Dokey, C. (1999). Hindenburg 1937. New York, NY: Pocket Books.
ISBN-10: 0671036017
•Plot Summary
Anna Becker has, along with her brother (Kurt), been raised by their grandfather. She and her grandfather are virtually inseparable, and he has always taught her not just about literature, but also how to think for herself. After receiving a telegram, which he throws into the fire, Anna's grandfather suffers from an attack. She has been at his bedside, but he is dying, and gets her ticket for the trip they have been planning, out of his bedside table. He is asking her to promise him something, but dies with the Hindenburg ticket in hand, prompting Anna to understand he wishes her to take the trip that they had planned. The Hindenburg is the pride of Germany, currently on the verge of WWII, and very much swelling with nationalist pride due to Hilter's programs. Anna has no desire to be in any of the programs, but Kurt has entered the military, and their grandfather's death has placed him in charge of her future. Disinterested in her opinion, Kurt says that he has arranged for her to be a companion to the daughter of his friend, and that when she is ready she will be married to a German officer. Horrified, Anna tries to reason with her brother, but demures finally so that she can escape. Packing her items, she has a telegram delivered to her brother saying that his friend has become ill, and he must return to Berlin immediately. Anna is meant to follow, but instead goes to board the Hindenburg, alone. Aware that at sixteen she should not be seen without anyone else, she latches onto a handsome young man, pretending to be with him for the benefit of the inspectors. He plays along, but Anna is engaged in conversation with him when she hears a familiar voice. Turning, she is struck by the presence of Karl Mueller, a man who'd claimed to love her, then abandoned her. Her plan works smoothly, however, and she boards without anymore real trouble. Trouble finds her, however, when Karl reveals that the other man (Erik Peterson), with whom Anna has been talking a great deal, is believed to be a saboteur. For Germany, Karl insists that Anna spend her time with Erik, learning what she can-then reporting it back to him. Through a series of heated encounters with both men, Anna feels lost, and is helped by an older woman with whom she has become friends aboard the airship. Following her heart, Anna and Karl are drawn back together, and he explains he is not a spy for the Nazis as she believed, but for the airship maker, Zeppelin Company. Erik finds them together, but everything has been revealed too late, the ship already bound for disaster. Erik throws Anna from the ship as it begins to come apart, and she hits the ground a few feet below, the airship having been landing during the conversations. She survives, but Erik is killed, as are many others. Two days later, and as with her grandfather, Anna is holding vigil at Karl's bedside. He dies, and she realizes she will be returned to Germany, and what Kurt has arranged. Despite Karl's former threats to send her back unless she helped him spy on Erik, plans had been made with Karl's friend to rescue Anna, and only then is able to anticipate, with hope, a better future.
•Critical Evaluation
Although Anna occasionally comes across as somewhat flighty, her overall characterization is believable. At sixteen, her dilemma of feeling for two men is understandable, and the reconciliation with Karl appropriately warm, without being overblown. The explanations of the Hindenburg's workings, and the plot for Erik's sabotage are plausible.
•Reader’s Annotation
Suitable for older teens, as some of the romantic scenes might be dull to younger readers.
•Information about the author
Cameron Dokey was born in the Central Valley of California, daughter of a professor of philosophy, creative writing, and literature. She studied archaeology at Sonoma State University, but went into Shakespearean theatre, and met her husband while working as an actress in Seattle.
Dokey has written over thirty novels. Of these, several have been retellings of traditional fairytales, and three are novels based on the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. She still lives in Seattle with her husband, and the couple have four cats.
•Genre
Historical Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
History
•Booktalking Ideas
Hindenburg disaster
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-18
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I love historical fiction, and felt there wasn't enough in my reviews. After watching a recent television program about the Hindenburg, I was interested in knowing more about it, and it was not a setting I had ever seen in a novel before.
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Historical Fiction. Show all posts
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
What I Saw and How I Lied
Blundell, J. (2008). What I Saw and How I Lied. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc.
ISBN-13: 9780439903486
•Plot Summary
Evie Spooner has always thought her mother (Bev) was beautiful, a woman with the looks of a movie star, and that her step-father, Joe, was just the sort of dad she'd wanted during a childhood of harsh living. It's 1947, and the lean years of WWII are over, rationing has ended, and Joe has started three appliance stores. Then, one night the phone rings, and the next morning Joe has Evie and her mother along for vacation in Palm Beach. It's the off season, and their hotel as very few guests, but it's at the pool that Evie meets Peter Coleridge, who served with Joe. As it turns out, the two made off with a small fortune in goods that had been confiscated first from the Jews by German soldiers, and then by Joe and Peter when the Nazi's surrendered. But Joe made it home first, and rather than save Peter's share as promised, he invests some, and keeps the rest. During this vacation, Joe meets Tom Grayson, and the two plan to buy/manage a hotel together, but Tom is thrown out of the existing hotel when it's discovered that he is Jewish. Evie falls in love with the handsome, sincere Peter, unaware that her mother has been carrying on an affair with him. It isn't until Joe, Bev, and Peter go out in a boat right before a hurricane hits Florida, that the truth begins to surface. Evie knows that what is described as an accident, may have been murder, and that her parents might have killed Peter in order to keep the remaining money. Following the inquest, during which Evie lies about having her own affair with Peter, she removes the remaining money from its home on a closet shelf. Joe had planned to use the money as a down payment on a dream house, but Evie gives it to Mrs. Grayson, knowing it means she will have to continue living with parents that might have lied to her, and Joe's mother, who while she paid for legal services, never even asked if Joe had killed Peter at all.
•Critical Evaluation
A smart read, it begins with an Evie that has managed to remain naive, despite the troubles she and her mother went through before Joe arrived in their lives. In the midst of falling in love, and knowing possible betrayal, Evie quickly matures into a woman.
•Reader’s Annotation
This book may initially come across as suitable for younger teens, but it quickly advances to what could be a wonderful film noire script. One could see this being a Hitchcock style film, especially with the late 40's setting.
•Information about the author
Judy Blundell was living in Palm Beach when she began thinking of the plot for this novel, so many of the street names are ones with which she is in fact familiar. Currently, she lives in Katonah, NY with her husband and daughter.
In 2004, her novel Premonitions became an ALA Reluctant Readers Best Picks and was also chosen by the New York Public Library as a 2004 Best Books for the Teen Age. She is working on the fourth book of the popular The 39 Clues series, and under the name Judy Watson, is working with Lucas Films by writing a journal for the Star Wars character Queen Amidala.
•Genre
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
•Curriculum Ties
History
•Booktalking Ideas
Racism following WWII, teenagers in the courtroom
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19
•Challenge Issues
Evie is only fifteen, but she's in love with an older man, one her mother is having an affair with, and who is likely the target of her parents' homocide attempt. In combination, any of these factors could make this novel one to be challenged, but Blundell has set the entire novel in such a surreal way, that one almost overlooks the more reprehensible elements, even as they are pointed out.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I liked the cover on this one, it reminded me of Hollywood glamour, and I've always been a fan of movies from the 30's and 40's, especially the mysteries.
ISBN-13: 9780439903486
•Plot Summary
Evie Spooner has always thought her mother (Bev) was beautiful, a woman with the looks of a movie star, and that her step-father, Joe, was just the sort of dad she'd wanted during a childhood of harsh living. It's 1947, and the lean years of WWII are over, rationing has ended, and Joe has started three appliance stores. Then, one night the phone rings, and the next morning Joe has Evie and her mother along for vacation in Palm Beach. It's the off season, and their hotel as very few guests, but it's at the pool that Evie meets Peter Coleridge, who served with Joe. As it turns out, the two made off with a small fortune in goods that had been confiscated first from the Jews by German soldiers, and then by Joe and Peter when the Nazi's surrendered. But Joe made it home first, and rather than save Peter's share as promised, he invests some, and keeps the rest. During this vacation, Joe meets Tom Grayson, and the two plan to buy/manage a hotel together, but Tom is thrown out of the existing hotel when it's discovered that he is Jewish. Evie falls in love with the handsome, sincere Peter, unaware that her mother has been carrying on an affair with him. It isn't until Joe, Bev, and Peter go out in a boat right before a hurricane hits Florida, that the truth begins to surface. Evie knows that what is described as an accident, may have been murder, and that her parents might have killed Peter in order to keep the remaining money. Following the inquest, during which Evie lies about having her own affair with Peter, she removes the remaining money from its home on a closet shelf. Joe had planned to use the money as a down payment on a dream house, but Evie gives it to Mrs. Grayson, knowing it means she will have to continue living with parents that might have lied to her, and Joe's mother, who while she paid for legal services, never even asked if Joe had killed Peter at all.
•Critical Evaluation
A smart read, it begins with an Evie that has managed to remain naive, despite the troubles she and her mother went through before Joe arrived in their lives. In the midst of falling in love, and knowing possible betrayal, Evie quickly matures into a woman.
•Reader’s Annotation
This book may initially come across as suitable for younger teens, but it quickly advances to what could be a wonderful film noire script. One could see this being a Hitchcock style film, especially with the late 40's setting.
•Information about the author
Judy Blundell was living in Palm Beach when she began thinking of the plot for this novel, so many of the street names are ones with which she is in fact familiar. Currently, she lives in Katonah, NY with her husband and daughter.
In 2004, her novel Premonitions became an ALA Reluctant Readers Best Picks and was also chosen by the New York Public Library as a 2004 Best Books for the Teen Age. She is working on the fourth book of the popular The 39 Clues series, and under the name Judy Watson, is working with Lucas Films by writing a journal for the Star Wars character Queen Amidala.
•Genre
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
•Curriculum Ties
History
•Booktalking Ideas
Racism following WWII, teenagers in the courtroom
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 11-12/Ages 16-19
•Challenge Issues
Evie is only fifteen, but she's in love with an older man, one her mother is having an affair with, and who is likely the target of her parents' homocide attempt. In combination, any of these factors could make this novel one to be challenged, but Blundell has set the entire novel in such a surreal way, that one almost overlooks the more reprehensible elements, even as they are pointed out.
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I liked the cover on this one, it reminded me of Hollywood glamour, and I've always been a fan of movies from the 30's and 40's, especially the mysteries.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Secret Life of Bees
Kidd, S. (2002). The Secret Life of Bees. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
ISBN-10: 0670894065
•Plot Summary
Lily Owens barely remembers her mother, and the day her mother died is just as vague. Lily's father, a brute named T.Ray, had loved Deborah, but turned against Lily because he says she was the one who shot her mother. Since that time, Lily has been taken care of by Rosaleen, a local African-American woman. When Rosaleen decides she is going to vote, the local racists get involved, and Rosaleen is beaten before taken into custody. Determined to escape, Lily springs Rosaleen from the hospital, and the two embark on a journey to Tiburon, South Carolina, where Lily knows her mother escaped when she tried to leave T.Ray prior to her death. While en route, Lily comes across a picture of a black Mary, one like her mother owned. She asks the storekeeper about the honey bottle on which the picture is attached, and the pair go to the Pepto-Bismol pink house owned by August Boatwright. When they arrived, August's sister (June), is immediately suspicious. Their sister May, who turns out to be mentally unstable due to the death of her twin years before, is completely inviting, as is August. After speaking with Lily, who claims she is going to Virginia to look for her aunt and offering to do work for some money to get there, it's established that both Rosaleen and Lily with remain to help. August teaches Lily everything she knows about bees, and Lily becomes friends with an African-American teen (Zach) who is later arrested when the authorities think he is responsible for throwing a bottle at a white man, breaking his nose. The family, Lily, and Rosaleen decide to keep the news from May, but when she finds out, she goes to her wall where normally she scripts her troubles down, and then places the pieces of paper into the wall to recover. This time, she doesn't recover, and her remains are found. Lily is told the story about how the Black Madonna came into the lives of the group, about how the figure (a ship's figurehead) had washed up on the shore when the slaves sent up their prayers for aid. Zach is released finally, although it it too late for May, and he is not quite the same individual that Lily had developed an attachment to through their hours alone with the bees. August relays to Lily the story of her mother, who August's mother had taken care of as a child, and about how Deborah had fled T.Ray before. she gives Lily the few remaining objects Deborah left behind, and when T.Ray comes to claim Lily, August talks him out of it. Lily runs to his truck to say goodbye, despite the years of abuse T.Ray exposed her to, because she knows it was because of her mother not loving him any longer. August, June, and their friends help one another in raising Lily, she attends school, and retains her connection to the Madonna.
•Critical Evaluation
Sad, but warming story about a young girl's desire to find out about her mother after years of abuse and neglect. The elements of the Black Madonna's influence on the lives of the Boatwrights and their friends, is inspiring.
•Reader’s Annotation
Written for adults, thought the main character is a pre-teen. Suitable for tween through adult audiences.
•Information about the author
Sue Monk Kidd grew up in Sylvester, Georgia and did not work toward becoming a writer until she was in her 40s, when she took a graduate course on writing at Emory University. Following this course, she wrote for several small literary publications, and has become well known for her novels and semi memoirs on the topic of mother and daughter relationships.
She has garnered several awards, including two New York Time's Bestseller Awards. The Secret Life of Bees was made into a motion picture in 2008, with several notable actors involved (Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Paul Bettany). Kidd now lives in Charleston, SC with her husband, and dog (Lily).
•Genre
Historical Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
History
Government
Social Sciences
•Booktalking Ideas
Race relations in the South, the Civil Rights Movement in America, Black Madonna
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-Adult
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Even though the main character is fourteen when the book begins, she grows exponentially, and I wanted to include more multicultural content in my selections.
ISBN-10: 0670894065
•Plot Summary
Lily Owens barely remembers her mother, and the day her mother died is just as vague. Lily's father, a brute named T.Ray, had loved Deborah, but turned against Lily because he says she was the one who shot her mother. Since that time, Lily has been taken care of by Rosaleen, a local African-American woman. When Rosaleen decides she is going to vote, the local racists get involved, and Rosaleen is beaten before taken into custody. Determined to escape, Lily springs Rosaleen from the hospital, and the two embark on a journey to Tiburon, South Carolina, where Lily knows her mother escaped when she tried to leave T.Ray prior to her death. While en route, Lily comes across a picture of a black Mary, one like her mother owned. She asks the storekeeper about the honey bottle on which the picture is attached, and the pair go to the Pepto-Bismol pink house owned by August Boatwright. When they arrived, August's sister (June), is immediately suspicious. Their sister May, who turns out to be mentally unstable due to the death of her twin years before, is completely inviting, as is August. After speaking with Lily, who claims she is going to Virginia to look for her aunt and offering to do work for some money to get there, it's established that both Rosaleen and Lily with remain to help. August teaches Lily everything she knows about bees, and Lily becomes friends with an African-American teen (Zach) who is later arrested when the authorities think he is responsible for throwing a bottle at a white man, breaking his nose. The family, Lily, and Rosaleen decide to keep the news from May, but when she finds out, she goes to her wall where normally she scripts her troubles down, and then places the pieces of paper into the wall to recover. This time, she doesn't recover, and her remains are found. Lily is told the story about how the Black Madonna came into the lives of the group, about how the figure (a ship's figurehead) had washed up on the shore when the slaves sent up their prayers for aid. Zach is released finally, although it it too late for May, and he is not quite the same individual that Lily had developed an attachment to through their hours alone with the bees. August relays to Lily the story of her mother, who August's mother had taken care of as a child, and about how Deborah had fled T.Ray before. she gives Lily the few remaining objects Deborah left behind, and when T.Ray comes to claim Lily, August talks him out of it. Lily runs to his truck to say goodbye, despite the years of abuse T.Ray exposed her to, because she knows it was because of her mother not loving him any longer. August, June, and their friends help one another in raising Lily, she attends school, and retains her connection to the Madonna.
•Critical Evaluation
Sad, but warming story about a young girl's desire to find out about her mother after years of abuse and neglect. The elements of the Black Madonna's influence on the lives of the Boatwrights and their friends, is inspiring.
•Reader’s Annotation
Written for adults, thought the main character is a pre-teen. Suitable for tween through adult audiences.
•Information about the author
Sue Monk Kidd grew up in Sylvester, Georgia and did not work toward becoming a writer until she was in her 40s, when she took a graduate course on writing at Emory University. Following this course, she wrote for several small literary publications, and has become well known for her novels and semi memoirs on the topic of mother and daughter relationships.
She has garnered several awards, including two New York Time's Bestseller Awards. The Secret Life of Bees was made into a motion picture in 2008, with several notable actors involved (Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Paul Bettany). Kidd now lives in Charleston, SC with her husband, and dog (Lily).
•Genre
Historical Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
History
Government
Social Sciences
•Booktalking Ideas
Race relations in the South, the Civil Rights Movement in America, Black Madonna
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-Adult
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Even though the main character is fourteen when the book begins, she grows exponentially, and I wanted to include more multicultural content in my selections.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Ever After: A Cinderella Story
Loggia, W. (1998). Ever After: A Cinderella Story. New York, NY: Dell Books.
ISBN-10: 0440228158
•Plot Summary
Danielle de Barbarac is only eight when her father remarries the Baroness Rodmilla of Ghent, a social climber with two daughters near Danielle's own age. Father and daughter had developed a close bond after Danielle's mother died, and he often brought her back books from his trips. The last book he will bring back is Sir Thomas More's Utopia. It's a book for older people, but Danielle is excited, and it will become one of her most prized possessions when her father dies, only days later. Twelve years later, Danielle has been reduced to sleeping in front of the fireplace, and taking care of her step-mother and step-sisters. Pieces of the family's artwork and silver are beginning to go missing, and one of the older servants has already been sold to pay off a debt. Danielle is not the only one having trouble, however, and young Henry I of France is fighting with his father about being forced into an arranged marriage with someone he does not love. When he flees the castle, and steals a horse from the de Barbarac estate, Danielle knocks off him off with a few well-aimed apples. Not knowing at first who he is because of his cloak, Henry reveals himself, and says he will not kill Danielle if she will let him take the horse. She agrees, but Henry is foiled in his plan as he comes across a band of gypsies accosting an old man. The old man turns out to be Leonardo da Vinci, and the painting that Henry returns to him in a brass tube, is the Mona Lisa. Leonardo is coming to work at the court of Henry's father, and the guards find them both, forcing Henry to return. When Danielle finds out about the man sold into slavery, and bound for America, she uses coin that Henry gives her for the use of the horse to get the old man out. She is dressed as a courtier, but it takes Henry appearing with instructions for the man to be released, for her plan to work. Henry does not recognize Danielle as the girl from the incident with the horse, and when she chastises him using text from Utopia, he is fascinated. Not knowing what else to do, and a name demanded of her, Danielle gives her mother's name instead-Countess Nicole de Lancret. Henry has another fight with his father, but a conversation between King and da Vinci convinces the ruler that perhaps he has been too hard on his son, and the two strike a bargain. Henry has five days to find a woman to marry, or he will be forced into the planned arrangement with the Princess of Spain. Henry and Danielle meet again, and he takes her to a monastic library, after which he tells his father he wants to build the finest library in France. In the meantime, with the possibility of marriage to her oldest daughter present, Rodmilla schemes to place Marguerite under Henry's nose. She succeeds, and since a ball is planned, she wants only the best for her daughter. Her best is actually the real Nicole's dress and slippers, placed in a trunk to be Danielle's wedding dress, yet she tells Danielle she can attend the ball if she is on her best behavior until the day of the event. When she finds out that Danielle has been posing as a courtier, Rodmilla convinces the royal family that "Nicole" was engaged to a Belgian and has already left the country. Remembering during their last meeting that Nicole had tried to explain something to him, Henry reasons it must be this, and agrees to marry the Spanish princess. At the wedding, the princess is crying her eyes out, and he lets her go. She flees into the arms of an unknown bald gentleman from her own court, and Henry knows he was wrong to let Nicole go. Rodmilla locks Danielle away, and goes to the ball with her own daughters, the youngest (Jacqueline) of which has had enough of the treatment given both to her, and to Danielle. She has met the Captain of the Guard several times now, Laurent, and they have embarked on a possible relationship. Danielle's childhood friend, Gustav, is sent to find da Vinci as no one else can open the lock on the cellar door. Gustav is an aspiring painter, and terrified, but da Vinci comes immediately, freeing Danielle. Outfitting her in Nicole's dress, painting her face, and designing wings for her to wear, Danielle is taken to the ball. Henry sees her, only moments before his father announcing the identity of the woman to whom Henry will become engaged. Rodmilla rushes in, and tells Henry the truth, who then turns on Danielle with disgust. Danille runs away, losing her shoe, and da Vinci delivers it to Henry with the information that he's a fool for letting Danielle go. As punishment for what she's done, Rodmilla trades Danielle to Pierre le Pieu, a grotesque man that she's also been selling the household items to for coin. He returns the other objects, and Henry goes to rescue Danielle, finally placing the slipper on her foot. Rodmilla and Marguerite are called into the court, and rather than have them killed for lying to the Queen about Danielle marrying a Belgian, Danielle has them placed in the castle laundry room as servants. Danielle and Henry are then free to live...and you know the rest.
•Critical Evaluation
Somewhat overly sentimental account of the classical Cinderella fairytale, but the additions of da Vinci as a central character and Danielle's keen sense of philosophy keep it from being too insipid. Takes place in France, where the original tale was said to have originated as well, though the historical elements were not apparently well researched.
•Reader’s Annotation
Based on the screenplay and film of the same name. Lacks the beginning and ending seen in the film, where Danielle's great-granddaughter is supposedly telling the tale to the Brothers Grimm.
•Information about the author
Despite having authored over fifteen novels, mainly of a romantic nature for teen girls, there is no information available on this author beyond the titles of these novels, is the executive editor of Delacourte Press (a Random House imprint), and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
•Genre
Historical Fiction, Romantic Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Folktales
•Booktalking Ideas
Classic tales retold, fairytales made into film
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-10/Ages 14-15
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Although it was sappy, I enjoyed the film version, and was impressed with the casting choices (including Drew Barrymore as Danielle, Anjelica Huston as Rodmilla, and Dougray Scott as Henry).
ISBN-10: 0440228158
•Plot Summary
Danielle de Barbarac is only eight when her father remarries the Baroness Rodmilla of Ghent, a social climber with two daughters near Danielle's own age. Father and daughter had developed a close bond after Danielle's mother died, and he often brought her back books from his trips. The last book he will bring back is Sir Thomas More's Utopia. It's a book for older people, but Danielle is excited, and it will become one of her most prized possessions when her father dies, only days later. Twelve years later, Danielle has been reduced to sleeping in front of the fireplace, and taking care of her step-mother and step-sisters. Pieces of the family's artwork and silver are beginning to go missing, and one of the older servants has already been sold to pay off a debt. Danielle is not the only one having trouble, however, and young Henry I of France is fighting with his father about being forced into an arranged marriage with someone he does not love. When he flees the castle, and steals a horse from the de Barbarac estate, Danielle knocks off him off with a few well-aimed apples. Not knowing at first who he is because of his cloak, Henry reveals himself, and says he will not kill Danielle if she will let him take the horse. She agrees, but Henry is foiled in his plan as he comes across a band of gypsies accosting an old man. The old man turns out to be Leonardo da Vinci, and the painting that Henry returns to him in a brass tube, is the Mona Lisa. Leonardo is coming to work at the court of Henry's father, and the guards find them both, forcing Henry to return. When Danielle finds out about the man sold into slavery, and bound for America, she uses coin that Henry gives her for the use of the horse to get the old man out. She is dressed as a courtier, but it takes Henry appearing with instructions for the man to be released, for her plan to work. Henry does not recognize Danielle as the girl from the incident with the horse, and when she chastises him using text from Utopia, he is fascinated. Not knowing what else to do, and a name demanded of her, Danielle gives her mother's name instead-Countess Nicole de Lancret. Henry has another fight with his father, but a conversation between King and da Vinci convinces the ruler that perhaps he has been too hard on his son, and the two strike a bargain. Henry has five days to find a woman to marry, or he will be forced into the planned arrangement with the Princess of Spain. Henry and Danielle meet again, and he takes her to a monastic library, after which he tells his father he wants to build the finest library in France. In the meantime, with the possibility of marriage to her oldest daughter present, Rodmilla schemes to place Marguerite under Henry's nose. She succeeds, and since a ball is planned, she wants only the best for her daughter. Her best is actually the real Nicole's dress and slippers, placed in a trunk to be Danielle's wedding dress, yet she tells Danielle she can attend the ball if she is on her best behavior until the day of the event. When she finds out that Danielle has been posing as a courtier, Rodmilla convinces the royal family that "Nicole" was engaged to a Belgian and has already left the country. Remembering during their last meeting that Nicole had tried to explain something to him, Henry reasons it must be this, and agrees to marry the Spanish princess. At the wedding, the princess is crying her eyes out, and he lets her go. She flees into the arms of an unknown bald gentleman from her own court, and Henry knows he was wrong to let Nicole go. Rodmilla locks Danielle away, and goes to the ball with her own daughters, the youngest (Jacqueline) of which has had enough of the treatment given both to her, and to Danielle. She has met the Captain of the Guard several times now, Laurent, and they have embarked on a possible relationship. Danielle's childhood friend, Gustav, is sent to find da Vinci as no one else can open the lock on the cellar door. Gustav is an aspiring painter, and terrified, but da Vinci comes immediately, freeing Danielle. Outfitting her in Nicole's dress, painting her face, and designing wings for her to wear, Danielle is taken to the ball. Henry sees her, only moments before his father announcing the identity of the woman to whom Henry will become engaged. Rodmilla rushes in, and tells Henry the truth, who then turns on Danielle with disgust. Danille runs away, losing her shoe, and da Vinci delivers it to Henry with the information that he's a fool for letting Danielle go. As punishment for what she's done, Rodmilla trades Danielle to Pierre le Pieu, a grotesque man that she's also been selling the household items to for coin. He returns the other objects, and Henry goes to rescue Danielle, finally placing the slipper on her foot. Rodmilla and Marguerite are called into the court, and rather than have them killed for lying to the Queen about Danielle marrying a Belgian, Danielle has them placed in the castle laundry room as servants. Danielle and Henry are then free to live...and you know the rest.
•Critical Evaluation
Somewhat overly sentimental account of the classical Cinderella fairytale, but the additions of da Vinci as a central character and Danielle's keen sense of philosophy keep it from being too insipid. Takes place in France, where the original tale was said to have originated as well, though the historical elements were not apparently well researched.
•Reader’s Annotation
Based on the screenplay and film of the same name. Lacks the beginning and ending seen in the film, where Danielle's great-granddaughter is supposedly telling the tale to the Brothers Grimm.
•Information about the author
Despite having authored over fifteen novels, mainly of a romantic nature for teen girls, there is no information available on this author beyond the titles of these novels, is the executive editor of Delacourte Press (a Random House imprint), and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
•Genre
Historical Fiction, Romantic Fiction
•Curriculum Ties
Folktales
•Booktalking Ideas
Classic tales retold, fairytales made into film
•Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 9-10/Ages 14-15
•Challenge Issues
N/A
•Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
Although it was sappy, I enjoyed the film version, and was impressed with the casting choices (including Drew Barrymore as Danielle, Anjelica Huston as Rodmilla, and Dougray Scott as Henry).
Saturday, March 27, 2010
The Fortunetelling
Hoffman, Alice. (2005). The Fortunetelling. New York, NY: Little, Brown & Co.
ISBN-13: 9780316154093
ISBN-10: 0316154091
·Plot Summary
Rain is of the Amazon warriors, the result of their Queen being raped by fifty men from another part of the world. Hated by her mother, who will not even look at her, Rain is being raised by Deborah, the Priestess, and the archers Asteria and Astella. Someday Rain will be Queen, but after adopting an abandoned bear cub (Usha), her people look at her differently. Her mother has taken a former slave as her lover, and the woman's daughter (Io) sees Rain as her sister. Once Rain finally accepts Io, the two spend all their time with Usha and Rain's horse. When Rain begins to lie about the kills she has made so that she does not have to join in the celebratory parties, her mother decides to have another daughter, someone new to be Queen. Her fortunes, however, remain steady. She dreams of a black horse, a sign of impending trouble among her people, although it does not prevent her from making friends with a boy (Melek) who is set free from slavery by the Amazon's most recent victory. In the end, Rain saves the new child, who turns out to be a boy, from the death intended for him. She gives him to Melek, then returns to her people to suppress an uprising that caused the assassination attempt that resulted in Io's death instead. Rain takes her place as Queen, ushering in a new life for the Amazon women, believing that make their own fortunes.
·Critical Evaluation
Fantastic novel for young women. Full of inspiration, especially for teens that are consistently led to believe that they can't fulfill their own dreams.
·Reader’s Annotation
Contains content that is of an adult nature.
·Information about the author
Alice Hoffman was born in New Jersey in 1952, and was an avid actress in school plays until the age of 20, when she discovered writing. She received a B.A. in English and Anthropology from Adelphi University, and an M.A. in creative writing. By the age of 25, she has written her first novel, Of Property.
She has written for several television series, published almost twenty-five novels for adults, hand six novels in the young adult genre. Her novels are based primarily on historical or paranormal themes. She lived in New York City from 1983 to 2003, but currently lives with her husband and children in Boston.
·Genre
Historical Fiction
·Curriculum Ties
Includes information on myths and ideas about the Amazonian warriors, as well as practices such as the use of bees in warfare, and by priestesses for their work.
·Booktalking Ideas
Myths and legends. Amazons.
·Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-18
·Challenge Issues
N/A
·Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I'm fascinated by myths with strong female characters. This book put a more human slant on the Amazons, making them seem more real.
ISBN-13: 9780316154093
ISBN-10: 0316154091
·Plot Summary
Rain is of the Amazon warriors, the result of their Queen being raped by fifty men from another part of the world. Hated by her mother, who will not even look at her, Rain is being raised by Deborah, the Priestess, and the archers Asteria and Astella. Someday Rain will be Queen, but after adopting an abandoned bear cub (Usha), her people look at her differently. Her mother has taken a former slave as her lover, and the woman's daughter (Io) sees Rain as her sister. Once Rain finally accepts Io, the two spend all their time with Usha and Rain's horse. When Rain begins to lie about the kills she has made so that she does not have to join in the celebratory parties, her mother decides to have another daughter, someone new to be Queen. Her fortunes, however, remain steady. She dreams of a black horse, a sign of impending trouble among her people, although it does not prevent her from making friends with a boy (Melek) who is set free from slavery by the Amazon's most recent victory. In the end, Rain saves the new child, who turns out to be a boy, from the death intended for him. She gives him to Melek, then returns to her people to suppress an uprising that caused the assassination attempt that resulted in Io's death instead. Rain takes her place as Queen, ushering in a new life for the Amazon women, believing that make their own fortunes.
·Critical Evaluation
Fantastic novel for young women. Full of inspiration, especially for teens that are consistently led to believe that they can't fulfill their own dreams.
·Reader’s Annotation
Contains content that is of an adult nature.
·Information about the author
Alice Hoffman was born in New Jersey in 1952, and was an avid actress in school plays until the age of 20, when she discovered writing. She received a B.A. in English and Anthropology from Adelphi University, and an M.A. in creative writing. By the age of 25, she has written her first novel, Of Property.
She has written for several television series, published almost twenty-five novels for adults, hand six novels in the young adult genre. Her novels are based primarily on historical or paranormal themes. She lived in New York City from 1983 to 2003, but currently lives with her husband and children in Boston.
·Genre
Historical Fiction
·Curriculum Ties
Includes information on myths and ideas about the Amazonian warriors, as well as practices such as the use of bees in warfare, and by priestesses for their work.
·Booktalking Ideas
Myths and legends. Amazons.
·Reading Level/Interest Age
Grades 10-12/Ages 15-18
·Challenge Issues
N/A
·Why did you include this book in you’re the titles you selected?
I'm fascinated by myths with strong female characters. This book put a more human slant on the Amazons, making them seem more real.
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