Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan

Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan

Release Date: Feburary 19^th 2011

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Age Group: Middle Grade

Page: 224 pages

Source: Library

 It is 1918, six months after the end of World War I, and Rosalind awaits the return of her father from the war. While it is common practice for British children in India to be packed off to boarding school at the age of 6, Rosalind is unusual because she lives and is schooled in India because her mother insists. The heart of this penetrating story is Rosalind's coming of age set against the hardship of life for the Indian people, Rosalind's daily life in India, the rise of Ghandi and Rosalind's coming to make her own decisions and become her own person

This book is a historical fiction which takes place in India during the Indian revolution. With all the revolutions that are happening now in the Middle East (people searching for their freedom), it was important for me to read about an old revolution. I stumbled upon this book which took me back when Ghandi was trying to free India from the British ruling after the World War I. The journey was fun and very informative and to my delight, the Indian revolution steps were the same as any revolution that is happening in the Middle East right now.

Even though the book is targeted for children, I found it interesting and I think it might interest adults too. This is because it delivers heavy content, historical moments in a simple, easy-to-read way.

I should mention that this book doesn’t only take place in India but it also takes place in Britain too. How exciting was that? It was awesome.

Overall, the book was a great, fun read and Rosalind (the main character) was fun 

to follow along on her journey and see her doing small acts of amazing courage.

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Book Review: Between Shades of Gray

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I shall review a book titled "Between Shade of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys.

Release Date: March 22^nd 2011
Publisher: Philomel Books
Source: Library
The description of the book: 

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.
Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously—and at great risk—documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

My review:

The length of the journey that a reader has to go through in this book is just exhausting and heart breaking. "Between Shade of Gray" put a spotlight on a part of history that went missing. A part that kept hidden from 1941 to 1990.

The book takes place during the Second World War in Lithuania and how people were treated like animals. The book is narrated by Lina who is 15 years old and who loves drawing. She was taken by the NKVD along with her mother and brother. Lina kept drawing as a way to communicate with her dad.

From the first moment, you start feeling sorry for Lina. How she had to face all these hardships in order to survive. How she was too young compared to the challenges she had to face. Lina and her family would work so hard for some bread to eat. But I loved her sprit. She knew the ending of this torture was coming soon. Even if it took her 12 years. Lina's mother was my favorite character. She was strong in front of her children and sacrificed a lot for them.

It wouldn’t be a YA if there was no love interest. The relationship between Lina and Andrius was a beautiful thing. Under all these conditions that they had to live through, there were able to love and help each other.

Reading a YA that is full of historical events and facts is just so amazing because you are teaching readers about history in the way they like it. Because otherwise who would want to know who died and who survived unless it was written well.  

Overall, I think Ruta's book was very informative and educational. Not to mention that it was heartbreaking but also it strengthens your soul at the same time. It makes you think about current events and makes you wonder where on earth the-treatments-of-humans-like-animals is happening. It takes YA genre to a whole new level.  

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Book Review: Vixen

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Today I shall review a book titled Vixen by Jillian Larkin.

Description of the book:

Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.
 
Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?
 
Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . . 
 
Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . . 
 
From debut author Jillian Larkin, VIXEN is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes.

My review:

There is nothing like going back in time when everything was different from now.

Vixen is a historical fiction as you might have noticed from the cover. It is about 3 girls  trying to figure out life. First off, we have Gloria who falls for a black guy (Oh the horror. I wish they knew what have happened in 2009). Then we have Clara who is trying to escape from her mysterious past. Finally we have Lorraine who never gets what she wants. The voices of the three character were distinguishable and obvious. It was easy to know which one was which.

If you ask me which character was my favourite, I would say none because all of them are risk takers and I am so not like that. The female characters want freedom and liberation. Something that somewhere we actually enjoy but we are not there yet, are we?

However, when I read historical fiction I expect history actually embedded within the plot. I hardly found that. The book talked a little about World War 1 and the prohibition but it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more. Also I felt the language used in the book was very modern and not a language that would be spoken by teenagers in the 20s.

Overall, this book was a great read. It made me wanting more and more. The book ended with a huge cliffhanger and I just cant wait for book 2.   

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Book Review: Everlasting

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Today I shall be reviewing Everlasting by Angie Frazier. It is her debut novel. In this book, you got to experience romance, historical fiction, fantasy, etc.

The description of the book:

Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty.

On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous—and alluring—magic.

The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness to find the enchanted stone. As she and Oscar elude murderous bushrangers and unravel Camille’s father’s lies, they come closer to making the ultimate decision of who—and what—matters most. 

My Review:

I read this book because of its beautiful cover. It reminded me of 'The Notebook' in the boat scene. It is in blue and purple; two colours that you often don’t find together. I like it when whoever create a cover takes a full risk.

If I had known that this book had some fantasy, I wouldn’t have read it. I don’t like fantasy that much but I read the book not knowing. However, the romance and the fact that it took place decades ago made it more interesting and made me forget about the fantasy part. Personally, I don’t think the fantasy section was that huge. It only got bigger towards the end. The fantasy in this book was really good and it made me believe it. But here is my problem I normally fail at visualizing those fantasies. I am not good with picturing them. However, if we start talking about the romance part, boy-oh-boy, it was the type I like. Not the obvious one. Not the one from first sight. The one where you question whether it exist or not. That kind of love.

Camille, the main character, is so loveable and you feel sorry for her a lot. She is supposed to be marrying to someone that she doesn’t like. At all. But her marriage could only save her father. But what about Oscar? The one who sends electricity throughout her body the minute he touches her. What should she do?

I was kind of surprised when goodreads said that there was a book #2. I mean it ends perfectly and it could be stand-alone book. But I guess not. I still am interested in what would happen next. But I hope there wont be much fantasy.

 Check out the trailer below:

Love the trailer

Tata for now 

YA Historical Fiction Challenge

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You had seen from previous posts that I will be doing the debut author challenge again next year hosted by the story siren. So I found another great challenge which is called Ya historical fiction challenge hosted by yabliss.com, also one of my favorite books blogger.

So this challenge is pretty simple. Here are the rules:

·  All Historical Fiction books must be YA or MG

·  Books don't have to be 2011 releases.

·  Anyone can join. Please link to a public (web) place I can find you.

·  You can join at anytime. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011

There are 3 levels for this challenge:

Level 1: 5 YA HF books in 2011

Level 2: 10 YA HF books in 2011

Level 3: 15 YA HF books in 2011

For now I am going to go with level 1. Here is the list of the books I am planning to read for this challenge, here.

This should be interesting.

Sign up here.