Tag: historical

seal of the State of Washington
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Middle Grade Books Set in States Where I’ve Lived

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Inspired by this list “50 States Reading Road Trip (Middle Grade Books Set in the USA)” posted on May 21st, I decided to share some middle grade books I’ve recommended (or read) set in my different states as well. Some may be on the above list–others are not. Some are more recent and others are older, but still good!

These states are in order of when I lived there:

OREGON (born and raised)

The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry

Roller Girl (a graphic novel) by Victoria Jamieson

A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry

WASHINGTON (I’ve moved here three times! It’s the state I’ve lived in the longest.)

The Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson

I Can Make this Promise by Christine Day

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm

A Whale of the Wild by Rosanne Parry

COLORADO (lived here less than 3 years)

Alone by Megan E. Freeman

Away by Megan E. Freeman

Linked by Gordon Korman

NEW JERSEY (lived here less than one year!)

The Hike to Home by Jess Rinker

WASHINGTON (again)

KANSAS (lived here just over 8 years)

Airball, My Life in Briefs by L.D. Harkrader

Crossing the Tracks by Barb Stuber

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose

Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool

out of patience by Brian Meehl

Savvy by Ingrid Law

WASHINGTON (again)

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 Westfallen
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Westfallen

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Westfallen (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024) by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares is not quite time travel, perhaps time communication, but in the same exact place.

79 years apart, six kids meet via an old radio. The 2023 kids (Henry, Frances, and Lukas) unwittingly tell the 1944 kids (Alice, Artie, and Lawrence) some things that change the past and their future–today is not the American the modern three know, but now a country called Westfallen. With men in uniforms with swastika armbands. The six have to work together to change the past and present. But they destroyed the radio…

This is the first book in a planned trilogy of alternate history.

Ann is the bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, plus others. Read more about her books here, and about her here.

Ben, her brother, also has other books–check them out here. Read about him 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.