Anson’s Way, published in 1999, is Gary D. Schmidt’s fourth book, but only his second fiction novel. The Sin Eater was his first. When the story opens, Anson Staplyton, drummer boy, is aboard ship on his way to Ireland from England where he will take his place as the seventh Staplyton to keep the king’s…
Category: Book Reviews
Sarah and Me and the Lady by the Sea
In a style reminiscent of Hilda van Stockum or Alta Halverson Seymour, this story celebrates family life and friendship. The Abbotts do make friends on the Peninsula, and they do learn how to take care of themselves. More importantly, they learn important things about themselves and what they are truly capable of. This was a very enjoyable and quick read that would ideally suit our middle-grade readers. Girls of 8-14 might particularly enjoy this one.
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles
He loves his job because getting the letters so often makes people happy, but his wish is that someday a letter will be for him. This is unlikely because he has no friends. His loneliness is exemplified by the bleakness of the illustrations through about half the book.
Ain’t Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry
I remember singing some version of “The Ballad of John Henry” when I was in grade school, but I don’t remember anyone explaining what it meant. Since we learned it along with silly songs like “Froggy Went a-Courtin’” and “Señor Don Gato,” it didn’t occur to me to wonder if John Henry had been a…
Lines of Courage
Nielsen makes us care about each of these characters, and she connects them in ways that were, to me, plausible and interesting. I am the product of the schools of my time, and I was taught next to nothing about WWI. This book gave me a fascinating look into this confusing and tragic war. Like Nielsen’s other books that I have read, this book is squeaky clean, historically interesting, and well-told. I think that this could be a wonderful teen book club because there are a lot of layers to all of this.
Just Like That
ust Like That is hard. Not Okay For Now hard, but hard. It is also lovely. And tearful. And sweet. Typical Gary D. Schmidt, it has several key literary influences that are obvious, but it also reminds me of things that are not mentioned in the text. Diane and I both thought that this one had strong roots in Oliver Twist and maybe a little bit of David Copperfield. I also felt like it reminded me of the Anne of Green Gables books and the Kevin Sullivan mini-series – “Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel,” specifically the Kingsport Ladies College scenes. While this one can absolutely be read as a standalone, it makes sense to have at least read The Wednesday Wars so that you know who Meryl Lee is.
Hattie Big Sky
In 1918, sixteen-year-old Hattie receives a letter from her mother’s brother inviting her to take up his Montana land claim. By his own account, he has lived the life of a scoundrel, and that is why he didn’t ask for her sooner. But, the doctors have told him that he will not live long enough to see his claim proven. He wants Hattie to inherit the claim and all that he has in the hopes that she can finish the work that he has started and earn herself a future free of family charity. Hattie barely blinks before she writes to accept.
B is for Betsy
I read B is for Betsy by the morning campfire with two cups of coffee. It is a perfect book. Perfect. I did not want to put it down, and I kept reading scenes aloud to my family. There is one scene with a dog that is utter perfection. (There I go using that word again…)
The Sin Eater
“Time was like a fishing line that gets all caught in the reel, looping back into itself and tangling into knots that are forever. And the days’ stories were all knitted in tangles, so that I could hardly remember one day from another.” No one who has read Gary D. Schmidt’s novels or our previous…
Sherry’s Landmark Book Reviews
Did you know that we have a page dedicated to all things Landmark Books? Take a look here. Our dear friend, Sherry Early of Meriadoc Homeschool Library, has been faithfully reading and reviewing her way through the Landmark books. We know that so many of our readers are curious about the Landmark books and we…
Show Notes: Our Reading Life – August, 2023
Sarah Kim’s References Tanya’s References Sara Masarik’s References Diane’s References Tanya’s Teaser Anna Hibiscus’ Song by Atinuke
Show Notes: Our Reading Life – July
Tanya’s Reads: Sarah Kim’s Reads: Diane’s Reads: Sara Masarik’s Reads:
Swirl by Swirl and Blockhead
One regular feature that Biblioguides posts on social media is called Bookalikes. Their team highlights two books that are related and complementary in some way. What interested me about the pairing of Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman with Blockhead: the Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese was that they looked like…
Trouble
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt is a powerful and challenging story about racism and grief. Relatively modern (it seems to be set in the 1970s or 1980s judging by the prices of things in the diner), it reads like a modern book but not like The Wednesday Wars or even Pay Attention Carter Jones. Maybe this one is most similar to Just Like That (review coming soon), but even then it is considerably different. Instead of mixing humor and middle school antics with deep questions of identity, this one is rarely funny, and very little of it feels like middle school.