In letters to her cousin, a young Jewish girl chronicles her family’s flight from Russia in 1919 and her own experiences when she must be left in Belgium for a while when the others emigrate to America.
Letters from Rifka
Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction genre
In Mozart’s Shadow: His Sister’s Story
Nannerl Mozart was a musical prodigy who seemed to have a brilliant future. But once her younger brother, Wolfgang, began composing symphonies at the age of five, her career and talents were utterly eclipsed. Here, at last, is Nannerl’s heart-wrenching tale. It’s the story of her undying passion for music; her relationship with her “miracle boy” brother; and her life as the “other Mozart,” the one forgotten by history. The acclaimed Carolyn Meyer has written a powerful historical novel about a little-known but gifted musician who never stopped dreaming. Includes an author’s note.
Good-Bye Marianne: A Story Of Growing Up In Nazi Germany
A heartbreaking story of loss and love.As autumn turns toward winter in 1938 Berlin, life for Marianne Kohn, a young Jewish girl, begins to crumble. First there was the burning of the neighbourhood shops. Then her father, a mild-mannered bookseller, must leave the family and go into hiding. No longer allowed to go to school or even sit in a café, Marianne’s only comfort is her beloved mother. Things are bad, but could they get even worse? Based on true events, this fictional account of hatred and racism speaks volumes about both history and human nature.
Airman
Conor Broekhart was born to fly. In fact, legend has it that he was born flying, in a hot air balloon at the Paris World’s Fair.In the 1890s Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor spends his days studying the science of flight with his tutor and exploring the castle with the king’s daughter, Princess Isabella. But the boy’s idyllic life changes forever the day he discovers a deadly conspiracy against the king. When Conor tries to intervene, he is branded a traitor and thrown into jail on the prison island of Little Saltee. There, he has to fight for his life, as he and the other prisoners are forced to mine for diamonds in inhumane conditions. There is only one way to escape Little Saltee, and that is to fly. So Conor passes the solitary months by scratching drawings of flying machines on the prison walls. The months turn into years; but eventually the day comes when Conor must find the courage to trust his revolutionary designs and take to the skies.
The Final Journey
During World War II, eleven-year-old Alice, whose life has been sheltered and comfortable, discovers some important things about herself and the people she meets when she and her grandfather board a train and begin an increasingly intolerable journey to an unknown destination.
The Gate In The Wall
Pressed into service as a canal woman, 10-year-old Emma finds ways to utilize her artistic gifts. Although it is a better existence than her strenuous job in the English silk mill, she feels guilty over the sister she left behind. Authentic details make this an engaging story–one that reveals the hardships of the mid-1800s when life for the poor in England was unrelentingly cruel. It is also a liberating tale as Emma draws on her inner strength to find her true calling.
Hush: An Irish Princess’ Tale
Melkorka is a princess, the first daughter of a magnificent kingdom in medieval Ireland, but all of this is lost the day she is kidnapped and taken aboard a marauding slave ship. Thrown into a world that she has never known, alongside people that her former country’s laws regarded as less than human, Melkorka is forced to learn quickly how to survive. Taking a vow of silence, however, she finds herself an object of fascination to her captors and masters, and soon realizes that any power, no matter how little, can make a difference. Based on an ancient Icelandic saga, award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli has crafted a heartbreaking story of a young girl who must learn to forget all that she knows and carve out a place for herself in a new world — all without speaking a word.
The Magician’s Apprentice
It’s summertime 1874 and Jago Stonecipher is tired of being pushed around. The penniless apprentice of a mean-spirited magican, Jago dreams of a better life. It seems his wish is granted when he finds a mysterious message in a watch, which unexpectedly sets off a dangerous chain of events.
The Pirate Queen
Grania O’Malley was born with the mark of a sailor and the light of the sea in her eye. As she grew, tales of her courage and heroic deeds traveled across Ireland. But when she came up against a ruthless governor, even fearless Grania was stymied. So she turns to a woman more powerful than she in this heart-stopping tale that’s as big as the Irish Sea.
Torn Thread
In an attempt to save his daughter’s life, Eva’s father sends her from Poland to a labor camp in Czechoslovakia where she and her sister survive the war.