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Historical Fiction July 2019
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Starring: Elwood Curtis, a young black boy growing up under the care of his strict grandmother in segregated Tallahassee, Florida. What happens: Elwood hitches a ride to his first day of classes at a local community college, only to discover the car is stolen. His guilt is assumed and he's sentenced to Nickel Academy, a Florida reform school. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Elwood seeks to take a pacifist approach to the monstrous brutality there, but his new friend Turner has different ideas. Don't read if: you have trouble stomaching descriptions of physical and sexual violence – that is based on real events.
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The Orphan's Song
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Lauren Kate
What it's about: Raised in a Venetian orphanage, singer Violetta and violinist Mino form a strong but complicated bond rooted in the music they share.
Read it for: sympathetic characters, a bittersweet love story, and an atmospheric setting.
You might also like: Vivaldi's Virgins by Barbara Quick, another richly detailed novel about musical orphans set in 18th-century Venice.
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Who it's about: Kate Levin, her mother Exalta, and her children: the three elder from her first marriage are all going through upheavels: Blair, 24, is pregnant and her MIT astrophysicist husband is not what he seems. Kirby, 20, has been arrested twice (don't tell grandma!) for protesting the Vietnam war – into which her brother Tiger, 19, has been drafted. Jessie, Kate's 13-year-old son with her second husband, David Levin, is left at the family beach house. Summer of '69: Chappaquiddick, Apollo 11, and Woodstock all leave their marks on characters. Reviewers are saying: "As always, Hilderbrand’s characters are utterly convincing and immediately draw us into their problems, from petty to grave." (Kirkus)
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The Summer Country
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Lauren Willig
What it is: a compelling family saga by the bestselling author of The English Wife, set in colonial Barbados and full of mystery and romance.
1812: Charles Davenant arrives in Barbados to run Peverills, his family's sugar plantation, which proves challenging to say the least.
1854: Englishwoman Emily Dawson inherits the now-derelict Peverills and, with the help of brusque but attractive local doctor Nathaniel Braithwaite, learns about its tragic past.
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The Last Tudor
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Philippa Gregory
Starring: Lady Jane Grey and her sisters, Katherine and Mary, all potential heirs to the disputed throne of England.
For fans of: Susan Higginbotham's Her Highness, the Traitor, which also depicts the political drama of the succession crisis caused by Henry VIII's death.
Should you start here? Although it's the 7th installment of the Cousins' War series, The Last Tudor can be read and enjoyed on its own.
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Cleopatra's Shadows: A Fall of Egypt Novel
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Emily Holleman
Introducing: Arsinoe and Berenice, the half-sisters of Cleopatra.
What happens: After their father is deposed in a palace coup, 12-year-old Berenice declares herself ruler, setting the stage for a bloody conflict that will pit sister against sister.
Try this next: The Drowning King, which is book 2 in this series; or Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra, a biography of the iconic ruler that also delves into dynastic dysfunction.
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The Empress of Bright Moon
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Weina Dai Randel
The situation: Concubine Mei's beauty, wit, and charm have helped her win the love of Pheasant, the new emperor -- as well as the undying emnity of his wife, Empress Wang, who seeks to destroy her.
Why you might like it: Set in Tang Dynasty China, this historical novel follows the life of the woman who would become Empress Wu, a saga that began with The Moon in the Palace.
Try this next: Sa Shan's Empress, another biographical novel that chronicles Empress Wu's rise to power.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Demarest Free Public Library |
90 Hardenburgh Ave. |
Demarest, New Jersey 07627 |
(201) 768-8714 |
demarestlibrary.org |
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