Chains: Seeds of America

Chains: Seeds of America
By Laurie Halse Anderson
New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008, Youth Historical Fiction, 316 p.
Isabel was born as a slave, but she wasn't supposed to remain one. She and her little sister, Ruth, were supposed to be freed upon the death of their elderly owner, Miss Finch; but Miss Finch's nephew sells them anyway. Her new owners, the Lockton's, take Isabel and Ruth to New York. New York in 1776 is heating up with tension between the Loyalists and Rebels and Isabel soon learns that her owners are not only Loyalists, - Mrs. Lockton is cruel. As her situation worsens Isabel tries to find a way for her and Ruth to escape. Both the Loyalists and the Rebels are offering freedom to slaves who join their cause. Isabel is willing to help either side if it means freedom, the question is, who will help her?
Anderson's novel is not only engaging, it also illustrates the difficult lives of slaves and the complex, unfair, and cruel obstructions that ruled their lives. Isabel's plight highlights all the legal and illegal practices that made slavery the evil that it was. It also illustrates the difficultly of slaves choosing sides in the American Revolution, who was truly their enemy and who would truly offer them freedom? Reader's will be pulled into her life and find themselves rooting for her success and angered on her behalf. This book is a fantastic work of historical fiction for teens and well as adults. Be warned it is the first of a trilogy, so you will have to read all of them to find out how Isabel's story ends.

The Pink Refrigerator

The Pink Refrigerator
By Tim Egan
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, Picture Book, unpaginated
Dodsworth does nothing all day, everyday - and he likes it. But one day while visiting the junkyard he finds a pink refrigerator and slowly his life begins to change. This charming book offers a story that is enjoyable but also contains subtle lessons on laziness and the importance of finding one's talents, achievement, and fulfillment in life. It's watercolor and ink pictures make it a colorful and sweet book. This would be a great choice for any child who loves all things pink; or parents who want to encourage their children not to live their lives in front of a screen.

Accidentally Married

Accidentally Married
By Victorine E. Lieske
Createspace Independent, 2014, Romance, 309 p.
How does a person accidentally get married? Madison is an actress, or she was, but now she just needs a job and any job will do. When she goes to interview for an assistant position at Jameson Technologies, she mistakenly gets hired to play the part of CEO Jared Jameson's girlfriend. She is determined to make this her best performance yet - perhaps too determined. Now she just hopes that she can keep up the act without the secret being revealed or having her heart broken.

This novel is a sweet, sappy romance and reads as though it were a Hallmark movie. Clean and fun this is the perfect book for any adult, or even teen, who just wants a romance to relax with and enjoy.

Newt's Emerald

Newt's Emerald
by Garth Nix
Katherine Teagan's Books, 2015. Young Adult Fiction. 291 p.

Truthful Newington is a young heiress looking forward to her first season in London in an alternative Regency period England. At her 18th birthday party, her grandfather shows her part of her inheritance, a large emerald rumored to have great magical powers. During the party the lights go out and someone steals the emerald. Truthful decides to go to London, dressed as a man, to search for possible leads to its whereabouts, but the deception brings more trouble and excitement than she could have ever imagined. 

This crazy historical fantasy/mystery is like Georgette Heyer meets... well... Garth Nix. Nix shows that he has a least a little familiarity of the time period, talking about dresses, and balls, and the "ton".  But he adds in an evil sorceress, necromancers (a Nix mainstay), and pirates to make it a little more interesting.  It is a delightful and clean teen/adult read. 

An Inconvenient Beauty

 

An Inconvenient Beauty
by Kristi Ann Hunter
Bethany House Publishers, 2017, Religious Fiction, 379 p.
His grace, Griffith, Duke of Riverton, has decided it is his duty to wed, so he carefully and logically picks his future wife from the wall-flowers at the seasonal balls in London.  Much to his surprise, the plain aristocratic girl he chooses to court keeps trying to avoid him.  He ends up being left in the company of her stunningly beautiful cousin over and over and starts to form an attachment to her instead.  Little does he know that she is hiding secrets, and it will not be a smooth road to matrimony with her either.

This is actually the fourth in a series of the Christian "Hawthorne House" historical romances.  Each one is about a different family member of the house of Riverton and don't need to be read in order.  It was a fun read, and has all the trappings that I enjoy in a fluffy, clean, historical romance.  Hunter looks into her main character's religious feelings, which is a nice change from some regency novels I have read. This is a great choice for adults or older teens who like Jane Austin or Georgette Heyer.

The War That Saved My Life

The War That Saved My Life
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Penguin Group USA, 2015, Intermediate Fiction, 316 p.
How does a war save a life? Ada has never been outside, all she has ever seen of the world is what she views out the window of her family's flat in London. Because of her bad foot, her entire life has been within the four walls of her home.  Now the government says that all of London's children need to be evacuated because the German's are going to bomb London. When Ada and her brother Jamie are sent to live with a single woman named Susan in Kent, Ada discovers a whole world she never knew about and learns that she can be more then she ever expected.

This historical fiction book would be good for both youth and adults. It is as much about World War II on the British Home Front as it is about an abused girl coming of age. Themes of friendship, freedom, prejudice, and what makes people different are cleverly woven throughout the story in a way that adults will recognize, but younger readers may not immediately notice.

The Gifts of Imperfection

The Gifts of Imperfection
by Brené Brown
Hazelton Publishing, 2010, nonfiction. 137 p.
Brené Brown is a research social worker and a Ted Talk superstar.  In this book she focuses on learning to be "wholehearted" by letting go of self criticism and accepting who you are. Her suggestions are based on a series of interviews she conducted as part of a clinical research about the causes and effects of shame. She explains her main terms in the beginning chapters, and then talks about ten "guideposts" or strategies for embracing authenticity like "Self Compassion" and "Cultivating Creativity". This is a very readable self-help book that is a good choice for someone looking for a life pick-me-up.

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Footbal Team

 

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
by Steve Sheinkin
Roaring Book Press, 2017. Nonfiction. 280 p.

Jim Thorpe was the son two mixed American Indian/European parents. He attended the Carlisle Indian School which had as its purpose to eradicate the "Indian" part of its students. Jim hated school and often ran away, until he was recruited to be on the school's track team.  From there he joined the football team and under the coaching of Pop Warner, the team became one of the best collegiate teams in the country. Recognizing Jim's amazing athletic talent, Warner encouraged Jim to try out for the 1912 Olympic team.  He made it onto the team and ended up winning the gold in the pentathlon and decathlon.

Here is a great nonfiction book for football fans and non-fans alike. Sheinkin shows how Warner helped football evolve from an unrestrained brawn brawl to the complex and much safer game it is today. He also explores the complicated relationship between the Carlisle School, the coach, and the students like Thorpe in relation to the cultural annihilation practiced at the Indian schools at the time.  Although this is in the adult nonfiction section, it will also appeal to sports or history loving teens.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demik
Spiegel & Grau, 2010, 316 p. Nonfiction
This is a fascinating collection of stories about people who defected from North Korea. Many of the stories focus on the time of the great famine in the 1990's. Although official sources were telling the populous how wonderful their lives were, food was scarce, and regular citizens watched their loved ones wither and die.  It is sobering to hear how carefully people had to avoid saying or doing anything that would bring them under suspicion of government officials.  Each of the featured people slowly came to distrust the indoctrination they had received their whole lives about their "Beloved Leader" and realize that life really would be better outside of their homeland.  The book reads like a novel and is utterly engaging.  Though the subject is somber, it is also inspirational to hear how the human spirit can persevere and eventually overcome.