Summary: A thrilling story about the dreams and drive of one woman’s journey in the mid to late 1900s.
Cathy says: I chose this book because I know of one Foster native who became a Rockette, plus I’m always up for a good story. It’s interesting seeing the changing mores of family life during those years, as well as the grueling life of a dance performer. The author opens up the dancer’s life through back and forth visits from 1956 and present day (1992). It has a most satisfying ending.
Chris recommends: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Genre: Historical fiction
Reading level: Adult
Summary: The Roosevelts put people out of work by preserving land instead of using it for lumber. A farmer decides to build a Swiss chalet, which becomes a summer camp for rich children. At this camp, the son and daughter of one of the most influential families in the area go missing. This novel combines family secrets with forgotten history.
Audrey recommends:Amber and Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz
Genre: Historical fiction novel in verse
Reading level: YA
Summary: In Ancient Greece, a stable-boy-turned-philosophy-student and a devotee to the wild goddess Artemis cross paths in the most unexpected way.
Audrey says:“Hermes here. The Greek god — No. Don’t put down the book — I’m talking to you. If the lines look like poetry, relax. This book is shorter than it looks.”
This book is truly a work of art. This hybrid novel combines poetry, prose, and artwork to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The book freely traverses between history and fantasy: we hear from real ancient philosopher Socrates, but also from the perspective of various gods of the Greek pantheon. The living world and the ghostly afterlife are treated with equal weight. Hermes quotes contemporary literary criticism. We read modern museum labels of historical artifacts, and then read Schlitz’s imagined provenance and what their significance might have been. This is genuinely the most unique book I’ve ever read.
“This is their story. When it’s over, if you like, you can tell me what it means.”
Olivia recommends: The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
Genre: Historical fiction
Reading level: Adult
Summary: Richly detailed and irresistibly compelling, Vantrease’s “The Illuminator” is a glorious story of love, art, religion, and treachery at an extraordinary turning point in 14th century British history.
Olivia says: I could not put this book down! I don’t think the author has many other published titles but nevertheless, this book is worth the read. I enjoyed all the characters and their development throughout the book. The storyline was great and of course, being set in England, its a favorite of mine.
Summary: Based on a true story, “Horse” weaves together the people and events surrounding a racehorse through more than a century and a half.
Hilary says: This book is beautifully written, and each portion of the story, from slavery on southern plantations and the Civil War, through the New York art world of the 1950’s and the scientists and conservators working at the modern day Smithsonian, is both informative and at times heartbreaking.
Olivia recommends: The Marriage Game by Alison Weir
Genre: Historical fiction
Reading Level: Teen and up
Summary: Another masterpiece by Alison Weir telling the story of Elizabeth I and the mounting pressure she was under to take a husband during her rein.
Olivia says: This author does an amazing job of bringing Tudor history to life. It was so interesting to read about Elizabeth I’s life as Queen and the constant pressure she was under to marry. Before reading this book, I knew a bit about the history between the late Queen and Robert Dudley, but the author brings more information to light, which was interesting to read about as well.
Audrey recommends:Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
Genre: Novel in verse
Reading Level: Adult
Summary: All the women who die in Shakespeare tragedies meet under the stage trapdoor to discuss the parallels between their lives, and how they might choose to rewrite their stories.
Audrey says: The story focuses on Juliet, Ophelia, and Cordelia, three extremely different women who all died for the love of the men in their lives. Fiery Juliet is angry that people interpreted her hope for peace as youthful stupidity. Quiet, passive Ophelia mourns the mother that was never even mentioned in her play. Stoic Cordelia is resigned to her fate and derides anyone who believes otherwise.
I can’t resist a hybrid form, so the half-script, half-poetry format appealed to me. I immediately clocked their distinct poetic styles; for instance, Cordelia almost always writes in carefully measured iambic pentameter, afraid to deviate from the norm, while Juliet speaks in impulsive fragments.
I don’t consider this a remix or adaptation of Shakespeare’s work, but rather a commentary. It reads like a compelling essay, using the voices of the Bard’s doomed heroines to express how they have been used as plot devices and objects whose inner lives remain unknown to the reader. By staging this novel as a conversation rather than a manifesto, it’s clear that many different interpretations can exist at the same time, and all are correct.
Audrey recommends:Return to the Secret Garden by Susan Moody
Genre: Historical fiction
Reading Level: Adult
Summary: In an unofficial sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, the friendship of Mary, Colin, and Dickon is tested by world wars, unhappy marriages, and the tumultuous jazz age.
Audrey says: In the ’90s, The Secret Garden entered public domain, and a boom of content followed. There was a Broadway musical in 1991, a 39-episode Japanese anime the same year, the 1993 Agnieszka Holland film, and, in 1995, this novel, an unofficial sequel by crime fiction author Susan Moody.
If you look online, this book is absolutely overburdened by negative reviews, which complain that the text lacks the charm and whimsy of the original and has desecrated their favorite childhood story with war, sex, and tragedy. But to me, Moody’s sequel expands Burnett’s world in a brutal but believable way. Dickon goes to fight on behalf of the country he loves so much in World War I, and it destroys his perpetual optimism. Mary, stubborn and impulsive as ever, decides to cut her hair short, travel to India, and join the Communist Party. Colin remains at home, turning his garden into a career by designing tropical greenhouses for wealthy estates.
Throughout the book, the three separate and reunite in various configurations, but it’s clear that they only achieve balance when all three are together. At its core, through all the trappings of drama and suspense, it’s still a story about friendship. I truly loved this generation-spanning character study of my favorite piece of fiction. Don’t be swayed by low star ratings and give it a chance.
