historical fiction

Time Travel Stories, That are NOT Science Fiction

/ Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

time-travelEver wish you could slip away to another time or place? Want to see how things really were during your favorite era of history or perhaps take a peek at a future that might not yet be written in stone?

I have always been intrigued by the notion, but no matter how much I enjoy science fiction I have never been a fan of books that paired the two. You might think that any book that has time travel is automatically science fiction, but this is far from the truth. While the two often overlap, there are many other kinds of books that feature time travel. There is a genre of time travel romance, sometimes magic or other aspects of the story trigger the travel, and sometimes in fiction it just happens.

Here are some of the best books I have seen that feature time travel, but are not science fiction.timet1

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells  by Andrew Sean Greer
To alleviate her suffocating depression after the death of her twin brother and the break-up with her long-time lover, Greta Wells embarks on a radical psychiatric treatment that has an unexpected side effect, which transports her to the lives she might have had if she had been born in a different era.

Night Watch: a Novel of Discworld by Terry Pratchett
timet4Flung back in time by a mysterious accident, Sam Vimes has to start all over again. He must get a new name and a job, and there’s only one job he’s good at: cop in the Watch. He must track down a brutal murderer. He must find his younger self and teach him everything he knows. He must whip the cowardly, despised Night Watch into a crack fighting force – fast. Because Sam Vimes knows what’s going to happen. He remembers it. He was there. It’s part of history. And you can’t change history…timet2

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Hurtled back through time more than two hundred years to Scotland in 1743, Claire Randall finds herself caught in the midst of an unfamiliar world torn apart by violence, pestilence, and revolution and haunted by her growing feelings for James Fraser, a young soldier.

11/22/63 by Stephen Kingtimet3
Receiving a horrific essay from a GED student with a traumatic past, high-school English teacher Jake Epping is enlisted by a friend to travel back in time to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a mission for which he must befriend troubled loner Lee Harvey Oswald.

Now & Then by Jacqueline Sheehan
Her life spinning out of control to the point timet5that she wakes up one day among her Irish ancestors in 1844, Anna struggles to find her way home while navigating a time and culture completely foreign to her, a situation that is further complicated by her troubled teenage nephew.

More books that include time travel without being science fiction, but I did not have room for above, include: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, Orfeo by Richard Powers, The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier,  Replay by Ken Grimwood, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, Timebound by Rysa Walker, Morrigan’s Cross by Nora Roberts, and 1632 by Eric Flint.

Outlander – What to Read While You’re Waiting

/ Louise / Leave a comment

A new term has entered pop culture lately: Droughtlander. This is the interminable dry spell between installments of the Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon, and the Starz television show adapted from said books.  The television fans are upset about having to wait 6 months to get to the second half of Season One, but longtime book fans know this is nothing – it can take 5 years in between installments of the books. Ouch!

Don’t worry, we’re here to help. Try some of these books, they may get you get through the drought, whether you’re waiting for the next episode or novel:

Lord John series by Diana Gabaldon. A subset of the Outlander series, these historical mysteries focus on Lord John Grey, an important secondary character from the main series.

Wilderness series by Sara Donati. This historical series follows Elizabeth Middleton, who travels to a remote area of New York State in 1792, to take up residence there with her father and brother.  She soon meets and falls in love with Nathaniel Bonner, a white man who was raised by Native Americans.  The novel follows the adventures of Elizabeth and Nathaniel, as they elope, flee together into the Mohawk lands, and raise a family. Adventures ensue.

The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons. The story of Tatiana and Alexander  begins in Leningrad just as Russia is about to enter World War II. Tatiana, a factory worker, meets Alexander, an officer in the Red Army. Conflicts ensue! The trilogy follows them as they struggle to survive the war, and then work to build a life after the war.

All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness. This trilogy follows the story of Diana Bishop, a  Yale historian (and reluctant witch), as she solves the mystery of an ancient and dangerous document. A mysterious Oxford geneticist (oh, and 1500-year-old vampire) named Matthew Clairmont is very interested in this same document.  Danger! Mystery! Romance!

Oxford Time Travel books by Connie Willis. These sci-fi/fantasy books are set in the near future, and follow the adventures of Professor James Dunworthy and other Oxford University historians who just happen to be able to travel back through time.

The Winter Sea  by Susanna Kearsley. Carrie McClelland journeys to Scotland to write a historical fiction novel concerning the 1708 Jacobite Rebellion. She is mysteriously drawn to Slains Castle, and begins to have vivid dreams reams are filled with characters, scenes, and plot developments that turn out to be historically accurate. Is someone from the past reaching out to her?

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian, travels involuntarily through time, and meets artist Clare Abshire at several different points in her life. Henry and Clare’s love story endures across time, and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap.

The Passions of Emma by  Penelope Williamson. Emma Tremayne lives a life of privilege, her main life requirement is making a good marriage. Her world is shattered, however, when she discovers the horrifying working conditions in her fiance’s textile mill. And when she encounters Shay McKenna, a brave Irish revolutionary, she learns what it will take to defy society’s conventions.

The Exile : an Outlander Graphic Novel written Diana Gabaldon ; illustrated by Hoang Nguyen. This graphic adaptation offers a retelling of the first Outlander story–this time from Jamie Fraser’s point of view, revealing events never seen in the original story–with a making-of section and author commentary.

If nothing else will do, we suggest rereading the Outlander series on audiobook (read by Davina Porter). The audio versions of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series are exceptional, and are available on CD at Cheshire Library. Try one and you’ll be hooked! (Listen to a sample)

outlander-series

 

Feel free to share any other suggestions for surviving Droughtlander in the comments!

Walter Dean Myers Passes Away

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

WalterDeanMyers-318x500Walter Dean Myers, beloved and deeply respected children’s book author, died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old. The School Library Journal released his obituary on July 2nd.

Just about anyone that has read children’s or young adult literature in the last forty-five years will have read or at least heard of Walter Dean Myers and seen some of the over 100 books that he has written. This impressive body of work includes two Newbery Honor Books, three National Book Award Finalists, and six Coretta Scott King Award/Honor-winning books. He was also the winner of the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award, the first recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. In 2010, Walter was the United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and in 2012 he was appointed the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, serving a two-year tenure in the position. Also in 2012, Walter was recognized as an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree, an honor given by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for his substantial lifetime accomplishments and contribution to children’s literature.

If you have not read anything from Myers, I would suggest using this loss as a motivation to get reading. His work is deep and sometimes heart wrenching, telling the stories of young people that need a voice and need to be heard. Here is a small sampling of his books which you might want to start with.

1. Darius & Twig
2. Invasion
3. All the Right Stuff
4. The Dream Bearer
5. Monster
6. The Glory Field
7. Hoops
8. 145th Street: Short Stories
9. Harlem: a Poem
10. Bad Boy: A Memoir

The “I Survived” Series and Related Book Suggestions

/ Sharon Tyler / 2 Comments

Is historical fiction or survival fiction something that intrigues you or your child? Then you have probably heard of the I Survived series of children’s chapter books by Lauren Tarshis:

This series consists of historical fiction that is plot driven and faced paced. It grabs the attention of most willing readers with stories about courage and survival. According to Scholastic the books are best suited to those reading and a second grade reading level and up, with Lexile ratings around 600 and higher. For more information on the I Survived series check out the Scholastic’s webpage dedicated to the series. The series includes:

1. The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
2. The Shark Attacks of 1916
3. Hurricane Katrina, 2005
4. The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941
5. The San Francisco Earthquake, 1906
6. The Attacks of September 11, 2001
7. The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863
8. The Japanese Tsunami, 2011
9. I Survived the Nazi Invasion,1944 will be released in late February but you can place a hold on it now!

If you have read all of the books currently available in this series or are looking for more books about courage, hope, and survival for children then I would recommend also checking out: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko and its two sequels, Pirate Hannah Pritchard: Pirate of the Revolution! by Bonnie Pryor and its sequels, Will at the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Laurie Calkhoven and the entire Boys of War series, Survival in the Storm: the Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards by Katelan Janke (part of the Dear America series), The Winter of Red Snow: the Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart by Kristiana Gregory (part of the Dear America series), Rex Zero by Tim Wynne-Jones and its sequels, The Journal of Jesse Smoke: a Cherokee Boy by Joseph Bruchac (part of the My Name is America series), Sophia’s War: a Tale of the Revolution by Avi, and Waiting for Anya by Michael Morpurgo.

I know that I have barely touched the surface of historical fiction that deals with children facing times of war, environmental catastrophe, and other situations with include a struggle to survive. Do you have a favorite, series or stand alone, that you would recommend?

Sharon Reads: Weather Witch by Shannon Delany

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

[Cover]

Weather Witch

Weather Witch by Shannon Delany is a young to new adult novel with a bit of a steam punk feel. In the New World rank is everything, and being deemed to carry some sort of magic is the worst curse of all. Jordan is from one of the highest ranked families in society, and she is celebrating her seventeenth birthday, a moment when she should have been clear of any suspicion of magic and ready to start planning marriage and her future. However, a back alley dealing leads to Jordan testing positive as a witch. She, and her family, lose rank and all respect in the society as Jordan is whisked away to be tested further and ‘made’ into a usable source of power. But the Maker is having trouble doing changing Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordan’s friend and romantic interest Rowen seems to be the only one of rank that has not given up on her and does everything he can to save her, while an escaped witch works to bring down the man and culture that made him an outcast.

Weather Witch is a more complicated story than I expected when I picked up the book, in a good way. I expected the standard fare of young adult finds out they are ‘special’ and both good and bad happen because of it. While there is a certain aspect of this here – Jordan is considered special –  there is also deep world building and several related story lines running through the book as well. We get to see into the heart and personal life of the Maker, who without that insight would have simply been the bad guy. We get to see into the psyche of a good number of side characters as well. At times it felt like it would soon become overwhelming, for me it never crossed that line, rather it made me curious to see how everything would come together. I was not disappointed, well maybe in a couple twists but only because I liked the characters that I knew would no longer appear after certain moments. I could understand others getting confused by the voice changes and the incremental world building, but it really worked for me. I really enjoyed getting inside the head of Rowen, Jordan, the Maker, and even some servants to see the whole picture, rather than the limited perspective a single character might offer. I do not want to talk about the plot more, or give away any good stuff, because I found the book to be a surprising journey and would hate to ruin that for anyone.

I would recommend Weather Witch to readers that enjoy steam punk, coming of age tales, historical fiction, science fiction or fantasy, and simply reading something that feels fresh and new.l I think that young adults and adults would both enjoy the book, while the majority of main characters are of the teen set, the setting and political factions will keep everyone interested and turning the pages. Frankly, the only thing that really bothered me about the book was an ending that was obviously a set up for a sequel, and the knowledge that Stormbringer will not be released until January of 2014. I would give Weather Witch 4 stars.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.