Book Review: Pony by R. J. Palacio

I don't read much middle-grade fiction anymore, but when I saw Pony (and its author Palacio), I couldn't pass it up. I wasn't disappointed. Pony's appeal reaches much farther than the middle school population.

The book is magical and no specific time period is given that I could find, but it seems like it must be the mid-1800s, given the photography element. Silas and his father live an isolated life. His father, though uneducated, is very scientific and is working on a photographic process using chemicals beyond the common daguerreotype. Some mysterious men visit and want to take Silas and his father away so his father can help with some nefarious scheme requiring chemicals. His father negotiates with them to leave Silas, and he will come with them willingly. Silas is to stay put. 

But the next day, the pony that Silas was supposed to ride reappears, and Silas vows to find his father, even though it requires entering the deep, scary woods that aren't far from their home. Fortunately, he is always accompanied by his invisible friend, Mittenwool. Mittenwool has been with Silas for as long as he can remember, and he doesn't know why, but he provides a lot of comfort. 

Silas meets a U. S. Marshal in the woods who is hunting for some counterfeiters. Silas is convinced these are the men who took his father and convinces the Marshal to let him come along. So begins a big adventure, and Silas must be very brave. 

The best part for me is that once the part about Silas' father is over, there is still much more to the story. We learn about Silas in the future--and about his past. Somewhere I read that the crime you think happened isn't really the crime. Well, that's not entirely true, but there is much more to the story than just counterfeiting.

So I think that is all I'll say. The story is rich with details that I haven't mentioned, but given the author, I'm sure you can be confident in this selection. I recommend Pony to pretty much everyone. 

Published by Knopf BFYR, September 28, 2019
eARC obtained from NetGalley
304 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: The Engineer's Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood

 

The Engineer's Wife is an interesting historical fiction, based in truth, about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The building of this amazing structure was no small feat, taking decades to construct. It was also a very dangerous undertaking, causing many permanent injuries and even several deaths. The men had to spend much time in an underwater enclosure and were subject to the bends due to the pressure. Of course, in the 1800s, no one knew anything about this condition and subjecting themselves to this day after day caused many men to be permanently affected.

Washington Roebling was one of these men. And he was in charge of building the bridge. When he became so ill that he could no longer be at the building site, he sent his wife, Emily, with instructions and decisions about how to proceed. Emily took it upon herself to become knowledgeable about the design and engineering of the bridge so she could make decisions on her own.

The book starts out with Emily's and Washington's courtship and marriage. Washington's illness also caused a huge rift in their relationship, and Emily became friends with and eventually fell in love with P.T. Barnum.  Many other famous people make appearances in the novel.

Many of the descriptions of the building of the bridge were difficult for me to understand without pictures. These served to heighten my interest rather than frustrate me as a reader. I now intend to watch Ken Burns' documentary about the building of the bridge so I can better understand what the book was trying to describe.

It was an interesting story, however, it took me many weeks to get through it. Part of that was just because I didn't feel like reading, but maybe I didn't feel like reading because the book was a bit slow-paced.

Emily's feats are fascinating, and of course, she got little credit for her essential part in the completion of the bridge.

If you are interested in the subject, The Engineer's Wife won't disappoint.

Published by Sourcebooks Landmark, 2020

eARC obtained from Edelweiss
356 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Book Review: Courting Mr. Lincoln by Louis Bayard

Courting Mr. Lincoln is the fictionalized account of the story of two very important people in Abraham Lincoln's early life - Joshua Speed and Mary Todd.

Mr. Speed is the man that Lincoln ended up boarding with - literally sleeping in the same bed with - when he arrived in Springfield. Speed was a shop owner, and they lived above the shop. They became very close, and Speed had a great deal to do with turning Lincoln into a proper gentleman that would be accepted by society, given his backwoods upbringing.

Mary Todd comes to Springfield to find a husband. Really. She was one of many siblings, and her older sister, who lived with her husband in Springfield, was sending for her sisters one at a time to find them suitable matches in Springfield. Mary proved a difficult case. She was introduced to Speed and Lincoln but never dreamed of a relationship. Well, if one was possible, it was certainly to be with Speed, and not the awkward Lincoln.

The story is told in alternating points-of-view between Mary and Speed. Living in Illinois, I found the history of Springfield to be particularly interesting. The romance between Lincoln and Mary was very tumultuous. At first, it was secret since Mary knew her sister would not approve, and then after they became engaged and everyone knew, they broke it off. Which meant that Mary was "used goods" and destined to be a spinster. All very dramatic.

The story flows easily, even though sometimes we get the same events told by the two different narrators, it worked well and I never lost interest. The relationship between Speed and Lincoln was particularly interesting. Speed had a hard time accepting that Lincoln was getting married -- they had both made a pact that they never would.

The narrative ends shortly after Lincoln becomes President, and really it skips from their marriage to the beginning of the presidency, which was almost twenty years. So this is the story of the "Courting" and not much else. We do get a glimpse of the end of Mary's life, back in her sister's home in Springfield, as well as a sentence or two about what happened to each of the other main characters.

All in all, a very interesting story and I really enjoyed it. However, I am profoundly disappointed that there isn't an author's note at the end explaining the variances from the truth. This seems to be required in a fictional account of a true story. Hopefully, this will be included in the final copy, because it almost made me not want to recommend Courting Mr. Lincoln. You will need to do some research, if you are like me, and need to know! Especially about the event that brought Lincoln and Mary back together after their engagement was over. Is that really what happened?

Courting Mr. Lincoln is marketed as an adult book, but I think teens who are interested in an entertaining historical romance will enjoy this one too.


Published by Algonquin, April 23, 2019
eARC obtained from NetGalley
352 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Book Review: The Raven's Tale by Cat Winters @catwinters

I thoroughly enjoyed Winters’ delightfully macabre tale of the life of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven’s Tale.

Poe had a difficult upbringing. His mother, an actress, died when Poe was very young, and he was taken in by the Allans. His new mother always loved him, but life with his father became very difficult. The more Poe became interested in writing, the more his father tried to dissuade him. Poe was accepted into the University of Virginia, but because he wouldn’t give up his writing, his father threatened to not allow him to attend, and in the end, made Poe’s short stay at the University almost impossible.

Winters writes the story as if it were written by Poe. She ads a character that is Edgar’s muse, a creepy woman Edgar names Lenore, who he can’t live without. She begins to grow feathers and is evolving into a raven. 😉 His father goes so far as to try to kill her. During his tenure at the University Poe has another muse vying for his attention, a man who wants Poe to stop writing the scary stories about death and write something that would make a name for him.

It is interesting how when Lenore is around, lines from Poe’s poetry pop into his head. Makes you wonder if this is really how it happened?? The tale is deftly told and kept my interest, and I felt such compassion for Edgar and his troubled life. I haven’t even talked about his doomed love life, which is also a large part of this sad story.

Those who are interested in Poe’s life can’t go wrong with The Raven’s Tale. As you probably are aware, Poe did come to know success and some happiness eventually. Winters adds a helpful Author’s Note that adds to the information given in the book. There’s a bibliography for further reading, as well as copious notes about where every line of poetry in the book came from. Some is written by Winters herself, in the style of Poe, which is excellent. I've read all of Winters' novels and am always impressed. She's a "must read" author for me. The Raven’s Tale would be an excellent addition to any curriculum examining the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Published by Amulet, April 16, 2019
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
368 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: Master of His Fate, by Barbara Taylor Bradford @StMartinsPress

I don't think I've ever read anything by Barbara Taylor Bradford, so when I saw that Master of His Fate is the beginning of a new series (The House of Falconer), and it is historical, I decided to jump in.

James Falconer is everything you would want in a grandson.  Ambitions, hard-working, intelligent, and sensible.  He intends to fulfill his legacy, helping his father in his market stall.  But James wants to be the boss.  When he is discovered by the head of the market, Henry Malvern, he's on his way to reaching his goals.

Alexis Malvern, Henry's daughter, is the heir to his fortune. She is also intelligent and hardworking.  She has no interest in getting married, for in Victorian London her fortune would then belong to her husband. She is perfectly happy working for her father and being a businesswoman.

We follow the stories of these two for most of the book.  It isn't too obvious how their stories will come together, but they eventually do.  There is a lot of introduction to the characters and families, beginning with James' grandparents, who are successful, but not nobility, and have had a great influence on all of their children and grandchildren. It is all very interesting and didn't bore me at all. The descriptions of the people, surroundings, activities, and clothing were all quite enjoyable. The book blurb says Master of His Fate is "intricately detailed" and that is entirely accurate.  What I had a problem with is the mention of seemingly unimportant details like his turning off the light and locking the door when he left. I thought maybe we got this information because someone was going to try to break in later? But no, just extraneous information that I found annoying. These types of descriptions happen throughout the book.

Master of His Fate is still a very interesting story, and I enjoyed it very much. I am invested in what is going to happen and will probably someday read the following books in The House of Falconer. Just be aware that when the description says "detailed," it is an accurate description!

Published by St. Martin's, November 20, 2018
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
416 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Book Review: When We Caught Fire, by Anna Godbersen @AGodbersen

Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and The Luxe Series is one of my favorite book series. So when I saw that Godbersen had a new book coming out, When We Caught Fire, I was very excited.  I was not disappointed!

The reader knows that this is a book about The Great Fire that occurred in Chicago in 1871.  But the story starts out about a girl, Emmeline Carter, who is a society girl soon to be married to Frederick Tree. Emmeline's father has worked very hard, in a sort of rags-to-riches story that has gotten the Carter family accepted into society.  And now he is to see his daughter "marry up."

Emmeline's personal maid, Fiona, is a friend from her past.  The days when they lived in squalor. Emmeline treats Fiona more like a friend, but Fiona knows that without the Carters, her family would be much worse off. She still visits her family often and gives them money each visit.  But she hasn't seen the third member of their group, Anders, and she doesn't want to. They were getting along fine, but then there was a kiss, and Anders didn't want anything to do with Fiona anymore.

Fiona wonders if he knows about Emmaline's upcoming nuptials. Anders and Emmaline were promised to each other at a young age. When Emmeline demands that Fiona find Anders for her just a few days before the wedding, Fiona senses trouble coming.

And boy does it come! Emmeline decides she's going to bail on the wedding and run away with Enders.  And Fiona has to help her with this plan. I don't want to go any further.  There is excitement, entertainment, danger, romance, and some eye-rolling moments.  I was thoroughly entertained the entire time.

Several well known Chicago figures make an appearance, but this only adds to the authenticity. In Godbersen's accounting, it wasn't Mrs. O'Leary's cow that tipped over the lantern (this story has pretty much been debunked anyway), but of course, our characters are instrumental in starting the blaze. I enjoyed learning about that historical period in Chicago and a bit about how the city changed after the fire.

Teens who enjoy historical romance will certainly enjoy When We Caught Fire, and so will adults.

Published by HarperTeen, October 2, 2018
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
384 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Book Review: Persuasion, by Jane Austen

It's probably not accurate to call this a book review because when it comes to classics, I don't really consider my comments to be much of a review.  But, Persuasion was an interesting and enjoyable read.

Persuasion is a love story that takes place in the early1800s about a woman, Anne, who seven years ago broke off an engagement.  She now meets up with her former betrothed, and she still loves him. But he seems to be pursuing another. I was invested enough in the story that I found myself rooting for this couple.

The language is definitely different, and at times difficult to deduce the true meaning.  You do have to read slower, but for the most part, I didn't find it too cumbersome.  I enjoyed learning more about the customs of the time, especially when it comes to courtship and who you are allowed to marry.

I also had some difficulty remembering who the characters were.  Too many Captains and Elliots!

Persuasion isn't a long book (thankfully) and Serial Reader divided it into 33 parts, so it took me 32 days to read (I read the last two parts in one day.) As far as classics go, Persuasion was pretty good.

Published by John Murray in 1818
Copy obtained from Serial Reader
224 pages

Rating: 3/5

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Book Review: The Forbidden Orchid by Sharon Biggs Waller @Sbiggswaller

I chose The Forbidden Orchid because I loved Waller's A Mad Wicked Folly and being a fan of historical fiction, this seemed like a good one. And it was.

Elodie's father seems to have abandoned her mother and her nine sisters. Her father collects plant specimens from exotic locations, but he always returns at least once a year. This time he has been to China. It's during the Second Opium War (1857-1860), and her father has been injured. He has returned to England, though, and won't answer any correspondence from any of them.

Because her father hasn't fulfilled his contract to bring a very rare orchid from China, the man he works for has vowed to take all their possessions which would leave their father in debtors' prison and put the children in the work house or orphanage. Elodie vows to do something about this and visits her father.

He is a broken man. But she convinces him to return to China to retrieve the orchid specimen in order to save the family. Even though it's highly unacceptable, Elodie stows away on the ship her father is travelling on so that she can help him finish his assignment.

We have an adventure on the sea and then a harrowing trip through the Chinese wilderness during a time of unrest. There is a man racing them to the orchid and trying to sabotage their efforts. The atmosphere is richly created and brings you right into the story. While I did think there were some slow parts, I still enjoyed the journey. If you can't believe the characters, a book like this would not be effective. The desire to see these characters achieve their goal is what makes the journey compelling.

There is also a budding romance, and it's more complex than we first understand. We learn more and more about these characters' pasts as the story unfolds which also keeps the reader entranced. The danger feels real, but some of the lucky breaks are a bit contrived. However, it all serves to get us to the Happily Ever After.

At the end, Waller includes factual descriptions of the events and places in the novel and an extensive bibliography, which I love. I think this book will have to be pushed to teens. Those who are historical fiction fans and maybe have enjoyed her other book should be directed to The Forbidden Orchid.

Published by Viking BFYR, March 8 2016
eARC obtained from NetGalley
416 pages

Rating: 4/5

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