The Chosen, by Chaim Potok (Historical Fiction--America)
In The Chosen, Reuven Malter is a Jewish boy living in Brooklyn during World War II, during a time when Hasidim steered completely away from non-Hasids, and the other way round. The story begins when, in a baseball game against a Hasidic team, Reuven is hit in the eye with a ball and hospitalized. When the boy who hit the ball, Danny Saunders, comes to visit him, it is the start of a most unlikely friendship. Danny, as Reuven soon realizes, is an avid reader. He has decided that he wants to be a psychologist, but, as his father is the tzaddik of a large Hasidic community, he has to take over as tzaddik from his father. He is doing a lot of reading on the human brain, including—in fact, especially—Freud. However, his father does not like Danny reading, but when he finds out, surprisingly, Brooklyn remains in one piece. In fact, there is only a very small explosion—not even big enough to destroy the house! Danny and Reuven remain close friends through college, where brawls rise between the Hasidim and the other Jews about Zionism. Reuven is one of the leaders of the pro-Zionist group, and although Danny would also like to be part of that group, many of the Hasidic students who are anti-Zionist look to Danny as their leader. This would not have been so bad, except that Reb Saunders, Danny’s father, is strongly anti-Zionist, and refuses to let his son be friends with a pro-Zionist boy. After Israel has become a state, Danny and Reuven are permitted to resume their friendship, but if I say any more, I will end up revealing the end of the book, so I will stop here. I liked this book a lot. The only reason I did not give it five stars was that there was not enough going on between when Danny and Reuven were teenagers to when they were in college.
By Avi Z.
Dave at Night, Gail Carson Levine (Historical Fiction--America)
Dave at Night is a book about a boy named Dave who was sent to live in the Hebrew Home for Boys (HHB) in New York, in the 1920s. He was sent there because his father had passed away and his step-mother did not want him. Dave’s older brother, Gideon, was sent to his cousin’s house instead of the HHB. His cousins did not want Dave because he was a trouble-maker. Dave’s life at the HHB was hard because of the bullies, the prefixes and the many rules. (The prefixes are the guards or counselors.) Dave tried to make the best of his life at the HHB but Mr. Bloom, the principal, was mean to all of the kids. Things that were good for Dave at the HHB were his buddies called the Elevens. Some of the Elevens were Eli, Harvey, Fred, Jeff, Danny, Alfie, Dave and Mike. They were good guys who all watched after each other. They were like brothers. Even though Dave had friends inside the HHB he still tried to escape by going out into the city. Once he left the HHB and he met a man named Solly, who thought that Dave was his grandson. Solly took Dave to a rent party in Harlem, where there was a lot of dancing and food and poor Black people were trying to raise enough money to pay their rent. At the party, Dave met Mrs. Packer and Irma Lee. They were very kind and nice to Dave and he became very good friends with them. Dave had a very tough life. When you read the book you always wonder if he will survive. There are many challenges that make the life of an orphan hard. In general, the book moves quickly as Dave works in and out of trouble. It would be a miracle if he could survive. I really liked the book Dave at Night. I thought it was interesting and I loved the ending. My favorite characters were Dave and the Elevens. I liked them because they always tricked the bullies and the mean prefix. I also thought that the description of the orphanage made it feel like you were actually in the building. The HHB was a bad, scary and cruel place for boys. They never had enough food, it was cold and the prefixes were mean. I really wanted Dave to not get caught doing something secret. Overall, I would recommend this book to my friends.
By Max F.
Dragon, By Jeff Stone (Historical Fiction--China)
This book is the last in the series of The Five Ancestors that takes place in China in the 1600s. It is about a 13-year-old named Long, which means Dragon. He is one of the five surviving monks of the destruction of his temple. His other temple brothers are Hok, Malao, Seh, and Fo. There was also Ying who was a temple brother, too. This book is about the bandits, Western Warlord’s army, and the temple brothers planning an attack on the evil Tonglong. There are many interesting things going on such as Long going to tell the Western Warlord the plan of the bandits to join up together to fight Tonglong and his huge army. Another thing is the actual fight. And the most important part is how the series ends. There is a lot of action, war, and cool things in this book. This story and series are amazing and I would give it a 5 out of 5.
By Sam E.
Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson (Historical Fiction--America) Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a historical fiction novel that takes place in Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic. The main character, Matilda Cook, and her family are running a coffeehouse at the beginning of the book. However, her friend dies suddenly of an illness. Doctors say that yellow fever is spreading, but few people believe them. Then Matilda’s mother gets the fever, so Matilda and her grandfather leave for the country where there is no fever. Later, when they return, they are attacked by robbers and Grandfather dies. Matilda has to live on own. She learns how to find food and take care of herself. Then she finds her friend Eliza, who takes her in. They join a community that helps fever victims. I enjoyed the book very much because it is exciting and you can learn a lot about how people lived in the late 1700s in Philadelphia.
By Charles S.
The Fighting Ground, by Avi (Historical Fiction--America)
The Fighting Ground takes place over two days, April 3 and 4, 1778, during the Revolutionary War. It is set in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A lot of the action takes place in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. The main character is Jonathan, a thirteen-year-old boy. In the beginning of the book, Jonathan really wanted to be a soldier, but his father didn’t want him to fight at a young age because the father had gotten shot in the leg and was afraid that Jonathan might get hurt or die. Jonathan also had an older brother who was a soldier serving with General Washington in Pennsylvania. Jonathan wants to fight in the war. He secretly joins the fight against the Hessian soldiers, who were fighting for the British during the Revolutionary War. During his first battle, he is frightened and runs away into the woods. Then Jonathan is captured by the Hessians. His experience is the main part of the book, and I don’t want to give too much away. I would give the book four stars. I liked it because it was very suspenseful and I thought the Revolutionary War was a cool subject to read about. I liked that the Hessian soldiers talked only in German and Jonathan couldn’t understand them, but I could because there was a translation in the back of the book. The writer wrote a lot of detail and I could picture it very well in my mind.
By Ari N.
Give Me Liberty, by L.M. Elliot (Historical Fiction--America)
The focus of the Revolutionary War is usually what happened to the Continental Army in the north led by George Washington. But there is a lot happening down south in Virginia, whose army is led by the silver-tongued Patrick Henry. This novel is about an indentured servant who lives in Williamsburg, Virginia at this historic period of time. The story take place in Williamsburg, Virginia, in the mid-1700s when the colonies were welcoming the thought of liberty. Nathanial was an indentured servant who had lost his parents. In the beginning of the story, Nat is being auctioned off by an Auctioneer to a horrible blacksmith. An old schoolteacher named Basil saves Nat by naming a higher price. However, Nat still has to work for a mean old carriage maker named Eden, whom Basil lives with. Eden thinks that the best way to get along with everybody is to be neutral in the uprising about liberty but that backfires on him. He and his family get poorer and poorer. Eden’s other indentured servant, Ben, really wants glory. He thinks the best way to achieve that is by going to war making him a patriot. Ben is always getting into trouble, but something even worse is coming for him. Eden wants nothing to do with liberty yet Ben is rather convincing. War is coming soon, Nat can sense it. What is he going to do?! Give Me Liberty has an amazing plot and true history facts. Therefore on a scale of one to five, I would give this novel four.
Johnny Tremain is an enticing story set in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War, when the colonies fought the British for their liberty. The plot follows the life of a boy named Johnny (Jonathan), a silversmith’s apprentice, who has to give up his trade due to a crippled hand. He becomes a rider for a “Rebel” newspaper. There he meets a boy named Rab, who is the printer’s apprentice and becomes Johnny’s best friend. Rab then leaves to fight. The paper secretly held meetings for the Sons of Liberty. A local group of patriots consisting of historical figures, such as John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams, were all members of the Sons of Liberty. Fictional main characters include Priscilla Lapham, also known as “Cilla”, who is Johnny’s loved one who likes him back. She is the daughter of Mr. Lapham, his mentor. Dove is the reason Johnny’s hand is crippled, and he is also an apprentice to Mr. Lapham. Merchant Jonathan Lyte is unknowingly Johnny’s great uncle who frames him as a crook! I thought the book really described the tension between the colonists and the British. Overall, it was a great historical fiction novel that easily makes five stars.
By David T.
Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes (Historical Fiction--America)
Johnny Tremain was a silversmith’s apprentice who lived in the 1770’s in Boston. After being injured while making a sugar basin, Johnny was unable to become a silversmith. He had been living with Priscilla and Isannah Lapham and their family, but he had to leave when he couldn’t work as a silversmith. He moved in with his friend Rab, and worked for the Boston Observer.
Once a week, a club met in the attic of the Boston Observer printing shop. They were called the Boston Observers and members of the club included John Adams, Samuel Adams, Dr. Warren and more founding fathers of our country.
Johnny discovered that he was related to a famous merchant named Jonathan Lyte. Johnny went to Mr. Lyte and told him that he thought they were related, but Mr. Lyte thought Johnny was an imposter and had him arrested. After Johnny was proven innocent in court, the Revolutionary War was about to begin. There were British soldiers all over Boston and Johnny became the messenger for the Boston Observer club. He had to go all over Boston, sneak past British soldiers and give the news very quietly to the patriots.
Rating: 5 stars. Johnny Tremain is an interesting story that people of all ages can enjoy. It also gave me a good idea of what it must have been like to live in Boston in the 1770s.
By Zachary S. Letter From Rifka, Karen Hess (Historical Fiction--America)
In 1919, Rifka and her family are in Russia trying to get to America. In her family she has Mama, Papa, and brothers Nathan and Saul. Rifka is 12 years old. She travels to six different places to get to America with lots of obstacles in her way.
A couple Russian soldiers stop Rifka while she and her family are waiting to leave for America. Everyone else in her family hides so the soldiers don’t capture them too. The rest of her family is on its way to America while Rifka is going somewhere apart from her family. After she gets separated she gets a disease on her head. All of her hair falls out. Rifka gets treated for her disease but now she is bald. Even if she makes it to America, the Americans might not allow her in because of her bald head.
I would give Letters From Rifka 5 stars because this book was really good, it has so many adventures in it and it is never really that boring. Toward the end I couldn’t put the book down. Although I don’t enjoy reading that much this one was one of the best books I have ever read.
By: Annie B.
My Guardian Angel, by Sylvie Weil (Historical Fiction--France)
Elvina is the twelve year old granddaughter of Rashi. She is twelve years old and loves to write. Rachel and Naomi are two of Elvina's cousins, and Gauthier is a Crusader that doesn't like to fight. The time period of the story is in the Spring of 1096 CE. My Guardian Angel takes place in Troyes, France, where there were about 4,000 people of which about 400 of them were Jews. The story is about Elvina trying to become more mature by not making any more foolish mistakes. Elvina always wanted to do things that only boys normally did, like reading, writing, carpentry, masonry, and helping her grandfather work. She always got scolded for messing up things that she had no interest in doing, like raising chicken eggs, then breaking them while waiting for them to hatch. Three Crusaders come to Elvina's house, and one is wounded. Could this be a good way for Elvina to prove that she is more mature by making the right choice, running and hiding or helping the wounded Crusader?
I give My Guardian Angel three out of five stars because it was sometimes boring and hard to finish. But the book was also interesting sometimes because of its plot. I think this book could use more action and details about people other than Elvina.
By Dina.B
Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse(227 pages) (Realistic Fiction and Historical Fiction--America)
Out of the Dust is a book about a girl named Billie Joe. She lives in Oklahoma during The Great Depression. Her dad is a wheat farmer and is having a really hard time growing wheat because of all of the dust storms that have been happening. To make matters worse, there is a terrible accident that causes Billie Joe to lose her mother and her newborn baby brother. In addition, her hands become terribly injured so she can’t play the piano which she loves to do; but even though it hurts her terribly to play she still does it because it reminds her of her mother. I thought this book was OK. It wasn’t the best but I would read it again. On a scale of one to five, I would rate it a three because it was good but not great.
By Ruthie S.
Reincarnation, by Suzanne Weyn (Historical Fiction--many locations)
This book doesn’t take place in just one time period and in one place, it goes through history! It starts out during the time of cavemen when two people from different tribes meet. They start to fight over a green stone and it leads to their death. Afterwards they are reborn again in Egypt as slave and house singer. When they lay eyes on each other they instantly recognize the other person. They fall in love but something happens and they are broken apart. This continues throughout history and through their other lives, and sometimes they bring things with them from past lives. It could be a talent, or an injury. But they always bring two things with them to every new life: One is the love they have for each other when they meet, and the other is a mysterious green stone that appears in different forms almost every time. I would give this book a four-and-a-half because I thought it had an interesting story line and it keeps the reader interested, but sometimes it can be a little confusing.
Nita R.
When Will This Cruel War Be Over? By Barry Denenberg (Historical Fiction--America)
In the book When Will This Cruel War be Over? Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, there are a few main characters, although there are a lot of sub-main characters. The book is about Emma Simpson who lives during the Civil War in 1864, on the south side in Gordonsville, Virginia. Emma is a girl who loves to read and hates the war. Her mother always tells her to believe in the Lord and she tries to, but it is really hard when bad things happen. The thing that Emma misses most from before the war is having visitors come and celebrating Christmas. Before the war starts, she falls in love with a boy named Tally when she goes to visit her Aunt Caroline and Cousin Rachel in Richmond. She and Tally write letters to each other during the war. Tally is different from other boys because he cares about her opinions and isn’t afraid to tell people that he likes to read. When Emma’s mother gets ill, Aunt Caroline and Cousin Rachel with baby Elizabeth come and stay with them. The Negros Iris and Amos stay loyal to Caroline’s family when some Negros don’t stay loyal and go off to the north. I would rate this book with 4 stars It is good but it is also sad at parts. It was really scary when the Yankees came to Gordonsville. It was really good because you could feel Caroline’s emotions like you were really there. It was a great way to learn what really went on in the war and there were funny and romantic parts too. By: Tali G.
(Made-up stories about the past)
The Chosen, by Chaim Potok (Historical Fiction--America)
In The Chosen, Reuven Malter is a Jewish boy living in Brooklyn during World War II, during a time when Hasidim steered completely away from non-Hasids, and the other way round. The story begins when, in a baseball game against a Hasidic team, Reuven is hit in the eye with a ball and hospitalized. When the boy who hit the ball, Danny Saunders, comes to visit him, it is the start of a most unlikely friendship. Danny, as Reuven soon realizes, is an avid reader. He has decided that he wants to be a psychologist, but, as his father is the tzaddik of a large Hasidic community, he has to take over as tzaddik from his father. He is doing a lot of reading on the human brain, including—in fact, especially—Freud. However, his father does not like Danny reading, but when he finds out, surprisingly, Brooklyn remains in one piece. In fact, there is only a very small explosion—not even big enough to destroy the house! Danny and Reuven remain close friends through college, where brawls rise between the Hasidim and the other Jews about Zionism. Reuven is one of the leaders of the pro-Zionist group, and although Danny would also like to be part of that group, many of the Hasidic students who are anti-Zionist look to Danny as their leader. This would not have been so bad, except that Reb Saunders, Danny’s father, is strongly anti-Zionist, and refuses to let his son be friends with a pro-Zionist boy. After Israel has become a state, Danny and Reuven are permitted to resume their friendship, but if I say any more, I will end up revealing the end of the book, so I will stop here. I liked this book a lot. The only reason I did not give it five stars was that there was not enough going on between when Danny and Reuven were teenagers to when they were in college.
By Avi Z.
Dave at Night, Gail Carson Levine (Historical Fiction--America)
Dave at Night is a book about a boy named Dave who was sent to live in the Hebrew Home for Boys (HHB) in New York, in the 1920s. He was sent there because his father had passed away and his step-mother did not want him. Dave’s older brother, Gideon, was sent to his cousin’s house instead of the HHB. His cousins did not want Dave because he was a trouble-maker. Dave’s life at the HHB was hard because of the bullies, the prefixes and the many rules. (The prefixes are the guards or counselors.) Dave tried to make the best of his life at the HHB but Mr. Bloom, the principal, was mean to all of the kids. Things that were good for Dave at the HHB were his buddies called the Elevens. Some of the Elevens were Eli, Harvey, Fred, Jeff, Danny, Alfie, Dave and Mike. They were good guys who all watched after each other. They were like brothers. Even though Dave had friends inside the HHB he still tried to escape by going out into the city. Once he left the HHB and he met a man named Solly, who thought that Dave was his grandson. Solly took Dave to a rent party in Harlem, where there was a lot of dancing and food and poor Black people were trying to raise enough money to pay their rent. At the party, Dave met Mrs. Packer and Irma Lee. They were very kind and nice to Dave and he became very good friends with them. Dave had a very tough life. When you read the book you always wonder if he will survive. There are many challenges that make the life of an orphan hard. In general, the book moves quickly as Dave works in and out of trouble. It would be a miracle if he could survive. I really liked the book Dave at Night. I thought it was interesting and I loved the ending. My favorite characters were Dave and the Elevens. I liked them because they always tricked the bullies and the mean prefix. I also thought that the description of the orphanage made it feel like you were actually in the building. The HHB was a bad, scary and cruel place for boys. They never had enough food, it was cold and the prefixes were mean. I really wanted Dave to not get caught doing something secret. Overall, I would recommend this book to my friends.
By Max F.
Dragon, By Jeff Stone (Historical Fiction--China)
This book is the last in the series of The Five Ancestors that takes place in China in the 1600s. It is about a 13-year-old named Long, which means Dragon. He is one of the five surviving monks of the destruction of his temple. His other temple brothers are Hok, Malao, Seh, and Fo. There was also Ying who was a temple brother, too. This book is about the bandits, Western Warlord’s army, and the temple brothers planning an attack on the evil Tonglong. There are many interesting things going on such as Long going to tell the Western Warlord the plan of the bandits to join up together to fight Tonglong and his huge army. Another thing is the actual fight. And the most important part is how the series ends. There is a lot of action, war, and cool things in this book. This story and series are amazing and I would give it a 5 out of 5.By Sam E.
Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson (Historical Fiction--America)
Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is a historical fiction novel that takes place in Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic. The main character, Matilda Cook, and her family are running a coffeehouse at the beginning of the book. However, her friend dies suddenly of an illness. Doctors say that yellow fever is spreading, but few people believe them. Then Matilda’s mother gets the fever, so Matilda and her grandfather leave for the country where there is no fever. Later, when they return, they are attacked by robbers and Grandfather dies. Matilda has to live on own. She learns how to find food and take care of herself. Then she finds her friend Eliza, who takes her in. They join a community that helps fever victims. I enjoyed the book very much because it is exciting and you can learn a lot about how people lived in the late 1700s in Philadelphia.
By Charles S.
The Fighting Ground, by Avi (Historical Fiction--America)
The Fighting Ground takes place over two days, April 3 and 4, 1778, during the Revolutionary War. It is set in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A lot of the action takes place in an abandoned house in the middle of the woods. The main character is Jonathan, a thirteen-year-old boy. In the beginning of the book, Jonathan really wanted to be a soldier, but his father didn’t want him to fight at a young age because the father had gotten shot in the leg and was afraid that Jonathan might get hurt or die. Jonathan also had an older brother who was a soldier serving with General Washington in Pennsylvania. Jonathan wants to fight in the war. He secretly joins the fight against the Hessian soldiers, who were fighting for the British during the Revolutionary War. During his first battle, he is frightened and runs away into the woods. Then Jonathan is captured by the Hessians. His experience is the main part of the book, and I don’t want to give too much away. I would give the book four stars. I liked it because it was very suspenseful and I thought the Revolutionary War was a cool subject to read about. I liked that the Hessian soldiers talked only in German and Jonathan couldn’t understand them, but I could because there was a translation in the back of the book. The writer wrote a lot of detail and I could picture it very well in my mind.
By Ari N.
Give Me Liberty, by L.M. Elliot (Historical Fiction--America)
The focus of the Revolutionary War is usually what happened to the Continental Army in the north led by George Washington. But there is a lot happening down south in Virginia, whose army is led by the silver-tongued Patrick Henry. This novel is about an indentured servant who lives in Williamsburg, Virginia at this historic period of time. The story take place in Williamsburg, Virginia, in the mid-1700s when the colonies were welcoming the thought of liberty. Nathanial was an indentured servant who had lost his parents. In the beginning of the story, Nat is being auctioned off by an Auctioneer to a horrible blacksmith. An old schoolteacher named Basil saves Nat by naming a higher price. However, Nat still has to work for a mean old carriage maker named Eden, whom Basil lives with. Eden thinks that the best way to get along with everybody is to be neutral in the uprising about liberty but that backfires on him. He and his family get poorer and poorer. Eden’s other indentured servant, Ben, really wants glory. He thinks the best way to achieve that is by going to war making him a patriot. Ben is always getting into trouble, but something even worse is coming for him. Eden wants nothing to do with liberty yet Ben is rather convincing. War is coming soon, Nat can sense it. What is he going to do?! Give Me Liberty has an amazing plot and true history facts. Therefore on a scale of one to five, I would give this novel four.
By Ariel K.
Jonny Tremain, by Esther Forbes (Historical Fiction--America)
Johnny Tremain is an enticing story set in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War, when the colonies fought the British for their liberty. The plot follows the life of a boy named Johnny (Jonathan), a silversmith’s apprentice, who has to give up his trade due to a crippled hand. He becomes a rider for a “Rebel” newspaper. There he meets a boy named Rab, who is the printer’s apprentice and becomes Johnny’s best friend. Rab then leaves to fight. The paper secretly held meetings for the Sons of Liberty. A local group of patriots consisting of historical figures, such as John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams, were all members of the Sons of Liberty. Fictional main characters include Priscilla Lapham, also known as “Cilla”, who is Johnny’s loved one who likes him back. She is the daughter of Mr. Lapham, his mentor. Dove is the reason Johnny’s hand is crippled, and he is also an apprentice to Mr. Lapham. Merchant Jonathan Lyte is unknowingly Johnny’s great uncle who frames him as a crook! I thought the book really described the tension between the colonists and the British. Overall, it was a great historical fiction novel that easily makes five stars.
By David T.
Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes (Historical Fiction--America)
Johnny Tremain was a silversmith’s apprentice who lived in the 1770’s in Boston. After being injured while making a sugar basin, Johnny was unable to become a silversmith. He had been living with Priscilla and Isannah Lapham and their family, but he had to leave when he couldn’t work as a silversmith. He moved in with his friend Rab, and worked for the Boston Observer.
Once a week, a club met in the attic of the Boston Observer printing shop. They were called the Boston Observers and members of the club included John Adams, Samuel Adams, Dr. Warren and more founding fathers of our country.
Johnny discovered that he was related to a famous merchant named Jonathan Lyte. Johnny went to Mr. Lyte and told him that he thought they were related, but Mr. Lyte thought Johnny was an imposter and had him arrested. After Johnny was proven innocent in court, the Revolutionary War was about to begin. There were British soldiers all over Boston and Johnny became the messenger for the Boston Observer club. He had to go all over Boston, sneak past British soldiers and give the news very quietly to the patriots.
Rating: 5 stars. Johnny Tremain is an interesting story that people of all ages can enjoy. It also gave me a good idea of what it must have been like to live in Boston in the 1770s.
By Zachary S.
Letter From Rifka, Karen Hess (Historical Fiction--America)
In 1919, Rifka and her family are in Russia trying to get to America. In her family she has Mama, Papa, and brothers Nathan and Saul. Rifka is 12 years old. She travels to six different places to get to America with lots of obstacles in her way.
A couple Russian soldiers stop Rifka while she and her family are waiting to leave for America. Everyone else in her family hides so the soldiers don’t capture them too. The rest of her family is on its way to America while Rifka is going somewhere apart from her family. After she gets separated she gets a disease on her head. All of her hair falls out. Rifka gets treated for her disease but now she is bald. Even if she makes it to America, the Americans might not allow her in because of her bald head.
I would give Letters From Rifka 5 stars because this book was really good, it has so many adventures in it and it is never really that boring. Toward the end I couldn’t put the book down. Although I don’t enjoy reading that much this one was one of the best books I have ever read.
By: Annie B.
My Guardian Angel, by Sylvie Weil (Historical Fiction--France)
Elvina is the twelve year old granddaughter of Rashi. She is twelve years old and loves to write. Rachel and Naomi are two of Elvina's cousins, and Gauthier is a Crusader that doesn't like to fight. The time period of the story is in the Spring of 1096 CE. My Guardian Angel takes place in Troyes, France, where there were about 4,000 people of which about 400 of them were Jews. The story is about Elvina trying to become more mature by not making any more foolish mistakes. Elvina always wanted to do things that only boys normally did, like reading, writing, carpentry, masonry, and helping her grandfather work. She always got scolded for messing up things that she had no interest in doing, like raising chicken eggs, then breaking them while waiting for them to hatch. Three Crusaders come to Elvina's house, and one is wounded. Could this be a good way for Elvina to prove that she is more mature by making the right choice, running and hiding or helping the wounded Crusader?
I give My Guardian Angel three out of five stars because it was sometimes boring and hard to finish. But the book was also interesting sometimes because of its plot. I think this book could use more action and details about people other than Elvina.
By Dina.B
Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse (227 pages) (Realistic Fiction and Historical Fiction--America)
Out of the Dust is a book about a girl named Billie Joe. She lives in Oklahoma during The Great Depression. Her dad is a wheat farmer and is having a really hard time growing wheat because of all of the dust storms that have been happening. To make matters worse, there is a terrible accident that causes Billie Joe to lose her mother and her newborn baby brother. In addition, her hands become terribly injured so she can’t play the piano which she loves to do; but even though it hurts her terribly to play she still does it because it reminds her of her mother. I thought this book was OK. It wasn’t the best but I would read it again. On a scale of one to five, I would rate it a three because it was good but not great.
By Ruthie S.
Reincarnation, by Suzanne Weyn (Historical Fiction--many locations)
This book doesn’t take place in just one time period and in one place, it goes through history! It starts out during the time of cavemen when two people from different tribes meet. They start to fight over a green stone and it leads to their death. Afterwards they are reborn again in Egypt as slave and house singer. When they lay eyes on each other they instantly recognize the other person. They fall in love but something happens and they are broken apart. This continues throughout history and through their other lives, and sometimes they bring things with them from past lives. It could be a talent, or an injury. But they always bring two things with them to every new life: One is the love they have for each other when they meet, and the other is a mysterious green stone that appears in different forms almost every time. I would give this book a four-and-a-half because I thought it had an interesting story line and it keeps the reader interested, but sometimes it can be a little confusing.
Nita R.When Will This Cruel War Be Over? By Barry Denenberg (Historical Fiction--America)
In the book When Will This Cruel War be Over? Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, there are a few main characters, although there are a lot of sub-main characters. The book is about Emma Simpson who lives during the Civil War in 1864, on the south side in Gordonsville, Virginia. Emma is a girl who loves to read and hates the war. Her mother always tells her to believe in the Lord and she tries to, but it is really hard when bad things happen. The thing that Emma misses most from before the war is having visitors come and celebrating Christmas. Before the war starts, she falls in love with a boy named Tally when she goes to visit her Aunt Caroline and Cousin Rachel in Richmond. She and Tally write letters to each other during the war. Tally is different from other boys because he cares about her opinions and isn’t afraid to tell people that he likes to read. When Emma’s mother gets ill, Aunt Caroline and Cousin Rachel with baby Elizabeth come and stay with them. The Negros Iris and Amos stay loyal to Caroline’s family when some Negros don’t stay loyal and go off to the north. I would rate this book with 4 stars It is good but it is also sad at parts. It was really scary when the Yankees came to Gordonsville. It was really good because you could feel Caroline’s emotions like you were really there. It was a great way to learn what really went on in the war and there were funny and romantic parts too. By: Tali G.