Tag Archives: Historical Fiction

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

Synopsis: Time travel makes a vicious serial killer unstoppable, but when one of his “shining girls” survives, the paradoxes in her case send her looking in the right direction, even as the killer grows more disorganized and deadly. Review: The Shining Girls is, quite simply, a great crime story with time travel element that probably has Stephen King kicking himself for not thinking of it first. In 1932, Harper has found a house filled with shining objects, and when he steps outside he can will…

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Quintessence by David Walton

Synopsis: In an alternate version of Europe during the pre-Elizabethan years, with the Inquisition raging in Spain, an alchemist and a scientist and a headstrong girl bonded to a magical creature travel to the edge of the world to find quintessence, a substance that can unlock the powers of the universe. Review: Quintessence was great fun, a novel that felt as deeply “researched” as any historical novel, and with a fully realized magical world that kept unfolding until the very last pages. Catherine, the girl…

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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein

Synopsis: When her plane goes down in Nazi occupied France, a teenage Scottish spy known only as Verity has just one chance to write her confession before her captors send her off to a concentration camp. Review: Code Name Verity was the best read I have had all year. No contest. (Well, maybe The Devil in Silver.) I seriously just want everyone to feel how I feel when I think about “FLY THE PLANE MADDIE.” I am about to cry and I might just have…

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Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla

Synopsis: The story of Squanto, the Native American who helped the pilgrims and journeyed to England. Review: I read Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims, aloud to my almost 5-year-old, and I have to say I’m a little obsessed. First of all, I was prepared to stop if it veered into anything offensive, like a noble savage stereotype, and that never happened. All I felt like I needed to explain was that we don’t say “Indian” anymore, we say “Native American.” Bulla does give Squanto a…

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The Casting by Joyce Shor Johnson

Synopsis: In 4th Century Ireland, Robyn yearns to become a bronze caster, but family pressures and outside forces threaten to keep her from achieving her dream. Review: The Casting was a well-written story with a strong female protagonist that will definitely appeal to middle grade readers. My inner 12-year-old kind of fell in love with her. I wished that the secondary characters had had just a little more depth to them, but I don’t think it’s anything that the target audience for this book would…

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Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton

Synopsis: An aging schoolteacher reflects on half a century at a boys’ school in England, starting in the 19th Century and spanning past WWI. Review: I had heard of Goodbye, Mr. Chips but had never read it before, and I’m so sorry I waited so long! The book is just lovely, a gem where every word counts. I was moved beyond compare. It was described as “sentimental,” and I suppose it is, but not in the negative connotation of the word. It’s poignant and reflective…

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The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

Synopsis: A present-day murder case in a fundamentalist Mormon enclave told alongside the story of Ann Eliza Young’s escape from Brigham Young’s polygamous harem. Review: I think the fact that I kept falling asleep while listening to The 19th Wife says it all–I was so primed to love this book, given my obsession with the FLDS, but I was just so disappointed with the execution. I finally gave up near the end when it devolved into a story-free lecture on stuff we’d already seen. I’m…

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Synopsis: Against the backdrop of a dreamlike traveling circus, two magicians pit their powers against each other in a battle royale complicated by the transcendent love growing in spite of the rigid constraints of the game. Review: I had low-ish expectations for The Night Circus. I couldn’t wrap my brain around the weird plot description, and the glowing reviews had me suspicious that the book was all superficial charm. I could not put the book down. I was utterly transported into the world of the…

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The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Synopsis: New York City in 1938 is all martinis and heartbreak for smart girl Katey Kontent and her impossibly sexy best friend Evie Ross, as they navigate the tricky waters of the uptown social scene. Review: I was utterly captivated by The Rules of Civility, from the tone to the characters to the plot to everything. It’s a pretty perfect book, as if Edith Wharton were resurrected to write a pre-Code Billy Wilder movie where the smart one got to be the lead. It makes…

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The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold

Synopsis: In a magical version of Renaissance Italy, the daughter of a sculptor/mage finds herself embroiled in a deadly political dispute as she struggles to free her father’s soul, which a wicked lord wants to imprison in a magic ring. Review: Lois McMaster Bujold crafts a suspenseful tale of intrigue, sorcery, and politics that really satisfied me. The Spirit Ring is grounded in the kinds of real squabblings that mark territorial disputes, and the magic serves that story, rather than being the sole purpose of…

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