Hush - By Karli Owens

Hush

          For my book report I chose to read Hush. This book is written by Donna Jo Napoli. This book is an Irish Princess Tale. It was a very suspenseful book and it was set in Ireland, Russia, and Scandinavia in the early tenth century. This book is a great read and is about Princess Melkorka, who discovers a way to power over the ones who kidnap her.
          Melkorka is a fifteen year old princess. Her father is King Myrkjartan and they live in medieval Ireland. Melkorka has a brother named Nauda who is thirteen and a nine year old sister named Brigid. In the beginning of the book Melkorka really wants to go to Dublin. Her family has known the area to be dangerous because of Vikings. ""The vikings are wicked, yes," Says mother" (21) While they are there Naudas hand gets cut off. King Myrkjartan has to figure out who is out to get his family therefore he has to protect his daughters. He sends them to hiding when they get kidnapped. They were tossed onto a viking slave ship. Melkorka remembers when her mom told her to hush and quiet. So she remained mute while being held captive. Melkorka's mom said ""Hush now," says mother." Go to bed girls. Theres time enough to figure out the question of succession" (22) Her staying silent was very powerful. Brigid escapes so Melkorka does not know if she survives or not but when the ship  arrives in Miklagard a viking buys Melkorka. She then remains silent but will be carrying the vikings baby. He decides to set her free because he loves her beauty and wants her to be happy. She finds a home in Iceland and will use her influence over the vikings for him to free his other slaves. "Wherever my child is, that's where my home is, for this child will give back my mother tongue"(308) Melkorka will finally speak out again once her son is born.
          Donna Jo Napoli has received a lot of grants and fellowships in linguistics. She has three degrees from Harvard. She is a writer for young adults. She also held a grant from the American Association of the University Women for research to fiction writing. Donna is certified to write this book because she is very intelligent and did the research to write this book.
          I actually enjoyed reading this novel a lot. It showed me what it was like in Ireland around the tenth century when kings were constantly fighting over land. The author, Donna has used great vocabulary in writing this book. It is very in depth and you're really drawn into the book right from the beginning. I would read more of Donna's books. The wording in the book made things very realistic. This book was a success.

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum-Baleigh Lunsford

At the Sign of the Sugared Plum

I chose to read At the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary Hooper. The main idea of this book is to not take your life or your family for granted. Both of these things can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. You should make the most of everyday, and live in the present because tomorrow is never promised. This book was about how people’s lives changed dramatically when the plague hit their country. They learned to fend for themselves and be a survivor, even though everyone around them were dying. They also learned to keep their faith and think positive about their situation, because it could have been a lot worse for them.

Mary Hooper is the author of this book. She was the mayor of Montpelier, Vermont in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. She is now an English author, who writes historical novels. She wrote At the Sign of the Sugared Plum in 2003, and it was selected as part of the 2010 Booked Up scheme. She was also nominated in 2011 for the Carnegie Medal for her book, Fallen Grace. Mrs. Hooper has written over 60 books, most of them relating to history. In my opinion, she was qualified to write historical novels. She has spent a lot of time researching historical events, so that her readers can learn and understand the impacts of these major events through her writings.

It was 1665 and a girl named Hannah was traveling to London for her first time to help her sister, Sarah, in her shop called The Sugared Plum, where they make sweetmeats (candy). Sarah had mailed Hannah a letter, telling her to delay coming to London because there was strong evidence that a deadly disease was about to strike the country. Hannah left before the letter was delivered, therefore Sarah was not expecting her visit. Pretty soon, the deadly disease (known as the Black Death or the plague) began spreading, killing hundreds a week. Each week, the numbers of those who died increased. The Bills, documentation of the number of deaths due to diseases, came out every seven days and confirmed that thousands of people were killed throughout the week. As Hannah was at the apothecary’s shop, she met a young man named Tom. Hannah said, “I had other questions to ask but was so taken with his smiling dark eyes and the way he’d said my name, ‘Hannah’--so softly, like a whispered breath--that they went out of my mind” (30). She developed feelings for him, and he promised he would make preventatives for her and Sarah to take in order to avoid the plague. One of Hannah’s friends, Abigail, is a maid for a wealthy family. Abby’s cook came down with the plague and their house was boarded up to isolate them. Hannah tried her hardest to visit Abby everyday. They would talk to each other through the window. Abby gave Hannah a letter, that spoke about how she, her employer, Mrs. Beauchurch, and her employer’s baby girl were supposed to go live with Mrs. Beauchurch’s sister in Dorchester. The letter also read that Mrs. Beauchurch wanted Sarah and Hannah to go in place of Abby and her employer. They wanted them to take the baby to safety, far away from the plague. Sarah and Hannah decided to take up this offer to help save baby Grace from the plague. Hannah knew how much Abby loved Grace, and wanted to get her to safety. She said, “I dared not indulge myself, though, for we had much to do if I was to carry out Abby’s last wishes” (156). When they picked up Grace, they found that everybody in the household was dead, except for the baby. Hannah was devastated to hear about Abby’s passing, but knew that she had to fulfill Abby’s wishes. They finally departed to Dorchester. They had faith they would be back in London again, once the plague calmed down and was under control. Hannah said, “London would survive, too, and I would return to it, and to Tom, and I knew I would not die unkissed” (163).

The conflict in this book is that the plague was being spread around and was wiping out a lot of the population. The rising action was when people in London became infected with the plague, and it started spreading. The climax was when people’s houses were beginning to get boarded up, including her friend’s house, Abby, who eventually died. The resolution was that Hannah and Sarah left London with baby Grace, and hoped to return soon when the plague was under control.

This book contains historical references. One of them is the bubonic plague, also known as “Black Death”. This book explains how much the plague really affected London, and the rest of Europe. It showed how everyone’s lives changed dramatically when the plague hit, and how people watched their family members suffer from this horrible disease. Another historical reference in this novel is the Royal Exchange. This was a social gathering that Hannah and her friend, Abby, went to. Hannah described it as a stone building that was open in the center, lined with shops around it. A lot of people were there, usually formally dressed.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very suspenseful, therefore I never wanted to put it down. Throughout the entire book, I felt like I was a real character during this time period. This book demonstrates how valuable life is, and how you shouldn’t take it for granted. I learned many life lessons that will be helpful to me. I think Mrs. Hooper did an amazing job and was very successful at making this become one of the best historical novels. I would recommend everyone to read this wonderful book.

The King`s Rose - Valery Dial

The King`s Rose

For my book report I chose to read The Kings Rose. This book was written by Alisa Libby. It was about a fifteen year old girl, Catherine, who was terrified by becoming King Henry VIII, King of France, wife. Throughout this book, it shows a girl facing many frightening things in her young lifetime. She becomes so terrified that she would do anything not to be executed by her king.

In this story, Catherine has been caught by the Kings eye. He gives her many expensive gifts to show his interest in her. “I hope this gown will suit your pleasure, as surely you suit mine” (6), the King messages her in writing. After giving the gifts of jewels, he gives her a gift she can not refuse, marriage. When the proposal was said King Henry told Catherine, “It will be a beautiful, private wedding” (35). After the king wed the young girl he was wishing for an air. After a while King Henry stopped trying for a son and he even said “In all these years, with all these wives I`ve been granted but one son-one son, Catherine” (126). Catherine knew if she could not bare child for the King he will have nothing to do with her. Soon enough she had an affair with her love and the kings groom, Thomas. Thomas was Catherine`s beloved cousin who which she was madly in love with even before engaged to her King. Once Thomas and Catherine had an affair she still could not bare a child. Soon after the King found out about the event between his bride and his groom he executed them both. With that execution, he was embarrassed by his love for his rose, Catherine.

  Alisa Libby did an amazing job with writing this book. She is best known for her book The Blood Confession.Libby was born and raised in Natick, Massachusetts. She attended public school and graduated from Emerson College. She studied writing with a focus on fiction. The author now lives outside of Boston with her husband. Alisa Libby is still continuing to write stories about topics she loves and things that interest her.  

  I think this book is enjoyable to my satisfaction. I like how the author describes the main characters love with each person in the story and how in the end of the story all the love just blows up. The love created issues between the characters and if one person was in love with another no matter what it created a lot of problems for those two characters.I also liked that the author combined all of the characters in the story. In the end Libby tied all of the characters and their actions together and it created drama, terror, and it showed that no one could trust another person.

Girl in a Cage- Sidney Kull

Girl in a Cage- Sidney Kull

For my book report I read the book, Girl in a Cage, written by Jane Yolen. The story is about the eleven year old Princess of Scotland, Marjorie Bruce, who is captured by her royal father’s enemy, Edward Longshanks, the unmerciful King of England.

After her imprisonment, Marjorie is held captive in a wooden cage in the middle of town. In her cage, she is unsheltered from the unpleasant weather, the insults from the townspeople, and the garbage they often throw at her. Marjorie prays, “Dear Lord, if it is not too much to ask, could you please send less wind and fewer turnips” (1). Marjorie’s appearance and health begins to change with the conditions she lives under. Her dress that was once tight has become loose with the little amounts of distasteful food she receives, her hair is full of tangles, and she carries a stench from lack of hygiene. Marjorie endures loneliness from inside her cage, as Longshanks has forbidden his people to have any form of communication with his prisoner. Longshanks often visits Marjorie’s cage and scorns her with his words, he tells her stories of how some of her relatives have been killed and how some are being held captive just as she is. At one of their encounters, Marjorie expresses to Longshanks, “If they do kill me, it will be a blessing.. For then I would be free in God’s kingdom! Not a prisoner in yours” (64). Marjorie likes to think of their meetings as a battle and a chance to defeat the already ill and sickened, Longshanks. She uses her useful knack for stealth that her father and stepmother always told her she had and her great amount of courage to stand up to Longshanks from inside her miserable cage.

After twenty days of captivity, Princess Marjorie is released from her cage and brought to a nunnery in England. She hears of the news that Longshanks is dead. Inside the nunnery, Marjorie is fed well, has a proper sleeping area, and is even free to walk in the orchard and gardens. Marjorie thinks of her father after seeing a spider in her room and believes that she will one day be reunited with him if she stays true to herself, she says, “Hope may be as thin as the spider’s thread, but it’s also as strong as the heart that clings to it. And that makes it stronger, much stronger, than kings or armies or stone walls--or even an iron cage” (230).

I believe Jane Yolen had the qualifications to write this book. She is an educated woman who attended University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she received her master’s degree in education and her bachelor’s degree from Smith College. She has been credited with being the author or editor of more than 280 books! Girl in a Cage won the ALA 2003 Best Books for Young Adults award. Without Yolen’s qualifications, I do not think this book would have received this accomplishment.

Although the book, Girl in a Cage is historical fiction, there is some true historical information displayed throughout the novel. King Edward Longshanks really was the King of England, who showed his hatred towards Scotland’s people and their king, Robert the Bruce (Marjorie’s father). He was called Longshanks because he was very tall for this time period. Longshanks actually had ordered three women to be imprisoned in cages, which were Isabel of Buchan, Robert Bruce’s sister Mary, and his daughter, Marjorie. I read about all of these women in the novel. I find it unbelievably cruel that a man who is the leader of his country and supposed to be an example to his people would do such an act.

I really enjoyed reading this book! The author did an astounding job of making this story seem so realistic, several times I felt like I was in the story, experiencing it for my own self. I believe this was a successful historical novel and I deeply recommend everyone to read it!

Salem Witch Trials by: Sophie Holland

 

Salem Witch Trials

 

       For my book report I chose to read Salem Witch Trials by Ann Rinaldi. This book was very intense with a lot of suspense in it. The story is very conflicting but shows a lot of detail and facts from the 1600’s. Ann Rinaldi used her knowledge and sources from around her to gather the information that created this amazing book. I would recommend this book for other people to read.  

      The book is about a girl named Susanna English, who is the second child of three. She wants to join a group of girls who meets at the Reverend’s house every night. "For Mary was seventeen, and Susannah and Elizabeth were both eighteen, and they wouldn't even bother to speak to me since I was only fourteen and not worthy of their favor." (7) She tried so hard to become apart of the group, even though she was so young and they never spoke to her. She would "peer through naked bushes and trees" (7)  just to watch what the girls were doing because she wanted to be apart of their group so bad. The leader of the group, Ann Putnam, sets off false accusations of the people in Salem so they become imprisoned. She names people that her mother dislikes and they are to be considered witches. Ann tells Susanna everything she plans to do and if Susanna tells anyone Susanna’s parents will be named as witches. Later on in the story, Susanna’s parents are accused of being a witch when Susanna had not told anyone. "Dear God, have I then housed the Devil's helper under my own roof?" (109) as Ann's uncle, Joseph, as they see his own daughter floating in the air on a stick. This causes Susanna to believe in witches until Susanna ends up marrying a guy named Johnathon, who convinces Susanna not to believe in witches. He brings her to an accused witch to show her that there is no such thing. Susanna ends up telling Ann’s uncle what she has been doing and he puts a stop to it. Lastly, Susanna returns 14 years later to hear Ann apologize for all the people killed, and hung because of her jokes.

      Ann Rinaldi is a young-adult fiction writer. She is the best known for historical fiction. She has written more than a total of 40 novels and 8 of them are listed as notable by the ALA. In 2000, Wolf by the Ears was listed as one of the best novels of the preceding twenty-five years, and later of the last one hundred years. Ann is also a writer for the Dear America Series. Before she even became a writer she was a newspaper columnist. Ann is certified to write this work because she has studied history in order to get the information for her books.

     I loved reading this book because it was very interesting and realistic since it was based on true events that happened in the 1600’s. The book was written very well. Ann has a strong vocabulary which allows the reader to understand and comprehend the book. She based her thoughts and the ideas of people back then into this book. This made the book even more realistic and I was able to imagine what was happening in the book in my head because Ann was very good with detail. This book was defiantly a success.  I enjoyed reading this book and I would look forward to reading more of Ann Rinaldi’s books in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kings Fifth

The Kings Fifth

       

 The Kings Fifth was a good book written by Scott O’Dell and won the “Newberry Honor Book” award. It was about a young mapmaker in 1541 undergoing a trial for not giving the king a fifth of the gold they found on his journey to find the land of Cibola. The land of Cibola was told to have a lot of gold “I go in search of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola.” (pg. 34) and he and the crew was trying to find it. On his journey it tells on how they had to go through the treacherous seas, tough battles against the Native American, and natural surroundings. When they were on their way they went through a storm “A hill of gray water now came up behind us. Our stern lifted and we sank downward, downward until it seemed that we must founder on the bare rocks beneath the sea.”(pg. 32) i left them in need of resources. The battle between the Native Americans was very dangerous “A hand touched my throat and I gave him a mighty buffet with my knee" (pg 91). I thought this was a very good book I would recommend you to read it.