It’s 1950: a mysterious stranger shows up at Marlene Robert’s Canterbury home, turning her teenage world upside down. The exotic ‘Mutti’, a German Jew and Holocaust survivor, is the mother she never knew she had. Years earlier, Mutti had sent the infant Marlene to England for safety but now she wants her daughter – her ‘Lena Levi’ – back. As Marlene finds her whole identity thrown into doubt, can she still trust her English ‘mum’? And can she rely on the charismatic Mutti, a volatile woman … [Read more...] about Being Lena Levi by Bobbie Ann Cole
Benny and the Bank Robber by Mary C. Findley
Ten-year-old Benny found the drunken cart driver who caused his father's death, but he's got bigger mysteries to solve. A long, sharp knife, a bag of disguises and a savage black stallion don't reassure Benny about his traveling companion to frontier Missouri. Still, Benny can’t shake the Scripture’s promise that God “will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Targeted Age Group:: 8-12 What Inspired You to Write Your Book? Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and the Sugar Creek Gang. I wanted … [Read more...] about Benny and the Bank Robber by Mary C. Findley
Buyer’s Guide: NOLA Gals by Barbara J. Rebbeck
Targeted Age Group:: 12-15 Category: YA - Historical Fiction About NOLA Gals: Roaring into the winds, she rants, "Hear me! I am Katrina!" Essence LaFontaine and Grace Woodson don't know each other, but soon Hurricane Katrina will roar into their lives, forcing them together into a different kind of storm--a storm swirling with the winds of bigotry and prejudice. Learning valuable lessons in tolerance from reading the classic, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Essence and her little sister, Chardonnai … [Read more...] about Buyer’s Guide: NOLA Gals by Barbara J. Rebbeck
Risking Exposure by Jeanne Moran
Targeted Age Group:: 12-18 Munich, 1938. Nazi Germany. War is on the horizon. A timid Hitler Youth member contracts polio. Photographs she takes of fellow polio patients are turned into propaganda, mocking people with disabilities. She is now an outsider, a target of Nazi scorn and possible persecution. Her only weapon is her camera. This well-researched historical fiction novel unveils a seldom-seen side of the Nazi agenda. A sequel is in the works. -...you will find yourself thinking of … [Read more...] about Risking Exposure by Jeanne Moran
Featured Book: Dobyns Chronicles by Shirley McLain
About Dobyns Chronicles by Shirley McLain "Dobyns Chronicles is a captivating celebration of the life of Charlie Dobyns. His life began in northeast Texas near Bonham, on the Red River. His Cherokee mother and cowboy father strove to survive on their river valley ranch. Tragedy ended this way of life for Charlie in 1888. Follow him through Chickasaw Territory and on to McAlester in eastern Oklahoma. This is a story of a changing way of life and adaptations made to survive. Charlie's strong … [Read more...] about Featured Book: Dobyns Chronicles by Shirley McLain
White Pine: My Year as Lumberjack and a River Rat by Caroline Akervik
After Sevy Anderson's father breaks his leg in a sawmill accident, the fourteen-year-old must take his place with the rough and tumble lumberjacks and river rats who harvest the white pine forests of Wisconsin. The men of the Northwoods live hard and on the edge, and Sevy must prove his courage and his worth in the company of legends. Will he become the man he so longs to be? Will the other men ever accept him? And will he even survive his first winter in the Northwoods? Targeted Age … [Read more...] about White Pine: My Year as Lumberjack and a River Rat by Caroline Akervik
One Stone Left Unturned by Marianna Heusler @MariannaHeusle1
At midnight on July 16, 1918, Tsar Nicholas Romanov and his family were murdered, thus signifying the end of the Russian empire. Historians believe that a peasant by the name of Rasputin was instrumental in the downfall of the dynasty. Because Nicholas thought that Rasputin could cure their son, Alexis, who was suffering from hemophilia, Rasputin was able to influence the Imperial Family. But what if Rasputin’s power did not come from God as he claimed but from a simple jewel, a tri-colored … [Read more...] about One Stone Left Unturned by Marianna Heusler @MariannaHeusle1
The Party Line by Lora Lindy
Imagine your mind floating back in time and reading about Oklahoma during the summer of 1971—the care free days. Well… almost carefree. Ten year old Gerty prevents that from happening. Every summer, Gerty spends one week with her granny. Seems normal… right? It turns out not to be so normal when this precocious little girl does a naughty thing. Unlike past summers, something different happens in 1971. Gerty's Aunt Bessie gets a telephone party line. Quickly, Gerty learns that she can listen in … [Read more...] about The Party Line by Lora Lindy
The Soldier’s Cross by Abigail J. Hartman
1415 A.D. Fiona’s world is a carefully built castle in the air, made up of the fancies, wishes, and memories of her childhood. It begins to crumble as she watches her brother march away to join in the English invasion of France. It falls to pieces when he is brought home dead. Robbed of the one dearest to her and alone in the world, Fiona turns to her brother’s silver cross in search of the peace he said it would bring. But when she finds it missing, she swears she will have it and sets out on … [Read more...] about The Soldier’s Cross by Abigail J. Hartman
The Shadow Things by Jennifer Freitag @JenniferFreitag
The Legions have left the province of Britain and the Western Roman Empire has dissolved into chaos. With the world plunged into darkness, paganism and superstition are as rampant as ever. In the Down country of southern Britain, young Indi has grown up knowing nothing more than his gods of horses and thunder; so when a man from across the sea comes preaching a single God slain on a cross, Indi must choose between his gods or the one God—and face the consequences of his decision. Targeted Age … [Read more...] about The Shadow Things by Jennifer Freitag @JenniferFreitag
