The Last Song

Title: The Last Song
Author: Eva Wiseman
Copyright: 2012
ISBN: 978-0-88776-979-5

I am always on the lookout for accessible historical fiction that is written during a time period that children typically don't know much about.  When I picked up "The Last Song" I was deceived by the cover!  I was shocked when I started reading to discover that it was not a holocaust book like a expected by instead was set in Toledo, Spain during the Spanish Inquisition 1491! 

Well at that point I was committed, I had bought the book, I had started reading the book and I was hooked.  For the record I knew absolutely nothing about the Spanish Inquisition when I started reading.  In fact I couldn't even quite rationalize when 1491 would have been.  None of that stopped me, and in fact the story line is so compelling, none of my concerns even mattered. 

This is the story of Isabel an almost fifteen year old girl who discovers in chapter 1 that she must marry a boy she despises in order to keep her safe from the inquisition.  No matter how many questions she asks no one will tell Isabel why she would ever have to be kept safe her family is full of good Christians what could the problem be?

Isabel soon learns that her family is hiding a dark past and in her time of need people she thought she could trust will desert her.  However, when she meets a young Jewish boy named Yonah she also learns to accept her background and her family for what it is.  Follow the emotional journey of Isabel as she learns what it means to be Jewish during a time of persecution. 

With a Name Like Love

Title:  With a Name Like Love
Author: Tess Hilmo
ISBN: 978-0-374-38465-4
Copyright: 2011

"I'm Olivene Love, oldest daughter of the Reverence Everlasting Love" and this is her story.  Olivene Love is the daughter of a traveling preacher in 1957.  The Loves travel around the countryside preaching the love of God and holding tent revivals.  However, when they roll into Binder, Arkansas Ollie quickly learns that there is something not quite right in this town and she is determined to stay until the mystery is solved. 

With a Name Like Love is a delightful story, part historical fiction, part mystery, and just a hint of love (at thirteen Ollie is trying to figure out the difference between love and friends and which is better to have).  In Binder, Arkansas Ollie quickly learns that a young boys Mama has been put in jail for murdering her husband.  This wouldn't be so strange except the whole town knows that Jimmy Koppels mom is innocent, they just don't want to help her. 

Ollie's family is quickly targeted for trying to help the Koppels and Ollie and her sisters learn real quick what it means to be an outsider.  Ollie doesn't care if the entire town hates her, she is determined to be friends with Jeremy, free his Mama, and make sure that justice rules.  Only once she has done all that will she be willing to move on to their next destination. 

This is the sort of book that leaves a person feeling warm and fuzzy inside, and reminds everyone that their is still hope in this world.  It seems like a perfect book to read to kick off the new year!