29. Farmer Boy

29. Farmer Boy. Laura Ingalls Wilder. Illustrated by Garth Williams. 1933. 372 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, audiobook, children's classic, historical fiction]


First sentence: It was January in northern New York State, sixty-seven years ago. Snow lay deep everywhere. It loaded the bare limbs of oaks and maples and beeches, it bent the green boughs of cedars and spruces down into the drifts. Billows of snow covered the fields and the snow fences.

Premise/plot: Farmer Boy is the second book (technically) in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. (The first book is Little House in the Big Woods). The book (fictionally) chronicles Almanzo Wilder's childhood. (Presumably based on stories he told his wife through the years.) I believe it covers roughly one year of his life. It begins and ends in (different) winter(s). The focus, as you can imagine, is on his farm life. He spends a lot of time with horses, cows, pigs, and various crops like corn, wheat, pumpkins, etc. There's also a chapter on cutting ice. (I couldn't help but think of Almanzo hauling ice in the television show).

My thoughts: I must have read the original series a dozen times growing up. And I did always enjoy Almanzo entering the story in The Long Winter. But I never read the second book. Never. I just didn't see the appeal. It was about a boy, a farm boy, a boy who spent way too much time with livestock and crops. 

Was I right to skip it? Probably. It is all subjective, I know. Plenty of girls--plenty of kids--go through a horse phase, where they read anything/everything with horses. That never happened to me. I never went through a horse phase. And this book is only about a step above watching grass grow. In my opinion.

 I do think it provided a window into the past. And in some ways, two windows into the past. Readers can get a glimpse into Almanzo's childhood. (If my math serves, roughly 1866/1867). But readers also get a glimpse into the 1930s. People certainly viewed the world different in 1866 than they do now...and same with the early 1930s. You can't expect today's values and viewpoints to be present in a book written in 1933...especially when that book was telling the story of a boy growing up in the 1860s.

ETA: This was my first time to reread Farmer Boy. Technically, I listened on audio. I still don't love it. But it does have some of the same vibes as Little House in the Big Woods.

© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

27. The Lions' Run

27. The Lions' Run. Sara Pennypacker. 2026. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, historical fiction, j historical, mg historical, world war II]

First sentence: A little freedom. Lucas had only a few deliveries this afternoon, and if he was quick with them, he'd finally have a couple of hours to himself before he'd have to show up back at the abbey.

Premise/plot: The Lions' Run is set in Occupied France during the Second World War. Lucas, the protagonist, is an orphan, a delivery boy. He lives at the abbey where there was a school. One day when he rescues kittens from drowning--if you're incredibly sensitive, this might prove a bit too much--he meets a girl, Alice, hiding a horse, Bia. The Nazis want Bia, and Alice is determined NOT to let them have her. She is trying to smuggle her to America. Meanwhile, Lucas is determined to join the resistance. As a delivery boy already, perhaps he can keep on blending in and not draw too much attention to himself. However, when he sets out to rescue something much larger--and noisier--than several kittens, IT will be a fight to survive.

My thoughts: It's way too early in the year to proclaim favorites of newly published books. YET this one does have a lot of potential to make that list all the same. IT is a World War II story but one that tells a unique story. It also explores the concept of bravery and courage. Is it courage if you're scared the whole time you're doing it?


© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

130. ON the Banks of Plum Creek

130. On the Banks of Plum Creek. Laura Ingalls Wilder. 1937. 340 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical fiction, children's classic]

First sentence: The dim wagon track went no farther on the prairie, and Pa stopped the horses. When the wagon wheels stopped turning, Jack dropped down in the shade between them. His belly sank on the grass and his front legs stretched out. His nose fitted in the furry hollow. All of him rested, except his ears.

I love Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series. I do. And On the Banks of Plum Creek, while not my absolute favorite--that would be The Long Winter or possibly These Happy Golden Years--is worth rereading every few years. One thing I hadn't noticed until this last reread is that the Ingalls' family celebrates three Christmases in this one book!

Plenty of things happen in On The Banks of Plum Creek:

• the family moves into a sod house
• the family moves into a wooden house with real glass windows
• the family gets oxen and horses
• the girls start school
• the family attends church
• crops are planted and lost
• Pa leaves the family behind twice to go in search of work
• hard weather is endured
• Laura gets in and out of trouble (she almost drowns in this one)

On The Bank of Plum Creek opens when the Ingalls family arrives at their new home. They have bought a place, and their first new "home" is a dugout. They are buying it from a Norwegian man, Mr. Hanson, who is moving further west I presume. This is just temporary. Charles (or "Pa" as he's referred to so often it's hard not to join in) has promised to build them a real house, a real home just as soon as he can. The book opens with promises and hopes and dreams. But most of the book will see those hopes and dreams delayed. What Pa needs--what they all need--are good crops, good wheat crops. What Pa gets is grasshoppers. The Ingalls family does struggle a bit in On The Banks of Plum Creek. But they do settle in and get comfortable. Mary and Laura, for instance, start school. It is the first time for them to ever attend school. And they do meet up with some town folks like Nellie Oleson.

Overall, this is a more than enjoyable read. Some of my favorite chapters are "Nellie Oleson," "Town Party," "Country Party," "Going to Church," and "Surprise."

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

127. Little House on the Prairie

Little House on the Prairie. Laura Ingalls Wilder. 1935. 335 pages. [Source: Bought] [children's classic]

First sentence: A long time ago, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even born, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. They drove away and left it lonely and empty in the clearing among the big trees, and they never saw that little house again. They were going to the Indian country.

 Premise/plot: Laura Ingalls travels with her family to Indian Territory [aka Kansas], but alas the family must move again by the end of the novel when the government forces them out. 

My thoughts: Though Little House on the Prairie is the name of the television show and seems to represent the "brand" of the "Little House" books because of that, this one--Little House on the Prairie--is not my favorite or best. I'm not sure if it's because the plot is ultimately pointless OR if it's because the content is the most problematic of the whole series. Perhaps a bit of both.

First, I don't hate Little House on the Prairie--this specific book, the series as a whole, or the television series. I am NOT part of the cancel culture that has arisen surrounding this author and series. 

Second, NEWSFLASH, Laura Ingalls Wilder is recalling and chronicling a mindset from sixty to seventy years prior. It was not her job as an author in 1935 to course-correct the "Manifest Destiny" mindset. The "go west, young man" philosophy that would colonize the entirety of the United States--from "sea to shining sea." NEWSFLASH if you were a pioneer settling in the WEST chances are you felt entitled and 'in the right' to settle and 'claim' your property with the government. 

Third, while the book has half-a-dozen (perhaps a few more) scenes that are problematic, the scenes could have been worse. That's not to justify anything. It's not. (The scenes that are there are cringe at best and extremely offensive at worst.) Laura and Pa seem more curious than hateful. That is not justification. Again, that's not my goal. It would be an uphill battle that is ultimately doomed. The fact that Laura is so curious and interested is in part because of her innocence (a small part) and a larger part in that she views the Indians as "other." She is a product of her upbringing. But she would not have been alone. It wasn't that the Ingalls were above and beyond the ultimate propagators of this mindset. They were just one of many. It is a whole culture that contemporary readers are at war with. I think the books and author are often the target. People seem to single her out as if she is solely to blame. 

Fourth, Laura usually depicts Pa as practically perfect in every way. She idealizes him in her books. This one is no different. I, as a reader, don't see Pa as perfect. I see his MUST GO WEST AT ALL COSTS and drag my family around and make their lives as difficult as humanly possible philosophy off-putting. Life can be hard no matter where you live. But Pa's "the grass is always greener on the other side" wanderlust is annoying.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

124. Little House in the Big Woods

124. Little House in the Big Woods. Laura Ingalls Wilder. 1932. 238 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, children's classic, j historical, audio book]

First sentence: Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.

Premise/plot: Little House in the Big Woods is the first in an autobiographical FICTION series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura Ingalls Wilder is sharing her vivid memories of childhood starting with her Wisconsin years. She writes of Pa, Ma, Mary, and baby Carrie. She writes of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She writes of chores, chores, and more chores. She writes of story and song. So many chapters of this one feature an extra-bonus story. Laura recalling Pa recalling a story from his own past, a story from his father's past, a story from his grandfather's past. This one really does capture many of the five senses--the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, etc. of her childhood. It is a personal story, though probably not unique. She is writing of "sixty years ago," a way of life then past, a way of life falling out of [collective] memory perhaps, a way of life that can only be memorialized (is that the right word???) in family stories. Every family has stories. Not all families pass along the stories throughout the generations. The book is an act of love. 

My thoughts:  The series is not without controversy. I know that. You know that. We've lived long enough that Laura Ingalls Wilder--for better or worse--has fallen out of fashion, out of style. At best she's seen as quaint. At worst, well, a racist. I do think Little House in the Big Woods may be the least problematic in the series. The possible offenders being Ma baking a type of bread called "Rye n' Injun bread" and Pa singing a line in a song with the word darky. (The bread is made from rye flour and corn meal.) 

I appreciated many things about this one. I love all the snapshots of day-to-day simple life. I love the snapshots of special memories--like the Christmas chapter, or the one where they go to visit family and make candy. I love the focus on family, on storytelling, on tradition. I wouldn't say the book is overly faith-forward or religious, yet, I think in some ways faith provides the skeleton--the structure--beneath. 

I do read it differently the older I get. Here is the last paragraph that hit me right in the heart:

She thought to herself, "This is now."
She was glad that the cosy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.

Very true to life, in my opinion.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

22. The Secret of Honeycake

 

22. The Secret of Honeycake. Kimberly Newton Fusco. 2025. 368 pages. [Source: Library] [j historical fiction, j fiction] [5 stars]

First sentence: One thing you don't know about me yet is I am very quiet.

My thoughts (preview): I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book. Is it my favorite children's book of 2025 so far???? YES. 

Premise/plot: Bronte and Hurricane (our heroine) are orphans. Their mother has died of tuberculosis and it seems Bronte is following in her mother's footsteps. She has also become ill enough to need to be sent away to a resting hospital for treatment. Hurricane is miserably unhappy because she's being collected by a great aunt (Aunt Claire)--a total stranger, and her servant, Mr. Keats. Those are the bare-bone basics setting up this historical coming of age novel...

My thoughts: I absolutely loved this one. I did. I loved the writing--the narrative style. I loved the characters. Hurricane's inner voice was one I really enjoyed. I liked seeing her come of age and learn to speak up for herself. I loved the relationships. I loved how nothing was instant. It isn't like she moves to a strange house, with strange relatives, in a strange city and wakes up bright and cheerful and ready to go the next day. I like the 'slow thawing' in terms of relationship building. I liked the focus on friendship--with people and animals. I liked seeing how Aunt Claire has her own 'coming of age' journey. I ADORED Mr. Keats. He was easily my favorite part? Maybe. Mostly. I absolutely loved how this 'found family' came to be.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

9. Lost in the Empire City

  

9. Lost in the Empire City. Avi. 2024. [October 29] 304 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, j fiction, mg fiction, j historical, mg historical, immigration/emigration]

First sentence: The promise took a second to make but became the story of my young life. I made the promise in Italy in 1905. 

Premise/plot: COULD A BOOK BE MORE PERFECTLY PACED?!?!?! Seriously, Avi could teach a master class on how to make a book IMPOSSIBLE to put down.

The premise is simple enough, Santo, our hero, makes a promise to keep his family together always and forever. This promise becomes a challenge once the family immigrates to America. The family is separated at Ellis Island. Santo finds himself ALONE in a foreign country where he knows only the tiniest amount of English and he is essentially without resources. Every single day is focused on surviving--living long enough to keep that promise and reunite the family, somehow someway. This book chronicles that dangerous journey. 

My thoughts: I LOVED this one. I didn't know if I would or not. (Though Ms. Yingling's review led me to believe that I would.) I loved the pacing, the suspense, the characterization, the story itself. It was SO good.

 

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

105. Grenade

Grenade. Alan Gratz. 2018. 270 pages. [Source: Review copy] [3 stars] [historical fiction, world war II, mg historical]

First sentence: An American bomb landed a hundred meters away--Kra-KOOM!--and the school building exploded.

Premise/plot: Grenade is set towards the end of the second world war in Asia; Okinawa to be precise. It has dual narrators--for a bit--an American soldier (Ray) and an incredibly young drafted from [middle] school boy (Hideki). These two will come face to face--each with a grenade--and well, you can guess the rest. 

War is front and center in this one, namely how horrible, atrocious, evil, horrifying, terrifying, traumatic, and always, always, always wrong it is. Each chapter features another layer of trauma.

My thoughts: Grenade is super-intense and heavy. I personally did not care for it. The reason why I did not like it probably (may not) bother you. So this one may still be a good fit for you.

 One reason why I didn't particularly care for this one is the spiritualism. Maybe that is not the right word. There is a character that speaks with the dead, communes with the dead, gives messages from the dead, etc. There's also a strong belief in generational curses. It's just--for me--an odd read.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

97. Lifeboat 5

Lifeboat 5. Susan Hood. 2024. 272 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, verse novel, historical novel, based on true events, world war II]

First sentence: It's not safe inside.
It's not safe outside.
I close my eyes
and try to turn off the noise
in my head.
Stop!

Premise/plot: Lifeboat 5 is a companion novel to Susan Hood's Lifeboat 12. (I believe). Bess Walder, our heroine, is one of many child refugees fleeing England for the safety of Canada during the Second World War. Joining her is her younger brother. But new friends are easily made on board the ship Benares. But while the promise of safety provides much hope, the ship has to arrive before all is well....

You can [easily] deduce from the title that all does not go well aboard the ship. It is war time, and, though the ship has many escorts, anything can happen during war time. Will Bess survive? How many will lose their lives in their pursuit of safety?

My thoughts: I am so glad this one was a verse novel. This one was an intense read, and the format helped keep the pages turning. I would definitely recommend to readers who enjoy survivor historical books. Or for those that seek out all things world war II.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

90. I Survived the Black Death, 1348

I Survived the Black Death, 1348 (I Survived #24) Lauren Tarshis. 2024. 144 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars] [j historical fiction, j fiction, series book]

First sentence:  I'm dying. That's all eleven-year-old Elsie Archer was thinking as she lay on a sweat-soaked straw mattress. Burning with fever, head throbbing, Elsie thrashed and moaned. The air around her stunk of sickness...and death.

Premise/plot: Lauren Tarshis' I Survived series travels way, way, way back in her newest: all the way back the fourteenth century! It stars Elsie and her best friend, Humphrey, villagers of Brambly, England. The two are in a dangerous circumstance or situation before the Plague sweeps through the village. (Being in the wrong place at the wrong time OR being in the right place at the right time...just getting caught by the bad guys). The plague might just work in their favor--in an odd way--but life will never be the same after the Black Death. 

My thoughts: This might be her most compelling book that I've read in quite a while. I didn't love the author's note. I get it. I do. But I didn't love it. The comparison linking COVID and the Black Death. I can see how kids might think these two are super similar, but, I didn't appreciate the comparison nearly as much as an adult reader. Perhaps I've just read too much history and historical fiction set in the middle ages. Perhaps I think the comparison only works on the surface level. Either way, the book itself I definitely recommend to fans of the series. Though perhaps this one isn't "typical" of the series.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

41. One Big Open Sky

One Big Open Sky. Lesa Cline-Ransome. 2024. 304 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: On the ride back from church
every time Charly
trotted faster
or trotted out the way
of a too-big hole in the road
my head fell against
Daddy's soft Sunday shirt
blue as a clear sky
Momma was humming
the hymns to herself
in the back of the wagon
we just finished
singing out loud
in the pews
Riding next to Daddy
listening to Momma
I asked Daddy
What was your momma and daddy like?
and he pulled back
hard on the reins
enough to make Charly start
and lift his head
wondering what Daddy wanted
Charly knew there wasn't no need
for Daddy to be pulling
in the middle of his trotting
in the middle of the road
when he knew just where he was going
Daddy heard my asking
but didn't answer straitaway...

Premise/plot: Historical verse novel written for middle grade about the pioneer life--that essentially describes this one. Set circa 1879, this one follows a wagon train of black pioneers or homesteaders. All are heading west for a chance to improve upon their lives--a chance to own their own land and embrace more freedom, to break with their pasts. There are three points of view. 

My thoughts: Verse novels can be hit or miss for me. I sometimes do enjoy verse novels, but sometimes I'm more why is this written in verse??? why wouldn't prose be a better fit???? Personally--and this is completely subjective--I think prose would have worked better for me. 

Pioneer life was DIFFICULT. This book doesn't shy away from death, death, death, and more death. 

I was slightly bothered by the lack of punctuation throughout the novel. I think you can tell that from the first sentence. 

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

37. Uprising

Uprising. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Review copy] [J Historical Fiction; MG Historical Fiction]

First sentence: If I'd known what was coming that morning, I'd have done things differently. I certainly wouldn't have fought with my mother.

Premise/plot: Jennifer Nielsen's newest book is set in Poland during the Second World War. It is a fictionalized account inspired by a real teenager, Lidia Zakrzewski, a Resistance fighter. Lidia, our heroine, is outraged when Poland falls and the Nazis invade. Everything changes dramatically in such a short amount of time. Her home life--which had some tension before with a difficult mother--becomes truly dramatic. Still, she keeps on keeping on--resisting, persisting, doing anything and everything to defy the new regime. "Simple" things like going to an illegal school so she can continue her education. More difficult things like becoming a messenger--running messages for those in the resistance--before ultimately becoming a fighter herself. This is a brutal coming of age story set in a harsh environment.

My thoughts: I have never been disappointed by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Still holds true with her newest book. I found this one engaging. I read it quickly--one or two sittings--because I just got caught up in the story. It was a rough read as many war books are. But it was a GREAT read. Definitely recommended.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

36. The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry. Anna Rose Johnson. 2024. 192 pages. [Source: Library]

 First sentence: "What are we going to do with young Lucy?"

Premise/plot: The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is a children's historical fiction novel set in 1912. Lucy Landry is an orphan being sent to live with a new family--the Martins. The Martins live in a lighthouse and Mr. Martin is the lighthouse keeper. The family is already LARGE. They are strangers to one another. Lucy has a vivid imagination--especially when it comes to her identity and story. She is a girl on a mission. She wants to "complete" her father's mission--as best she can. He wanted to find treasure from a shipwreck. (The name of the ship is escaping my memory). Lucy is terrified of the water and not so fond of ships or boats, but her love of her father may prove stronger.

My thoughts: This one was an almost for me. I wanted to love it. I did. In the actual year 1912, one of the biggest trends in children's literature WAS orphans. THIS is the time of Pollyanna and Anne Shirley and Emily (of New Moon) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I'm sure there are dozens more. An orphan with a big imagination sounds like my cup of tea. The opening was giving off big vibes of Emily of New Moon--minus the cats. But I personally failed to bond with the characters. At one point--and I take full responsibility--I blinked and missed a crucial plot point. I spent the last half of the novel slightly confused and out of sorts. Not lost enough to truly have lost the plot. Yet just confused enough to feel something was missing. If I could pinpoint *where* I blinked and missed something, I would go back to the chapter and pick it up again. But I don't know where I lost it. I think I wanted a stronger emotional reaction to this one. I still think this one could largely be all on me--my fault. Your reading experience might be different.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

33. Ferris

Ferris. Kate DiCamillo. 2024. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [MG Fiction, J Fiction, Realistic, Historical]

First sentence: It was the summer before Emma Phineas Wilkey (who everyone called Ferris) went into fifth grade. It was the summer that the ghost appeared to Charisse, the summer that Ferris's sister, Pinky Wilkey, devoted herself to becoming an outlaw, and the summer that Uncle Ted left Aunt Shirley and moved into the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. It was the summer that Ferris's best friend, Billy Jackson, played a song called "Mysterious Barricades" over and over again on the piano. Billy Jackson loved music. The very first sentence he had ever spoken to Ferris, was, "I hear piano music in my head all the time, and, I wonder, would it be all right if I held on to your hand?"

Premise/plot: Ferris is Kate DiCamillo's newest children's book. I would say the book is timeless, but, what I truly mean is that the book exists out of time. It could almost be any and every time period. So what is it about? The recurring theme or message is that every story is a love story, or, every good story is a love story. It is very much a story celebrating family and friends and community. Ferris isn't particularly "troubled;" she isn't facing an extraordinary problem that she has to overcome. There are no gigantic, looming conflicts. And THAT is a trend I'd love to see in children's books now and then. 

Ferris' grandmother is seeing a ghost, AND has recently been diagnosed with [congestive] heart failure. When she learns from her grandmother that the ghost wants to see the chandelier lighted so that her husband can find her, Ferris sets about doing just that. It isn't so much fulfilling a ghost's wish as it is fulfilling her grandmother's wish too. This is, I suppose, the "big" plot point of the book, but the book has scores of LOVELY quiet moments, ordinary moments, lovely moments where Ferris is just living life. They aren't always calm, peaceful, relaxed moments. But they are the little moments that make up a life. 

ETA: I could see Pinky, Ferris' sister, stealing the show much like Ramona did in Beezus and Ramona. Now that I think of that comparison, I can't not see it. This book is, in some ways, the answer to the question how on earth can I get along with my sister story.

My thoughts: The writing was solidly good. I do tend to love and adore her writing. I enjoyed the characters. I LOVED the relationships. I think the highlight, for me, are the many, many relationships we get to explore in this one. Do I love the ghost aspect? Not really. Is it a big enough subtraction that I dislike the book? No.

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

31. Across So Many Seas

Across So Many Seas. Ruth Behar. 2024. 272 pages. [Source: Library] [interconnected stories; novellas; historical fiction; mg]

First sentence: The sound of trumpets coming from the direction of our town gates tears me from sleep, my dreams forgotten as I jolt out of bed.

Premise/plot: Across So Many Seas contains four interconnected (three super-connected) historical stories or novellas. The time periods are 1492 (Spain), 1923 (Turkey), 1961 (Cuba), and 2003 (Miami, Florida). 

The novel opens with Benvenida, our twelve-year-old narrator, learning of a new decree. ALL Jews must either a) convert to Christianity b) leave the country [Spain] or c) disobey by staying and risk being hanged. Some of the community--including some of her extended family--do choose to convert. They do not want to leave their homes, businesses, etc. The story chronicles their exodus as they flee their country and seek a new homeland. It's a tough, demanding journey.

The three following stories follow three generations of the same family. Reina, Alegra, and Paloma star in compelling stories of their own. The stories examine coming of age from a Jewish perspective. Though that isn't really doing any of the stories justice. There is great turmoil in the first three stories. In the first, the Jewish population is being persecuted. In the second, the family is living in a newly independent Turkey. In the third, she is coming of age in the midst of Cuba's revolution. The fourth story "closes the circle" or "bridges the gap" the narrator is traveling with her family to Spain to learn more about their cultural history. 

My thoughts: I found this a great read. I really was invested with ALL of the stories. I sped through it. I used to speed through books all the time. As I get older, as my vision worsens, as reading becomes more physically demanding, I don't always give in to "page-turners." But I absolutely loved this one. 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

8. Light and Air

Light and Air. Mindy Nichols Wendell. 2024. [January] 218 pages. [Source: Library] [J Historical; MG Historical; 1930s; tuberculosis; coming of age]

First sentence: The doors of the small white schoolhouse burst open. Children spilled out into the golden afternoon like bees whose hive had been disturbed.

Premise/plot: Hallelujah Grace Newton (aka "Glory") struggles after tuberculosis tears their family apart. Her mom has a life-threatening active case of tuberculosis (they were clueless until she started coughing up blood). Her and her dad both test positive for the disease, but both have clear lungs and are deemed "safe" to go about their lives. But how can you go on with your life when everyone knows you have TB? when you miss your mother so much you actually ache? when your always-distant father seems a million miles away instead of a hundred? Halle risks everything to go and see her mother...even her own life....

My thoughts: This historical coming of age novel is set in 1935/1936 in New York. Most of the book is set at a sanitarium--a special hospital where tuberculosis patients received special care and attention. 

This was a quick read. I enjoyed it. Liked meeting the cast of characters. There was plenty of heart to be found. Halle definitely ached: she missed her mother whose life was in danger and her father who was seemingly choosing to be absent literally and emotionally. This one is a little heavy. (I'm not sure how I would have handled this one as a kid. If I would have been too anxious about the characters--with good reason--or if I would have had to "put it in the freezer."

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

184. The Sky Over Rebecca

The Sky Over Rebecca. Matthew Fox. 2022/2023. 256 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Somebody had made a snow angel in a perfect white snowdrift down by the lake. There was something odd about it. Something about it didn't look right. 

Premise/plot: Kara, our modern-day heroine, finds herself able to interact with the past. She meets Rebecca and her brother, Samuel. They are living in the past--hiding on an island--during the Second World War. Kara wants to help 'save' these new [Jewish] friends, but is there a way to save them from the present? Or is history always going to play out the same way? 

My thoughts: The Sky Over Rebecca was definitely an 'almost' book for me. Almost a textbook case of "almost" for me. There's a supernatural/fantastical element of this one involving time. It is in a roundabout way about World War II and the Holocaust. Yet it was a little too odd--too out there--for me. I am not sure if there was a disconnect with Kara or just so many unanswered questions. 

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

For example, why Kara? Why is she the one who can see the 'ghosts' of the past--talk to them, hear them, see them, etc. Has Rebecca been in her timeloop for eighty years? Is Kara the first one that Rebecca has successfully communicated with?

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

144. Thee, Hannah!

Thee, Hannah! Marguerite de Angeli. 1940. 98 pages. [Source: Library] [children's classic; j fiction]

First sentence: Hannah stopped talking for a moment to listen to the night watch cry out the time. She heard the cry again, going on down the block, "Nine o'clock," and went on talking. 

My thoughts, part one: Thee, Hannah may have the dimensions of a picture book, but it is not a picture book. It is not an early chapter book. Yes, it has illustrations--occasionally--but consider it more a novel in a very odd format.

Premise/plot: Hannah, our heroine, is a Quaker. Hannah spends most of the novel feeling out of sorts about that. Why can't she dress like others? Why can't she talk like others? Why can't she be more like others? She isn't necessarily questioning faith--just how that faith is lived out. And not questioning in a twentieth-century or twenty-first century way. Hannah is not deconstructing. She's just wanting to wear a different kind of bonnet, a bonnet more like her friends wear. She dreams about owning a red dress, for example. Or having a sash like her friend has. The book doesn't have much of a plot--not really. It's just Hannah being Hannah day after day, week after week, month after month. It does offer a glimpse of the Quaker way of life in the nineteenth century. But is that a plot? Maybe. Maybe not. The most eventful event of the novel is when Hannah helps a runaway slave. (Her family--like many Quakers--were part of the underground railroad). 

My thoughts: I like historical fiction, generally. I like classics, mostly. I wasn't expecting this to be so text-heavy because of the [deceptive] picture book format. Maybe this was not an unusual format or layout in 1940. The novel is definitely a quiet, simple book. Definitely character driven and not plot-driven. Will the novel be easy to sell to children in 2023? I doubt it. I think the book could still be enjoyed by readers of various ages, but it will be a special reader that will be the best match. 

I do think that religion and spirituality are rarely tackled in modern writing and publishing. So it was nice that faith was so matter-of-fact in this story.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

119. Someplace to Call Home

Someplace to Call Home. Sandra Dallas. 2019. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [Middle Grade Historical]

First sentence: The battered old Model T Ford sputtered and stalled. With a sigh, sixteen-year-old Tom Turner guided it to the side of the dirt road. He slid out of the worn seat on the driver's side and stood next to the vehicle, stopping a moment as he heard a hissing sound. He shook his head. "The transmission's bad, and it looks like we blew a tire, too."

Premise/plot: Hallie, Tom, and Benny are orphans traveling the road during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. When their car breaks down in Kansas, they have no choice but to camp out until they can fix it. The farmer whose land they are on talks with them. It isn't instant friendship or kinship. But he offers Tom a chance, an opportunity. That's what Tom wants--all of them want--opportunities to work, to earn money, to survive. The family soon becomes neighborly. Benny befriends their daughter--both have similar mental/developmental differences. They bring out the best in each other. They bless one another with friendship. Hallie and the mother take turns teaching the children since the school system refuses to educate them because of their disability. Hallie does go to school sometimes. She loves learning and sees it as a great opportunity. Are the children accepted? Not really. Not at first. They are seen as "squatters" and "vagrants" and "thieves." The fact that Tom--who is very skilled mechanically--is taking away a job from an unskilled person is offensive to some. 

The book is set in the 1930s, of course, and in Kansas. 

My thoughts: Ultimately this one is such a feel-good read. I absolutely loved, loved, loved it. I thought everything about it was wonderful. I loved the relationships that developed. I loved the unfolding of the story. I highly recommend this one!

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

98. When Clouds Touch Us

When Clouds Touch Us. Thanhhà Lại. 2023. [May] 256 pages. [Library]

First sentence: First refugee year
I didn't know to ask
for a day-of-birth party.
Last year Mother reminded us
all Vietnamese gain an age
together at Tet.
Our flip of the lunar calendar
was celebrated back home
as if combining Christmas,
western New Year's,
Thanksgiving, July 4th,
plus millions of days of birth.
This year,
Pam and I, April babies,
will invite twenty friends
to a rolling-shoe party
like Amy's last autumn.
I vow fewer
purple quail eggs
on my swollen knees
while Pam plots around
her religion's no-music rule.
Pam insists on April 10th,
my day, not hers,
to mark my first party.
So like her.
We were each
a maple seed,
spinning unclaimed
until we rooted
as best friends.

Premise/plot: When Clouds Touch Us is the sequel to Inside Out and Back Again (2011), a Newbery Honor book. Hà, our heroine, is settling into Alabama and loving life (mostly) with her best friend. But all is upended when her mother decides to move the family to Texas for better employment opportunities. Hà is crushed. Making friends--or a friend--and settling down in school wasn't easy in Alabama a year (or so) ago, and she fears that Texas will prove equally difficult. This verse novel follows Hà and her family for about a year--give or take a month. 

My thoughts: Is it easier to move from Alabama to Texas than to move across the world from Vietnam to the United States? Maybe. Maybe not. Both books are coming of age novels written in verse. Both capture the uncertainty of her life and complexity of emotions. Both books are set in the 1970s. I have not read the first book since 2012 when I initially reviewed it. I am relying on my review of the first book to help me out here. I have, of course, just read the second book.

I wish I'd taken the time to reread the first book. (But I didn't). I liked the second book. I don't know that I loved it. I think the potential for love might have been there if I'd read the books back to back. If I was more invested in this family and their story.

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews