Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth, by Ilene Cooper | Booklist Online

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Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth, by Ilene Cooper | Booklist Online.

Historical fiction is a favorite genre at our house. Here are some new ones for young adults; and for those of you are young at heart.

jump into the skyThe link above will give you a short synopsis of each book. There are books from many different time periods, including: Victorian England, WWII, N.C. shortly after WWII, New York City in the 1920’s, and British occupied NY City in 1776.

I haven’t read any of these yet, but will be looking for them. Let me know if you find a new favorite!
keeping the castleDodgersophia's war

Look What I Won!

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I received an email a few months ago telling me I had won second place in a contest. Okay, I didn’t win the trip to Italy, but I did win a gift basket with food from Italy, but even better–a signed copy of Susan Meissner’s The Girl in the Glass. Due to an unintentional delay of receiving my prize, I was also sent some extra books. New releases from WaterBrook Press. Special thanks to Amy Haddock & WaterBrook Press!

prize winner! 052

prize winner! 048

God Cares

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saturn-mosaic_1187_600x450

“If He is able to place the stars in their sockets & suspend the sky like a curtain, do you think it is remotely possible that God is able to guide your life? If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light your path? If He cares enough about the planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside chance that He cares enough about you to meet your needs?”

great house of Godfrom: The Great House of God Max Lucado

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser

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thesweetestthingThe Sweetest Thing is the story of two girls who attend an exclusive all girls school in Atlanta during the Great Depression. Perri has led a charmed life until her father loses his fortune & takes his life. Perri feels the responsibility of helping her family; not only to overcome their grief, but also to help them keep their social status.

Dobbs moves down from Chicago to live with her aunt and to attend the school her parents could never afford on their own. Her family is one of faith, and she is eager to share with the girls in her new school about the miracles of God and how He can be trusted to help them through everything.

Despite the skepticism from their other classmates who really don’t feel that Dobbs can fit in with their social group, and even their own differences, the two girls feel an immediate bond and become friends. But, friendship, as much as any other part of life, is not easy. Secrets, jealousy, and betrayal have to be overcome if their friendship is to endure.

Elizabeth Musser is a missionary in France who has written several novels, one of which I reviewed back in July. From her website: “When we moved my dear grandmother, Allene Massey Goldsmith, Washington Seminary, ’32, from her apartment to a full-care floor at Canterbury Court, my parents found Grandmom’s diaries from 1928-1932. I was, of course, eager to take a look. The diaries sealed the fate of my next novel: I’d write about 1930’s Atlanta and specifically the life of two girls attending Washington Seminary.” www.elizabethmusser.com

I enjoyed reading The Sweetest Thing. Reading about  the lives of Perri and Dobbs and their friendship and what life was like in Atlanta during the 1930’s was enjoyable on its own, but knowing Musser was also writing of her grandmother made the book all the more special and, yes, sweeter.

Finding Casey by Jo-Ann Mapson

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finding caseyI enjoyed reading Finding Casey. That’s probably one of the best things I can say about a book.

Though it can be read alone, Finding Casey  follows the lives of the  characters from Mapson’s Solomon’s Oak. This is a story about bad things happening to people & how family can let you down. It’s also about family being there for you, finding love in unexpected places, and the bond of sisters. The characters in this book are ones I enjoyed spending time with & was sorry to see them go.

C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy–ebook sale

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“There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there is never more than one.”  from: That Hideous Strength

space trilogyI have read C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy several times and am always amazed at the wisdom and insight he was able to put into these books. I wrote about the first–Out of the Silent Planet–about a year ago. I am getting ready to read it again with my 17 year old son as part of his assignment for literature. I had checked the price several weeks ago for an ebook, but didn’t want to pay what the cost was at that time. Happy to report that Harper One is having a holiday sale where each of the three books can be had for $1.99. If you have not read these books, this is a good time to get them on your ereader.

Perelandra, the second book in the series, has Ransom being sent on a mission to the planet, Perelandra. He does not know what his mission is until he gets there. He soon finds that this is a new world which has not yet fallen to the sin of mankind and earth, but that the Tempter is there already making plans. Ransom understands these plans, knowing the history  of his own world, but how can he convince the first lady of Perelandra that he wants to help and that Weston (remember the scientist in Out of the Silent Planet?) is bent for evil?  bbc7perelandra500

That Hideous Strength was published in 1945. Most futuristic books published so long ago would seem to be out of date, but this book fits in nicely with today’s popular dystopian books. It is much longer than the first two books and very different. The first time I read it, back in my college days, I felt a bit confused for the first 100 pages or so. Then things began to click and I was mesmerized and, as usual with any book by Lewis, amazed at his insight into man and into spiritual warfare.

Even if you don’t normally read science fiction, take a chance on any of these books and you will not be disappointed. I’m not sure exactly when this sale will end, but probably in less than a week, so pass on the news to any of your reading friends; especially those who may have gotten a new ereader for Christmas.

“Those who are enjoying something, or suffering something, together, are companions. Those who enjoy or suffer one another, are not.” That Hideous Strength

A Blessing for the New Baby by Luci Shaw

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Lightly as a falling star, immense, may you

drop into the body of the pure young girl like a seed

into its furrow, entering your narrow home under the shadow

of Gabriel’s feathers. May your flesh shape itself within her,

swelling her with shame and glory. May her belly growincarnatino-banner

round as a small planet, a bowl of golden fruit.

When you suck in your first breath, and your loud cries

echo through the cave (Blessings on you, little howler!),

may Mary adorn you with tears and caresses like ribbons,

her face glowing, a moon among stars. At her breasts

may you drink the milk of mortality that transforms you,

even more, into one of your own creatures.

baby Jesus
its brutal frost (the barnyard smell strong as sin),And now, as the night of this world folds you in

and as Joseph, weary with unwelcome and relief, his hands

bloody from your birth, spreads his thin cloak

around you both, we doubly bless you, Baby,

as you are acquainted, for the first time, with our grief.