These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly

Jennifer Donnelly, author of Revolution and A Northern Light has given us another engrossing history lesson in These Shallow Graves. The rich and privileged Josephine Montfort is called into the headmistress’s office of her elite boarding school, Miss Sparkwell’s School for Young Ladies, only to find her close family friend, Abraham Aldrich, waiting for her with the sad news that her father, Charles, has died. It was deemed an accidental death–the gun Charles was cleaning went off accidentally.

When Jo goes to bestow a bequest to the editor of the Standard, a newspaper Montfort owned, she overhears a reporter, Eddie Gallagher, stating that the death was not accidental. It was actually suicide. Jo, an aspiring reporter herself, cannot believe what she has heard and confronts her uncle, Phillip Montfort (Charles’ brother) who, indeed, confirms the story after Jo will not let up.

Jo feels compelled to find out what would prompt her father to kill himself and enlists Eddie’s aid. Being the career minded, aggressive reporter that he is, Eddie agrees and introduces Jo to the world of 1890s New York that no proper lady should experience, that of pickpockets, pimps, paupers and more.

Readers are apprised of life in Manhattan during the late 1800s, the wide divide between the haves and have nots, children left on orphanage doorsteps because there are too many other siblings to take care of, unscrupulous men who take in these orphans, train them to rob and steal in payment for their care, madams and prostitutes and more.

Jo’s actions, unlike those of teenagers of her station in life, goes against all expectations of her grandmother, uncle and mother; so much so that it may ruin the chances of a marriage proposal from the highly desirable Bram Aldrich.

These Shallow Graves is a most enjoyable read!

I also must recommend Donnelly’s other books, Revolution and A Northern Light, especially Revolution. To borrow my own words, “Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly: Historical fiction (also A Northern Light by Ms. Donnelly) combined with some time travel transports Andi Alpers from her 21st century Brooklyn home to the middle of the French Revolution. Wonderfully written and totally engrossing.”

 

 

 

 

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YA Books

I was lying awake thinking the other night (I don’t know why) that if I had to pick six books to show someone who grew up on Lois Duncan, the width and breadth of YA literature today, which books would I choose? Everyone has their favorites and there are obviously multiple combinations of six books to illustrate my point, but here are mine.

Literary YA Fiction – Small Damages by Beth Kephart (or any Beth Kephart book). Beth takes pains to get the words right and the result are wonderful, sometimes ethereal prose narrating engrossing stories.

Issue Driven Fiction – Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (or any of her books). Speak, about rape, is obviously the most well known, with the movie starring a young Kristen Stewart, but all of Anderson’s books deal with real issues faced by teens.

LGBTQ – Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters.  Keeping You a Secret is one of Peters’ earlier books portraying lesbian relationships and remains one of my favorites to this day. However she deals with all sorts of gender issues, from Luna (transgender) to gender neutral proms.

 

 

Historical Fiction – Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. Donnelly, whose earlier work, A Northern Light won the Carnegie Medal, goes back and forth between current day and the French Revolution.

Science Fiction/Fantasy – Eon: Dragoneye Reborn and Eona: The Return of the Dragoneye by Alison Goodman. Goodman combines action with signs of the zodiac in a spine tingling fantasy.

Illness – The Fault in Our Stars by John Green discusses the relationship between two teens having debilitating and potentially fatal diseases.

 

 

 

 

As we who read YA literature know, it has come a long way from the Lois Duncan days. And while Lois Duncan’s books play a significant role in the reading lives of teens, even today, there is a whole big wide world of YA literature out there begging to be read. I know I’ve left out great YA authors such as Lauren Oliver, Jordan Sonnenblick, Jennifer Brown. The list is endless.

I’m sure your List of Six is different than mine, so feel free to send me yours. I’d be interested.

 

 

 

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Adults Reading Young Adult Books

Kirkus recently had an article entitled “How to Read Young Adult Novels and Still Hang Out with Adults” (the link is shown below) which, of course, prompted me to make my own list, because YA books are my passion and there are so many that are ‘suitable’ for adult readers. My only criteria for my short and not all inclusive list are (i) that the books are a few years old so that they might have slipped our minds, (ii) they aren’t the well known books, such as The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (which is a great book, by the way) which has been used in adult book discussion groups and (iii) they are well written.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/lists/how-read-young-adult-novel-still-hang-out-adults/

So, here’s the Goldberg List (I’ve tried to satisfy varying tastes):

Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart: For those looking for cerebral stimulation, follow Frankie Landau-Banks, as she tries to infiltrate the school’s decades old secret all-male society, the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, a society her father belonged to, back in the day.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn (and its sequel Eona: The Last Dragoneye) by Alison Goodman: A flawless combination of Asian astrology, mythology, action and fantasy, these books are perfect for science fiction/fantasy fans and those readers who just want to get drawn into a magic world.

Freak Show by James St. James:  Follow Billy Bloom, a teenage drag queen as he makes his way through his new conservative high school, Dwight D. Eisenhower Academy, and forges a relationship with the quarterback of the football team, in this hilariously funny as well as serious comedy/romance.

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork: A realistic view of a high functioning Asperger’s teenager and his father’s push to have him acclimate to the ‘real world’. Absorbing and well written.

Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart: Ms. Kephart is known for agonizing over every word, making some of her books have an ethereal aura to them. Nothing But Ghosts is a literary treat. As described in Kirkus, “A long-buried mystery weaves its way through this delicately layered portrait of a grief-stricken daughter and father that meditates on the nature of loss. A coming of age story with a mystery.”

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly: Historical fiction (also A Northern Light by Ms. Donnelly) combined with some time travel transports Andi Alpers from her 21st century Brooklyn home to the middle of the French Revolution. Wonderfully written and totally engrossing.

Tamar by Mal Peet: A story of passion, love and resistance fighters during World War II, this absorbing story rotates between two Tamars, one current day Tamar following clues to find out about her 1940s namesake.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: A haunting look at teenagers and eating disorders.

I could go on, but I won’t. I truly hope you’ll give these books a try.

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