris, between chateaux and prisons, between boudoirs and stinking, blood-spattered streets. A hint of magic overlays the Dickensian complications, which include several sets of ill-fated lovers, secret letters, sinister automata, mystical Gypsy powers and a necklace of garnets found placed ’round the necks of a series of murder victims. Gardner’s heightened prose rarely falters, and teen readers will eat it up.(Fantasy. 12+)





2) "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen

Yolen is the author of a hundred books, many of which have been praised for their originality, humor, or poetic vision, but this thoughtful, compelling novel is unique among them. Hannah, 13, finds the annual Seder--which calls up her grandfather's memories of the death camp he and his sister Eva survived--tedious, the facts distant and unreal. Chosen to perform the ritual of opening the door to Elijah, she finds herself in rural Poland in 1942, as Chaya (life), the heroic girl whose Hebrew name she bears. There, she shares the experiences of villagers who are interrupted during a wedding, transported in a grueling four-day train journey, and delivered to a camp where the commandant routinely chooses victims for the gas chambers. At the camp another girl, the indomitable Rivka, teaches her how to survive, and she learns an unforgettable lesson: some must live, at whatever cost, to bear witness. When Rivka is "chosen," Hannah goes to her death in her place--and awakes to find herself returned to the family Seder, recognizing Aunt Eva as the beloved friend she saved. In less skillful hands, such a story would risk being either didactic or irreverent, but Yolen has so completely integrated her deep concern with the structure and movingly poetic language of her story that the meaning shines clear. Symbolic details--such as the role memory plays in Hannah's response to her experiences--are meticulously worked out. A triumphantly moving book.





3) "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

When 12-year-old Abilene jumps off the train in Manifest, Kan., in 1936 to stay with her father’s boyhood friend, little does she know her sojourn will take her back, via mesmerizing tales, newspaper clippings, curious mementoes and World War I letters, to Manifest as it was in 1918—and into the life of the mysterious boy nicknamed Jinx. This young con man effected extraordinary change in the lives of the mostly immigrant residents and the fortunes of the mining town in that year. Abilene and readers get so caught up in the past in this richly detailed, splendidly written novel that they easily make the transition between the Depression and WWI eras and long to learn more about the town that once was. Readers will love guessing how Abilene’s dad fits into all the stories and townspeople’s memories. The absolute necessity of story as a way to redemption and healing past wounds is at the heart of this beautiful debut, and readers will cherish every word up to the heartbreaking yet hopeful and deeply gratifying ending. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)






4) "Cleopatra's Moon" by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Following in a parent’s footsteps is never easy…especially when your parents are Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

From the little known about the lives of Cleopatra Selene and her two brothers, taken to Rome after the deaths of their parents to live in the emperor’s compound, Shecter has written an entertaining but ultimately thin first novel. The first-person narration follows Cleopatra Selene from age 7 to 16 as she grows politically savvy, falls in love and sets her own course. The author has written nonfiction books for children about this era (Cleopatra Rules!, 2010, etc.), and here the historical context and characters are well drawn. The sadistic family plotting in Octavianus’ compound makes for intriguing storytelling, and Cleopatra Selene’s loneliness, terror and ultimate bravery are well developed. Yet she’s just not believable as a brainy 25th-century-BCE princess, exhibiting a 21st-century naïveté (especially regarding espionage) and the subtlety of a school bus. Conversations with her beloved introduce the audience to philosophical concepts of Stoicism, free will and women’s rights, but there’s almost an avoidance of issues of slavery and sovereignty, for all their essential part in the plot.

Readers will enjoy what is still a romantic and exciting story, but with the tease of such rich material they’ll miss the meatiness of such storytellers as Katherine Sturtevant, Megan Whalen Turner or Robin McKinley. (character list, author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)



5) "The Gathering Storm" by Robin Bridges

Sixteen-year-old Katerina, a descendant of Russian royalty, is threatened with the evil sorcery of vampires in this first of a trilogy.

Attending a school for young noblewomen, Katerina feels she’s valued only for her potential for a good marriage but she wants a career in medicine, her true passion—not likely for a young woman in 1888 Russia. When classmates fall deathly ill, Katerina’s convinced that her roommate, Elena, Princess of Montenegro, one of a long line of “blood drinkers,” is causing the illnesses. Elena is also trying to force Katerina into an unwanted relationship with her handsome, controlling older brother, Danilo. Katerina possesses the dark magic of necromancy—the ability to reanimate dead things. Could that power be motivating the vampire’s domineering drive to marry her? Perhaps the ring Katerina has been given by an elderly woman with her own agenda can help her fend him off, or maybe George, the tsar’s younger son, an apparent ally and potential love interest, will help? The fully realized setting, a fantastical version of pre-revolutionary Russia, adds a level of believability to this debut. Many key players are well-rounded, though with most aligned with Dark or Light forces, readers may need a scorecard to keep track of all the alliances, as well as the complex, never clearly explained back story.

An atmospheric and complicated vampire tale that’s worth the effort of reading it. (Historical fantasy. 11 & up)



6) "The River Between Us" by Richard Peck

“Imagine an age when there were still people around who’d seen U.S. Grant with their own eyes, and men who’d voted for Lincoln.” Fifteen-year-old Howard Leland Hutchings visits his father’s family in Grand Tower, Illinois, in 1916, and meets four old people who raised his father. The only thing he knows about them is that they lived through the Civil War. Grandma Tilly, slender as a girl but with a face “wrinkled like a walnut,” tells Howard their story. Sitting up on the Devil’s Backbone overlooking the Mississippi River, she “handed over the past like a parcel.” It’s a story of two mysterious women from New Orleans, of ghosts, soldiers, and seers, of quadroons, racism, time, and the river. Peck writes beautifully, bringing history alive through Tilly’s marvelous voice and deftly handling themes of family, race, war, and history. A rich tale full of magic, mystery, and surprise. (author’s note) (Fiction. 12+)






7) "Witch Child" by Celia Rees

After watching her grandmother hang for being a witch, Mary journeys to the New World only to discover that human nature’s desire to blame another is not limited to 17th-century England. Unlike most stories about people accused of sorcery, Mary freely admits to her gift, one that offers pain with its limited power. Mary’s intelligence and openness to the world around her, along with a distinct distrust of the omnipresent religious fervor provide the narrator with immense appeal. There’s objectivity to the diary entries about her journey to Massachusetts among a group of Pilgrims and her hard work of settling in a new land. She freely enjoys the company of a young sailor, gets to know the native guides, and appreciates the healing powers of plants. Equally, she recognizes the frivolity and conceit of others in the party and the arrogance and selfishness of the leader who claims to speak for God. When trouble arises, whether in England or in the colonies, some are quick to blame the Devil and his spawn, the witch. Luckily, Mary finds some good people who cling to logic even amid their religious allegiance or who lack that mindset of blind devotion. This diary is eerily given fake credibility by a single-page prologue and an afterword that describe the provenance of the pages and call for further information from readers, an unnecessary gimmick. The tightrope that Mary walks as an outsider in her society is a dangerous one, and the suspense tightens as events unfold. The text is haunting despite a lack of antiquity in the language. Perhaps wisely, Rees forgoes emphasizing historical or theological accuracy and instead focuses on providing immediate characters. With its theme of religious intolerance and its touches of the supernatural, this is sure to be in high demand for a long time. (Fiction. 11-14)




Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)