Category Archives: Historical

Spotlight on Freedom’s Just Another Word by Caroline Stellings

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Freedom's Just Another WordFreedom’s Just Another Word
by Caroline Stellings
Second Story Press
Available September 1, 2016

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About Freedom’s Just Another Word

The year Louisiana – Easy for short – meets Janis Joplin is the year everything changes. Easy is a car mechanic in her dad’s shop, but she can sing the blues like someone twice her age. So when she hears that Janis Joplin is passing through her small town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Easy is there with her heart – and her voice – in hand. It’s 1970 and Janis Joplin is an electrifying blues-rock singer at the height of her fame – and of her addictions. Yet she recognizes Easy’s talent and asks her to meet her in Texas to … Continue reading →

Review: A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund

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A Daring Sacrifice by Jody HedlundA Daring Sacrifice
Jody Hedlund
Zondervan

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The mysterious Cloaked Bandit lives in the forest of Wessex, robbing its nobility to feed peasants displaced when the current Lord usurped the lands. Now he combs the forest seeking the identity of the Bandit, unaware that in fact, she is the rightful heir to Wessex.

When the Cloaked Bandit robs a neighboring noble, Lord Collin recognizes the girl as his childhood friend. Concerned for her safety, he convinces her to stay a week in his home, far away from Lord Wessex’s soldiers. As he learns the terrible truths that led to Juliana’s impoverished circumstances, he vows to do something to help her. … Continue reading →

Review: Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

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Paper Wishes by Lois SepahbanPaper Wishes
Lois Sepahban
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

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Ten year-old Manami loves her home on peaceful Bainbridge Island. Then her family and other Japanese American members of the community are forced to relocate to internment camps. Manami tries to smuggle her family’s dog, Yujiin, into the camp, but is forced to leave him behind. The foreign circumstances and grief over her lost dog cause her to stop speaking. Instead, Manami expresses herself through drawings she creates every night. She draws memories of Yujiin and writes asking him to find her family. She will only find her voice again if she can work through her guilt over losing Yujiin.

This realistic debut tackles … Continue reading →

Review: Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard

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Lucky Strikes by Louis BayardLucky Strikes
Louis Bayard
Henry Holt and Co Books for Young Readers
Available July 5, 2016

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Fourteen year-old Amelia’s mother dies, leaving her and two siblings alone in the world. Amelia’s determined to run the family gas station and keep her siblings together until she comes of age. When the town learns of her mother’s death, Amelia and her siblings face being split up in foster care, and Harvey Blevins, who owns all the other gas stations in the area, sees the chance to snatch that last station he covets. What she needs is a parent figure, and the moment the bum falls off a coal wagon, she hatches … Continue reading →

Review: When Mountains Move by Julie Cantrell

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whenmountainsmoveWhen Mountains Move
Julie Cantrell
David C. Cook / Thomas Nelson

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Millie and Bump set off for Colorado and a new life together. Leaving Mississippi is all Millie ever wanted, but it seems the dark memories she thought to escape have followed her. With the memory of what Bill Miller did still hanging over her, Millie isn’t sure she can ever accept her husband’s love, and she’s not sure the past will stay buried long enough for her to try.

As Millie’s new life begins to unravel, her Choctaw grandmother arrives. She anchors Millie with the roots of family and tradition and teaches her the healing power of forgiveness.

Just like Cantrell’s debut, Into … Continue reading →

Review: Into the Free by Julie Cantrell

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intothefreeInto the Free
Julie Cantrell
Thomas Nelson (first published in 2012 by David C. Cook)

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Millie has grown up watching the Romany travelers make their yearly trek through her Mississippi town and on into the free. She longs to leave her abusive father and poverty-stricken life behind and follow them, but who would care for Mama if she goes? When tragedy swallows Millie’s family, she’s left with only the memory of her mother’s faith to guide her. A window into her father’s secret life opens to Millie, and she finds an unexpected community among his friends. As the day draws near for the Romany to return and the one person Millie has counted on … Continue reading →