PIRATES!

Pirates! * Celia Rees
2003 * p. 488 (Large Print Edition)* YA Historical Fiction

Nancy Kington is the daughter of a wealthy sugar merchant in 1720's East Coast America. When her father's company (a rather shady one dealing in the slave trade) collapses and he dies. Nancy is left to the will of her older brothers.

To make some quick and plentiful cash, they ship her off to the West Indies and betrothe her to The Brazilian. A cruel, wealthy plantation and slave trade owner. Nancy is shocked and heartbroken, especially since she must leave William, the boy she has pledged herself to at home. So Nancy is shipped to the Indies and William likewise takes to the sea in the hopes of joining the navy.

When Nancy reaches her new tropical home in Jamaica, she instantly witnesses the cruelty inflicted on the black slaves. Cruelest of all is The Brazilian. As the cruelties continue and speculation mounts on Nancy's strange kindness to the slaves, Nancy concludes she must runa away. With her slave and friend Minerva, they buy passage with an old naval acquaintance turned pirate.

The two friends start their journey as female pirates on the high sea, running from The Brazilian, pillaging, acting, working, fighting, and learning secrets about each other that will bind them together forever.

The book was difficult for me. The whole premise seemed like it would be a very thrilling and adventurous book, but it ended up feeling very dull and mechanical.

It is written from Nancy's perspective as if she were writing in a diary. Which is ironic. You would think then that the book would be heartfelt and you'd find insights into Nancy's mind and thinking. But I felt like I didn't know her at all.

The dialogue was hopelessly void of emotion. The plot seemed to go nowhere but everywhere at once. The love story between William and nancy was nonexistent and frustrating. Nothing was developed as it should have been. Disappointing.

I strongly recommend Rees' book Witch Child over Pirates! It was leaps and bounds more interesting than this one.

-Reading Level: ages 13& up
-A few swear words. A scene of attempted rape. But nothing graphic.
-Themes of sisterhood, courage, ethics, slavery.

The Dark Light

The Dark Light

Mette Newth

1995 * p. 244 * YA Historical Fiction

The Dark Light takes place in early nineteenth century Norway. Tora is 13 years old and is struck with leprosy. Her mother has committed suicide when she found that she herself had contracted it. When Tora's leprosy is discovered, the town sends her to a leper hospital in the nearest city.

She is taken to St. Jorgen's Hospital in Bergen: basically a hospital for the living dead. The conditions are horrible and disgusting. Death is apparant in everything, especially in the deformed and gruesome faces of the patients.

Tora is pretty much in a state of denial and shock. She is scared to death of dying and the possibility of the non-existence of a God or heaven for her to go to. Her doubt mainly stems from the fact that she cannot read. And therefore she cannot discover the teachings of the Bible for herself:

"The parish pastor had said that there was but one recourse to be found--salvation. She had to surrender herself to God. Surrender herself and endure until He received her, for she was one of His chosen. God chastened those He loved the most; He had given His only begotten son for mankind's deliverance. It was all in the Holy Book, the pastor had said. That Book which she herself could not read" (6).

So though the pastor tells her she was a chosen one, Tora can't understand why everyone who is healthy would treat them so cruelly, abandon them, and pretend they were dead. She wants to know:

"Would He (God) answer the question that tortured her most: Was she rejected or elected?" (7).

Since Tora is not as sick as the others--yet--she is able to work more and help the others. One patient is particularly bitter and angry--Sunniva. She is educated and her family was rich. So Tora helps and waits on her in exchange for reading lessons. Tora finds that knowing how to read has been her greatest joy, and that stories give her an escape from the pain and suffering she must endure.

This book is wonderful. It is emotionally exhausting, however. There are many gruesome accounts and descriptions of leprosy and the cruelty that is shown them by the outside world. But I highly reccommend it.

-Reading level: ages 16 & up

-References and/or small scenes of prostitution, attempted rape, suicide, a few swear words, amputations, and body parts falling off.

-Themes of faith, hope, survival, death, education, love, service, family, positivity, etc.

-Needs a more mature audience

-A few Norwegian words

The author is Norwegian and the book is translated from Norwegian. The story is a fictionalized account of an actual leper hospital in Bergen, Norway.

Jason's Gold

Jason's Gold

Will Hobbs

1999 * p. 216 * YA Historical Fiction

Fifteen-year-old Jason Hawthorn is self-reliant, ambitious and eager to prove himself to his older brothers. He has left his hometown in Seattle and is living in New York City as a newsie when the Klondike Gold Rush erupts. Gold! Everyone has dreams of striking it rich in the Klondike, even Jason.

"Klondike. Jason paused to savor the word. "Klondike," he said aloud. The name had a magical ring to it, a spellbinding power. The word itself was heavy and solid and dazzling, like a bar of shiny gold" (3).

He rushes home to claim his inheritence and set out for Alaska. But on returning home to Seattle he fnds that his older brothers have the Klondike fever and have already left, and with Jason's money!

Jason is discouraged. But he bucks up, and uses his cunning to sneak onto a ship to the Klondike. Jason's goal is to reach his brothers before some of the treacherous obstacles that lie on the path to the Klondike. But nothing proves easy, or what it seems, on the way to the Klondike, where the gold is "as thick as cheese in a sandwich."

Jason is a fictional character set against the historical event of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. Jason takes the historic trek through the Dead Horse Trail, Chilkoot Pass, and the Yukon River. He witnesses criminal activity and animal cruelty, saves a dog, meets the infamous Jack London, has a run in with a moose and suffers a great deal.

I loved, loved, loved this book! It was suspenseful and eye-opening to read about a historical event that I knew so little about. Jason is a true hero. He is moral, kind, forgiving, and strong. King, Jason's husky, is the ultimate man's best friend.

It was wonderful.

-Reading level: age 13 & up

-No swearing that I can recall

-A few disturbing/graphic scenes of animal cruelty and an amputation

-Themes of self-reliance, animal respect, greed, perseverance, kindness, and determination.

-An adventure book that will appeal especialy to boys, but also for girls

North of Danger

North of Danger

Dale Fife

1978 * p. 72 * YA Historical Fiction

North of Danger takes place in WWII Spitsbergen, a sovereign of Norway. It is a fictionalized story based on a true event.

The people living on Spitsbergen, which is situated four hundred miles from the North Pole, fled there after the Germans started to invade Norway.

This story is about Arne Kristiansen, a 12 year old boy living in Spitsbergen. Arnes' father, an activist against the Germans, has fled to the North Pole posed as a glacialist to escape capture.

When Spitsbergen is suddenly told to evacuate because the Germans were coming, Arne refuses to leave. His father is supposed to return in 3 weeks, and will be captured if no one warns him to avoid Spitsbergen. Arne hides in the mines. Soon the whole town is evacuated and Arne is left on his own in the ghost town. He waits above the town for a week, keeping an eye out for German ships and his father. Unfortunately, the Germans arrive. So Arne must make the treacherous trek to reach his father in the dead of winter.

The story is packed with a lot of historical information and is often a little confusing with some of the Norwegian vocabulary. The characters seem a little flat and everything gets resolved a little too nicely and quickly. But the overall story is well written and a typical adventure story about a boy on his own, battling the elements...and Germans.

-Reading level: age 14 & up

-Appropriate for all ages

-A short, fast read

-A few challenging Norwegian words

-The book has no cover jacket, and may be a harder book to locate

Little Women

Little Women: Book One

Louisa May Alcott

1868 * p. 377 * YA Fiction, Pre-1920's

"Painful as it may be, a significant emotional event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves us--and those around us--more effectively. Look for the learning."

--Louisa May Alcott.

Alcott's Little Women is considered a classic YA novel and has withstood the test of time. YA novels at the time usually served the purpose of being strictly moral books to teach children lessons and the proper way to behave. Alcott's book however employs these moral lessons in a situation of love, understanding and forgiveness.

Little Women is about the March sisters--beautiful Meg, boyish and outspoken Jo, timid and selfless Beth, and pompous but young Amy. Each have their virtues and vices. They live with their mother who they call Marmee and try to make ends meet while their father is away at the Civil War. The girls love to make plays and act and have wonderful imaginations that help them stay entertained. They befriend their neighbor's grandson, Laurie, who is the same age as Jo. Laurie is mischievious and a teaser and loves the March girls as his own sisters and has a good heart.

The moral lessons of the story are included as the Marmee challenges the girls to follow Christian's example in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. A novel about a man's journey to heaven and all of the temptations he must overcome to release himself of his burden.

References to Pilgrim's Progress are made to continually.

Marmee says, "We never are too old for this, my dear, because it is a play we are playing all the time in one way or another. Our burdens are here, our road is before us, and the longing for goodness and happiness is the guide that leads us through many troubles and mistakes to the peace which is a true Celestial City. Now, my little pilgrims, suppose you begin again, not in play, but in earnest, and see how far on you can get before Father comes home" (17).

I love Little Women. It is just a pure book. It is about sisterly love and devotion, good deeds, overcoming personal trials, and growing up in a loving home where an understanding mother is present to build you up.

Book One is more about the girls growing up over one year and overcoming trials before all of the romantic escapades occur. (That is probably in Book Two.) Meg and John Brook's affection begins and the reader is given hints of Laurie's love for Jo.

The 1994 movie of Little Women is pretty true to Book One though a lot is not included. I would reccomend reading the books first, along with Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and then watching the movie.

-Reading level: age 13 & up.

-Appropriate for all ages.

-Themes of sisterly love, overcoming personal trials, selflessness, sacrifice.

-Lengthy book, with a few vocabulary words that may need to be explained.

-WONDERFUL!

Jacob Have I Loved

Jacob Have I Loved

Katherine Paterson

1980 * p. 215 * YA Historical Fiction

"Jacob Have I Loved" follows the life of Louise as she grows up in Chesapeake Bay in the 1940s. Louise is a tomboy. She loves to go out into the bay with her father and catch crab. She has rough, large hands, is too tan, strong and stocky, and is definitely not pretty. Caroline, Louise's twin sister, is. She is petite, blonde, has a beautiful voice and seems the capture the attention of everywhere.

Louise constantly compares herself to Caroline, and throws herself a pity party daily. In the following excerpt, Louise tells about being born a twin:

"I was the elder by a few minutes. I always treasured the thought of those minutes. They represented the only time in my life when I was the center of everyone's attention. From the moment Caroline was born, she snatched it all for herself.

When my mother and grandmother told the story of our births, it was mostly of how Caroline had refused to breathe. How the midwife smacked and prayed and cajoled the tiny chest to move. How the cry of joy went up at the first weak wail--'no louder than a kitten's mew.'

'But where was I?' I once asked. 'When everyone was working over Caroline, where was I?'

A cloud passed across my mother's eyes, and I knew that she could not remember. 'In the basket,' she said. 'Grandma bathed you and dressed you and put you in the basket.'

'Did you Grandma?'

'How should I know?' she snapped. 'It was a long time ago.'

I felt cold all over, as though I was the newborn infant a second time, cast aside and forgotten" (14-5).

But though she isn't the "favored" one, as a reader you don't feel entirely sorry for her. She complains and is also often rude and possessive of others that she wants all to herself. But she is a typical teenager that is going through the growing pains of living in a shadow, feeling inadequate and experiencing the first pangs of love. Can't we all relate to that? She means well.

A few twists and turns dot the storyline: her friendship with rolly-polly, boy scout Call, the mysterious old Captain, the shock of Pearl Harbor, a devastating flood, and more.

"Jacob Have I Loved" felt very nastolgic. The descriptions of the setting of the Chesapeake Bay and life there in the 1940s is really superb.

-Reading level: grade 8 & up

-Appropriate for all ages

-Some references to puberty and becoming sexually aware of the opposite sex

-Themes of feeling like an outcast, family relationships, self-worth and confidence, pride, becoming an adult

Witch Child

Witch Child

Celia Rees

2000 * p. 260 * YA Historical Fiction

Mary is a witch. She and her grandmother (also a witch) live in 1659 England. The novel begins with Mary's grandmother being seized by the townspeople, thrown into the pond to see if she'll float, and then is hung for witchcraft. Mary is then quickly taken by a stranger and thrown into a carriage with a mysterious and regal woman. The woman barely talks, but has her bathed, fed, and dressed in new clothes. The woman then tells her that she is to be put on a ship to America with a Puritan group.

She is terrified to leave, but has nothing to stay for. The woman tells her that it will be safer for her in America. (The woman's identity is a suprise to Mary; you'll have to read!) So Mary sails to America with the Puritans and is welcomed and companioned with a woman named Martha. On the ship, Mary hopes that she can keep her secret and not run into trouble. She is fearful of being caught and looks forward to reaching their destination: Salem!

I loved this book. What is really interesting, is that Mary was supposedly a real individual who left behind a journal that Celia Rees has fashioned into a fictional novel based on her life.

Mary is a good witch. She is more like a gypsy who works with herbs and has special gifts and talents. She never uses them for evil, and sometimes her powers and visions come even if she doesn't want them. When she suddenly sees a friend's future, and how he will die, she comments:

"The visions came to me unbidden, just as they did to my grandmother, but I knew the gift did not come from her. It comes from my mother. This is art of a different order, beyond my grandmother's power. I felt it settle about my shoulders like a weighty mantle" (83).

The novel is very realistic, suspenseful, and twists and turns many times. I was a little perturbed at the ending. I had questions that weren't answered. But I still loved, loved, loved it.

-Reading level: grade 9 & up

-References to witchcraft (evil witchcraft done by others)

-Pregnancy out of marriage

-A hanging scene (though not detailed)

-A great segue way into teaching about the Salem Witch Trials, or as a bridge to Arthur Miller's The Crucible

I Never Saw Another Butterfly

I Never Saw Another Butterfly Celeste Raspanti

1980 * p. 35 * YA Historical Fiction

I read the one-act cutting of the full-length play by Raspanti.

I Never Saw Another Butterfly tells the story of Raja Englanderova, a young Jewish girl who has been sent to the Nazi Camp Terezin during the Holocaust. Terezin is historically the Nazi Camp where many Jewish children were sent.

Raja is the only member of her family left alive. When she first comes to Terezin she is quiet and scared. But Irena, a Jewish woman who has been allowed to stay with the children, befriends her and helps her to know she is not alone. Irena teaches the girls when they aren't being watched by the Nazis.

Raja also befriends a boy named Honza. He sleeps in the boys barracks, and so they try to sneak out at certain times and meet and talk.

The biggest fear of all the children at Terezin is that they will be sent to Auschwitz where they will face certain death. The Nazis take a busload of children every now and then and they never come back.

RAJA: Honza, a sausage--you're wonderful--and sausage, I haven't--but where did you get it?

HONZA: I liberated it...

RAJA: Liberated it? Honza...

HONZA: Actually, I took it.

RAJA: Stole it. No wonder it tastes so good--you're so brave! (They hold hands and run together to another area.)

HONZA: I won't be here--for a few days...

RAJA: Why? Where are you going?

HONZA: Don't take any chances--coming to meet me, I mean.

RAJA: (frightened). Honza, what is it?

HONZA: Nothing. A special detail to build something outside the fortifications. They're picking the strongest--I'll be chosen.

RAJA: But--what if something happens?

HONZA: There'll be a chance for extra food. Maybe another sausage.

RAJA: I don't care about sausage...Honza, I'm afraid!

HONZA: Don't worry...they want the job done--it's some kind of walled courtyard...nothing much can happen...Well, I have to go.

RAJA: Goodbye then...Goodbye. I'll be waiting...waiting...waiting...Please come back.

I Never Saw Another Butterfly shows the horrors that Jewish children faced at Terezin. It is sad, but I think a good eye-opener for youth to understand the history of the Holocaust. It also has a little romance. After reading the one-act cutting I want to read the entire play.

-Appropriate for all readers

-Reading level: age 12 & up

-An easy read, but depressing themes that might be better discussed with more mature readers

-A good bridge to discussing WWII and Holocaust history