Six Picks : Historical Fiction for Teens

August 13, 2013September 18, 2013 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

There have been some real stand-outs in Historical Fiction this year, here are six of our favorites:

Code Name Verity. In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can. This Michael L. Printz Award Honor book was called “a fiendishly-plotted mind game of a novel” in The New York Times.

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners. In Book 1 of this new series by Libba Bray, seventeen-year-old Evie O’Neill is thrilled when she is exiled from small-town Ohio to New York City in 1926, even when a rash of occult-based murders thrusts Evie and her uncle, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, into the thick of the investigation.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Dodger. In an alternative version of Victorian London, a seventeen-year-old Dodger, a cunning and cheeky street urchin, unexpectedly rises in life when he saves a mysterious girl, meets Charles Dickens, and unintentionally puts a stop to the murders of Sweeney Todd. Kirkus Reviews called it, “Masterful. Unexpected, drily funny and full of the pathos and wonder of life: Don’t miss it.”

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl

Keeping the Castle. A tale of romance, riches, and real estate. In order to support her family and maintain their ancient castle in Lesser Hoo, 17-year-old Althea bears the burden of finding a wealthy suitor who can remedy their financial problems. When the young and attractive (and very rich) Lord Boring arrives, and Althea sets her plans in motion. The problem; his friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks keeps getting in the way.

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen

Scarlet. Will Scarlet shadows Robin Hood, with an unerring eye for finding treasures to steal and throwing daggers with deadly accuracy, but when Gisbourne, a ruthless bounty hunter, is hired by the sheriff to capture Robin and his band of thieves, Robin must become Will’s protector risking his own life in the process. The twist to this story is that “Will” is actually “Scarlet”, a girl disguising herself as a boy – a girl with many secrets…

Sophia’s War by Avi

Sophia’s War. In this Revolutionary War tale, the year is 1776. After witnessing the execution of Nathan Hale in New York City, newly occupied by the British army, young Sophia Calderwood resolves to do all she can to help the American cause, including becoming a spy.

From the Reference Desk: Want to find a really good book? Try NoveList!

August 7, 2013August 7, 2013 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Find your next read by searching the NoveList database on the CPL website. On our front page, Just mouse over Research, click on Reading Resources, and then select NoveList. After you enter your Cheshire Library card number you will be at a screen that features ‘Recommended Reads Lists’ in the left hand column.

You can choose from: Best of 2012 Fiction, Canadian Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction A to Z, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mysteries, Romance, Science Fiction, Thrillers and Suspense, and Westerns.

Each category is then broken down into subtopics. For example, Mysteries had 15 subtopic lists, from Classic Mysteries to Police Procedurals to Paranormal Mysteries and more; and Historical Fiction has 24 subtopic lists. NoveList provides a short description and book reviews for each title.

When you find a title that interests you, you can click on ‘Check the Library Catalog’ to find out if the library owns it, and if it is available. If the book is checked out you can place a hold on it and we will contact you via email or telephone when it’s your turn to borrow the book.

You can also create your own account on NoveList, where you can keep track of books you have read, books you’d like to read, and other notes pertaining to your reading experience.

Reading lists are also available for younger age groups: teen, age 9-12, and age 0-8.

Powerful Fiction Focused on Bullying for Children and Young Adults

July 25, 2013June 6, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

Bullying is a topic that is the focus of many fiction and non-fiction books. Partially because of the tragic stories in recent years about both the bullied and the bullies. Part of the interest is also because just about everyone has felt like they have been bullied or on the outside looking in for at least some point in their lives. Some of the young adult and children’s fiction that focuses on bullying as part of the plot line or the everyday lives of the characters is extremely powerful. Here are five of the children’s and young adult books about bullying that I have found to be the easiest to relate to, or most moving.

1. How to Beat the Bully Without Really Trying by Scott Starkey is a children’s chapter book about Rodney, an admitted coward, who moves to Ohio where the middle school bully immediately singles him out, but through accident gains an undeserved reputation as a tough guy.

2. Dear Life, You Suck by Scott Blagden is a young adult novel about seventeen-year-old Cricket Cherpin who lives under the watchful eye of Mother Mary at a Catholic boys’ home in Maine. He has such bleak prospects he is considering suicide when Wynona Bidaban steps into his world.

3. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a young adult book in which a traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school.

4. Everybody Sees the Ants by Amy Sarig King is a young adult book, and 2014 Nutmeg Award Nominee, about overburdened fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman who begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War.

5. Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti is a young adult book about high school junior Noelle who is bullied at school and neglected by her mother at home. She reaches her breaking point after a classmate commits suicide.

Other fiction about bullying that I recommend are; Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan(YA), Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli(J), The Other Felix by Keir Graff(J), How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill by James Patterson (J),and The Odd Squad: Bully Bait by Michael Fry (J).

Sharon Reads: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

July 14, 2013July 11, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is the first book in a new young adult series, His Fair Assassin. The main character is seventeen-year-old Ismea, who has been feared and shamed her entire life because of scars she bears from her mothers attempt to abort her. She escapes an arranged marriage and dedicates her life to the god, or saint, Mortain who rules death. The convent that takes her in and trains her requires complete obedience, but her skills and safety of the convent help Ismae grow and thrive. During her third assignment, she discovers that the outside world is much more complicated than she had ever imagined. She finds herself under prepared as she tries to protect the duchess, and the country, amid traitors and plots that seem to become even more tangled as she loses her heart to her partner, and potential target for death.

Let’s start with the obviously fantastic reason everyone is interested by this book, assassin nuns. It could not be anything other than awesome. Ismea is saved from being further beaten, and most likely killed, by the man her father sold her to as a wife by a local priests and hedge witch that follow the old ways. She is taught to kill, to serve a dark god or saint and to protect her country. She learns to obey, and in turn to question the orders and plots that are driving her hands in death. Ismea becomes a strong, smart woman. Her partnership with Duval is far from insta-love, and develops slowly and will the appropriate amount of doubt and mistrust. However, I will say that I was occasionally annoyed with her jumping and being startled every time he touched her or looked at her a certain way. The court intrigue was well done, and held some surprises for me. I fully expected some of the players to be exactly who they turned out to be, but I was glad to find a couple unexpected twists and turns.

I recommend Grave Mercy to fans of historical fiction, court intrigue, and heroines that take charge of their destiny. There are some mystical elements and significant romance, but neither overwhelms the historical mystery that carries throughout the story. Some might be worried about the mystic elements or take on religion. I think most interested in the book, especially by the thought of assassin nuns, will be just fine. Those that are offended by the very idea of old gods and the way pagan religions were transformed to be part of Christianity through force, and the idea that the pagan community could have had (or still have) some things right, might want to skip it. It is a four star book in my opinion.

Dark Triumph

The sequel, Dark Triumph follows fellow assassin nun Sybella on her own heart wrenching journey.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.

Amazon Names Their Best Books of 2013 So Far

July 11, 2013June 5, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

With 2013 half over, Amazon has chosen their top 10 books of the year so far (Jan-Jun). Their picks and brief summaries:

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson– What if you could be born again and again? This brilliant, multi-layered novel answers that question as Atkinson’s protagonist moves through multiple lives, each one an iteration on the last, flirting with the balance between choice and fate.
The Son by Phillipp Meyer – A multigenerational Western spanning the 1800s Comanche raids in Texas to the 20^th century oil boom, The Son is a towering achievement.
Frozen In Time by Mitchell Zuckoff – Two adventures in one …recounting the 1942 crash (and subsequent struggle to survive) of a U.S. cargo plane crew in Greenland, and describing the author’s own participation in a modern-day mission to uncover the mystery behind their disappearance.
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer – The characters in this novel pulse with life as Wolitzer follows a group of teenagers who meet at a summer camp for artsy teens in 1974 and work to maintain their friendship through the competitions and realities of growing up.
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini – Following The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini has written another masterwork, one that moves through war, separation, birth, death, deceit, and love – illustrating how people’s actions, even the seemingly selfless ones, are shrouded in ambiguity.
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – This Young Adult novel about two kids who fall in love on a bus is sweet without being saccharine. And it’s a story adults can love, too.
Gulp by Mary Roach – Roach is about as entertaining a science writer as you’ll find, and this book about how we ingest food will make you think, laugh, and wince as she covers all things alimentary.
After Visiting Friends by Michael Hainey – Unfolding like a novel, this nonfiction gem starts with journalist Hainey uncovering inconsistencies within his own journalist father’s obituary – and while the truth behind the death will eventually be uncovered, greater truths await for Hainey, ones that will change the way he views the past and the present.
Tenth of December by George Saunders – Saunders’ first collection of short stories in six years introduces his ironic, absurd, profound, and funny style to an army of new readers.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker – This enchanting debut, set mostly in turn-of-the-century Manhattan, is both a well-researched historical novel and a spectacular work of fantasy.