Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
I loved this historical middle grade novel, The Year We Sailed the Sun (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015) by Theresa Nelson. It’s set in the year 1912 and took me into a unfamiliar world of Catholic orphanages and Irish street gangs in St. Louis.
Eleven-year-old Julia Delaney and her almost fourteen-year-old sister are being sent to The House of Mercy. Their older brother Bill, only fifteen himself, promises it will just be for a short time. Mary’s the good sister, so living with nuns won’t be hard on her. But Julia, that’s quite a different story. And you can tell so from the first sentence of Chapter One: “I suppose I will go to hell for biting the nun.”
That made me laugh. Yet I found Julia a sympathetic character as well. The author was a Winner of the PEN/Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Working Writer Fellowship for this book. It’s also a Junior Library Guild Selection.
The novel is a fascinating blend of fiction mixed with actual history. (Of course, I had to read the Author’s Note at the end to know that.) On the book’s page on Theresa Nelson’s website there are great pictures of the time period, including one of the real Julia who inspired the story.
The author has a number of other books to put on my “to be read” list.
Tag: Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Circus Mirandus
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Circus Mirandus (Dial Books, 2015) by Cassie Beasley is a wonderful story of a grandson’s love for his grandfather and their stories, separately and together, in search for magic. It’s also a story of friendship.
Micah Tuttle’s Grandpa Ephraim, who has raised him, is dying. Great-Aunt Gertrudis is keeping Micah away from her brother. She talks about the “silliness” that Micah doesn’t need “stuffed between his ears,” which references Circus Mirandus. It’s just stories. But Grandpa has told Micah the stories are all true and that the Lightbender owes him a miracle. Micah is sure the miracle will save his grandfather’s life.
This amazing story is the author’s first book. Read more here.
The book has also been published in England. About that version, Cassie Beasley says she’s been “Anglicized.”
Dragon Slippers
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
I love finding new-to-me authors who have multiple book series. Recently I recommended another of Jessica Day George books–this time it is Dragon Slippers (Bloomsbury, 2007). I love the humor in this story, which you’ll see right away in the opening paragraph:
“It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon. Not that she was evil, or didn’t care for me. It’s just that we were very poor, and she was, as we said in those parts, dumber than two turnips in a rain barrel.”
Meet Creelisel Carlbrun whom even a dragon doesn’t want, even if she is a virgin. Read how with embroidery thread Creel seeks her fortune in the king’s city. There are plenty of surprises along the way and a satisfying ending.
My husband enjoyed the book, too.
Remember I said series? The author didn’t intend to write a sequel to this book, but . . . Read here to see why she did. Dragon Flight is the next book. And Dragon Spear is the final book in the trilogy.
Prisoner 88
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Prisoner 88 (Charlesbridge, 2013) by Leah Pileggi is an amazing story of a boy put in prison for murder. This historical novel was inspired by an actual ten-year-old prisoner who was held in the Idaho Territorial Penitentiary.
Ten-year-old Jake Oliver Evans figures he can pretty much take care of himself. He’s not happy about being named Prisoner 88, as if he’s just a number. But when he finds out he’ll get to eat a big meal every single day, he can hardly believe it. He wonders if he’s in heaven, not prison. Of course, a punishment of bread and water soon make that clear. And so does having to learn to read and write.
Leah Pileggi has taken what could be an unsympathetic character and made me care about him. At first, all I knew was that Jake had shot someone, but as I read on what happened is revealed bit by bit until . . . But I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone else.
This book had won a number of awards–read about them on the author’s site.
Tuesdays at the Castle
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Tuesdays at the Castle (Bloomsbury, 2011) by Jessica Day George is the first book in a series about a castle that changes on it’s own. Unwelcome visitors end up in bare rooms that move far away from the throne room and welcome visitors in luxurious rooms that move into desirable locations. Rooms change size, too. And when the King and Queen disappear, the castle helps the Prince and Princesses defend themselves against those who want to take over.
The opening lines (and the cover) show the sense of fun in this book: “Whenever Castle Glower became bored, it would grow a new room or two.” Here’s what the author has to say about how she came to write the book: http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/#/tuesdays-at-the-castle/. It has been published in the UK and in French in Canada.
The sequel, Wednesdays in the Tower, came out in 2013. It also has been published in the UK, in French Canada and in Spain.
In 2014, Thursdays with the Crown came out and finished up where book two left off.
Coming in February 2016 is book four: Fridays with the Wizards! (Cover reveal here.) I need to catch up my reading before then.
All four books were illustrated by David Hohn. See more of his work here.
But, wait! Jessica has more books! See them all on her site.