VVMBookBlog

It’s 1847 and Kathleen “Kit” Byrne’s family is living a day-to-day struggle to survive Ireland’s Great Hunger of 1845-1859.  Written by an Irish emigrant, this story shows the members of Kit’s family and their neighbors as strong people willing to do just about anything to survive the potato famine.  Kit especially risks her life and her freedom to help her family.

I’ve read several other young adult books written about this period in Ireland’s history, and know that it was a horrible time resulting in many people leaving Ireland to come to the United States.  This book, however, had lots of action and suspense up until the end of the book.  Another good example of great historical fiction!

Ready to read a romance with a little bit more?  Monsoon Summer tells us about 15-year-old Jasmine who has so much going for her.  She is tall, strong and athletic and a star of her track team.  She has a great family, including her bug-loving younger brother.  And she and her best friend Steve have a successful business selling souvenir photo-postcards on the Berkeley campus.  But, she also has a secret crush on her life-long best friend Steve and doesn’t recognize her value to him or to any other part of her life.  And now she’s going to India for the summer!

Why India?  Jazz’s mother was living in an orphanage in India when she was adopted by an American couple.  Now as an adult she has acquired a grant that allows her to go back to set up a clinic at the orphanage for other poor, pregnant women to help ensure more healthy babies.  Jazz and her family will all go to India for the summer to support her mother and her project.

Their family has always observed customs from India, including foods from India and learning to speak Hindi.  Jazz still had trouble taking in the poverty and crowded conditions in India.  And, because it was during the summer months for Jazz, that meant it was monsoon season in India and raining all the time.

Read Monsoon Summer to see how Jazz figures out how she fits into this summer of giving by her family, how she works out her relationship with Steve from thousands of miles away, and learns how to see herself with new eyes.

Sometimes when I read some of our historical fiction books, it’s hard to believe the things that are happening to people right in my own time and world.  I hear or read stories in the news but that doesn’t bring our attention to peoples’ lives like hearing from the people themselves.

This book begins when Ling is 9 years old and it’s based on actual experiences from the author’s own life.  Chairman Mao Zedong, leader of China, launched the Cultural Revolution in the 1960’s as a way to gain power by eliminating differences in classes of people, especially the wealthier classes–called the bourgeoisie–who were the doctors, lawyers, professors and others.  Since Ling’s parents were both medical doctors, her family was under suspicion, especially because they had been in contact with doctors from the United States.

When party leader Comrade Li takes over a room in their home as his own apartment, things become very uncomfortable for Ling’s family and their friends.  Their homes are ransacked, valuables are taken, and some doctors disappear from the hospital.  And it’s all done in obediance to their leader, Chairman Mao.  These incidents are frightening for everyone but especially for Ling who had grown up very protected and privileged.  Within a couple years they are forced to live with limited food, fuel and freedom.

The action in the book took place in the years 1972-76 but I can’t help but make comparisons with what happened with the Nazis in Germany in the early 1940’s.  And, unfortunately, similar things are most likely happening in our world right now.  Why can’t we figure these things out?

There’s an old movie on TV every once in a while and it’s called “The Bridge Over the River Kwai.” It takes place in Thailand during World War II after the Japanese have invaded. The Japanese are forcing the British prisoner-of-war soldiers to build the Thailand-Burma Railway, all while keeping them in horrible living conditions, usually in cages placed out in the stifling sun.

So now here’s Elephant Run about World War II with the Japanese threatening to invade Burma. Nick, 14-years-old, was living with his mother in London, but the Germans were bombing London and it was decided that Nick would be safer living with his dad on the family teak plantation in Burma. [Teak is a type of tropical hardwood and Burma is now called Myanmar.]

As soon as Nick arrived at the plantation, called Hawk’s Nest, Nick’s dad wasn’t around much and Nick could sense that something was wrong. And while out exploring a little on his first day there, trying to find out what was going on, Nick had a run-in with Hannibal, one of the elephants that are used on the plantation to harvest lumber. Because of the imminent danger, Nick’s dad was determined to get Nick and Mya, the daughter of one of the plantation workers, out of Burma to safety. And then the adventure begins!

Because Burma had been under British rule, some of the native Burmese people sided with the invading Japanese and turning against Nick’s father. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese and Hawk’s Nest became a headquarters building for the Japanese. Now what has going to happen to Nick, the loyal people in the village, and the elephants, including Hannibal, that had worked so hard for the plantation.  Burmese people were forced to work on airstrips and railways for the Japanese, as were the British prisoners-of-war (just like the movie!) but they were forced to live in horrible, and very unhealthy, living conditions.
Lots of twists and turns and surprises that kept me reading to the end. Again, I learned more about a time and place in history than I knew before, and it made the events in the “River Kwai” make even more sense. World War II truly was a “world” war when we realize just how many countries were affected by events during and after the war.

Time Bomb by Nigel Hinton

This book takes place in post WWII London. Andy and his friends have found a hang out. The hang out is an old bomb factory. All four boys have difficulties at home and use this as a place to get away. They also have had a horrible experience with their teacher and principal which continues to haunt them. Escaping to the bomb factory gives them the sense that they can fight against those who wrong them. Time Bomb is really a coming of age book that discusses the difficulties adolescents face in day to day life. Andy’s dad is cheating on his mom. Manny, a Jew, still deals with prejudice even though the war is over. Bob stutters and his small for his age. Eddie has a horrible step-father and the ability to get into trouble easily.

Although the war is over, the aftermath still affects their everyday lives to some extent. When the boys discover a bomb, they decide not to tell anyone. It is their secret. Many secrets are kept in this book, but this may be the most dangerous.

Most readers will be able to find a little bit of themselves in these four boys. This book doesn’t have a lot of action and adventure, but it is a good read. The characters truly make the book interesting.