thoughts on books

Category: historical fiction

  • junie by erin crosby eckstein

    I can hardly believe this is a debut, this is a wonderful and enriching story set in the pre civil war South. The Good Morning America pick, I bet Jenna and Oprah and Reese wanted it as well. It checks all the boxes- strong female main character, tragedy, hope, a lesson for all of us and cross-genre. With beautiful sweeping descriptions, readable internal dialogue, this novel invests time into character development and a solid plot. It reads almost like a mystery, although there are elements of magical realism, romance, and literary fiction. I would shelve it under historical fiction, as the setting is necessary to the history of the time.

    This doesn’t whitewash the horrors of enslaved people in the American south, it covers the time in a respectful yet haunting way. The splitting up of families is heartbreaking and a warning siren for our dark days today.

    Junie is a 16 year old maid to Violet McQueen, the daughter of the plantation. They are living with debt and the way out is to marry Violet off to Mr. Taylor. It never occurred to me that when a girl was married her maid would leave the farm and go to the new home, away from her family. Junie’s sister Minnie died suddenly, leaving a hole in her heart and family. June blames herself for her death, and cannot come to terms with her present circumstances and future hope. There is also a heartwrenching theme of colorism, or the racism even within the community of enslaved people with a preference for

    lighter color skin rather than a darker complexion.

    I loved the complicated relationship between Violet and Junie, who taught Junie to read. Other characters; Minnie, Bess, Caleb, were all such strong voices and rounded out her community.

    If you enjoy historical fiction about female friendships, this is not one to miss.

  • come fly with me by camille di maio

    The time is 1962 and Judy Goodman is going to escape from her abusive husband Henry. She took the train and interviewed for a job as a Pan Am stewardess. Back then there were not many career options for women, and this was a way for her to escape. Her neighbor Ronell gives her the right plan and means to get away. Beverly has grown up as the daughter of the king of Wall Street. She is a wonderful and loyal friend who wants to have a life of her own and see the entire world. Meeting each other in their training group will change both of their lives forever.

    We get alternating POV chapters from Beverly and Judy, almond with shorter interludes by a present-day unnamed octogenarian, we aren’t sure of her identity until the 3rd act.

    This is a classic “women’s book club” historical fiction book, with criticisms of the patriarchal culture of the time while still indulging in the nostalgia for the time period. This was very respectfully done. The ending was quite emotional. I would love to read this in the lobby of the TWA hotel, this is a classic aviation travel setting. There is a wonderful playlist on Spotify someone made called TWA hotel. It would be perfect to listen to as you read.

    The audiobook narrators had good performances with intonation and pacing. It was easy to follow on audio.

    As for me, I was gifted the audio version by NetGalley/lake union/brilliance audio. This was in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published 2/18/25

  • broken country by clare leslie hall

    This book grabs you and slowly pulls you into a small country town and a collection of tragic, untimely deaths that will leave you reeling. This book is heartbreaking, but in the very best way, and you will no doubt hold your heart and sigh. EVERYONE IS GOING TO READ THIS BOOK. I am sure of this, it is going to be on every top ten list this year, everyone’s book club pick, and a movie will be made, so you might as well add it to your TBR now.

    The very symbolic beginning starts when a dog runs into a field of sheep and attacks the lamb, as it likely the dog’s nature. The farmer shoots the dog to save the rest of the flock, and a 10 year old boy, Leo, cries out. Leo believes his dog has been murdered. Leo and his father Gabriel are new to the small country village in England after being in America, Gabriel is returning back to where he grew up after a divorce from Leo’s American mom.

    Small towns are where everyone is connected, and the farmer, Jimmy Johnson, has a close brother Frank and his wife, Beth. It turns out that Beth was Gabriel’s first love, and they still have feelings for each other 10 years later. Beth and Frank have a good partnership, but one that has been racked with tragedy. Two years ago, Beth and Frank lost their son Bobby, who was Leo’s age.

    Gabriel and Beth become friends again, and Beth begins to look after Leo. She tells Frank that it helps her with Bobby, because no one else in her life will let her talk about her dead son.

    I read this book in one sitting, it is historical fiction as it takes place mostly in 1968, but jumps back to 1955 when Beth and Gabriel and Frank meet, and jumps forward at the end to 1975 when the tragic events of the book have all run their course to a future of hope. The story sits with you for some time, and you consider what intimacy means. Can you be in love with two men at the same time? Can you love a child in the same way you loved your own? Can your relationships heal after losing a child?

    If you have lost your only child, are you still a mother?

    It will make you think about how you treat the people in your lives that have overcome loss.

    Thanks to @netgalley and @simonbooks for the ARC. Book to be published 3/4/25.

  • the pharisee’s wife by janette oke

    Mary is such a common name in the first century that her husband Enos decides she will be known as Simona. Seems kind of strange to give your young wife a new first name, but hey! Lots of things were different about marriage in the first century. Mary seems like an obedient, nice enough young Jewish girl. She comes across as a little naive, but this makes sense due to her young age and lack of any education. She has heard about the preacher/prophet Jesus, and wonders if he could be the messiah.

    Then a Pharisee (one of the devout elite religious establishment) notices her and offers her parents a large sum of money to take her as a wife. I’m telling ya. Not much about marriage in the first century remotely resembles what we would view as marriage. Anyway, she is bored a lot, gets a maid and a lot of fancy new clothes, he is really controlling of her, but it is hard to know if this is weird for the time or not. She becomes pregnant but loses the baby, which makes her very sad. Simona is alone a lot. Turns out Enos is one of the Pharisees trying to bring down Jesus, they believe he is a false prophet and Herod’s governor Pilate will have him executed.

    Somehow Mary has faith in Jesus, really without much reason, not having heard him speak and just praying to him. It does have a happy ending although Enos is pretty upset when he learns she is a “Jesus follower.”

    I definitely felt sorry for Simona/Mary, and it was a very good historical/Biblical fiction story, I just felt that the characters, particularly Enos, were pretty one-dimensional. When I was younger, I always heard about the Pharisees and thought they were the bad guys, and OF COURSE if I were there I would be a Jesus follower. But as I have grown older, I wonder if the Pharisees didn’t really think they were doing the right thing, they were very devout, religious people like myself. I personally believe Jesus was the best teacher of all time, and I like considering how tales about his miracles and teachings spread across Judea.

    A quaint story about a young girl that helps us imagine what life would be like in the first century. This book reminded me of the American Girl doll historical fiction books but about Biblical times.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Tyndale for the ARC. Book to be published March 11, 2025.