Book review: Abby: California Gold by Pamela Walls

Abby: California Gold by Pamela Walls (Published by Tyndale Kids, April 1, 2001)

This is the third book in the South Seas Adventures series. This series is about the adventures of Abby Kendall, a young teenage girl, and her family and friends as they travel the South Seas in the late 1840s.

When her mother becomes ill with a mysterious fever, thirteen-year-old old Abby Kendall's father decides to send her and the other children away from Hawaii. Abby, her younger sister Sarah, and their adopted Hawaiian brother Kini join Luke as he travels back to his Aunt Dagmar's home in California. It's April 1848, and soon after arriving, the children learn that gold has been discovered in California. When Luke's aunt treats them terribly, forcing them to be servants, the children decide to run away and find gold so they can return to their family. But soon after they arrive in the goldfields, Abby begins to worry about Luke. Luke has caught "gold fever," and only seems to care about being rich. And to make matters worse, children are disappearing from the goldfields, and Abby fears for the safety of Sarah and Kini.

This book is another great adventure featuring Abby Kendall and her family and friends. It's both a sweet story about family and friendship, and an exciting historical adventure. I love the California Gold Rush setting as well; all the books in this series have really interesting settings. I recommend it to all readers who enjoyed the first two books in the series.

Book review: Abby: Quest for Treasure by Pamela Walls

Abby: Quest for Treasure by Pamela Walls (Published by Tyndale Kids, October 1, 2000)

This is the second book in the South Seas Adventures series. This series is about the adventures of Abby Kendall, a young teenage girl, and her family and friends as they travel the South Seas in the late 1840s.

Thirteen-year-old Abby Kendall and her family have been living with her Uncle Samuel on his ranch in Hawaii for three months now, but things there are not how her parents expected. During her uncle's long illness, the ranch was not productive, and neither he nor her parents have much money. Now a mean neighbor is threatening to buy the ranch, and Abby's parents and uncle don't have enough money to stop him. So Abby decides to use the pirate map she found on her last adventure, and find the treasure to solve her family's problems. She convinces her best friend Luke to come along, and soon the two friends are caught in another dangerous adventure as they sail to Lanai, a small Hawaiian Island that is supposed to be deserted and is rumored to be haunted.

Readers who enjoyed the first book in the South Seas Adventures series are sure to enjoy this book, which was another fun, exciting adventure featuring Abby and Luke, and a real page-turned as well. I really like the unique setting of this series, which sets it apart from other midlde grade historical fiction series.

Book review: Abby: Lost at Sea by Pamela Walls

Abby: Lost at Sea by Pamela Walls (Published by Tyndale Kids, October 1, 2000)

This is the first book in the South Seas Adventures series. This series is about the adventures of Abby Kendall, a young teenage girl, and her family and friends as they travel the South Seas in the late 1840s.

It's 1847, and when her parents announce that the family will be moving to Hawaii to help her sick uncle on his ranch, thirteen-year-old Abby Kendall is devastated. She doesn't want to leave her home, or her friends, particularly her best friend, Luke. An orphan who lives with his cruel aunt, Luke is like one of the family, but his aunt refuses to let him move to Hawaii with the Kendalls. Abby boards a ship for the sea voyage to Hawaii with her family, not knowing that Luke has run away from his aunt and stowed away on board. Abby is determined to keep him hidden until it's too late to turn back. But she doesn't expect that she and Luke will be swept overboard in a terrible storm, and left lost at sea in a tiny boat. It will take all of their courage and determination to find their way back to Abby's family, as they face many dangers along the way.

I loved this first book in the South Seas Adventures series. I really enjoyed the unique historical setting, and Abby was a great character. The book was well-written and exciting, and after reading I couldn't wait to read the rest of the books in the series to find out what adventures were in store for Abby and Luke next.

Book review: Horse Diaries: Maestoso Petra by Jane Kendall

Horse Diaries: Maestoso Petra by Jane Kendall (Published by Random House, March 9, 2010)

Maestoso Petra is a young Lipizzaner stallion born in the countryside of Austria in 1932. He first few years there are carefree as he races through the country meadows with the other horses. At age four, he is selected for the great honor of being trained at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. He enjoys the training and especially enjoys the visits from his trainer's young daughter, Liesl. Maestoso Petra becomes Liesl's favorite horse at the school, and he always looks forward to her visits and the treats she brings for him.

However, life changes for both the horses and the humans when Adolf Hitler rises to power, Austria is taken over by the Nazis, and World War II begins. Vienna is bombed and the horses and the humans that take care of them must flee to safety in the countryside.

Told from the point of view of Maestoso Petra, this book is sure to appeal to young readers who love horse stories, particularly those who also enjoy historical fiction. The story was very sweet and the illustrations by Ruth Sanderson were really adorable. If you know a young reader who loves horses and history, this would be a good book to recommend or to give as a gift.

October 2010 historical fiction feature - the U.S. Civil War

So, I haven't done one of these book lists in a while, so I decided to post one for October, for the American Civil War. Previously I posted lists for Colonial America, the American Revolution, Tudor England, and historical fiction about people of color. I will probably do either the Medieval era or the old west next, not sure yet. Hopefully this list will be helpful to anyone looking for a novel set in this era or that is just looking for some historical fiction to read in general. I will be listing both middle grade and young adult novels for this posting. Also, if you can think of any books you enjoyed on the topic that I didn't list, please leave a comment!

Middle grade novels:

Stella Stands Alone by A. Lafaye: Fourteen-year-old Stella, orphaned just after the Civil War, fights to keep her family’s plantation and fulfill her father’s desire to turn land over to the people who have worked on it for generations, but first she must find her father’s hidden deed and will.

My Side of the Story: The Brothers’ War by Patricia Hermes: Melody and Marshall are cousins whose family is torn apart when Marshall's father enlists in the Confederate Army and Melody's father backs the Union cause. Marshall assists his father by acting as a spy while Melody helps her father. But will family loyalty override the allegiances of war when one of the cousins finds the other in distress?

Saddles, Stars, and Stripes: Chance of a Lifetime by Deborah Kent: Away from home during the battle of Vicksburg, fourteen-year-old Jacquetta returns to find her parents gone and the plantation in Yankee hands, but with help from a slave girl, she devises a plan to rescue the family’s Morgan horses.

All Their Names Were Courage by Sharon Phillips Denslow: In 1862, as William Burd fights in the Civil War, he exchanges letters with his sister, Sallie, who is also writing to Confederate and Union generals asking about their horses in order to write a book.

Hear the Wind Blow by Mary Downing Hahn: With their mother dead and their home burned, a thirteen-year-old boy and his little sister set out across Virginia in search of relatives during the final days of the Civil War.

Before the Creeks Ran Red by Carolyn Reeder: Through the eyes of three different boys, three linked novellas explore the tumultuous times beginning with the secession of South Carolina and leading up to the first major battle of the Civil War.

Anna Sunday by Sally M. Keehn: In 1863 twelve-year-old Anna, disguised as a boy and accompanied by her younger brother Jed, leaves their Pennsylvania home and makes the difficult journey to join their wounded father in Winchester, Virginia, where they find themselves in danger from Confederate troops.

American Diaries: Maddie Retta Lauren by Kathleen Duey: While trying to hide her horse, Maddie meets up with two Yankee soldiers who make her change her mind about who is right and who is wrong in the war between North and South.

American Diaries: Emma Eileen Grove by Kathleen Duey: Twelve-year-old Emma receives unexpected friendship from a Black roustabout and a Union soldier during an explosion on the steamboat Sultana in 1865.

American Diaries: Amelina Carrett by Kathleen Duey: When thirteen-year-old Amelina saves the life of a young Yankee spy found injured near her Louisiana home in 1863, the orphaned girl creates a dangerous situation for herself and her uncle.

History Mysteries: Watcher in the Piney Woods by Elizabeth McDavid Jones: In 1865, while helping her family keep their Virginia farm going through the end of the Civil War, twelve-year-old Cassie meets a Confederate deserter and a Yankee prisoner of war and tries to discover who has been stealing from the farm.

Dear America: A Light in the Storm by Karen Hesse: In 1860 and 1861, while working in her father’s lighthouse on an island off the coast of Delaware, fifteen-year-old Amelia records in her diary how the Civil War is beginning to devastate her divided state.

Dear America: When Will This Cruel War Be Over? by Barry Denenberg: The diary of a fictional fourteen-year-old girl living in Virginia, in which she describes the hardships endured by her family and friends during one year of the Civil War.

My Name is America: The Journal of James Edmond Pease by James Murphy: James Edmond, a sixteen-year-old orphan, keeps a journal of his experiences and those of "G" Company which he joined as a volunteer in the Union Army during the Civil War.

My Name is America: The Journal of Rufus Rowe by Sid Hite: In 1862, sixteen-year-old Rufus Rowe runs away from home and settles in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he documents in his journal the battle he watches unfold there.

My America: Virginia’s Diaries by Patricia Hermes: The diaries of a young girl during the Civil War. The three books are My Brother’s Keeper, After the Rain, and A Time to Dance.

Dear Canada: A Desperate Road to Freedom by Karleen Bradford: Diary of an eleven-year-old slave girl who, along with her family, runs away from their Virginia plantation during the Civil War, and moves to Canada to start a new life.

Dear Ellen Bee by Mary E. Lyons & Muriel M. Branch: A scrapbook kept by a young black girl details her experiences and those of the older white woman, "Miss Bet," who had freed her and her family, sent her north from Richmond to get an education, and then worked to bring an end to slavery. Based on the life of Elizabeth Van Lew.

Joseph: A Rumble of War by Bonnie Pryor: After his stepfather becomes an abolitionist, ten-year-old Joseph struggles with his own thoughts about slavery as he sees its divisive power in his small Kentucky town.

Joseph’s Choice by Bonnie Pryor: In the early days of the Civil War, Joseph must decide whether to defend his stepfather’s abolitionist and pro-Union beliefs or side with the slave owners and Southern rights supporters in his home town of Branson Mills, Kentucky.

Run the Blockade by G. Clifton Wisler: During the Civil War, fourteen-year-old Henry finds adventure working as a ship’s boy and lookout aboard the "Banshee," a new British ship attempting to get past the Yankee blockade of the Southern coast.

Abraham’s Battle by Sara Harrell Banks: In 1863, as the Civil War approaches his home in Gettysburg and he realizes that a big battle is about to begin, a freed slave named Abraham decides to join the ambulance corps of the Union Army.

Silent Thunder by Andrea Davis Pinkney: In 1862 eleven-year-old Summer and her thirteen-year-old brother Rosco take turns describing how life on the quiet Virginia plantation where they are slaves is affected by the Civil War.

Mountain Valor by Gloria Houston: With her father and brothers gone to serve in the Civil War and her mother sick, teenage Valor ignores what is proper behavior for a girl and fights to defend her North Carolina mountain farm.

Black Angels by Linda Beatrice Brown: Three Southern children, two black and one white, escape from their homes during the horrors of the Civil War and, after meeting in the woods, gradually come to rely on each other as they make their way slowly north, enduring hunger, fear, sickness, and constant danger, before arriving in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia.

Imperfections by Lynda Durrant: In 1862 Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, fourteen-year-old Rosemary Elizabeth strives to fit in with the Shaker sisters of this "Heaven on Earth," but yearns to be reunited with her mother and siblings from whom she was separated when they sought refuge from her abusive father.

Captain Kate by Carolyn Reeder: Determined to take her father’s coal-carrying barge on the C & O Canal from Cumberland, Maryland, to Georgetown in D.C. during the Civil War, twelve-year-old Kate learns hurtful truths about herself.

Pride of the Green Mountains by Carin Greeberg Baker: With her father away fighting in the Civil War and her mother struggling to keep their Vermont dairy farm despite increasingly hard times, ten-year-old Rosalie tries to come up with a plan that will save their home without selling her beloved Morgan horse, Major.

Three Against the Tide by D. Anne Love: After her father is called away from their plantation near Charleston, S.C., during the Civil War, twelve-year-old Susanna must lead her brothers on a difficult journey in hopes of being reunited with him.

Sally Bradford by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler: A young girl experiences the cruelty, danger, and destruction of the Civil War in Virginia.

Across the Lines by Carolyn Reeder: Edward, the son of a white plantation owner, and his black house servant and friend Simon witness the siege of Petersburg during the Civil War.

Secrets of Civil War Spies by Nancy LeSourd: Letters between two friends, one a student in Richmond, Virginia, and the other a soldier in Washington, D.C., chronicle their experiences during the Civil War, including their work as Union spies and their reliance on God.

Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty: Twelve-year-old Hannalee Reed, forced to relocate in Indiana along with other Georgia millworkers during the Civil War, leaves her mother with a promise to return home as soon as the war ends. (Sequel: Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee)

Sound the Jubilee by Sandra Forrester: A slave and her family find refuge on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, during the Civil War. (Sequel: My Home is Over Jordan)

Silent Thunder by Andrea Davis Pinkney: In 1862 eleven-year-old Summer and her thirteen-year-old brother Rosco take turns describing how life on the quiet Virginia plantation where they are slaves is affected by the Civil War.

Young adult novels:

Keeping Secrets by Joan Lowery Nixon: In 1863, eleven-year-old Peg Kelly is drawn into the dangerous activities of a mysterious young woman who takes refuge with the Kelly family in Missouri after fleeing the attack on Lawrence, Kansas, by William Quantrill and his Confederate raiders.

A Dangerous Promise by Joan Lowery Nixon: In 1861, while living with his foster parents at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, twelve-year-old Mike Kelly and his best friend Todd Blakely join the Union army as drummer boys but their dreams of glory end when they experience the full horrors of war at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek in Missouri.

Two Girls of Gettysburg by Lisa Klein: When the Civil War breaks out, two cousins, Lizzie and Rosanna, find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict until the war reunites them in the town of Gettysburg.

Annie Between the States by L.M. Elliott: Instead of spending her teen years at parties and balls, Annie, an idealistic, poetry-loving patriot, finds herself nursing soldiers, hiding valuables, and running the household as the Civil War rages around her family’s Virginia home.

Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells: As the Civil War breaks out, India, a young Southern girl, summons her sharp intelligence and the courage she didn’t know she had to survive the war that threatens to destroy her family, her Virginia home, and the only life she has ever known.

Evvy’s Civil War by Miriam Brenaman: In Virginia in 1860, on the verge of the Civil War, fourteen-year-old Evvy chafes at the restrictions that her society places on both women and slaves.

A Voice from the Border by Pamela Smith Hill: Living in the border state of Missouri during the Civil War, fifteen-year-old Reeves tries to understand her father’s decision regarding their slaves.

Behind the Lines by Isabelle Holland: During the New York Draft Riot of 1863, a young Irish Catholic girl helps an African American make a daring escape from an angry mob.

Listen for Rachel by Lou Kassem: Moving up into the mountains of Tennessee introduces Rachel to a possible calling, as she learns about folk medicine from a local healer, until the Civil War divides the family loyalties and brings romance into her life.

The River Between Us by Richard Peck: During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois.

The War Within by Carol Matas: In 1862, after Union forces expel Hannah’s family from Holly Springs, Mississippi, because they are Jews, Hannah reexamines her views regarding slavery and the war.

Hearts of Stone by Kathleen Ernst: Orphaned when her father dies fighting for the Union and her mother expires from exhaustion, and also estranged from their Confederate neighbors, fifteen-year-old Hannah struggles to find a way for her family to survive during the Civil War in Tennessee.

March Toward the Thunder by Joseph Bruchac: Louis Nollette, a fifteen-year-old Abenaki Indian, joins the Irish Brigade in 1864 to fight for the Union in the Civil War.

Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen: Eager to enlist, fifteen-year-old Charley has a change of heart after experiencing both the physical horrors and mental anguish of Civil War combat.

The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan by Jennifer Armstrong: Mairhe, who lives in an Irish slum in Washington, D.C., in the 1860s, struggles to come to grips with the impact of the Civil War on her family.

Southern Angels series by Cheryl Zach: Hearts Divided, Winds of Betrayal, and A Dream of Freedom.

Books from the Sunfire series: Corey by Jane Claypool Miner and Susannah by Candice F. Ransom

Defiant Dreams by Cheri Michaels: Young adult historical romance set during the Civil War.

Ann Rinaldi has written many historical novels set during the Civil War. Since she has written so many I decided to just list the titles: Leigh Ann's Civil War, My Vicksburg, Juliet's Moon, Sarah's Ground, Girl in Blue, Amelia's War, Come Juneteenth, In My Father's House, The Last Silk Dress, Numbering all the Bones, and The Last Full Measure.

Book review: Dear Canada: A Desperate Road to Freedom by Karleen Bradford

Dear Canada: A Desperate Road to Freedom by Karleen Bradford (Published by Scholastic Canada, September 1, 2009)

Eleven-year-old Julia May is more fortunate than most slaves in the southern states during the Civil War. As a young girl, her owner assigned her to be the personal slave and companion of his young daughter, Miss Marissa, and so Julia May didn‘t have to endure working in the fields of the plantation. Julia May learned to read and write while listening to Marissa’s lessons. Marissa didn’t care that her slave was educated, and kept Julia May's secret so that Julia May could help her with her schoolwork, and even gave her scraps of paper to practice writing on. Julia May uses these precious pieces of paper to start a diary of her life.

In January 1863, after learning Julia May’s older brother, Thomas, might be sold to another plantation, Julia May’s parents decide the family will escape to freedom. Three of Julia May’s older siblings were already sold, and her mother can’t bear to lose another one of her children. In the dead of winter the family makes a dangerous escape, and takes refuge at a Union Army fort. However, to ensure their freedom no matter what the outcome of the war is, her parents decide they will continue north to Canada, where slavery has been completely outlawed and runaway slaves cannot be returned to their owners. Julia May writes in her diary about her family’s dangerous journey north as well as the first year of their new, free life in Canada as she makes new friends, goes to school for the first time in her life, and worries about her brother Thomas, who has gone back to fight in the war.

This was another good book from the Dear Canada series that should be enjoyed by fans of the series as well as the similar Dear America series. I really enjoyed reading Julia May's diary, she was a likeable character, the historical setting and details were really interesting, and the story kept me interested at all times. Although this book was not one of my most favorite books from the Dear Canada series, I did really enjoy it and I recommend it to all fans of the series.

House of Dead Maids blog tour - interview with Clare B. Dunke & giveaway

I am very excited to include this interview with Clare B. Dunkle on my blog as part of the blog tour for her new novel, The House of Dead Maids. You can read my review of the book, which I really enjoyed, in a separate post. To learn more about Clare B. Dunkle and The House of Dead Maids, and to see a list of the other blog tour stops, you can visit her website for the book.

What inspired you to write a prequel to Wuthering Heights for young adults?

My mother wrote her master’s thesis about Heathcliff, so I grew up immersed in Brontë lore. Wuthering Heights has been important to me since childhood. After I finished The Hollow Kingdom, my editor suggested that I write a tie-in to one of the Brontë classics, but at the time, the idea didn’t appeal to me because I was busy playing with my goblins.
Then, in the summer of 2005, my family life took a horrible turn. Out of the blue, my older daughter began a precipitous slide into serious mental illness. I sat by her bedside after a drug overdose. I sat by her on the plane as we flew to a mental institution in London. And all the happy stories in my head fizzled and went flat.
But Wuthering Heights is made of stronger stuff. It was still standing in the background of my mind. I had stopped returning my friends’ calls, but I was glad to sit down with books about the Brontës and renew my acquaintance with them. I knew that they would have understood what I was going through because they had struggled with brother Branwell’s devastating decline into addiction and early death.
Then I proceeded to pour all my darkness, bitterness, and helplessness over my daughter’s condition into The House of Dead Maids.
Does it show?

The historical setting as well as Tabby’s voice are really authentic - what kind of research did you do to bring the place and time of the story to life?

The research took longer than the writing, and I don’t think I could have done it if I hadn’t been living in Europe. By that time, we were used to seeing old things and living with old traditions, and we had already taken several trips across the United Kingdom. We visited Yorkshire, of course, as soon as I knew I would be writing the book, and you can see my photographs from that research trip here: http://www.claredunkle.com/Design/maidsphotoindex.htm.
To prepare for writing the manuscript, I read books on all kinds of subjects: the weather in Yorkshire, the history of Yorkshire, English superstitions, paganism in the British Isles, Juliet Barker’s monolithic biography of the Brontës, and a number of different works of literary criticism of Wuthering Heights, to name a few that I remember. The research went on for months. But my werewolf book, By These Ten Bones, had also been as accurate to a time and place as I could possibly make it, so I had learned quite a bit already about what to look up and what to remember and how to flesh out a scene from the dusty bones of scholarly research.
It’s all a matter of picturing everything in its proper place in your head, whether it’s a scrap of 18th century cloth or a shelf of pewter dishes. It has to be in there before you sit down to write. Then it’ll look as it should when your character chooses to walk by it and give it a few seconds of attention.

Tabby’s narrative sounds very 18th century - how hard was it, as a modern day American, to write in this style?

It was a tussle! To prepare for it, I read nothing for weeks but Brontë novels, and I read Wuthering Heights over and over. I chose to focus on these books rather than include other Victorian literature because I had noticed how unique the Brontës sounded. Emily’s vocabulary and sentence structure in particular are direct and spare, not at all like the prose of some of the other authors of her day.
As I began to write, Tabby’s voice began to take over my brain, and by Chapter Three, she had definitely developed her own way of telling a story. This interested me and also frustrated me a little because her style isn’t as much like Nelly Dean’s (Emily Brontë’s narrator) as I would have liked. I think it’s closer to Jane Eyre’s. I tried to intervene, but Tabby wouldn’t be thwarted. She went right on telling things in her own way.
I’ve had characters turn on me before: my characters always have minds of their own, and I’ve had them flat-out refuse to do what I’d hoped they would. But up to this point, I had at least had control over my own narration. It was a little humiliating to have to take dictation from my own made-up creature!

Besides Wuthering Heights, of course, what are some of your own favorite books and authors?

The Prydain series will always be first on any list of mine. Those books changed my life. And The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope, and The Tombs of Atuan, by Ursula K. Le Guin, will always mean a lot to me. But my favorite books lately have been by Shirley Jackson. They’ve assumed an importance that has surprised me.
My family loves, rereads, and generally treats Shirley Jackson’s book Life Among the Savages as a family pet, but I knew little else about her when I wrote The House of Dead Maids. Still, I knew that someone was bound to bring up “The Lottery” in connection with my book, and I thought I should be prepared, so I embarked on a tour of her works.
She’s stunning. Shirley Jackson is stunning! The little edge of “eerie” she puts on everything can make you so paranoid that you’ll end up afraid to walk down your own street in broad daylight (which, in fact, happened to Shirley Jackson herself). If I could have written We Have Always Lived in the Castle, I could die happy. “Louisa, Please Come Home” leaves me speechless every time. And there are scenes from The Sundial that have seeped into my bones. It’s as if they were part of me when I was born.

Can you tell us anything about your next book?

My younger daughter Elena and I cowrote a devastating memoir about her battle with anorexia. (Didn’t I say that these last few years have been rough?!) We’re working with an editor on it right now, but it isn’t sold yet. It needs revision. And I’m starting to play around with water folklore and superstition, trying to create something lovely and disturbing. We’ll see what happens with that.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I should probably mention that both of my daughters are now grown up, well, and happy, and that they’re busy living their lives. They stay in close touch with me, and I’m blessed to have children who bring so much love and laughter into my life. But the scars are still there. Some days I wonder if I will ever again be able to write as a book as carefree as The Hollow Kingdom.

Special Brontë-themed giveaway!

One Grand Prize winner will receive The House of Dead Maids, a gorgeous Brontë sisters pocket mirror, and the HarperTeen edition of Wuthering Heights! Two lucky runners-up will receive the two books. To enter, send an email to DeadMaidsBook@gmail.com with your name, email address, and shipping address (if you're under 13, submit a parent's name and email address). One entry per person and prizes will only be shipped to US or Canadian addresses. Entries must be received by midnight (PDT) on October 31. Winners will be selected in a random drawing on November 1 and notified via email.