Library Book Review: Prisoners of the Palace by Michaela MacColl

As is sometimes the case, actual history can contain more in the way of suspense, romance, unbelievable circumstances than can fiction. For me, this was the case with Prisoners of the Palace. I actually know quite a bit about the history behind this historical fiction novel, but was kept enraptured and flipping pages to find out what happened. It was just so riveting and engrossing that I had to see how it all came together (even though I knew how it would all come together)!

Prisoners of the Palace is the story of how the teenaged Princess Victoria came to be the longest ruling queen of Great Britain. Queen Victoria's story has always intrigued me, but I have not felt so connected to her as I do after reading this book. Perhaps this is a result of the style of this novel and the focus on a wide variety of characters, most of whom are average citizens of this time period (the 1830's). In fact, the main character is not Victoria herself, but her personal maid, Eliza.

Eliza has a sad story that seems all too common for the time period. She was fairly well-to-do until her parents died, leaving her in huge debt. As a woman, she was trained in lots of areas that were not at all practical. By the time that the job at Kensington Palace appears, Eliza is completely destitute. After begging for the position, she soon finds out that life for the royalty is not as blissful and uncomplicated as she had previously thought.

And there is scandal. And suspense. And violence. And romance. Lots of all of it.

But best of all, I love reading and learning about history and realizing that not all that much has changed. The public is still fascinated but critical and judgmental of those with power and prestige, and those with power and prestige are often unaware (or uncaring) of the sufferings of every day people. And sometimes, there are people who are lucky enough to be a part of both worlds, like Eliza. And it's fun when they gossip about the inner workings of royalty!

**This book was checked out to me by the lovely and unassuming ladies 

at the Mt Blue High School Library--Thanks!**

Book Review: Vixen by Jillian Larkin

Chicago in the 1920s. Two teen girls desperately want to be the flappers they see in the silent films and read about in their gossip rags. And, one who wants nothing more than to escape the seedy underworld of speakeasies and underworld excess.

Gloria and Lorraine have always had it good. They attend private school, have their every need and want taken care of by their rich parents. They have maids, chauffeurs, and clothes. But, they don't have want they want most--The glam look sported by the local flappers. They want to bob their hair and wear daring clothes, ones that will get them in the illegal restaurants and bars that play jazz music and serve alcohol.

When Gloria's cousin Clara moves to Chicago from her family farm in Pennsylvania, her wants and desires have nothing to do with dancing, fashion, and booze. Unbeknown to Gloria, Clara wants to recover from her year in Mew York City, where she ran to from the farm and is now trying to escape. Exactly what happened in NYC is not clear until late in the book, but we know it's bad. Bad enough for her to want to hang up her dancing shoes and put away her flask forever.

And there are boys and men. Lots of them. It seems that they are all dashing and handsome and want something from these girls. Of course, their motives can't be trusted. But, in this time where everything's illegal (or at least frowned upon), these three girls quickly find themselves going to places they've never been and won't soon forget. Once they enter this dangerous and magical world, their lives will change forever.

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What a fast, fun read that was! This novel is the first in a new series about the 1920s. It seems like the series will follow the three girls I spoke about in my summary. Which is awesome. Because I want answers! This book has it all--Romance, action, time-period lingo, warring generations, illegal everything. I loved it and could not put it down. 

I don't know how necessaryily accurate every little detail of this book was, but I didn't care. It made me long to find a jazz bar and dance the night away. I felt entriely swept away by this story and could not put it down. Even though it was a little over 400 pages, I read it in the space of a few hours. It is light and fun and flirty. I can't wait for the second book, Ingenue, which is set to be released this fall.

**Counts toward the YA Historical Fiction Reading Challenge from YA Bliss**

The YA Historical Fiction Challenge: Sign-Up Post

For the past month or so, I have been resisting the urge to sign up for this challenge. Why? I don't know why exactly, but I think it had something to do with the fact that I've already signed up for a half dozen challenges and don't want to over-commit myself. But then, I was thinking more about it (and I spent all day reading an awesome HF novel) and decided to go ahead and sign up.

I don't read a ton of historical fiction YA, but I love it whenever I do. Books like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, and Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys are some of my favorite reads. So, I am hereby committing myself to reading 15 YA historical fiction titles this year. Off to finish title #1!


I know a bunch of you have already signed up, but if you're still interested/ want more info then check out the YA Bliss site.

Book Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

I picked this book up in my mailbox early this evening. It's cold here in Western Maine, so I came home and started a fire in our wood stove. Three hours later, with the fire blazing, I emerged from this book. It was an incredible journey.

I've read about Russian Gulags and about political prisoners sent to Siberia to suffer, work, and die. I did not know about the Lithuanian teachers, librarians, politicians, doctors, lawyers, and military who were sent with their families thousands and thousands of miles into Russia to die horrific deaths. Even as America was allied with Russia against the Axis powers, Stalin was torturing and killing millions--some estimates say that he killed 20 million people. Insanity.

This book tells the story of one such Lithuanian family who is deported into Russia, along with thousands of others from their town. Stuffed into cattle cars, deprived of food and water, many died along the way. Their destination--A forced labor camp, where those who hope to survive are forced to sign papers admitting that they are criminals and accepting a 25 year prison sentence.

In the mist of this chaos and suffering are sixteen year-old Lina and what's left of her family. Her father has been separated from his wife and two children, but Lina and her mother and brother have hope that he is still alive. Lina is a talented artist and writer who documents all that she sees in the forced labor camp, including the abuses from the Russian guards and the small joys of life.

Because, amongst all of the heartache and trauma, there are little moments of happiness. Lina meet a handsome young man named Andrius who helps her to secure extra rations for her family. Friendships are formed, holidays and birthdays are celebrated, life is lived. It is so very moving to read this story and find that the will to survive triumphed in enough people so that stories like this one made it back into the world. We all have a lot to learn and admire from people like these.

This piece of historical fiction has my interest piqued. I am going to search out more information on this topic and will hopefully come across more stories like it. This is going to be a great addition to my collection of human rights YA lit and WWII YA lit in my classroom. It's readable and thought-provoking and it sheds light on an area of history that I have not read much about. A must-have for any high school classroom and classroom library.

**Review Copy Obtained through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program**

Hardcover Edition Available in March, 2011

Book Review: Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Every school year, I teach Elie Wiesel's memoir Night. Every year, it's difficult to read about his horrific experiences as a Jew living in Hilter's Europe. It's not a pleasant experience, but I keep teaching this book because of the affect it has on my students. They are almost always moved and inspired. It is with this in mind that I have decided to create a stockpile of Holocaust and WWI-era YA lit in my classroom. One of the books I purchased with my budget this year is Sharon Dogar's Annexed.

Annexed is the fictional account of Peter van Pels's experience of hiding from the Nazis with Anne Franks and their families. For two years, he and his mother and father, Anne with her mother, father, and sister, and a Jewish doctor lived in a cramped attic above Otto Frank's warehouse. Even though they took all precautions available to them, they were found out and sent to concentration camps. Of the eight hideaways, only Otto Frank, Anne's father, survived.

Anne Frank's diary survived the war, so her voice is the one that colors our understandings of what it was like to spend two years locked in an attic while fearing for your life, your family, and the hundreds of people you used to know. Annexed adds Peter's unique perspective to this mix, and goes beyond the time that Anne's voice stops. He takes us on the train after the group is caught, into the concentration camp, and on the death march that killed him.

This colorful imagining of historical events has some upset, but I find it fascinating. I know that it is painful for me to revisit Wiesel's story every year with my sophomores. I cannot imagine the strength and courage that it took to write this novel. While Dogar's imaginings may be completely off-base from the actual thoughts, feelings, and experiences of Peter van Pels, it is important to allow authors to create voices for those who are voiceless. I cannot imagine that Peter would have been angry that an author in the 21st century cared enough about his life to write a book that would go on to raise awareness about the Holocaust.

This book, and other historical fictions that have yet to be written, are inspirational and cautionary all at the same time. Our new and future generations of readers and activists need voices like Peter's to urge them to action so that the horrors that were every day in the 1930's and 40's never happen again.

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To all veterans, past and present: Thank you for your service and your commitment to protecting our country and the people of the world. You are the true unsung heroes of our nation.

Book To Book (5)

Book 2 Book is an idea that I had based on some conversations with fellow educators. Most English teachers that I've talked to do not participate in the YA blogging world and some are not readers of YA to the (crazy) extent that I am. Because they are not as interested or well-versed in this world as some of the bloggers I've met in my travels around the blogosphere, they might not know about the abundance of great YA available. And, so much YA can be used in the classroom because it connects to the classics that we teach.

My inspiration for this post comes from Sarah MacLean's The Season. The setting for this book is 1815 London. The title refers to the marriage or courting season, which is opening as the book starts. Like several characters in Jane Austen's novels, the main character Alexandra is an eligible beauty who seems to have little to no interest in marriage, at least for herself. She's much more of a free-thinker and would like to become a writer, thinker, or traveler--anything but a dreary old wife.

This leads to my first comparison, which is with Jane Austen's Emma.

This is an easy choice because the girls in the novel talk about Austen's writing and her characters quite a bit. It is interesting that The Season takes place in the very year that Emma was published. I think that the most interesting use of this book bridge would be to use The Season to talk about historical accuracies/ inaccuracies as they exist in the book. Or, it would be a great to use for a student who is not quite able to read Emma, or who loves reading historical fiction of this time period.

The next pairing includes A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf.

To me, this is the most interesting book pair. Though A Room of One's Own was not written until over 100 years after The Season takes place, the freedoms and rights for women that Woolf argues for are similar to the freedoms and rights the girls of The Season crave. It would be interesting to study these texts together as part of a women's studies course or unit. And, A Room of One's Own is rather short and can be made accessible to most readers. So, it would make a solid nonfiction essay to pair with a fresh YA novel.

The Season is not the most accurate historical fiction that I've ever read, but it is extremely engaging and included elements of mystery and romance. The girls are a bit too forward and risque for their day, but this book is not so outrageous that it is rendered useless in an educational sense. I had a lot of fun reading it and hope that it finds its way off of the free reading shelves in my room and into the hands of an interested reader!

Book To Book (4)

This Book 2 Book review is inspired by Jane Eagland's Wildthorn. I received an ARC of this title as part of the Book It Forward ARC tour for this novel. Interested in signing up for an ARC tour? I highly recommend this site!

What is this feature? Book 2 Book is an idea that I had based on some conversations with fellow educators. Most English teachers that I've talked to do not participate in the YA blogging world (and I'm fairly new to it myself). Because they are not as interested or well-versed in this world as some of the bloggers I've met in my travels around the blogosphere, they might not know about the abundance of great YA available. And, so much YA can be used in the classroom.

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As I was reading Wildthorn, which I basically devoured in a few short hours because I could not put it down, I could not help but think of several titles that would pair nicely with this one. So, I am going to choose a few of the titles that came to mind and talk about how each relates to the other. 

Pair Number One: Wildthorn and "The Yellow Wallpaper"

 

 One of the short stories that stands out in my mind as sickeningly sad and real is Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper".  In this short story, a woman suffering from "depression" is locked in one of the rooms of her house by her husband, a doctor. At first, she battles against her confinement, but slowly starts to accept it and no longer wants to leave the room. The reader is not sure as to whether she was actually psychotic upon entering her room, or whether the isolation causes her psychotic breakdown. By the end of the story, the woman is completely unstable and has entered the yellow wallpaper that covers the wall of her small space. 

Wilthorn is about a young girl named Louisa who in tricked into and involuntary admittance in a mental institution. She is admitted to this insane asylum, named Wildthorn, for pursuing her dreams of becoming a doctor and for not conforming to the role set forth for her by Victorian society. Though she has her wits about her when she enters, there are definite lapses in her mental state the longer she is imprisoned in this "hospital".

Both stories are set in Victorian times, though Wildthorn takes place in England and the short story is set in New England. This could be an interesting point for comparison, and could help to create a larger sense of how women were treated in the 19th century by medical professionals and their families.

Pair Number Two: Wildthorn and Girl, Interrupted 

 Even more interesting than the main character's story is the interactions she has with other patients in the mental institution. This aspect, and Louisa's attempts at breaking free, reminded of Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Though the time periods are significantly different, there are some concurrent themes, like sexual abuse of minors, abhorrent medical treatments, and the relationships of the patients and patient/ nurse friendships.

Though Louisa is alone when she enters Wildthorn, there are two friendships that help her to continue to feel like a human and that keep her hoping that she will one day break free of the institution. Eliza is employed on the ward as a sort of low-level nurse. She and Louisa strike up a friendship (and a bit of a romance follows). Also, Louisa befriends an unfortunate girl named Beatrice. These relationships reminded me of those that Kaysen portrays in her book, which is set in America in the 1960's.  

It would be interesting to think about the comarisons and contrasts of mental health care in the late 1800's versus the mid 1900's. Unfortunately, one might find quite a few commonalities.

Pair Number Three: Wildthorn and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

 Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the best books I've ever read. I know that I say this about a lot of books, but this is one of my all-time favorites. It really goes deep into American society and the expectations for "normal" American males living in the 1950's. Certainly, there are a ton of comparisons that can be drawn between the gender roles and expectations from one book to the other. 

But, the most striking relationship between these two texts are the diabolical head nurses in each story.  Reading these two books, I think that I'd expect to meet a devilish, power-hungry, just-plain-crazy nurse. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the infamous head nurse is named Nurse Ratched. She's pure evil. In Wildthorn, she's called Weeks.  Weeks is not quite as horrific as Nurse Ratched, but she's no one to mess with. She makes it clear to Louisa that she controls the institution and Louisa quickly understands that Weeks is not someone to mess with.

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Overall, I enjoyed Wildthorn tremendously. I think that it could easily be used in a classroom, particularly in a Women's Studies or Women's Lit course. We have an English elective course at our school called Women in Society. I just might suggest this title to my colleague who teaches it!

And, thanks again to the Book It Forward ARC Tours site!

On My Wishlist

"On My Wishlist" is a variation on several memes I've seen in the blogosphere. What makes this one different is that I take a screenshot of an item on my actual amazon wishlist every week. Usually, I end up buying the items that I post about after I write about them for this post. All of the thought that goes into these weekly posts makes for an argument that my checking account cannot refute.

This week's pick is a new graphic novel that is going to be part of a series. It's called Resistance: Book One and it was written by Carla Jablonski. I've never read anything by this author, but need to create a list of materials for a course I'm teaching next year. The subject of the course is the Holocaust, and the central text I'm using is The Book Thief. That should keep us busy for some time, but I like to immerse myself in other works while teaching a particular unit of study. Hopefully, this graphic novel will broaden my understanding of the events of the resistance movement in France during WWII.

I'll let you all know what I think after I read it!

In My Mailbox (1)

I've long enjoyed reading posts from others who have contributed to the "In My Mailbox" meme. (See this post from IMM creator The Story Siren for details and suggestions.) I've thought about joining in the fray for some time, and have decided to add my mailbox contents this week.

This was a bit of a light week for books for me, so I guess this is a great time to start. I received two books in my home mailbox (school is another story, but those books are not as fun to talk about!). I woke up on this rainy morning and decided to lug my two books back down to my mailbox and snap a photo for this post. Here are the two books I received this week:

The Season by Sarah MacLean. I won this paperback from Karin the Librarian as part of the Spring Break Reading Challenge. I won for the last activity (#10)(which was funny because I live in snow and ice most of the year, so I guess I should know about winter-inspired reads!) and still got to choose the book I wanted. That was just awesome. Why did I want this title? I love to read a historical fiction title every now and again. And, this kinda had a English high-society meets Gossip Girls feel to it. This is going to be a perfect rainy day read!

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray. I saved up Buzz Bucks (45,000 of them!) from Teens@Random to win a copy of this title. I loved the first book in the Gemma Doyle series, A Great and Terrible Beauty. So, I found the third on this site and now I just need to grab a copy of the second book in this series, Rebel Angels. I love Libba Bray's writing style and her characters. I can't wait to find out what happens to Gemma and Pippa! Another historical fiction read for a rainy day.

So, I'd just like to say that my dog, Shady, is a huge fan of my participation in this meme. He was so excited to get an extra walk this morning. He didn't exactly understand what we were doing at the mailbox, but he was totally supportive. Here he is, waiting for me to catch up to him:

Book Review: The Good Thief

I belong to several book clubs, and each has their own focus or taste. The first book club I ever joined is still going strong with about ten or twelve members. We've been reading and discussing and snacking for about six years now. We read one book a month (sometimes two) and meet year-round.

This month's book club title was one that I suggested. I hardly ever suggest titles because I want to open my reading choices and be exposed to titles, authors, and genres that I might not select for myself. I also want to read a new title every month and feel weird suggesting a title that I've never read. But, I somehow new that The Good Thief was going to be an awesome read and it certainly was.

Actually, it was better than good. It was amazing. I was hooked from the start. I've read some Dickens and loved the sort of underworld adventure that he provides to his readers. The Good Thief is like an American version of Oliver Twist, complete with creepy bad guys, corrupt adults with lots of power, and cute little orphans that you want to scoop up and adopt. And, it's set in New England either at the turn of the century or just before.

Aside from its characters, the writing in this novel is just plain good. There are no parts that I would want to change or add to or take away from. It's pretty perfect just the way it is. I think that adults and young adults would love this book equally. I haven't talked to any of my book club members in advance, but I'm sure that they are going to love this title just as much as I did!

Book Review: Ashes of Roses

Our April title for the Chick Lit Book Club is called Ashes of Roses and it was written by Mary Jane Auch. I have to admit that I was not super excited to read this book at first, but my anticipation grew as Chick after Chick approached me in our school's hallways telling me how much they loved it. So, After reading eight or nine other titles this week, I decided it was high time to get started. (Our meeting is in four days, so my procrastination had to end sometime!)

What I did not see coming is me wanting to read this book in one sitting. There was something about the voice and persona of the main character, Rose. Rose and her family ventured to America from Ireland in the steerage section of a huge ship in the year 1911. Rose is sixteen and has no idea of the conditions waiting for her in New York City.

After part of her family is sent back to Ireland due to contagious disease, Rose works to become a caretaker for herself and her family. She seeks out several jobs, but is only truly successful in landing a job at the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. I don't want to give away the ending of this story, but if you're interested in learning more about the tragedy that occurred in this sweatshop, this is a great site.

Readers who are interested in historical fiction may like this book. I don't know how, but the main character is interesting and dynamic. This is a great book for us Chicks to talk about and I can't wait for the meeting!

Book Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty

I've been a member of Random House's site Teens@Random for a little more than two months. In that time, I've completed a whole host of activities to earn points toward free books. These activities tend to be fun and creative. I truly enjoy participating in them. Once you earn several thousand points, which doesn't take very long, you can use those points to "purchase" books from the Random Store.

One of my most recent acquisitions is Libba Bray's novel A Great and Terrible Beauty. I'd seen this novel and the other two books in the series around for several years, but did not buy it because of the cover. For some reason, the cover did not appeal to me. What I had failed to do was actucally read the description of the book. Far from the romantic historical fiction novel I was expecting, A Great and Terrible Beauty is pure fantasy, complete with witchy characters and other-world mysteries.

This is a great read. It does have a touch of historical ficiton to it, but that history is mostly about the treatment and social expectations of young girls during the late 1800's in England. This historical content only serves to make a more realistic, enjoyable read because you are truly able to understand the confined world in which the main characters live. So, when these girls stumble upon a parallel world where they are as powerful and brave as they choose, it is easy to understand why they feel so liberated and want to stay in that world.

The short chapters and plot twists make for an exciting read, as does the increasing connection between the dead and the living. I was absolutely riveted while reading this book and did not want to put it down. I am happy that I finally decided to give this book a chance and now plan to order the next two books in the series ASAP!