Dawn's Early Light

Dawn's Early Light. Elswyth Thane. 1934/2017. Chicago Review Press. 336 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: He stood remote and alone amid the cheerful bustle of the dock at Yorktown. Around his feet in their silver-buckled shoes was stacked enough luggage for two men. Behind him rose the proud, sharp prow and slender spars of the Mary Jones, which had brought him across the Atlantic from Southampton.

Premise/plot: Julian Day, one of our heroes, is a newly arrived Englishman. He's come to America, to Virginia, to be a school master. He becomes great friends with St. John Sprague. In fact he becomes almost one of the family--this in spite of the fact that he's on the 'wrong side' of the conflict or tensions. St. John is madly in love with Regina Greensleeves. Regina vows never to marry a man who'd fight against the King. This coming from the woman who'd flirt with any man within sight. (Think Scarlett O'Hara.) But St. John sees past the surface problems and is convinced he's the only man he'd be able to put her and keep her in place. (He may be right on that.) Julian, meanwhile, is blinded by two things: Regina's beauty AND Tibby's undying love for him. Who is Tibby? Well, she's a young girl, an abused and troubled girl, an impoverished girl who wants to be allowed to attend school with her twin brother. It's just not fair--she insists--that her brother gets an opportunity to go to school and she doesn't. After all, she's just as bright--if not more so--than her brother. After getting to know her better, Julian agrees. He becomes her greatest champion and supporter. It's no surprise that she loves, loves, loves, loves, LOVES him. But will he ever see her as a potential wife? It doesn't seem likely--at least not at first. But as the years go by, as the tensions turn into WAR, much changes.

My thoughts: I really loved this one. I love that it's a first in a series. I love that the series is a family saga that will span generations. I love that it's set in America. So often I'm drawn to books and series set in England, it is nice for me to be able to be swept away by American history. I love the historical aspects of it. I love that some of the characters interacted with real, historical people.

© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Gingerbread for Liberty (2015)

Gingerbread for Liberty: How A German Baker Helped Win the American Revolution. Mara Rockliff. Illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch. 2015. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Everyone in Philadelphia knew the gingerbread baker. His honest face...his booming laugh...And, of course, his gingerbread--the best in all the thirteen colonies. His big, floury hands turned out castles and queens, horses and cows and hens--each detail drawn in sweet, buttery icing with the greatest skill and care. And yet, despite his care, there always seemed to be some broken pieces for the hungry children who followed their noses to the spicy-smelling shop. "No empty bellies here!" the baker bellowed. "Not in my America!"

Premise/plot: Gingerbread for Liberty is the untold, near-forgotten story of Christopher Ludwick, a German-born American who loved and served his country during the American Revolution in the best way he knew how: by baking.

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, LOVED this one. I loved the end papers which feature a recipe for "Simple Gingerbread." I loved the illustrations. Never has a book's illustrations gone so perfectly-perfectly well with the text. The illustration style is very gingerbread-y. It works more than you think it might. At least in my opinion! I loved the author's note. I did. I loved learning a few more facts about Christopher Ludwick. It left me wanting to know even more. Which I think is a good thing. The book highlights his generosity and compassion as well as his baking talents.

But most of all, I loved the text itself, the writing style. The narrative voice in this one is super-strong. And I love the refrain: Not in MY America!  

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© 2015 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Fiddler's Gun (YA)

Peterson, A.S. 2009. The Fiddler's Gun. Rabbit Room Press. 293 pages.

The trouble with Phineas Michael Button began the moment she was born.

It continues,

"She had the expected two ears, two eyes, one nose, and dimpled cheeks, but in her father's mind there was a problem. He had twelve children, daughters all, and was convinced that number thirteen would be his long-awaited son. So on the twenty-fifth of September, 1755, when he drew another baby girl from the womb of his long-suffering wife, he declared the discovery of an unacceptable mistake."

Abandoned by her parents, left in an orphanage in Ebenezer, Georgia, Fin, our young heroine has no problem being tough and staying strong. She's needed to be her whole life. But she is not the person the Baab Sisters--especially Hilde--would have her to be. She's not ladylike enough. She's too manly, too strong, too wild in their minds. Maybe a little kitchen duty will do the trick...

At first Fin is angry that she's been thrust into the kitchen, and forced into apprenticing with the orphanage's cook, Bartimaeus. (She's jealous that her best friend, her would-be-could-be husband, Peter, gets the better deal, the better job. He gets apprenticed to a carpenter.) But she soon realizes that this may just be the best thing that ever happened to her. For Bartimaeus --though not a simple man or a perfect man--loves her like she's his own child, his own daughter. He's a man with a past, a history--a dark and tangled mess of a past. But he's a good man, a changed man*.

With increasing hostilities between the colonies and England, it's not an easy time for Fin to come of age. Not with Fin's temperament. Her quick temper leads to...well...a great big dangerous adventure**.

Historical fiction. Action. Adventure. Pirates. Orphans. And a little old war.

What did I enjoy about this one? So very much! I love historical fiction. Usually. And this was no exception. A bit violent at times, yes, but what else would you expect in a sea-adventure filled with pirates?! It was exciting, compelling, hard to put down. It's anything but boring! I cared about Fin from the start. And her companions--especially Jack, Knut, and Tan--became important to me as well. The characters definitely felt human--felt flawed--which is a good thing. I would definitely recommend this one. (Especially if you enjoyed The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.)

The story will conclude in a second book, Fiddler's Green. (I want it now!)

You can order a copy of The Fiddler's Gun book through Rabbit Room Press.

*I will say this part of the story was just awesome for me. Peterson was able to connect the story with George Whitefield. True, it's a very small--very tiny--part of the overall story. But still, it made me happy.
**It probably helped that I love films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Blood, and The Sea Hawk. I think having this background helped me visualize the fighting-at-sea scenes.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews