I tend to read novels set in whatever time period I am writing about. I like to see how other authors tackle the tricky problems involved in writing historical fiction: authenticity vs. info dumps, history vs. imagination, how they invent the past.  

During the years I worked on the medieval books, I read a heap of Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael books. Fabulous books. 

I also read a lot of middle grade novels since that’s what I write.

At the moment I’m reading the delightful Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead about Livy and her friend, Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, and Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s The Book of Boy, in which a Medieval child named Boy discovers his courage, his skills, and his wings—literally. I’m loving it.

Here’s the first:

What’s the one book that pops into your mind first when you think of books you read when you were young? What do you remember most about that book?

One book? No way. It has to be a three-way tie: Blue Willow, by Doris Gates, the story of a migrant girl who longs for a permanent home;  Cotton in My Sack, Lois Lenski, about migrant pickers in the cotton fields; and Strawberry Girl, also by Lois Lenski, wherein a family moves to Florida to start a strawberry farm

I remember these books to this day. They opened my eyes to another world: other times, other places, and other lives. I could see beyond the boundaries of my own experiences and relate to characters much different from me. Apparently my family, my neighborhood, my problems, were not the only way of life. At ten, that blew me away! And each book is a coming of age story concerned with the search for home, topics that I seem to write about over and over myself.

Here’s Rachel Hartman’s website, where you can learn more about this book and her newest, Shadow Scale.

Nest. Middle-grade fiction by Esther Ehrlich. Set on Cape Cod in 1972, Chirp survives a difficult year through the healing power of family, the natural world, and her growing friendship with the irresistible Joey. Nest is real, touching, true, and wise.

All the Bright Places. YA fiction by Jennifer Niven. This beautifully written book allows us into the worlds of the smart, dark Violet and the boy who teaches her to live while he plans to die. A gorgeous book with fascinating characters.

Tiger Queens. Historical fiction by Stephanie Thornton. Lengthy, detailed saga of the women who supported Genghis Khan and strengthened his kingdom.  I was immersed in his world for days and loved it.

The Goblin Emperor. Fantasy by Katherine Addison. After a tragedy strikes, the half-goblin youngest son of an emperor has to learn whom to trust, how to rule, and how to survive, in a hurry. I loved the world building and Maia, the goblin emperor, who is much smarter and more lovable than he thinks he is.

The Secret Wisdom of the Earth. Fiction by Christopher Scotton. A boy grows in courage, understanding, and forgiveness during a summer he spends in a small Kentucky coal town with his grieving mother and beloved grandfather. The end is riveting and life affirming but I hated to see the book end.

In the past three days I have battled hurricane and pirates, floods and evil kings, false friends and kind strangers. I was angry, frightened, discouraged, and determined. All this while I rode a train from here to Portland and back. Yup, I was reading—two amazingly good books.

Rodman Philbrick, author of the entirely splendid Freak the Mighty, took me to New Orleans in Zane and the Hurricane, just in time to to be trapped by Hurricane Katrina. Zane and his dog, Bandy, also encounter a feisty young girl and an elderly musician, dangerous drug lords, uncaring officials, and generous strangers. I could feel the wet and the cold and the hunger. Great book. 

Entirely different but equally compelling is The Shadow Throne, the third book in the Ascendance trilogy that started with The False Prince. Jennifer Nielsen has done it again, given us a rip-roaring adventure about good and evil, courage, loyalty, and love. I read this one much too late into the night. Great book.

I recommend you get these titles from your local independent bookstore. What would we do without them?

I thought you might like to see what I’ve been reading (when I should be writing):

Mrs. Hemingway (Naomi Wood, Penguin): Insightful fictional look at Ernest Hemingway’s four wives. There’s a lot to admire in the women but I still don’t get Hemingway’s appeal. 

The Bear (Claire Cameron, Little, Brown): Two children must find their way out of the wilderness after their parents are eaten (really!) by a bear. I can’t say I enjoyed it—so violent and tragic—but I can’t forget it either. Not for children or the faint of heart. 

Under the Wide and Starry Sky (Nancy Horan, Ballantine): Fanny Osborne meets and marries Robert Louis Stevenson. The novel follows the couple as they travel the world, Louis writing and Fanny nursing him. I found it engaging. 

The Invention of Wings (Sue Monk Kidd, Viking): 19th century abolitionist Sarah Grimke struggles against her upbringing, her family, and other abolitionists as she insists also on rights for women. It’s a lovely, moving book and I enjoyed it wholeheartedly. 

I lucked out—all four were excellent and worth reading. Watch for them. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for advance reading copies.