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Women in war: Sarah Blake’s new novel looks at World War II from a different angle
Interview by Trisha PingJust when you think you’ve read every possible take on World War II, along comes a story like The Postmistress. Though the effects of that worldwide conflict permeate every page of Sarah Blake’s second novel, she takes on the war from a different angle: the home front. Set in 1940, just before the U.S. entered the war, The Postmistress is a subtle, nuanced portrayal of the…
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A new look at Lincoln
Review by Martin BradyAnother Lincoln book? Well, why not, given that the Great Emancipator is always a compelling figure. Lincoln, Life-Size, which offers a well-focused, historically rich selection of photographic portraits, was the brainchild of the ever-Lincoln-conscious Kunhardt family, authors of Lincoln: An Illustrated Biography and Looking for Lincoln. This new volume…
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The lure of money, power and privilege
Review by Lauren BufferdWhen Adam Haslett was writing the novel that became Union Atlantic, he couldn’t have known that a book about a rogue banker, the Federal Reserve and conflicts between old and new monies would have such special resonance at the beginning of the century’s second decade. Haslett’s vision of an implosion in the financial world was certainly prescient, making this an eerily… -
Siding with the bad guys
Interview by Eliza BornéTeen author Ally Carter, best known for the best-selling Gallagher Girls series, has always loved movies like To Catch a Thief, The Thomas Crown Affair and Ocean’s 11—heist stories in which the bad guy is the good guy, and twists and turns are staples of the genre.“You can never 100 percent see what’s coming, and I always enjoyed… -
The wide, weird world of teen fantasy
Feature by Deborah HopkinsonSince the first Harry Potter book burst onto the literary scene more than a decade ago, there’s been an explosion of fantasy literature for young people. Many of today’s teens grew up with Harry Potter and, along the way, have become avid fans of the genre. These discriminating fantasy readers have a lot to choose from these days, and this season brings some wonderful new titles from…
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Picking up the broken pieces
Review by Angela LeeperIt’s been almost two years since Melissa’s father lost his long-fought battle to cancer. She keeps him alive by remembering the unusual information he loved, like the fact that glass takes a million years to decay. These interesting tidbits offer the high school freshman a new way of looking at the world, but they don’t provide any guidance on how to grow up and work through her…
Featured ReviewWounds of a world warHistory comes to life in The Postmistress, a novel that takes readers back to the early 1940s, when the war raging in Europe showed no end in sight and America was on the brink of joining the fray. Through the eyes of three very different women, author Sarah Blake traces America’s journey from willful ignorance of the fight overseas to eventual understanding.
Emma is a young newlywed in Franklin, Massachusetts, searching for security and the sense of family she has always been missing. For her, the war becomes all too real when a local tragedy prompts her husband, the town doctor, to go abroad in order to provide medical aid to the wounded and the dying. Each day she listens to dispatches on the radio from Frankie—a young reporter in Britain,…
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Printz winner Libba Bray to write Jazz Age series
Winter's readingExploring the worlds of love and griefIn his debut novel, Michael J. White has crafted an affecting story of first love and first loss. It’s an observant and often lyrical tale of its protagonists’ efforts to navigate some of the early, stumbling steps on the road to adulthood.
Seventeen-year-old George Flynn has moved with his parents and older brother to Des Moines. Apart from a…
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Web exclusives!Behind the Book: When history inspires fictionWeb exclusiveI have never been very good at coming up with ideas for stories and novels. When I was in graduate school, they encouraged us to scan the obituaries for stories. I could never do this! Aside from the fact that I'm a Southerner and have a deep respect for the deceased, I often take ideas to my desk and find they don't work. I don't know your experience, but I've found that… Read More… |
Tops for teensAn eighth grader in an Elizabethan freak showWeb exclusive
Erin Dionne, author of Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies, has again found a way to capture the sheer mortification of being the average eighth grader. But Hamlet Kennedy, the heroine of The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, feels anything but average, much to her dismay. With parents who are professors obsessed with “The Bard” and a…
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For the homeLifestyles: Engaging projects for your crafty sideIn the worst economic downturn since Herbert Hoover, DIY consciousness is pure gold. The three books reviewed here will help you save money by doing it yourself in three areas that can be huge money pits: your wedding, your house and your creative dreams. Read More… |
