During the Siege of Vicksburg, the citizens of Vicksburg had to use a lot of substitutes for everyday foods and products because the Yankees were stopping their supplies from reaching them AND the general store had to charge more money for each product, too. In my middle grade historical fiction novel Finding My Place: One [...]

I am happy to host, Linda Hubalek, today. She’s stopping by as part of the WOW! blog tour. She is giving away one copy of her historical fiction book, Trail of Thread, as an e-book, which can be read on a Kindle. If you’d like to win a copy or even just say, HI! GOOD [...]

I love Timeless Thursdays and not just because it is almost Friday. I love revisiting these books that I read when I was younger and that children or teens are still reading today. And how about this series that I thought about while perusing the shelves of the local library? Timeless Thursday is talking Little [...]

photo by masterplaan www.flickr.com *Young adult, historical fiction set in 1981 Ireland during the “Troubles” *18-year-old boy as the main character *Rating: Bog Child is a wonderful story set in an unusual time/place for young adult literature. The main character’s charm carries the reader through a difficult, sometimes heartbreaking, story of a tumultuous time in [...]

by bobster855 www.flickr.com *Historical fiction for older middle grade readers, young adults *Teenage slave girl as main character *Rating: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson is a wonderful read with a captivating voice and unforgettable main character. Short, short summary: Isabel, a teenage slave, and her five-year-old sister, Ruth, are sold to Loyalists who live in [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com *Young adult novel, historical fiction *Young Huck as main character, of course! *Rating: This is a classic you won’t want to miss! Short, short summary: You meet Huckleberry Finn for the first time in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and now he gets to star in his [...]

Reviewed by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com Young adult novel, historical fiction, 1906 16-year-old girl as main character Rating: A genius plot and can’t-put-it-down voice. Short, short summary: If you have ever read An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser, then you are familiar with a huge sub-plot in this book. Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey works at a [...]

Review by Margo Dill, www.margodill.com, margodll@aol.com Middle-grade historical fiction 11-year-old boy, Samuel, main character Rating: A page turner with great hooks Short, short summary: Samuel is a slave in Kentucky in 1859. He runs away with another older slave, Harrison, and they travel on the Underground Railroad to freedom. Samuel uncovers secrets and meets many [...]