Another great historical fiction about 2 young women who escape very bad situations, one a slave and the other an Asian girl who will be tried for murder if she stays. They escape and pretend to be boys and join a group of men who are heading for the gold mines out west. Really good story.
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This is a great book for British history lovers. It is told from Henry the eighth's view of his life. It really focuses mainly on his younger years. He was always in the shadow of his older brother who would be king, while he really had no position in the world. He was loved by his mother, but felt his father really hated him. Very interesting viewpoint on his history. Recommend.
In 1966, twelve year old Ji-Li had everything going for her; brains, admiration of her classmates and opportunities of a bright future in the Communist China. That year Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution, and her world began to fall apart. Her family was humiliated by former friends and neighbors and lived in constant terror of arrest. She had a decision to make, and family was important to her. I learned a lot about the Cultural Revolution and loved reading this book.
Reviewed by Diann Landeen Mary-Ann as a young girl lived with her family in a Hutterite community in southern Manitoba, Canada. In this community they shared everything – food, property and private lives. They cared for each other, ate together, celebrated traditions together and worshiped together. Rarely did they leave the colony. There was some conflict between her dad and the leader causing them to leave the colony when she was nine. Her dad had to find a job and a place for them to live. They had only experienced life in the colony. They had big challenges ahead of them. They had never tasted some foods like macaroni and cheese. Never heard of Walt Disney. Mary-Ann loved and missed her friends and relatives in the colony and yet she was having many new experiences and trying to fit in. This book was interesting to me because I had never heard of a Hutterite.
Reviewed by Diann Landeen This is the incredible story behind one of the youngest names on Schindler’s list. Leon Leyson a ten-year-old boy, who lived in Poland with his family, tells about the war and what happen to him and his family. The amazing hope and strength that he had, and the direction through inspiration brought many miracles where their lives were saved. Getting on Schindler’s list was one of them. I really enjoyed reading this book. It reminded me to appreciate what I have in life and how good the everyday life can be. Reviewed by Diann Landeen Another great historical novel. This finds a young woman,Verity Boone, returning to her birthplace to live with her father. She had been sent to live in Massachusetts after her mother died when she was two. Now back to live with her father and marry a young man she never met, her life becomes a series of mysteries she needs to solve. How did her mother die, why is her grave caged, and what's with this mysterious gold? Really a good book. Highly recommend. Only an ebook in our library.
Another really fun book in the Flavia de Luce series. I LOVE these books. This time Flavia has been sent to a school, Miss Bodycote's Female Academy in Toronto, Canada where, as usual, she stumbles upon a murder. Now it will take her incredible skill as a detective (of course involving chemistry) to solve the mystery. Highly recommend.
I just read a book that really surprised me. It is a historical fiction book about the French Revolution. A teenaged girl sees her father executed, and her mother and brother die from starvation as a result. She is rescued by a handsome young man just before she herself starves to death. They then decide to rob as many of the upper class as possible to support themselves. She ends up working for Madame Tussaud (famous for her wax work displays). However, the part that impressed me most was the change in her attitude about everything as she sees both sides of the issue. It also has a very exciting ending. Loved it!!! This is the first book of a large series. A young girl is orphaned and left to fend for herself on the streets of 1797 London. She dreams of getting away to anywhere but London, but joins a group of other orphans living on the streets. Soon she is alone again and signs up to serve as a ship's boy, and her adventures and "deception" begin as only boys can serve on ships. This is a great tale and very informative of the life of a sailor during that time. As much as I love historical fiction, this one hit me quite differently. This story of a woman who leaves her husband on the farm and goes to join the Union forces in the Civil War was quite disturbing for me. I liked it, but it is quite graphic with horrible images of the experiences she had and the awful things she saw. If anyone has any "good" images of war, this will bring you back to reality. Wow.
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