Tarnish by Katherine Longshore -- PUBLIC

Longshore, Katherine Tarnish, 442 pgs. Viking, 2013. $17.99. Language -- R. Sexual Content -- R. Violence -- PG-13.

When Anne Boleyn returns to the court of King Henry VIII after several years away in France, she is very clearly the odd girl out. But she soon becomes a project for poet Thomas Wyatt, who makes it his goal to polish Anne and train her to be successful in society. Neither of them could have predicted how successful she would be, however -- and how many mistakes she would make along the way.

This beautifully-written story of King Henry the VIII's second wife brings Anne and her peers to life, while also showing the court in all its treacherous, gorgeous, restless, and terrifying glory. While the very colorful language and many references to sexual conduct -- both implied and stated outright -- could make it a difficult sell for school libraries, it is highly recommended wherever possible. In a public library setting, it could easily be shelved in either the adult or teen fiction section, as it would appeal to fans of historical fiction in both age groups.

HS, adult -- PUBLIC. Reviewer: Caryn

Beauty’s Daughter by Carolyn Meyer - OPTIONAL

Meyer, Carolyn Beauty’s Daughter, 337 pgs., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013. $16.99. Language G; Mature Content PG 13; Violence PG 13

How does it feel to be the daughter of the most beautiful woman in the world? Beauty’s Daughter is that story.  The story takes place in ancient Greece where Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus, king of Sparta, and Helen, the queen (later Helen of Troy), begins her story.

King Menelaus is called away from his kingdom to a distant country and while he is gone his wife, Helen, falls madly in love with Prince Paris and sails off with him to Troy, leaving Hermione behind to fend for herself.   When the king returns and finds his wife and much of his royal treasure gone, he gathers an army of a thousand ships and sets sail to reclaim his wife and treasure. Ten-year-old Hermione does not want to be left behind and stows away on one of the ships carrying concubines and servants. She is there for what will become the ten-year Trojan War. Hermione changes and matures into a striking young woman as she grows up among the soldiers and around the death that accompanies war.  She falls in love with Orestes, a soldier of royal birth. They pledge their love and vow to marry when the war is over.  However, her parents have other plans for her and marry her off to a famous warrior who she despises. The remainder of the book is the attempt by Hermione and Orestes to find one another under extremely difficult circumstances.

I was intrigued by the idea that the story would be told from the viewpoint of Helen’s daughter, a lesser-known Greek character.  However, I tired of trying to keep track of all the Greek characters and who was killing whose sister, mother, father, and with whom the Gods chose to intervene.  Sor much time was spent describing the complexities of Greek mythology that it didn’t have time to fully develop the characters.  There is violence, and a rape, prostitution, concubines, and other sexual situations, which though not explicit are still there. I realize this is in keeping with Greek mythology, but is a warning for younger readers. 

HS – OPTIONAL. Reviewer: J. Truman, High School Media Teacher

The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson - ADVISABLE

Hopkinson, Deborah The Great Trouble, 247 pgs. Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. $16.99. Language: G (O Swears), Mature Content: G, Violence: PG. 

Eel  is an orphan and mudlark in the vast city of 1854 London. He works hard to collect sellable items out of the dirty waters of the Thames to support his younger brother. A menacing step father is always on his trail, but he slips away like his name suggests.  Luckily, he also does odd jobs for Dr. John Snow, a forerunner in epidemiology. When Eel  learns about his neighbors death due to Cholera, he joins forces with Dr. Snow to understand and find the source of the disease.  With Eel’s help, Dr. Snow convinces the city to close off an infected well, thus saving many lives.  

This enjoyable, but contrived version of the discovery of the cause of Cholera elucidates not only the epidemiology of Cholera, but the method of epidemiology itself.  Historical extracts and history are an added bonus to this instructive, yet entertaining read. 

EL, MS-ADVISABLE, Reviewer: MOMMAC

Lara’s Gift by Annemarie O'Brien - ESSENTIAL

O’Brien, Annemarie Lara’s Gift, 168 pgs. Random House, 2013. $16.99. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG. 

This is a story set in Russia in 1910 of a young girl named Lara who has a gift of visions. She works in the kennels of a noble family that breed’s borzoi dogs that are a pure breed of dog used to hunt wolves. Her father is the kennel steward, and Lara hopes to one day take over that responsibility, but her father has other plans for her such as marriage or apprenticing under her mother as a seamstress. Lara uses her visions to help with the dogs but her father forbids her to have visions at all. She must choose to use her visions and disobey her father or realize that her visions are a gift from God. 

I loved this historical fiction story. It showed what life was like for a young girl in Russia at that time. The author visually paints a story with words and poetry. I rated this PG for violence in describing the hunting of wolves and the use of knives to kill. 

EL, MS – ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: Carie Middle School Librarian

The Treasure of Way Down Deep by Ruth White - ADVISABLE

White, Ruth The Treasure of Way Down Deep, 165 pgs. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2013. $16.99. Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G. 

A sweet story about a 13-year-old girl named Ruby in the 1950’s set in a small town in West Virginia. The town of Way Down Deep like many towns around there are going through tough times when all the coal mines start to shutdown. Ruby who is loved by everyone in the town makes a wish for her birthday, and little did she know that a special birthday gift could lead to that wish coming true. In the meantime, her and her friend Peter are searching for the lost buried treasure that has been rumored to be in the town somewhere. I loved the story and the main character Ruby. Ruby is a Pollyanna type girl that everyone loves and she loves her town so much that she is constantly thinking of others before herself.

 The book has mystery, adventure, and even a little magic. Very clean, easy to read, and helps you understand economy and social structure in that time era. 

EL, MS – ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Carie Middle School Librarian

Radio Girl by Carol Brendler - ADVISABLE

Brendler, Carol Radio Girl, 202 pgs. Holiday House, 2013. $16.95. Language:  G (1 swear, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G. 

It is 1938 and Cecelia Maloney, 14, has a passion to be a radio actress and gets hired at CBS unbeknownst to her parents. Cecelia is troubled because she’s hiding a lie of working at CBS and knows that others in her family are living their own lies too. The truth begins to be revealed on Halloween Eve as CBS broadcasts Orson Welles, War of the Worlds. This is also the beginning of the unraveling of other deceptions in her family. Cecelia must deal with the truth. 

Radio Girl is full of time period slang and refers to Old Time Radio shows which pull the reader into the post Depression/pre-World War II era. A hint of mystery begins on the first page which adds a secondary element. The story got off to a slow start and continued until the last third of the book where it picked up. As the title says, Radio Girl will appeal to girls. 

EL, MS-ADVISABLE. Reviewer: PJ