Tag: historical middle grade

cover of War Games
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

War Games

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

War Games (Scholastic Press, 2025) by Alan Gratz is more fictional than his usual historicals, but it is good nevertheless.

Thirteen-year-old gymnast Evie is in Berlin for the 1936 Olympic games and is determined to bring home a gold medal to help her displaced “Okie” family. But a mysterious note to help her “take home the gold” and tell no one, leads her on an adventure where she experiences what Hitler doesn’t want the Olympians to see.

Make sure you read the author’s note at the end.

Check out the bestselling author here and discover his other novels here. Alan also writes graphic novels and short fiction.

My previous recommendations of books by Alan include: Ban this Book and Allies.

cover of Not Lucile
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Not Lucille

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

It took me a bit to get into Not Lucille (Creative James Media, 2025) by Mike Steele, but I was glad I persisted with this historical novel from the 1930s. Lucy is such a sympathetic character.

Ten-year-old Lucy Contento’s fifth grade year is not going well. She talks too much. She doesn’t pay attention. And she can’t write with her left hand. Plus, her teacher hates her. But her new friend Florence, who’s deaf, is the best–even if she does encourage Lucy to write right handed. Just if Lucy didn’t have to be disobeying her parents by trespassing and lying to spend time with Florence.

I love how Lucy is learning sign language so she and Florence can talk easier. What she wants most is an American Sign Language dictionary, but with Dad out of work, money’s another problem.

The inside look into history before people understood how different brains work and that left-handedness was wrong is such a good topic.

I also really enjoyed the back matter. I had no clue how long it was before an ASL dictionary was created. (Life for Florence reminded me of the experiences of the son in the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus.)

Read about the author here.

cover of book Half-Truths
Posted in #Giveaway, MG Novels, So Many Good Books, YA Novels

Half-Truths

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Half-Truths (Monarch Books, Monarch Educational Services, 2025) by Carol Baldwin was soooo good!

It’s the early 1950s and 15-year-old Kate Dinsmore wants more than anything to be a journalist. Maybe she can be brave like Horace Carter, the local newspaper editor, and report on the dreadful happenings in her community, like the KKK.

But there’s no way her tobacco-farming family can afford college. Besides her relatives believe women only leave home to get married.

But what if she went to live with her father’s wealthy parents in Charlotte? Might they pay for her schooling? But will a country girl fit in with the city debutantes? And how will she deal with the family secret she discovers?

This is Carol’s debut novel. The publisher has labeled the book Young Adult but mature middle grade readers would enjoy the story as well. Note: Historical language – The terms colored and Negro are used within the story to maintain historical accuracy.

The book is available for preorder on Barnes and Noble. You may watch the book trailer here. Carol is offering a free paperback copy of the book to one of my readers. Comment below by April 15th to be eligible. (Make sure you fill our your email address, so I can contact you.)

Read more about the author here. Read what motivated Carol to write the story here. In the back of the book, Carol lists all the resources she used when creating this historical fiction world.

#giveaway

cover of Stay, Girl, shows a beagle running to a girl
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Stay, Girl

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Stay, Girl (Crow & Pitcher Press, 2024) by Angelica R. Jackson was a compelling read.

It’s 1953 in Sacramento, CA and 13-year-old Bet’s dying mother makes her promise to go to her Uncle Earl. The moment Mom dies, Bet packs up a few things and steals hidden money from her crooked stepfather, and is on the run. She plans to only stay a few days with her uncle and then go on to Oregon, but a small injured dog needs some care, so Bet decides to stick around a bit longer.

I enjoyed the details of small town life in this story and was rooting for Bet to have a real home in Amberfields, CA. And, of course, the dogs were fun.

Besides being a writer, Angelica has also rescued some dogs, which you can read about here. Read about the author here and see her other novels here.

cover of Light-and-Air
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Light and Air

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Light and Air (Holiday House, 2024) by Mindy Nichols Wendell is fascinating historical novel from 1935 about a disease we don’t worry about much–tuberculosis.

First, Halle’s mother comes down with TB and even though Halle doesn’t have it, classmates are shunning her. When she gets it too, she joins her mother at J. N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital in upstate New York–although they are in separate buildings and can’t see each other. There Halle makes friends and risks sneaking out to see her mother. But when her mother has a lung hemorrhage, could it be Halle’s fault?

This book is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and is the author’s debut novel.

Read about Mindy here. And here’s a link to the inspiration for the book.