Life Can be Bitter Sweet
- Rachel Huff
- May 3, 2016
- 5 min read
Historical Fiction and Biographies provide a way for us to relate to members of society. They also teach us empathy for those who are different from us. Try some of these titles for a glimpse into life's bitter sweet moments.
Historical Fiction
Fever, 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Fever 1793 is now one of my favorite novels. The struggles faced by Mattie Cook, the main character, as she fights for her life during the breakout of Yellow Fever in 1793 are unbelievable. There’s no doubt in my mind that the appendix of this book is one of the most beneficial ways in which the author provides a lens for the reader to view the moral, political, and social values of the times in which the events in the story takes place. The book explains these values in further details:
Morally people were conflicted during the Fever. Some felt an obligation to care for their families or even complete strangers while others would throw their loved ones out into the street to die
Political history is spread throughout the novel. The reader learns that Philadelphia was once the nation’s first and George Washington was actually at the capital when the Fever first broke out.
The social implications explain that medicine was crude during the 1700s. Doctors’ treatments actually killed the patients instead of curing them!
The history provided in this story would definitely spark students’ interest in medicine, history, commerce, etc. I can see this book being used to “hook” students before a unit about the 1700-1800s in America. I’m not surprised that this book won the ALA Best Book for Young Adults! Great read…
Reference:
Anderson, L. H. (2000). Fever 1793. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Salt to the Sea
By Ruta Sepetys
World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety. Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people—adults and children alike—aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.
Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Sea-Ruta-Sepetys/dp/0399160302
The Boy in the
Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne
Berlin, 1942: When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move to a new house far, far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people in the distance. But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.
Retrieved from:https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Striped-Pajamas-John-Boyne/dp/0385751532
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Movie Trailer
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that is now a major motion picture, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.
Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Thief-Markus-Zusak/dp/0375842209
Between Shades of Gray
By Ruta Sepetys
Fifteen-year-old Lina is a Lithuanian girl living an ordinary life--until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father and forced onto a crowded train, Lina, her mother, and her young brother make their way to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she imbeds clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping her drawings will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive?
Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Between-Shades-Gray-Ruta-Sepetys/dp/014242059X
Biographies
Life in Motion:
An Unlikely Ballerina
by Misty Copeland
I actually experienced this title as an audio selection. I used Audible for the first time while reading this book and found it to be a great choice. I’m really glad I chose to listen to this book rather than read it myself because of all the technical terminology and terms associated with dance. Rather than stumbling over unknown words, which often impedes comprehension, the audio version read all the technical jargon seamlessly.
I’ll say that I never knew being a ballerina was so much work. I also hadn’t realized how that African Americans were often overlooked for primary parts in productions because they were thought too dark for a part of most lead dancers (i.e. a Swan for example). One thing that particularly stood out to me was Misty Copeland learned a lot of the same lessons I’ve learned throughout my life: hard work pays off, loyalty to oneself, and self-determination to achieve goals. However, the route in which we arrived at the final destinations of these lessons learned was completely different. Interesting… this leads me to believe mankind learns similar lessons but in very different ways.
Reference:
Copeland, M. (2014). Life in motion: An unlikely ballerina. New York: Touchstone Books.
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
This book was touching and heartrending. Jeannette Walls is a fighter! I couldn’t stop thinking about this book for days after I finished it. The events in this story really helped to life into perspective. I wondered how many of impoverished children (living in very rural Appalachia) struggle with some of the same things as Jeannette did (i.e. hunger, struggling to stay warm and clean, or being shuffled from place to place). I will warn you that this book had a lot of curse words in it. It seems Jeannette's dad had a problematic temper and was anti-religious on top of it. Yet, in the end, this story is a real eye-opener. Truly, a story I’ll never forget.
Reference:
Walls, J. (2005). The glass castle: A memoir. New York: Scribner.
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