Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Friday, April 2, 2021
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Book Review - We Are Not Free
📖Recommend for Grades 8 and up📖
by Traci Chee
After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, things changed for Japanese ancestry people living in the United States. That following February, American residents of Japanese descent living on the west coast were forced to leave their homes and move to internment camps. This book is the fictional story of fourteen teens and young adults who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco. Now they are among those who were relocated to Japanese Internment Camps. Throughout the years, they face many ups and downs, and they and their families are forced to make tough decisions.
Intriguing and eye-opening, this is a wonderfully written book and portrayal of Japanese-American experience during World War II. The author pulled from the stories of family members who went through this experience. The story is told from fourteen different perspectives that follow each other in chronological order. Except for one character, each view occurs just once in the book. We Are Not Free is not an easy story to read as the character’s experience and witness many emotional and difficult situations. Readers who feel they can handle the topic, especially if they are Historical Fiction fans, should give this book a read.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
Book Review - The War Outside
📖Recommend for Grades 9 and up📖
by Monica Hesse
It’s 1944, and Japanese-American Haruko, her sister, and their mother are voluntarily heading to Crystal City to be reunited with their father/husband. Crystal City is unique as this WWII internment camp is for both Japanese and German families. German-American Margot is attending the federal school at the camp because the German school doesn’t have certified teachers, and it’s there she and Haruko meet. The pair forms an unlikely friendship, but complications at the camp make things even more complicated than just being different.
This book is an intriguing story of family, friendship, and betrayal that will have readers wondering what happens next. While Haruko and Margot’s stories are fictional, Crystal City was a real place, and some events did happen. Readers will get an eye-opening look at life during WWII for Japanese-American and German-Americans through this great fictional lens. Haruko and Margot are both intriguing characters, as is their individual and combined stories.
Friday, June 5, 2020
E-books - MORE Historical Fiction
The War Outside by Monica Hesse
Butterfly Yellow by Thanhhà Lai
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Monday, March 30, 2020
E-books - Historical Fiction
- Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Tween Friendly)
- Lovely War by Julie Berry
- Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz (Tween Friendly)
- Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse (Tween Friendly)
- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Peer Book Review - Refugee
📖Recommend for Grades 6 and up📖
Refugee
by Alan Gratz
Reviewed by THMS 8th Grader Daniel P.
This story tells us how three immigrants called Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud want to leave their country. They want to leave due to wars in their countries. They go across oceans in an attempt to find a better home. All go through many obstacles.
I would highly recommend this book. It shows how our world is and how many kids have to deal with adult problems. I hope many people read this great book.
by Alan Gratz
Reviewed by THMS 8th Grader Daniel P.
This story tells us how three immigrants called Josef, Isabel and Mahmoud want to leave their country. They want to leave due to wars in their countries. They go across oceans in an attempt to find a better home. All go through many obstacles.
I would highly recommend this book. It shows how our world is and how many kids have to deal with adult problems. I hope many people read this great book.
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Book Review - Allies
📖Recommend for Grades 6 and up📖
It is
D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the Allies are invading France. Dee Carpenter is an
American Solider, though underage, and is just one of the many men storming the
beach that day. Also, there is African American medic Henry Allen and British
tank driver Bill Richards. Elsewhere is eleven-year-old Samira Zidano, who
works alongside her mother in the French Resistance, and Canadian paratrooper
James McKay. There is also Monique Marchand, a thirteen-year-old who just
wanted to get the bathing suit she left at the beach. While they each have
their own story, they each play a role in this important day in history.
Despite
the large cast of character, the book mainly contains chapters on Dee Carpenter
with the others woven in. Each character and their story are wonderfully
crafted and realistic. Each section is brilliantly broken down into operations,
with notes to the date and time, giving it more a war feel. In the back of the
book, readers will find a guide to all the operations mentioned in the book.
Historical fiction fans should be sure to pick up this book.
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Book Review - Lovely War
📖Recommend for Grades 9 and up📖
by Julie Berry
It’s
1942, and a stylish couple makes their way into a hotel room where the Greek
God Hephaestus finds them. It turns out; the couple are Greek Gods as well,
Aphrodite and Ares, to be exact. Hephaestus is not happy to see his wife with
another man, but Aphrodite spends the night telling a story about how love and
war go together. The story is of four mortals, two couples, during World War I
and how each one meets and falls and in love. More importantly, how the war and
the gods played a role in their story.
An
enjoyable historical fiction a story within a story. Readers may or may not
understand what is going on with the gods and their time, but the story they
tell is lovely. Berry has crafted an intriguing story about four people during
the First World War and how it affects them individually and as a whole.
Friday, January 24, 2020
Friday, August 23, 2019
Book Review - Summer of ’69
📖Recommend for Grades 11 and up📖
by
Todd Strasser
It’s the summer after senior year
and despite his girlfriend, Robin being off at camp in Canada, Lucas Baker plans
to enjoy this summer. This includes spending time with his friends, counting
down until his trip to visit Robin, and heading up to a music festival in Upstate
NY come August. But there are complications at home with his parents and brother.
Also, Lucas finds out he didn’t get into college and now risks being drafted
and sent overseas to fight in Vietnam. Anti-war and peace-loving Lucas must
figure out a way to escape the draft and deal with his family situations.
While this is YA, younger YA readers
should be aware of the language and that there is some sexual content in this
book. Todd Strasser drew on his own teenage years as inspiration for this book.
Those who do pick up this book may enjoy reading this and then asking family
members who were around in 1969 what it was like at the time. Lucas is an
intriguing character, as are many in this book. The majority of this book takes
place on Long Island, so readers will recognize a lot of places mentioned.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Book Review - Between Shades of Gray
📖Recommend for Grades 7 and up📖
by Ruta Sepetys
Jews being taken from their home in
Europe and sent to Concentration Camps during World War II is no secret, but what
isn’t really talked about is how they weren’t the only ones. Soviet forces show
up at Lina’s house giving her, her brother and their mother little time to pack
only a suitcase each. They are being taken to work camps along with hundreds of
others. Her father is taken from his work and sentenced to a prison camp.
Despite her harrowing journey to their location, an unsatisfactory living
environment, and knowing she is sentenced to 25 years of work, Lina doesn’t
give up hope.
A heartbreaking and intriguing story
about a part of history they don’t talk about. While Lina is a fictional
character her story is inspired by Sepetys’ own family’s story. There is an
aspect of the story’s ending that seems a little farfetched, but it doesn’t
belittle the overall story as a whole. Historical fiction fans should not miss
this captivating story.
Friday, June 21, 2019
Peer Book Review - Bud,Not Buddy
📖Recommend for Grades 6 and up📖
by Christopher Paul Cutis
Reviewed by 8th Grader Kimberly R.
Bud was a child who had no mother
and did not know who his father was. So he went on an adventure, his momma had
left him. Clues for him to find his father.
Bud, Not Buddy was an amazing book
because the character Bud played an amazing role by being an African Child slave
in order to find his father.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Book Review - Projekt 1065
📖Recommend for Grades 6 and up📖
by Alan Gratz
Michael O'Shaughnessy is an Irish
teen living in Nazi-occupied Germany. At the start of the war, Michael learns
that not only is his father the Irish Ambassador to Germany but that he and
Michael’s mother are both spies for the Allies. Michael becomes a spy himself
and joins Hitler’s Youth in order to gain information. When Simon, a British
pilot sent to take photos of a secret project, crashes his plane in Berlin,
Michael finds himself in danger of aiding Simon in his mission.
Fans of historical fiction,
especially set during World War II, should definitely check out this book.
While Michael’s life differs from that of his classmates, this book is a great
look at the lives of teen boys in Berlin during the war. On top of that, it is a
great spy fiction with a page-turning action scene.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Peer Book Review - The Prince and the Dressmaker
📖Recommend for Grades 6 and up📖
by Jen Wang
Reviewed by 8th Grader Kimberly R.
Reviewed by 8th Grader Kimberly R.
Prince Sebastian has been hiding a
secret from everyone except Francis. His parents have been looking for a
bride for him while he puts on dresses, pretending to be a girl to sweep
through Paris.
The
Prince and the Dressmaker was an amazing book because the book was trying
to teach that whatever gender you are, you are still able to wear anything you
want.
Read Ms. Amanda' review here
Friday, May 17, 2019
Book Review - Salt to the Sea
📖Recommend for Grades 8 and up📖
by Ruta Sepetys
Alfred
is a German naval officer on the Wilhelm Gustloff, a World War II ship sent to
Poland to evacuate German refugees. Joana, Florian, and Emilia are three
refugees whose journey brings them on board. What starts out as a journey to
safety becomes the largest loss of life on a single ship in history.
An
intriguing look involving a real moment in history that isn’t often shared.
Each of the four main characters are likable in their own ways, even Alfred
despite his being mostly unlikable. Readers looking for World War II books that
aren’t about battles or the Holocaust should be sure to give this a try.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Book Review - My Real Name is Hanna
📖Recommend for Grades 6 and up📖
by Tara Lynn Masih
Hanna Slivka is a teenage girl
living in Ukraine when World War II breaks out. She is also Jewish. The time
comes when she and her family must leave their home in order to survive, and
bringing nothing but the essentials, the Silvka’s, along with other family and
friends, go into hiding as it is too late to flee the country.
Although this book deals with the
serious topic of being Jewish in Nazi-occupied Europe it is a lighter book on
the topic. Hanna is a likable character and her story is a moving one. Readers
will feel for her and the others as they struggle to keep safe and stay alive.
While Hanna’s story is fictional, it is inspired by the story of Esther Stermer
and her family.
Friday, January 18, 2019
Book Review - Grenade
📖Recommend for
Grades 6 and up📖
by Alan Gratz
Ray
and Hideki are fighting for opposite sides of the island of Okinawa during
World War II. Ray is an American soldier, while Hideki is from the island but
part of the Japanese army. When the two find themselves face to face, a split
decision could be a fatal one.
Readers will enjoy getting both sides
of this superb novel. There is some military action that takes place but the
story is mainly about both boys and their feelings and journeys throughout this
part of the war.
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Book Review - The Prince and the Dressmaker
📖Recommend for Grades 6 and up📖
by Jen Wang
Prince Sebastian has a secret. Sometimes this young
prince likes to wear dresses and pretend he is the fabulous Lady Crystallia.
Only two people know the Prince’s secret, his bodyguard, and Francis. Francis is
a dressmaker whose designs catch Sebastian’s eye. While Francis wasn’t supposed
to know Sebastian’s secret, she discovers it and the pair Based on the title, this comes across as a twist on The
Prince and the Pauper but it’s not. Instead of Sebastian and Francis switching
places, she helps him be true to himself and transform into Lady Crystallia. Their
friendship is sweet and true, and it’s wonderful how Francis doesn’t care about
Sebastian’s secret.
Read a peer review here
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Book Review - Girl in the Blue Coat
by Monica Hesse
Teenage Hanneke is a 'finder' of black market goods, a risky task in her city of Amsterdam. Her skills lead her to being asked by one of her customers to find a Jewish girl she's been hiding from the Nazis. The young girl seems to have just disappeared. Hanneke now finds herself on a journey she never expected.
An intriguing look at a side of World War II that doesn’t tend to be written about mixed with an aspect that most readers have read much about. This story is filled with well written characters and readers will find themselves flipping through the pages to discover what happened to the missing girl in the blue coat.
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