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December 27, 2007
TREMBLING EARTH by Kim L. Siegelson
Historical fiction readers you might like TREMBLING EARTH by Kim L. Siegelson. It is set during the Civil War.
War between the North and the South was strong. Hamp, a swamper, lived in a time when fighting would never end. Hamp hopes for the South to win the war between states, even though he’s never seen a slave. Hamp’s father lost a leg and a part of his soul because of the war. He hated the Union army for turning his loving father into a man that he has never met before. Now his father always sits on the porch singing sad songs and pining away, as the war draws closer and the family gets poorer. Scrub, the neighbor, caught a family of Negroes and held them captive with no food and water. Neeta, Hamp’s sister, felt that this was wrong and convinced Hamp to rescue the family. But Hamp was more interested in a reward for a slave named Duff. He was a no-good slave who was accused of killing his own master and is now loose on the swamp. Hamp goes after him, figuring that the bounty is his by rights. But when Hamp meets up with Duff, Hamp realizes that right and wrong weren’t black and white as he thought they were.
Stephanie Zhang
Grade 8
WT Clarke Middle School
Posted by fjacksonem at 8:50 AM | Comments (1)
December 14, 2007
LIFE AS WE KNEW IT by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Can you imagine a catastrophic disaster, meteors, tsunamis, earthquakes, disease, here on Planet Earth? Well, Susan Beth Pfeffer has thought about the possibility and written the book LIFE AS WE KNEW IT.
Life was pretty uneventful for Miranda, high school sophomore; she has her friends, the prom and looking forward to her driver's license. Then the newscasts begin, a meteor is going to hit the moon. How can that affect her life, until the meteor throws the moon off its axis hurling the orb closer to Earth.
Miranda's diary reflects all the changes in her life, like her Mom going into survival mode by buying everything available, her older brother, Matt, taking on adult responsibiltiy for survival, her younger brother, Jonny, losing his childhood, neighbors keeping to themselves, and law and order appears to have disappeared. The planet is changing too, hugh tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and a killer flu. Miranda sees her life slipping away and her only purpose becomes to survive. As the summer days turn to winter, will the world survive?
This is a really powerful book, and definitely in my top five to recommend. You will be thinking about the story long after you finish the book. You might even find yourself buying a few extra things just in case.
I RECOMMEND THIS TITLE FOR GRADES 7 TO 10.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 10:41 AM | Comments (0)