Historical Fiction genre
In 1775, young Marie lives in Paris and dreams of becoming a ballerina. But her family is of modest means and her future is set–convent school, marriage, and children–unless she can find a wealthy patron to sponsor her. One special evening, a surprise audition in a most exciting and original place changes Marie’s destiny.
This series of biographical vignettes is narrated by Hannah, a lower-middle-class Jewish girl living in a small Russian town. Despite prejudice and political unrest in Russia and the crisis of World War I, Hannah remains optimistic and eager for the future–giving up new clothes for piano lessons, strengthening her relationship with her sister, and learning to face a world in turmoil. Based on the author’s own life, this is a fascinating personal account of a young girl’s transition into womanhood in the early twentieth century.
This unusual first novel is based on true accounts of the imprisonment of American citizens in Japanese detention camps in the Philippines during World War II. Louise Keller travels with her missionary family to the Philippines on the eve of Pearl Harbor. At first the country seems like paradise, but soon Louise and her family are captured by the Japanese and forced to live in internment camps. An exciting and thought-provoking novel about human strength and weakness in wartime Jane Hertenstein will donate a portion of her royalties for this book to help build houses for residents of Smokey Mountain, a large garbage dump in Manila where hundreds of people live under scraps of metal and cardboard.
Things were different when Mum was little. There were no CD players. There were no digital cameras. And the clothes they wore back then? Well…
Psychedelic colors fill the pages and bring to life the peculiar world that was 1969.
In ancient Egypt, Nakht records his experiences as his family moves from small town Esna to the big, exciting city of Memphis, where he studies to be a scribe like his father and helps discover who has been robbing graves.
In school, Yuri is taught that the revolution liberated his country. He learns how the new leaders are always working for the greater good. But the truth is that life for his family and those around him is a brutal, poverty-stricken struggle. The government does nothing except punish those who protest. And one day, to his shock and horror, Yuri himself is branded an “enemy of the state” simply for dropping a few careless words.
In an author’s note, Anne Fine describes The Road of Bones as an adventure-escape story set in “a sort-of Russia, in a sort-of 1930s, under a Stalin-type leader.” This chilling political thriller follows the frantic footsteps of a teenager on the run, a criminal who hasn’t committed a crime, a young man on a path to discovering the truth about how far he will go in order to survive.
August 6, 1945, 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima. JapanA little girl and her parents are eating breakfast,and then it happened.HIROSHIMA NO PIKA.This book is dedicated to the fervent hope the Flash will never happen again,anywhere.
When 16-year-old Helmuth Hubner listens to the BBC news on an illegal short-wave radio, he quickly discovers Germany is lying to the people. But when he tries to expose the truth with leaflets, he’s tried for treason. Sentenced to death and waiting in a jail cell, Helmuth’s story emerges in a series of flashbacks that show his growth from a naive child caught up in the patriotism of the times, to a sensitive and mature young man who thinks for himself.
When the Nazis announce that all orphans in Athens are to be rounded up and sent to Germany, Theo and his older brother Soc travel to a small village where they can hide and join the resistance movement. But Soc is executed for sabotage, leaving Theo to be taken in by the resistance fighters Patir Alex and his wife. Now Theo’s only companion from before the war is his shadow puppet, Karagiozis, a beloved and heroic character in Greek puppet theater. The young puppeteer puts on shows with Karagiozis, depicting scenes of Nazi defeat and re-enacting tales about the history of Greece, as he struggles to understand the meaning of heroism and to make sense of what is happening in the world around him. Against the bleak backdrop of the fiercely beautiful Greek landscape, this moving, dramatic story is about kindness, bravery, and the perseverance of humanity even in the most devastating of times.
These vividly told tales of plantation life from decades past center around the lives of Marita Kim and her four younger brothers and sisters. The children experience many hardships growing up poor and motherless in a Korean camp in Hawaii, but their stories are full of adventure. In “Joe and the White Dog,” Joe takes Little Sister exploring and loses her… until a mysterious white-haired woman and her friendly dog appear to help. In “The Little People,” fearless six-year-old Puni searches for menehune to grant her wish for a new doll. The stories also provide a poignant look at the family’s daily struggles. In “Plantation Child” we see, through the eyes of Marita, the sacrifices made to pay for a pair of new shoes, the need for thrift and hard work to make ends meet. In “The Pineapple Cannery” we share in Marita’s excitement as she begins a new life working in Honolulu. The last story, “Abuji,” is a tender portrait of the long-widowed father, reminiscing about his youth and his return journey to Korea. Moving from child to child, from story to story, Eve Begley Kiehm brings to life a formative period in the history of Korean Americans in Hawaii.