Shaffer, Mary Ann and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. 2007.
This is an adult book appropriate for YAs. At that present time, this novel has been on the NYT Bestseller list for several weeks.
This is one of the cutest books I have read in a great while. Juliet, an author is looking for the next thing to write about when she begins a correspondence with a Literary Society on the island of Guernsey, which is in the English Channel and had been occuppied by the Nazis during World War II. The novel, which takes place in the time just after the war, takes the form of letters to and from Juliet to her editor, her best friend, and to the members of this Literary Society. They write to her about how their Society was formed during the Nazi occupation and why. Eventually, Juliet decides to visit Guernsey and her pen pals.
The book is somewhat predictable at least as far as how it is going to end, but that's not really a problem. The real point of the book is to fun and entertaining, and it succeeds at that.
Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Me and Orson Welles ***
Kaplow, Robert. Me and Orson Welles. 2005.
Why this book was recommended by School Library Journal is beyond me. I don't imagine any teenager would be interested in reading this. In fact, I can't imagine many people would be interested in reading it.
The book follows a week in the life if Richard Samuels who lives in NJ. In an unlikely turn of events, he is cast as Lucius in an Orson Welles production of Julius Caesar. He has to skip school to get to the rehearsals and the performances. He falls in love with Sonja and gets involved in the drama that is the theatre.
I am not sure if the goal of the book is to be coming of age story or a story that exemplifies how crazy Orson Welles was. Either way, it doesn't matter because I don't think either angle is working very well. I also find that most teens aren't all that interested in historical fiction so I don't think a 1930s NYC theatre novel would fly off the shelves of many libraries. I would skip this book unless you have some sort of fascination with Orson Welles.
Why this book was recommended by School Library Journal is beyond me. I don't imagine any teenager would be interested in reading this. In fact, I can't imagine many people would be interested in reading it.
The book follows a week in the life if Richard Samuels who lives in NJ. In an unlikely turn of events, he is cast as Lucius in an Orson Welles production of Julius Caesar. He has to skip school to get to the rehearsals and the performances. He falls in love with Sonja and gets involved in the drama that is the theatre.
I am not sure if the goal of the book is to be coming of age story or a story that exemplifies how crazy Orson Welles was. Either way, it doesn't matter because I don't think either angle is working very well. I also find that most teens aren't all that interested in historical fiction so I don't think a 1930s NYC theatre novel would fly off the shelves of many libraries. I would skip this book unless you have some sort of fascination with Orson Welles.
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