It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

Genre:Historical

AR level: none yet

Grade appropriate: 4th and up

RATING BREAKDOWN:

Overall: 4/5--I liked this book much more than Fitzgerald’s last one Under the Egg which I didn’t like at all. I’m glad I didn’t realize it was the same author when I picked it up.

Creativity: 5/5-- I haven’t read many other stories similar. It is kind of like the movie/musical Newsies, a view of the times from the working class perspective.

Characters: 3/5-- The characters are very real and believable, if not always likable.

Engrossing: 5/5-- It was a fairly quick read. I had no desire to start something else while I was reading it which is a big deal sometimes!

Writing: 5/5

Appeal to kids: 3/5-- This will be a kicker. I’m trying to decide how to market it. Kids seem to avoid historical fiction with a few exceptions. I think it might go over well with our Holocaust readers...

Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5

CONTENT:

Language: none

Sexuality: none

Violence: none-- a man is keeping his wife sedated and in her room throughout the book, but there is no real physical violence. Some bombs are set off in the vicinity in protest, no one is hurt.

Drugs/Alcohol:mild-- Main character is 100 years old at the beginning of the book and has had cancer of the larynx because of smoking. Discussion of prohibition and whether or not it is right. There is a party scene where the main character is serving and the guests get very intoxicated. It is not glorified.