Seth Grahame-Smith. ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER

I begrudgingly picked this one up, after it was selected by the students in my book club. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a unique combination of horror and historical fiction. I felt like I was reading an accurate account of Lincoln's life. The vampire hunting just made Lincoln all the more interesting!

The librarian in me compelled me to continually research all the interesting little facts to make sure they were accurate! The ending was definitely memorable. That's about all I need to say about this one. I liked it. If you like horror and/or history, you'll like it too.

I decided to leave you with the movie trailer, rather than the book trailer, because it's just more exciting. Enjoy!

Suzanne Weyn. INVISIBLE WORLD

I adored Suzanne Weyn's DISTANT WAVES, so when I saw this new historical fiction by her, I snatched it up right away.

She chose the Salem Witch Trial era for her setting in INVISIBLE WORLD. Weyn delivers again with rich characters leading adventurous lives.

Elsabeth James has some powers that she isn't altogether sure about. Is she a witch or is she merely a psychic? She isn't certain. But surely having powers can't make you inherently evil, can it? Her father has been experimenting with her powers since she was a young girl. He believes her abilities are explained by science, and he intends to prove it with research and statistics. Her governess, Bronwyn, told her stories about how her grandmother and great grandmother were persecuted for being witches. Bronwyn warns her to be careful, so she doesn't end up in a similar situation.

When a famous scientist offers a research opportunity for Elsabeth and her father, the family sets off on a months long journey from their home in England to America. Elsabeth's journey has several tragic detours until she reaches America. Her life is threatened many times, and she must continually dig deep to find the courage to survive.

I really enjoyed this one! One of the traits I like about Weyn's writing is how she accomplishes so much with few words. It's a "tight" story. She uses just the right amount of words - not too many and not too few. But don't let that fool you; The story still has depth.

The characters come to life brilliantly, as does the setting. As with DISTANT WAVES, this is a story of a particular time in history, but the story becomes so much more. I loved Elsabeth and her relationship with Bronwyn. Plus, you get an idea about people's differing points of view during this time period. We have Elsabeth's scientist father, the Puritans in Salem, as well as the island people and slave owners. Everyone has a different opinion what characteristics prove one is a witch and whether or not a witch is evil. Fascinating!

My review copy is an advance copy from TLA. The book is due out in August. Check it out! This one's great for readers who like historical fiction.

Check out the other books by Suzanne Weyn at her website here.

Suzanne Weyn. DISTANT WAVES: A NOVEL OF THE TITANIC

I was really struck by the beauty of this cover. So I jumped right in without reading the book jacket or anything. I was blown away. It's a magical book!

It begins in 1898 in New York City. After witnessing their mom, Maude Taylor, contact the dead in a seance, the five Taylor sisters encounter an earthquake in the middle of New York City. Actually, what feels like an earthquake turns out to be a science experiment gone awry by the renowned scientist Nikola Tesla. The girls and their mother meet Tesla when he runs outside to save them from the "earthquake." They follow him upstairs to watch him crush his invention to stop the rumble of the city. After an interesting conversation with Tesla, the chance encounter becomes a turning point for their family. Since her husband died a year before, Maude had been struggling to make ends meet, so she decides to move her family to upstate New York to a town known for spiritualists and mediums called Spirit Vale. After a series of fortunate events, she's able to set up shop there to make a living.

Most of the novel occurs before the sailing of the Titanic. This is what makes it such an amazing novel. All of the events that lead up to it are what make the story so compelling. Even after seeing the blockbuster Titanic movie and reading several books about it, I was still entranced by this completely fresh telling of the events. The various historical characters intermingling with the fictional family made it a fascinating read.

The author did a stellar job of  weaving together so many cool aspects of this time period. There was a spiritual movement where many people took psychics and mediums seriously, while other were continually trying to prove them to be fakes. Some of the fascinating people we encounter are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, John Jacob Astor, Benjamin Guggenheim, WT Stead and the aforementioned Nikola Tesla. The climax of the sinking of the Titanic made for an incredible amount of suspense.

I also loved the Author's Note chapter at the end that explained what was real and what was fiction in the book. I'm usually compelled to do a bunch of research at the conclusion of a historical fiction book, but this was way better, and saved me a lot of Googling at midnight after finishing the book!
I loved this book immensely and now want to read the author's other books.

I can't recommend this book enough! It's fascinating and and the characters are wonderful!

Click here for the author's site.
Check out this cool book trailer:

Deborah Hopkinson. INTO THE FIRESTORM

Back when I was a classroom teacher, I used to tell my language arts students that reading historical fiction is like taking a trip back in time. This is a trip back in time to a major natural disaster. It takes place in 1906 in San Francisco. Nicholas Dray has just become an orphan. He grew up Texas, picking cotton since he was a small child. Since he’s all alone, he decides it’s a good time to make his way to “the Paris of the Pacific”, as his teacher used to call San Francisco. After several days of bad luck, he finally meets a man that offers him a job and a place to stay. The kind Mr. Pat allows Nick to watch his stationery store while he goes out of town for a few days. The very first night of Nick’s new job, an earthquake strikes. An earthquake alone was bad enough, but then fires break out in various places in the city. The fires spread quickly, since the water mains are broken from the earthquake and limit the amount of usable water. People are evacuating their homes and leaving town. The remainder of the novel is an account of Nick making heavy decisions for such a young kid. How will he help his neighbors, a young girl and her pregnant mother, evacuate if necessary? How will he protect the store or its valuables? How will he ever find Mr. Pat’s dog, Shakespeare, who ran off? Should he go back home to Texas? You really feel the desperation and sense of loss that must have clouded the city through Nick and the other characters.

This was a fast paced, exciting novel. What a devastating event. It’s one of the worst natural disasters in American History. It left half the population homeless and so much of the city destroyed. Usually, I find it difficult to pick up a historical fiction novel, unless I’m already interested in that time period. But, this one grabbed me from page one. I enjoyed my trip through time. In my opinion, a good historical fiction novel, like this one, leaves you with the feeling you were there.

This author has written many historical fiction books. To find out more, click here for her website.

***I have the pleasure of interviewing this author. I will be posting that interview the week of Sep 21. She has a new book coming out on Sep 9:

In Knob Creek, Kentucky, in 1816, seven-year-old Abe Lincoln falls into a creek and is rescued by his best friend, Austin Gollaher.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few of my other favorites by Ms. Hopkinson:

APPLES TO OREGON: being the (slightly) true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the plains
(yes, that's the full title!)

A pioneer family moving to Oregon decides to take part of their orchard with them. They carefully place apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries in a big wooden wagon and head off on their journey. Along the way, they have obstacles such as rivers to cross, droughts, hailstorms, and Jack Frost. All through it, one daughter, Delicious, helps her father to protect the precious plants. He loves the plants so much you wonder when he says that “we got to find a water hole or my babies are done for” if he is thinking of his kids or his plants. They finally make it to Oregon with the plants intact, and they live to a ripe old age. The whimsical illustrations depict the light hearted tall tale well. They really made me laugh out loud numerous times. My favorite is when the kid’s feet are shown dangling out of the apple trees. The author’s consistent use of alliteration like “peaches are plummeting” and “plums are plunging” make this an excellent read aloud.

THE KLONDIKE KID: Sailing for Gold

I loved the size and length of this book. I think it’s a great way for advanced readers to get longer books, yet still have pictures. The cliffhanger ending is a wonderful way to keep kids interested in the series. The plot was well-paced. The illustrations are simple black and white sketches of meaningful scenes. The main character is endearing. The secondary characters are interesting.

A FEW MORE

SHUTTING OUT THE SKY:Life in the tenements of New York 1880-1924

















SKY BOYS: How the built the Empire State Building

Libba Bray. REBEL ANGELS

REBEL ANGELS is a worthy sequel to THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY. It’s the holiday season at Spence Academy. The girls are getting ready to go home to London to stay with their families. Also, the replacement teacher for Miss Moore begins teaching. Gemma and her friends become suspicious of her after finding some interesting items in her room. Gemma begins to think that this teacher is Circe, the leader of the dark spirits from the realms. In the midst of all the festivities of the holidays (dances, tea at the club, etc.), there is trouble in the realms. Gemma is charged with finding the temple to bind the magic, but she isn’t sure who she can trust to help her. This sequel has even more going on than the first book. There’s romance, mystery, magic and plot twists. I may even like this one more than the first!

Cynthia Kadohata. WEEDFLOWER

Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Americans of Japanese ancestry (either born in Japan or born here as American citizens) were relocated to relocation/concentration camps. Twelve-year-old Sumiko lived with her family on their flower farm. Then one day her uncle and grandpa are taken away. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the family is told to pack a small bag and report to a relocation camp. They sold what they could, but mostly, they lost everything. The rest of the story is about how Sumiko and her family deal with living in camp. After losing their freedom, it’s amazing how well they were able to cope. The camp was in Arizona, the hottest of all the camps. Yet, even with the desert conditions, Sumiko and her neighbors are able to grow beautiful gardens. They are kept in the dark about the events of the war, so they have no idea how long they’ll be in the camp. Then, Sumiko’s cousins and the other men are asked to enlist in the army. They must decide if they can fight for a country that doesn’t even trust them with their own freedom. This is a beautifully written novel about a time in our history that many people conveniently forget. The details are amazingly real. This is historical fiction at its best, because you are living in this time period experiencing these events through Sumiko.

By the way, the author also wrote the Newbery Award Winning book for 2005, called KIRA-KIRA

Here’s her website: http://www.kira-kira.us/index.html Check her out!

BAUER, CROWE, FAMA, ROWLING

Bauer, Joan. RULES OF THE ROAD. Bauer is an awesome author. This is a highly enjoyable tale. Jenna has just earned her driver's license, and she's offered a job over the summer driving her boss across country. It ends up being a summer she'll never forget.Alvarez, Julia. Before we were free Sometimes we forget how good we have it here. Read this to see what it would be like to live under a dictatorship. It isn't pretty. Would you be a part of the rebels who want to fight?

Crowe, Chris. MISSISSIPPI TRIAL, 1955. A fictionalized account of what happened to Emmett Till, a Chicago boy who went to visit his relatives in Mississippi in 1955. He is beaten to death for supposedly whistling at a white girl.

Crowe, Chris. GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER. The non-fiction account of the above book, with actual court photos, family pictures, and a detailed account of events. Moving and disturbing.

Fama, Elizabeth. OVERBOARD. An amazing tale of survival. Could you survive in the middle of the ocean for several days? (me-I don't know how long I could doggie-paddle)

Rowling, J.K. HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE. This might be the best one yet! Hated the ending, but perhaps it didn't really happen? Although, it made sense…We'll see.