Warman, Janice. The World Beneath: A Novel.

Warman, Janice.   The World Beneath: A Novel.   Candlewick Press  2016  159p.  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-7856-2  ms/hs  Historical fiction  VG-BN    

In this short novel, a young boy named Joshua comes of age in Apartheid South Africa, living with his mother in the home of her employer and learning first-hand of the injustices faced by his people, as well as the burgeoning movement to make a revolutionary change. When the reader first encounters Joshua, he is cowering in the closet of his mother’s employer, afraid of being seen or heard, just trying to survive. His older brother, who was involved in the anti-Apartheid movement, has been murdered in Johannesburg, far away from the place where Joshua and his mother live. News of rioting and police excesses reach him via a fugitive who has come to ask for help, as well as by a white reporter who happens to be the employer’s son.

By the end of the novel, Joshua has become involved with the underground revolutionary movement that will soon free South Africa’s black population from Apartheid.

 
The style is terse and suspenseful. There is a glossary in the back explaining some of the commonly used terms. The book would have been enhanced by a timeline and perhaps a little more historical context for those children who are not familiar with Apartheid and the movement to end it.     

Summary: A young boy growing up in Apartheid South Africa in 1976 comes of age and learns what it means to fight for one’s beliefs and one’s freedom.   

Apartheid-Fiction, South Africa-History-Fiction --Carol Kennedy

Medina, Meg. Burn Baby Burn.

Medina, Meg.  Burn Baby Burn.  Candlewick Press  2016  310p.  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-7636-7467-0  jr/sr   Historical fiction  E-BN   

     

The summer of 1977 in the Flushing section of New York City was one of fear due to the high murder rate, including a killer on the loose known as the Son of Sam, sweltering heat without the benefit of air-conditioning, and a power blackout. The author deftly weaves all these historical elements, as well as pop culture references, into the story of Nora as she navigates the last few months of her senior year in high school and dares to dream of a future that may be better than what her mother had. Her absent father, her abusive and pyromaniac younger brother, and her passive mother all make her life difficult, as Nora has been the one in recent years to keep the family afloat emotionally and sometimes financially. As she contemplates turning in her brother for setting fires in her apartment building and a nearby pharmacy, she must come to terms with the ways she will be viewed -- by her best friends, by her parents, and by the larger community. This is a novel that will keep the reader involved to the very end. The budding romance between Nora and Pablo is comfortably left in limbo at the end of the novel. Readers will feel that hope and fortitude are Nora’s best attributes and will easily allow her to navigate her future with resolve. An afterword succinctly relays the historical background in which the novel is set.  

Summary: Deftly weaving in historical elements of the nascent feminist movement, Son of Sam fears, and life in New York City in 1977, Nora navigates the end of her senior year in high school and plans for her uncertain future. Grades 8-12.

Family-Fiction, New York City-History-Fiction               --Lois McNicol

Wiechman, Kathy Cannon. Like A River.

Wiechman, Kathy Cannon.  Like A River.    Calkins Creek (Boyd's Mills)  2015  336p  $17.95  ISBN 978-1-62979-209-5  ms  Historical fiction  VG-BN    

The Civil War attracted all sorts of participants, including both underage and women soldiers.  When representatives of these two categories meet, this Civil War story comes alive.  Characters in the debut novel by Kathy Cannon Wiechman are believable, often fighting demons of their own along with the enemy.   When Nate nearly dies jumping into a lake, his brother, Leander Jordan, takes his place by signing up for the Union army in Ohio.  While in a southern hospital, Leander meets Paul Settles, and together they build a relationship as Paul nurses Leander through the loss of his arm.  When Paul’s soldier father dies, Paul moves back to his regiment but is caught and sent to Andersonville.  The horrors of that prison camp are world-renowned; Wiechman’s job is to describe them without scaring young readers.  She accomplishes this through the use of vivid description and an authentic storytelling ability that is only eclipsed by her dialogues and well-narrated interactions between characters.  Rivers play a part in setting the background and drawing parallels between the lives of the characters and the life of a river.  Wiechman fits a lot into one novel, ending with Settles’s release from the kettle into the fire, literally.  Settles endures one final near-death experience, the Sultana explosion, a tragedy of epic proportions at the end of the Civil War.  Imagine Andersonville.  Then imagine a deeper Hell, an overloaded boat returning prisoners of war to their homes and an explosion that kills most of them.  Wiechman brings the story to a predictable closing, but there were so many surprises throughout the book that the reader needs predictability at the end.  The world is small and coincidences happen; thus, young readers will like Wiechman’s resolution. 

Summary: When Leander signs up to become a Union soldier, he learns the hard way that as a young teen, he isn’t mature enough for war.  He accidentally blows off his arm, and it is while he is hospitalized that he meets someone who will change his life forever.      

Civil War-Fiction                                           --Martha Squaresky

Howard, Ellen. The Crimson Cap.

Howard, Ellen. The Crimson Cap.
Holiday House 2009 197p 16.95 978-0-8234-2152-7 ms/jr Eleven-year-old Pierre Talon leaves his family to join LaSalle’s expedition to find the mouth of the Mississippi River. Because he cannot refuse the honor, he heads into an adventure that will change the lives of many and give readers an insight into the hardships of settling our New World. Pierre Talon was responsible for his mother and sisters since his father disappeared. They were part of LaSalle’s expedition, funded by Louis XIV of France to settle the New world in France’s name. The expedition suffered many setbacks when they lost their ships and couldn’t find the mouth of the Mississippi River. The remainder of the expedition set up a settlement but they were stressed by illness and Indian attacks. Pierre fills the gap as provider for his mother and siblings when their father disappears. As a 10 year old he finds that he has a way of communicating with the Indians and other s. This is why he is so valuable to LaSalle when he takes off in search of help for the settlement. Pierre’s mother dresses him in some of his father’s clothes. Of which was a red wool cap that he will keep throughout the story. The group struggle not only with the harshness of the land but also the power struggle between the men. LaSalle is murdered and many of the men scatter. Pierre falls deathly sick and is taken in by the friendly Hasinai Indians. In time Pierre, with his Indian friends, returns to the settlement only to find devastation. He then set out on another endeavor to find his missing siblings who have been taken captive by a group of Indians. The red cap that Pierre has cherished throughout his travels serves him well when it is the one thing that allows his siblings to recognize him as their brother. It is a story of hardship and self enlightenment for someone growing up during the period of exploring the New World. McNeil, Linda

Birth of a Warrior.

Ford, Michael Birth of a Warrior.
Walker & Co 2008 262p 16.99 978-0-8027-9794-0 ms/hs

Set at the beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars, this novel of ancient Sparta is filled with both action and history. Lysander, son of a Helot woman and a Spartan warrior, is saved from a life as a slave by his grandfather and is undergoing brutal training as a Spartan warrior. Set at the beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars, this novel of ancient Sparta is filled with both action and history. Lysander, son of a Helot woman and a Spartan warrior, is saved from a life as a slave by his grandfather. He has been admitted to the warrior academy where both his acceptance by the other boys has been merciless and his training brutal. In order to prove his worthiness, he is forced to repudiate his Helot people and participate in the beating of his best friend. Afterwards, he is sent on a survival quest to the mountains with two other boys in order to prove his abilities. While on quest, they stumble across a Persian army readying an attack and must convince their elders that the young warriors can help save the city.
This is an engaging suspenseful, well-written historical fiction with excellent characterizations and a well paced plot and does not sugarcoat the violent time period. It is filled with exciting adventures and bloody battle scenes and will attract middle and high school readers while providing access to a slice of real history. It will leave its readers waiting breathlessly for the next installment and might stimulate further study into the time period.
S.Ogintz