The Sterkarm Handshake by Susan Price

The Sterkarm Handshake by Susan Price is one heck of an action-packed book. The premise is very cool. A scientific lab in the future has discovered a way to build basically a time portal. The portal takes you back in time in the exact place you are located. Their portal was located in England so they go from a busy urban area in England in the 21st century to a pristine landscape during early 16th century. The scientists are very excited to bring back the natural resources that were still around during the 16th century because they discover that you CAN transport items from the 16th side to the 21st century side. Of course all this is well and good and things seem to be going fine until they encounter a clan of warriors who live in the 16th century who don't take too kindly to being invaded by people of the future. They can't even really conceive of the people from the future and call them Elves. The Sterkarms are often placated by the simple and cheap (yet magic to them) small white pill called aspirin but this doesn't change the fact that they realize they are being taken advantage of by the "elves." Add to the drama the character of Andrea, a 21st century anthropologist who lives with the clan for the purposes of translating their Old English, and her relationship with Per Sterkarm, a violent yet innocent son of the Sterkarms and you've got one action packed, somewhat bloody, science fiction novel. Enjoy! - Suzanne

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Want something to look forward to? Try reading the first two books in this trilogy and then just wait with baited breath until December when the third one will come out! Libba Bray's books are set in England and are about Gemma Doyle, an English girl raised in India who has discovered an ancient group of women called The Order who possess magical powers that come from a magical place called The Realms. In book one, Gemma discovers who she really is (a member of The Order) after the murder of her mother. This in addition to being sent away to a finishing school and having a hot Indian boy chasing her makes for some wild times. Add in a beautiful friend named Pippa, a loyal friend named Ann, and a strong willed and beautiful friend named Felicity and you have drama, drama, drama! Not to mention the fact that the girls can actually bring magic back from the realms to wreck havoc on Spence, their stuffy boarding school! I've read one and two and I can't wait to see what happens in three. Romance, rich historical detail, and the trials of corsets abound in these action packed historical fantasies. Till next time! -Suzanne

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

You probably don't remember this at all, but when the movie Forrest Gump came out it was hyped up to be the best movie basically of all time. I didn't see it in the movie theatres. I assumed that it couldn't be as good as all that and I wasn't going to waste my money. I let all my friends and my entire family go see it before I did because I've got a stubborn streak. I knew it couldn't be that good and guess what? It was! I cried the first time I saw it and I wasted no time jumping on the "I can quote every line in Forrest Gump" bandwagon. It is seldom that such a treat happens. This book is one of those treats. Believe the hype. Check this book out. Set aside some time. Get an apple and a glass of milk and dive in. You will love this book. It's about Nazi Germany during World War II. It's narrated by Death and it tells the story of Liesel Meminger...the one and only Book Thief. -Till next time! Suzanne

Historical Fiction: Books about Colonial Times - A List

The birth of our country was fraught with drama...in the early years we had the Salam Witch Trials, the Thirteen Colonies, and all kinds of drama resulting from our precarious situation of belonging to England but not wanting to belong to England...except for those people who thought we should remain loyal to the king, leading, of course, to the Revolutionary War. If you're interested in this time in history, try one of these! -Till next time! Suzanne

Cast Two Shadows by Ann Rinaldi

Finishing Becca: a story about Peggy Shippen and Benedict Arnold by Ann Rinaldi

The Secret of Sarah Revere by Ann Rinaldi

Or Give Me Death: a novel of Patrick Henry's Family by Ann Rinaldi

The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Sarah Bishop by Scott O'Dell

The Fifth of March by Ann Rinaldi

The Color of Fire by Ann Rinaldi

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

The Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B. Cooney

Carry on, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

How many of you out there have seen the new Pirates movie? Dead Man's Chest was rollicking good fun, eh me harty? If you've got the sea sickness (like my husband does...all he does nowadays is listen to pirate songs on internet radio and dream of sailing off in a full-sailed vessel) try this book about a boy who gets stranded on a small island or cay with only one old black man and a tattered cat to keep him company. This is a historical ficiton novel set during World War II with none of the fantasy that the Pirates movies have (no sea-creature people or crews inhabited by skeletons). But it is a story of survival and ingenuity as Phillip has to come to terms with the fact that he may never get off the little island that is his new home. Follow Phillip's journey as he learns about survival, the equality of races, perception, and the true meaning of home. Till next time! -Suzanne

World War II - A List

Has there ever been a more dramatic time in history than World War II? Based on the amount of fiction that's been generated about this war (not to mention the movies!) I happen to think not. But when you think about the variety of events that happened; the Nazis, the concentration camps, the American internment camps, the dropping of the nuclear bombs, the exportation of English children to the safety of America and on and on and on - it makes sense that there's a LOT of fiction written about that horrendous war. Complicated as that war was, I find it much easier to understand when I read stories about it, rather than nonfiction books (although some of them are VERY good). Try a few of these if you're interested at all in history, drama, and very, very good stories.

Soldier Boys by Dean Hughes

Postcards from No Man's Land by Aidan Chambers

Night by Elie Wiesel

Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse

I had seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant

Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury

The Power of One by Bryce Cortenay

Yossel, April 19, 1943 by Joe Kubert (Graphic Novel)

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman (Graphic Novels)

Good Night, Maman by Norma Fox Mazer

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Sisterland by Linda Newbery

Spotlight - Ancient Greece: a list

Did you love the movie Troy? Try the book! And while you're at it, try one of these books also inspired by Ancient Greece!

Quiver by Stephanie Spinner

Aphrodite's Blessings by Clemence McLaren

Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli

Singer to the Sea God by Vivien Alcock

Ithika by Adele Geras (also wrote Troy)

Waiting for Odysseus by Clemence McLaren

Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney

The Iliad by Homer

The Odessy by Homer

To find out more about gods and goddesses try: Gods and Goddesses in Greek Mythology by Michelle M. Houle.

A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin

Summer...ah...a perfect time to read this book. I started reading Ann M. Martin way back when the Babysitter's Club books first came out. I snuck into my big sister's room and would read her books on the sly. She eventually found out and wasn't quite as mad as I thought she might be. But after a while, the Babysitter's Club books became a little...stale. Maybe it was me. Maybe it was growing up. But maybe it was the fact that those girls (and Logan) never, ever aged. There was something so...disturbing about that. A Corner of the Universe is not like the Babysitter's Club books. A Corner of the Universe is a summer story with special attraction for girls. The book is set in a little town in the 1950's, not unlike our own Lebanon and tells the story of Hattie Owen and her quiet discoveries the summer she turns 12. Oh, it's such a sweet story. Read it. Cry. Laugh. Learn. Till next time! -Suzanne

Historical Fiction: Spotlight on the Civil War - List

I am really digging on this blogging thing. I know...I'm a dork. I know some of you love reading about history. When I was about 11 I watched a mini series about the Civil War called "The Blue and the Gray." If you haven't seen it, it is really good (although I'm well aware how OLD it is now). Anyway, after I watched it I actually felt like I understood how complicated the Civil War really was. Having Jean drag my sisters and I (kicking and screaming) to Gettysburg for Spring Break one year solidified it. Gettysburg is one creepy little town. But hey, aren't most wars creepy? Anyway, here's a list of Civil War-type books. Till next time! -Suzanne

FICTION
How I Fought the Strong by Margaret McMullan

Girl in Blue by Ann Rinaldi

Annie Between the States by Laura Elliot

The Land by Mildred T. Taylor

Gurilla Season by Pat Hughes

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

The Heart Calls Home by Joyce Hansen

Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen

A Light in the Storm by Karen Hesse

Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story by Andrea Davis Pinkney

NONFICTION
The Civil War at Sea by George Sullivan

Billy Yank and Johnny Reb by Susan Provost Beller

Those Courageous Women of the Civil War by Karen Zienert