Posted on by Maureen

Audacity by Melanie Crowder

I love browsing the new release shelves at my local library. I often request books through the library network, but the new release shelves are a great place to find books that might not have been on my radar. This is where I found Audacity, a book of free verse poetry for young adults by Melanie Crowder.

Audacity is a fictionalization of Clara Lemlich’s life. The story begins at the beginning of the 20th century in the Pale of Settlement, the portion of Russian land in which Jewish families are allowed to live. While Clara’s father and brothers devote their days to studying the Torah, Clara secretly learns Russian. She has always had a love for learning, and Russian unlocks a world of literature and learning that is not accessible via her native Yiddish. When her father discovers her Russian books, he burns them. When the Russians burn down their village in a pogrom, the family makes their way to America. Read more

Posted on by Maureen

Hush Now, Don’t You Cry by Rhys Bowen

I first discovered Rhys Bowen when I read her Royal Spyness mystery series. Since I have finished reading all the books in that series, I have moved on to her Molly Murphy series. I have been reading the series out of order, and have now read the five most recent Molly Murphy stories. These mysteries take place at the beginning of the twentieth century, and feature an intrepid young woman who has wonderful intuition, and continuously finds herself in predicaments that require a mystery to be solved.

In Hush Now, Don’t You Cry, Molly and her new husband Daniel Sullivan are traveling to Newport for a belated honeymoon. A New York City alderman- Brian Hanna- has graciously invited them to stay on his summer estate. Even though it is October, the Sullivans are happy to escape the city and have some time to themselves.

But as soon as they arrive, the Sullivans are thrown into one confusing situation after another. No one is there to greet them, and they must spend the night in the stable. When they are shown to the guest cottage, they realize that Hanna has invited his entire family to the estate for the same weekend. And when Brian Hanna is found dead at the bottom of a seaside cliff before anyone sees him arrive, suspicion shifts to Molly and Daniel. After all, the only one who can corroborate their story of being invited by Hanna has just been found dead. It is up to Molly to figure out what happened to Hanna. Who would have wanted him dead? Read more

Posted on by Maureen

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency: The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford

I have always loved learning about 19th century England, and reading stories set in that era. So, when I saw The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, my interest was piqued. Subtitled The Case of the Missing Moonstone, this is the first entry in a planned series written by Jordan Stratford and illustrated by Kelly Murphy.

The story is set in 1826, and it begins with a young girl named Mary traveling to a grand house to study with the young occupant of said house- a young girl named Ada. Lady Ada is three years younger, but Mary quickly learns that her new friend is very intelligent. The girls form the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, and they receive a request from a debutante who wants assistance with recovering a stolen jewel. The lady’s maid has confessed to the crime, but the debutante insists that the maid is innocent. Is she innocent? Can Lady Ada and Mary track down the real culprit? Read more