The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead tells the story of 15 year old Cora, who runs away from a Georgia Plantation to obtain her freedom. Whitehead never actually tells us the date, but it is before the Civil War...California is mentioned a few times, and CA received statehood in 1850, so we can assume… Continue reading Review: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
A More Perfect Union by Jodi Daynard is the third book in the Midwife trilogy, and follows the mixed race son (Johnny) of Eliza Bolyston and Johnny Watkins. The book opens in 1794, some 15 years after the events of books 1 and 2. Johnny Watkins, "passing as white", returns to Boston from the… Continue reading Review: A More Perfect Union
Our Own Country by Jodi Daynard is the second book in the Midwife series, taking place concurrently with The Midwife's Revolt. As I'd hoped, this installment does indeed fill in the gaps of Eliza's story that Midwife was lacking. Both books could have been spliced together, I think, so that the reader could experience the picture… Continue reading Review: Our Own Country by Jodi Daynard
When I wrote the first two parts of my Am Rev series, one of my main motivators was simply writing a story I wanted to read. I've found that fiction about the American Revolution is surprisingly lacking in volume, so whenever I do find any--especially with women as the central characters--I jump at the chance… Continue reading Review: The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard
The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook depicts a time and place not often depicted in literature: post-WWII Germany--specifically, Hamburg in 1946. The Aftermath tells the story of a British officer, his wife, and their young son sharing a requisitioned home with a German man and his teenaged daughter. This situation proves ripe for drama and clashing relationships… Continue reading Review: The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook
Crossing the Horizon: A Novel by Laurie Notaro is the true story of trailblazing women: Elsie Mackay, Ruth Elder, and Mabel Boll. After Charles Lindbergh's historic trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, the few and pioneering aviatrixes in the world sought to claim the title of "First woman to fly across the Atlantic." We all know Amelia Earhart's… Continue reading Review: Crossing the Horizon by Laurie Notaro
Flight of the Sparrow by Amy Belding Brown tells the true story of 17th century Mary Rowlandson, who survived a Nipmoc attack on the village of Lancaster, MA and was subsequently taken prisoner along with two of her children. After about three months, Rowlandson was ransomed back to the English. She then went on… Continue reading Review: Flight of the Sparrow by Amy Belding Brown
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson is a YA novel detailing Philadelphia's 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic. Being in Philadelphia, I have heard about this particular epidemic...every time I walk past Washington Square Park I think about it, as well as the Revolutionary soldiers buried there. In the 18th Century, however, this space was called Potter's field.… Continue reading Review: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
[Some spoilers below...but it's also history, so is it really a spoiler...?] Victoria: A Novel of a Young Queen by Daisy Goodwin is the companion novel to the new Victoria TV series (already out in the UK, out in the US in Jan). Daisy Goodwin also wrote the TV series, but I believe the first season extends… Continue reading Review: Victoria: A Novel of a Young Queen by Daisy Goodwin
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr Amazon blurb: From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. Marie-Laure… Continue reading Review: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
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