Book review: The Last Song by Eva Wiseman

The Last Song by Eva Wiseman (Published by Tundra Books, April 10, 2012)

Fourteen-year-old Isabel de Cardosa lives a privileged life as the only child of wealthy parents in Toledo, Spain in 1491. She lives in a nice house and has beautiful clothes. Her parents have always given her everything she wanted. But then everything changes. Her parents announce that she will be betrothed to Luis, a boy from a wealthy and respected family. Although Luis is her own age, Isabel hates him because he is cruel and selfish. She doesn’t understand why her parents, who always planned to choose a husband Isabel liked, would suddenly decide she must marry someone she hates.

Soon, Isabel learns the real reason for her parents’ decision. Although Isabel has been raised a devout Catholic, her family is Jewish. Her grandparents were forced to convert to save their lives, but her parents have continued to practice Jewish traditions in secret. Her parents hope that Isabel’s marriage to Luis will protect the family from the Inquisition, since Luis’s family is an old Catholic family. Isabel isn’t sure what to think at first. Curious about her heritage, she becomes friends with Yonah, a Jewish boy her age. Their friendship would be forbidden by her parents if they knew, because Yonah is openly Jewish and only the son of a craftsman. Soon her friendship with Yonah seems to be turning into something more, but then her father is arrested by the agents of the Inquisition. Isabel is desperate to find a way to save her father, no matter what the risks to herself.

I mainly wanted to read this book because it is about historical events not often written about in young adult fiction. Most historical fiction I have read with Jewish characters has been about either immigration to the United States (usually to New York City) or the Holocaust. While certainly those are very important topics, they are not the entirety of Jewish history. I love when young adult historical fiction explores events from history that are not frequently written about. Isabel, the main character of this book, is very brave and willing to do anything to save her family. The relationship between her and Yonah was very sweet and I would have liked to see it developed more, but perhaps that might not have been realistic given the historical setting. Although this book is about sad events, it’s not all depressing, it’s a very hopeful story too. I think readers who love young adult historical fiction but want to read something different than the typical book from this genre would enjoy this book.

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.

In My Mailbox - 2/11/12

Credit goes to The Story Siren for creating and hosting the In My Mailbox feature.

Here are the new books I got this week:

The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors

Emmeline Thistle has always had a mysterious bond with cows, beginning on the night of her birth, when the local bovines saved the infant cast aside to die in the forest. But Emmeline was unaware that this bond has also given her a magical ability to transform milk into chocolate, a very valuable gift in a kingdom where chocolate is more rare and more precious than gold or jewels. Then one day Owen Oak, a dairyman’s son, teaches Emmeline to churn milk into butter – and instead she creates a delicious chocolate confection that immediately makes her a target for every greedy, power-hungry person in the kingdom of Anglund. Only Owen loves Emmeline for who she truly is, not her magical skill. But is his love enough to save her from the danger all around her?

The Last Song by Eva Wiseman

Spain had been one of the world’s most tolerant societies for eight hundred years, but that way of life was wiped out by the Inquisition. Isabel’s family feels safe from the terrors, torture, and burnings. After all, her father is a respected physician in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella. Isabel was raised as a Catholic and doesn’t know that her family’s Jewish roots may be a death sentence. When her father is arrested by Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, she makes a desperate plan to save his life – and her own.

The Académie by Susanne Dunlap

Eliza Monroe—daughter of the future president of the United States—is devastated when her mother decides to send her to boarding school outside of Paris. But the young American teen is quickly reconciled to the idea when—ooh, la-la!—she discovers who her fellow pupils will be: Hortense de Beauharnais, daughter of Josephine Bonaparte; and Caroline Bonaparte, youngest sister of the famous French general. It doesn't take long for Eliza to figure out that the two French girls are mortal enemies—and that she's about to get caught in the middle of their schemes.
Loosely drawn from history, Eliza Monroe's imagined coming of age provides a scintillating glimpse into the lives, loves, and hopes of three young women during one of the most volatile periods in French history.

Our Australian Girl: Meet Alice by Davina Bell

It's 1918 . . .
and Alice lives with her big family by the Swan River in Perth, while on the other side of the world, the Great War rages. Alice's deepest wish is to become a ballerina, and when she auditions for a famous dance teacher from London, it seems as if her dreams might come true. But then there's a terrible accident, and Alice must ask herself whether there are more important things than dancing.
Meet Alice and join her adventure in the first of four stories about a gifted girl in a time of war.

Our Australian Girl: Meet Nellie by Penny Matthews

It's 1849 . . .
and Nellie O'Neill is arriving in South Australia on a ship bringing orphan girls from Irish workhouses. Nellie and her best friend, Mary, have left the famine in Ireland far behind, and are full of hopes and dreams for the future. Nellie longs to learn to read, to be part of a family once more, and never to be hungry again. But with no job and no one to turn to, how will Nellie make her wishes come true?
Meet Nellie and join her adventure in the first of four stories about an Irish girl with a big heart, in search of the freedom to be herself. (already read and reviewed here)

Our Australian Girl: Sydney Harbour Bridge by Vashti Farrer

It is 1932 and Sydney has hit hard times but the construction of a bridge that will reach across the harbour is setting spirits soaring. Both Alice and Billy tell the story of building the spectacular Harbour Bridge which will link the north shore to the working class suburbs of the south and unify a separated city.

Book review: Our Australian Girl: Meet Nellie by Penny Matthews

Our Australian Girl: Meet Nellie by Penny Matthews (Published by Penguin Books Australia, January 25, 2012)

Twelve-year-old Nellie O'Neill lost her entire family - mother, father, and three younger siblings - to the famine in Ireland. After that, she had to live in a horrible workhouse, but now she has the chance for a new life. Nellie has arrived in Australia with a group of other Irish orphan girls, who are to work as maidservants.

At first, Nellie is worried that she will not be chosen to work as a servant, or that if she is, her employer will be cruel to her. However, Nellie is lucky, because she is chosen to work for a kind woman who runs a boardinghouse. For the first time in her life Nellie has her own room, and unlike in Ireland, there is plenty of food. But can her good fortune last?

I enjoyed the books I read in the Our Australian Girl series last year so I was happy when I found out there would be two new sets of books released this year. This series is a lot like the American Girls series, but set in Australia. Each character lives during a different time and place in Australian history and her story is told in a four book series. Although this book was not my favorite from the series (my favorite books so far were the stories about Grace, a young convict girl in 1808), I enjoyed reading Nellie's story and look forward to reading the other three books about her, which will be published later this year.

Book review: Dear Canada: Torn Apart by Susan Aihoshi

Dear Canada: Torn Apart by Susan Aihoshi (Published by Scholastic Canada, February 1, 2012)

Mary Kobayashi begins a diary after receiving one as a present for her twelfth birthday in May 1941. Although there is a war going on in Europe, it seems very far away from Vancouver. At first, Mary writes mostly about her everyday life - school, friends, Girl Guides meetings, and summer camp. But when Japan attacks the United States at Pearl Harbor later that year, everything changes forever.

Even though Mary and her siblings were born in Canada to immigrant parents who became naturalized citizens of their new country, many people are suspicious of anyone with Japanese heritage. Soon, restrictions are placed upon them and the other Japanese Canadians in their community. They must observe a strict curfew, give up cars, radios, and cameras, and many are forced to leave their homes. Mary is left wondering if her life will ever be the same again.

I expected Torn Apart to be mainly about Mary's experiences in an internment camp, based upon the publisher's description and the subtitle "The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi." It's actually mainly about her life in Vancounter during the year and a half leading up to those events - only the last forty pages or so of the book are set at the internment camp Mary and her family are sent to. Although this book was not one of my top favorites from the Dear Canada series, I still overall enjoyed it. The author, whose parents and grandparents spent part of World War II in an internment camp, brought to life the injustices suffered by people of Japanese descent in Canada and the United States during the war. I recommend this book to readers who enjoyed other Dear Canada books (or the similar Dear America series), or who are interested in this era of history.

In My Mailbox - 2/4/12

Credit goes to The Story Siren for creating and hosting the In My Mailbox feature.

Here are the new books I got this week:

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.
In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

Dangerous Waters: An Adventure on the Titanic by Gregory Mone

A stowaway, a stolen book, a murderous villain: an adventure on the most famous shipwreck in history. The great ocean liner Titanic is preparing to cross the Atlantic. On board is a sinister thief bent on stealing a rare book that may be the key to unlocking infinite treasure, a wealthy academic traveling home to America with his rare book collection, and Patrick Waters, a twelve-year-old Irish boy who is certain that his job as a steward on the unsinkable ship will be the adventure of a lifetime. Disguises, capers, and danger abound as the ship makes its way toward that fateful iceberg where Patrick will have to summon all his wits in order to survive.

Book review: Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skypruch

Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skypruch (Published by Scholastic Canada, February 1, 2012)

This book tells the story of Lida, a fictional young Ukranian girl, who is captured by the Nazis to be used for slave labor shortly before her ninth birthday. Lida's father was killed by the Soviets, and her mother was shot by the Nazis for attempting to hide their Jewish neighbors. After that, Lida and her beloved younger sister, Larissa, went to live with their grandmother, where they were captured by the Nazis. The girls were separated, with Lida being sent to a work camp. Lida is devastated, as she doesn't know what happened to her sister, her only remaining family, and she fears she might have been harmed or killed because she is too young to work.

The conditions at the work camp are awful. Lida lies about her age, hoping she will be seen as more useful, and thus, be kept alive. There is never enough food and everyone is cold and hungry. Lida is lucky, because she is given a good position working in the laundry, which is clean and warm. However, after a few months, she is forced to go to work in a factory, making bombs for the Nazis. Lida hates having to help the Nazi war effort, because if they win, she will never be free again. However, she is able to find comfort from memories of her family, from her friendship with other children living at the camp, and from keeping alive her hope that one day she will find her sister again.

Before reading Making Bombs for Hitler, I didn't know that so many children and young adults from Eastern Europe had been used as slave labor by the Nazis during World War II. I wouldn't necessarily say I enjoyed reading this book, because it's a very sad and tragic story about the suffering of children in war. However, I think it is a very important story to tell, and the author tells it well. Lida was a very couragous character who survived living and working in conditions that were nearly unbearable, all the while keeping alive the hope that she would someday be reunited with her sister. This book is a companion novel to another book by the author, Stolen Child, which was about Lida's sister, Larissa. Making Bombs for Hitler can be read as a standalone, but you will want to read Stolen Child too, to find out how Larissa survived the war. I recommend this book to young readers studying World War II as well as to adults with an interest in the subject.

Waiting on Wednesday: Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb (Published by Random House UK, July 5, 2012)

Meg Lytton has always known of her dark and powerful gift. Raised a student of the old magick by her Aunt Jane, casting the circle to see visions of the future and concocting spells from herbs and bones has always been as natural to Meg as breathing. But there has never been a more dangerous time to practise the craft, for it is 1554, and the sentence for any woman branded a witch is hanging, or burning at the stake.
Sent to the ruined, isolated palace of Woodstock to serve the disgraced Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and half-sister of Queen Mary, Meg discovers her skills are of interest to the outcast princess, who is desperate to know if she will ever claim the throne. But Meg's existence becomes more dangerous every day, with the constant threat of exposure by the ruthless witchfinder Marcus Dent, and the arrival of a young Spanish priest, Alejandro de Castillo, to whom Meg is irresistibly drawn - despite their very different attitudes to her secret.
Thrilling and fast-paced, this is the first unputdownable story in a bewitching new series.


The Tudor era is one of my favorites and the combination of historical fiction and fantasy sounds really good. Also I love the cover!