Book review: Dear America: Like the Willow Tree by Lois Lowry

Dear America: Like the Willow Tree by Lois Lowry (Published by Scholastic, January 1, 2011)

Eleven-year-old Lydia Pierce lives a carefree life in Portland, Main, in 1918, until the terrible flu epidemic that is spreading worldwide takes the lives of her parents and baby sister. Lydia and her older brother Daniel are now orphans, and their aunt and uncle have no room for them on the crowded family farm. With no other options available, their uncle takes them to live in Sabbathday Lake with the Shakers, who care for orphaned children.

Life with the Shakers is very different from Lydia’s old life in Portland. The Shakers have many rules that must be strictly followed. Males and females must stay separate and not socialize, which means Lydia can rarely speak to her brother. In her diary Lydia describes her first few months living with the Shakers and how she eventually adjusts and finds some happiness in her new life.

I was really looking forward to this new Dear America book as the historical setting looked really interesting and unique. However, the main character, Lydia, seemed to adjust far too quickly to her new life. Her parents and little sister died, she and her brother were separated, she had to start a totally new life in a place with very different rules and a new religion, where she could not even keep the few mementos she had of her family and old life - and less than a month later, she didn’t seem too sad or concerned and her only worry was that she thought her brother might be unhappy. It seemed more than a bit unrealistic for an eleven-year-old girl to adjust so quickly to so many losses and I would have enjoyed the story more and found it more realistic if these changes in Lydia had taken place over a longer period of time. While the historical information was interesting - I hadn’t read any books before about Shaker life during this time period - ultimately, I just found the main character to be totally unrealistic. Possibly still worth a read if you are a dedicated fan of the series, for the historical details and interesting setting.

Waiting on Wednesday: Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer

Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer (Published by Simon & Schuster, June 7, 2011)

Some day I shall become a great ruler of Egypt, better than my sisters can dream of being, but Imust take care not to let them know this. They are jealous, but they do not fear me—not yet.


In the first century B.C., Cleopatra, the third of the pharaoh’s six children, learns that her father has chosen her to be the next queen of Egypt. But when King Ptolemy is forced into exile, Cleopatra is left to fend for herself in a palace rife with intrigue and murder. Smart, courageous, ambitious, and sensuously beautiful, she possesses the charm to cause two of history’s most famous leaders to fall in love with her. But as her cruel sisters plot to steal the throne, Cleopatra realizes there is only one person on whom she can rely—herself.


I have read Carolyn Meyer's other novels about famous historical queens and really enjoyed them, she is one of my favorite young adult historical fiction writers. This book is a bit different as it is the first one she has written that is not set in Europe, but Cleopatra had a very interesting life and I can't wait to read her version of it.

YA historical fiction challenge

Since I love young adult and middle grade historical fiction, I was super excited to see that Sab H. at YA Bliss is hosting a 2011 YA Historical Fiction Challenge. For the challenge, you can read young adult or middle grade historical fiction. My goal was level 3, which was to read at least 15 YA or MG historical fiction books, however as you can see I already passed my goal! You can read more about the challenge and sign up for it at this link.

Here are the books I finished for this challenge in 2011, along with my reviews. I guess I did really well, since I ended up reading way more than 15 books.

1. In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap
2. Dear America: Cannons at Dawn by Kristiana Gregory
3. The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell
4. My Story: Factory Girl by Pamela Oldfield
5. Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper
6. Daughters of the Sea: May by Kathryn Lasky
7. Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan
8. The Midnight Tunnel by Angie Frazier
9. No Moon by Irene N. Watts
10. The Queen's Lady by Eve Edwards
11. Father of Lies by Ann Turner
12. Our Australian Girl: Meet Grace by Sofie Laguna
13. Sigrun's Secret by Marie-Louise Jensen
14. Our Australian Girl: Meet Letty by Alison Lloyd
15. Our Australian Girl: Meet Poppy by Gabrielle Wang
16. Belle's Song by K.M. Grant
17. Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey
18. Titanic, Book 1: Unsinkable by Gordon Korman
19. My Royal Story: Henry VIII's Wives by Alison Prince
20. The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
21. Titanic, Book 2: Collision Course by Gordon Korman
22. Forgiven by Janet Fox
23. Fateful by Claudia Gray
24. The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell
25. Dear America: With the Might of Angels by Andrea Davis Pinkney
26. Our Australian Girl: A Friend for Grace by Sofia Laguna
27. Our Australian Girl: Poppy at Summerhill by Gabrielle Wang
28. Meet Marie-Grace by Sarah Masters Buckey
29. Meet Cécile by Denise Lewis Patrick
30. Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
31. Our Australian Girl: Letty and the Stranger's Lace by Alison Llyod
31. Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould
32. Our Australian Girl: Grace and Glory by Sofie Laguna
33. Our Australian Girl: Letty on the Land by Alison Lloyd
34. Titanic, Book 3: S.O.S. by Gordon Korman
35. Marie-Grace and the Orphans by Sarah Masters Buckey
36. Our Australian Girl: Poppy and the Thief by Gabrielle Wang
37. I Am Canada: Blood and Iron by Paul Yee
38. Troubles for Cécile by Denise Lewis Patrick
39.. Dear Canada: That Fatal Night by Sarah Ellis
40. Dark of the Moon by Tracey Barrett
41. I Am Canada: Deadly Voyage by Hugh Brewster
42. Our Australian Girl: A Home For Grace by Sofie Laguna
43. The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
44. May B. by Caroline Starr Rose
45. Dear America: Behind the Masks by Susan Patron

Waiting on Wednesday: Dear America: Cannons at Dawn by Kristiana Gregory

Dear America: Cannons at Dawn by Kristiana Gregory (Published by Scholastic, May 1, 2011)

Abigail Jane Stewart returns in this brand-new sequel to THE WINTER OF RED SNOW. The Revolutionary War toils on, but the Stewart family can no longer avoid getting involved. Abby's father joins the Continental Army, while Abby, her mother, and her sister become camp followers. They face daily hardships alongside the troops and continue to spend time helping the Washingtons. Filled with romance and adventure, Abby's frontline view of the war captures the heartache and bravery of the soldiers, as well as the steep cost of freedom.


The Winter of Red Snow was one of the first Dear America books I read years ago, and is still one of my favorites from the series. So I am really excited to read the sequel.

Book review: Dear America: A Picture of Freedom by Patricia C. McKissack

Dear America: A Picture of Freedom by Patricia McKissack (New edition published by Scholastic, January 1, 2011; originally published in 1997)

The year is 1859. Clotee has lived all twelve years of her life as a slave on the Belmont Plantation in Virginia. Although she has known no life other than that of a slave, she has secretly learned how to read and write, and that ability gives her a glimpse of the world out there. To practice, she keeps a secret diary that she hides in a hollowed-out tree.

An orphan for most of her life, Clotee has managed to make the best of her circumstances, and writing is one of the few things that brings her any joy. When a tutor comes to the plantation to teach the master's young son, Clotee assumes that he'll just be another prejudiced southerner. But he's an abolitionist who further expands Clotee's horizons, and he may be able to give her the one thing she longs for: freedom.

I first read A Picture of Freedom in 1997 when it was originally published as one of the first few books in the Dear America series. Each book in the series is the fictional diary of a preteen or young teenage girl living during an important time in American history. This particular book brings to life the hardships of life as a slave in the pre-Civil War South from the point of view of a young girl. The Dear America series truly brings history to life and helped me develop a love for historical fiction, and I am glad to see the series is being brought back into print for a new generation of readers. Highly recommended.

In My Mailbox - 11/20/10

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

Once again I got only one book, but at least I am not feeling so sick anymore, so I should be able to read more this week. However the book was one I was really wanting to read, I've started reading it already since I borrowed it from another blogger.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

2011 debut author challenge

I participated in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge hosted by The Story Siren. To learn more about the challenge and to sign up visit this link.

It's the end of the year, and I didn't do so well in this challenge. Here's what I managed to read, along with my reviews:

1. Entwined by Heather Dixon
2. Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley
3. The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
4. The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

And here are the books I read that didn't count for the challenge. The first four did not count because I read ARCs or foreign editions in 2010. The last book did not count because I read it in 2011, but the release date got delayed until January 2012. So I can't really use it for either the 2011 or 2012 challenge now.

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
2. Wither by Lauren DeStefano (for some reason I never reviewed this)
3. Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis (for some reason I never reviewed this either, I feel terrible!)
4. The Coven's Daughter by Lucy Jago (read the UK edition, titled Montacute House, in 2010)
5. May B. by Caroline Starr Rose