Book Review: Hunger by Donna Jo Napoli

Hunger is a great introduction for younger teens to what is commonly known as the Irish Potato Famine.

The story is told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old girl, Lorraine. Her family are tenant farmers and Hunger depicts the extreme hardships of the Irish people during the long winter with no food.

Because of a chance meeting in the woods, Lorraine meets a rich English girl, Susannah, who is the landlord's daughter.  Susannah is privileged and has no idea of the suffering of her father's tenants. She has been told they are lazy. Lorraine tries to set her straight, and Susannah at least helps her with some additional food.

Starvation brings with it diseases and death, and Napoli doesn't shy away from this truth.  The English are not made to look very good.

The ending does leave the reader with some hope, but if you read the detailed history of Ireland at the end of the book, there is still a lot of hardship ahead for these people.

Hunger would be most appealing to middle-grade students, but older students with an interest can also learn from this tale. Hunger is a relatively short book and keeps your attention, so reluctant readers interested in historical fiction should be pointed to this one.

Published by Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman, February 13, 2018
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
272 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Book Review: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson @raecarson

Walk on Earth a Stranger is a perfect book for me. I absolutely loved it.

Leah's life is turned upside down when she finds her parents both murdered in their small home in Georgia. It's 1849 and many people are racing to California to make their fortune in gold.

Leah has a secret. She's able to feel when gold is near. The sense gets stronger the closer she gets to the gold. Nice ability to have, huh? When Leah's uncle comes to take her away and "use" her, she runs away. Her best friend left for California a short while ago, and she wishes she went with him but now hopes to catch up with him. She must disguise herself as a boy since it would be impossible to be a girl travelling alone. Fortunately Leah has been trained by her father to hunt, muck out the stalls, and any other work to keep their household running.

Leah (now Lee) goes through much hardship but makes some interesting friends along the way to California. Walk on Earth a Stranger never has a dull moment. The heat, cold, wet, stampedes, mountains, rivers, cholera, and danger from Indians made these people true pioneers. Many lost their lives, including some of the characters in this book. It was hard work; they were always tired and much of the time they were hungry and thirsty.

The writing just flows magically. I felt like I was along with Lee in her travels. I hated some characters so much that I wanted to throw the iPad across the room (I refrained.) The magical gold-finding ability just adds to the story but never overpowers it.

I was concerned about a cliff hanger, since this is a planned trilogy (Gold Seer Trilogy), but this episode ties up the immediate plot line. We know there's more to come, and I can't wait for the next book. I think it's probably going to be a while.

Fans of historical fiction should not miss Walk on Earth a Stranger. Don't let the magic cause you any hesitation. Fans of magical books will enjoy this one too, especially if you enjoy historical settings. I can't wait to shove this one at my teens.

Published by Greenwillow, September 22, 2015
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
448 pages

Rating: 5/5

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Audio Book Review: Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

Daughter of Fortune is an engaging story that follows one woman's life including her journey from Chile to San Francisco during the gold rush.

I don't usually do this but I'm just going to include the description from amazon.com:

An orphan raised in Valparaiso, Chile, by a Victorian spinster and her rigid brother, vivacious young Eliza Sommers follows her lover to California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Entering a rough-and-tumble world of new arrivals driven mad by gold fever, Eliza moves in a society of single men and prostitutes with the help of her good friend and savior, the Chinese doctor Tao Chi'en. California opens the door to a new life of freedom and independence to the young Chilean, and her search for her elusive lover gradually turns into another kind of journey. By the time she finally hears news of him, Eliza must decide who her true love really is.

Daughter of Fortune is beautifully written. The descriptions of people and place are vivid and complete. Eliza is a character that you can't help but care about and root for. Although, I did wish she would realize what she had sooner (but that would have ruined the story, I guess). She become so obsessed with finding the man she thought she loved that she was blind to anything else.

You will learn a lot about Chile and all the foreign people who chose to come there to make their fortune. You will learn a lot about the gold rush and what life was like, especially for women and foreigners during that time. But just because you are learning, doesn't mean Daughter of Fortune is boring. There's adventure, romance, near death experiences, and lots of drama to keep you reading (or in my case, listening.)

Blair Brown, the narrator, does an excellent job. She has a Spanish (or Chilean?) accent that adds authenticity but is still very easy to understand.

Daughter of Fortune is highly recommended to fans of historical fiction. This is my first Allende book, and it kind of reminded me of books by Barbara Kingsolver, who is one of my favorite authors.

Published by Harper Collins, 1999, HarperAudio, 2008
Copy obtained from the library
416 pages

Rating: 5/5

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