Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Flying Through Clouds (independently published 2017) by Michelle Morgan was a really good historical read. Though technically a YA book, I think many middle graders will enjoy it.
Set in Australia in the 1930s, Joe wants to be an aviator, but his parents are against it. And there’s trouble with the bookkeeping business his father runs, which Joe helps with but doesn’t get paid much. If only he can save up enough money for flying lessons.
I loved the character’s voice. Read the opening lines: “The house is quiet – too quiet. I close the front door carefully, trying not to make any noise. It’s not so much that I’m late, as I shouldn’t have gone out in the first place.” How could one not read on?
In an interview Michelle said, “Flying through Clouds was inspired by two historical events – the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in March 1932, and the landing and take-off of Southern Cross by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith on Seven Mile Beach in January 1933.” Both of these events are mentioned in the story. Read more of the interview here.
This book is a Winner of the 2017 SCBWI Spark Award for Older Readers.
I’m disappointed the writer hasn’t published any books since, but it looks like she’s too busy with her songwriting and singing with her husband. Read about her here.
The Lost Girl of Astor Street (Blink, 2017) by Stephanie Morrill was a hard to put down historical mystery with a very likable tough female main character. I enjoyed the book a lot.
The Passion of Dolssa (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2016) by Julie Berry is a historical novel that shows a time of extreme prejudice for those who don’t believe the same way as a another group–and the latter are in power. In this case it’s the Catholic church inquisitors going after men and women who may have merely talked about the love of Jesus. This story is told in multiple viewpoints and was fascinating. I grieved for Dolssa, for Botille and her family, and even somewhat for some of Dolssa’s hunters. At some points it may be a difficult read, but it’s definitely worth persisting.
In 1896 Clara Estby and her mother left Washington state to walk all the way to New York City to save the family farm. The two women would write up their experiences and a publisher in New York would pay them and publish the story. The two fight illness, weather, ruffians, terrain, and dangers along the way. But will they meet their deadline and get paid?