Hard Gold

Hard Gold: The Colorado Gold Rush of 1859, a tale of the Old West by Avi

As part of Avi's "I Witness" series, this book tells the first person (but fictional) story of Early Whittcomb, a thirteen year old boy from Iowa. Prompted by a threat to his family farm (the railroad wants to build through their land), Early runs away to follow his uncle Jesse to Colorado to look for gold. Early signs on as a helper on a wagon train for a barber and his family, meeting the challenges and hardships as a pioneer heading West in the mid-19th century. Dangers await them at every turn, even after they arrive in Colorado. The gold rush provides a great backdrop for this adventure.

"I Witness" books are historical fiction featuring young characters and based on events from American history. Avi liberally sprinkles in maps, old photographs, and even newspaper clippings to enrich the historical setting. These well-researched books also include glossaries to help explain terms and people from the period. Although the characters he creates are fictional, Avi's fascinating stories could be real. These books are perfect for curious readers 5th grade and up.

Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels
Walter Dean Myers
Reading level: Grades 7 and up

What was it like to be a soldier fighting in VietNam in 1968? Richie Perry is a seventeen year old Harlem boy with no future. He joins the Army without really understanding what he is getting himself into. Basic training isn’t too bad, but VietNam is another story. The fears that face a young soldier help Richie to understand that young enemy soldiers are really not much different from him. Everybody wants to survive the conflict, but sadly, wars don’t end that way.
This book is recommended for mature readers due to graphic language and content.

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters
by Leslie M. M. Blume
Reading level: grades 5 and up

This story is not for everyone. If you are an avid reader who likes exotic adventures, then you will enjoy this story. Cornelia is the daughter of a famous concert pianist who seeks anonymity for herself. She finds her life filled with loneliness, especially when her mother is gone on tour. Cornelia goes out of her way to antagonize the housekeeper/guardian, Madame DesJardins, by using extraordinary vocabulary which most people would not understand. When a new neighbor moves into her building, Cornelia takes a liking to the woman because she, too, enjoys complicated words. Together, they share numerous afternoons sipping tea and immersing themselves into another time and place. The adventures of the Somerset sisters take their audience around the world and back. Cornelia becomes attached to the woman as a surrogate for her distant mother, and also acquires a canine friend, the woman’s French bulldog, Mister Kinyatta as an added bonus. The story has appeal in its storytelling elements and offers its readers a satisfying conclusion.

Boston Jane, An Adventure

Boston Jane, An Adventure
by Jennifer L. Holm
Reading level: grades 5-7

Miss Jane Peck is the only daughter of a Philadelphia doctor. Her early years are spent as a tomboy until William Baldt, her father’s intern, introduces Jane to the idea of becoming a refined society lady.

Jane’s adventure begins when she departs Philadelphia with her friend, Mary, to join William in the Washington Territory. William has asked the sixteen year old Jane to marry him, and after some time Dr. Peck finally agrees to let her go. The voyage takes more than five months around Cape Horn.

By the time Jane arrives in Shoalwater Bay, two months late, William has gone off on official business for the governor who wants to secure a treaty with the Indians. Jane is forced to live with trappers, sailors, and all sorts of frontier characters.

During the time she awaits William’s return, Jane finds herself torn between maintaining her image as a society lady and surviving the hardship of frontier life as the underlying independent woman. Her strength and courage win out in the end.

Her tale has elements of humor and sorrow, but readers will instinctively like Jane and cheer for her success.

Parvana's Journey

Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis
Reading level: grades 7-10

In her sequel to The Breadwinner, Deborah Ellis spares us none of the horrors of war and shows us what is still all too current life in Afghanistan. She has the reader questioning along with the characters why anyone would treat children this way. Determined Parvana is walking through Afghanistan searching for her family. She doesn't know where they are and she doesn't even know where she is, but she stays true to her quest. Along the way she faces starvation, the dangers of a war torn country, and collects other children. She finds baby Hassan near his dead mother, Leila who lives in a mine field and believes she lives a charmed life because the exploding mines provide her with food, and sullen and difficult Asif who has lost his leg to the war and continually makes Parvana question her decisions, ability, and purpose on her journey. The reader will be drawn into the struggles of the children as well as shocked by what they have to do to survive.

Voyage of Ice

Voyage of Ice by Michele Torrey
Reading level: grades 4-7

If you ever thought sailing and whaling are glamourous and romantic, like Nick and Dexter Robbins, then you must experience the brutal telling of their treatment aboard the Sea Hawk, how they are lost at sea, and how they try to survive the winter in the frozen arctic. Fifteen year old Nick, the son of a whaling ship captain and his brother can't wait to go to sea. In what may be a hasty decision, they end up aboard the Sea Hawk and suffer punitive and cruel treatment from vindictive Captain Thorndike. It is Nick's positive and hopeful traits and promise to save the captain's daughter, that help him and his brother face a menacing ship hand, freezing weather, and starvation. This well researched book by Michele Torrey will keep you riveted to the end.

Other books by Michele Torrey in the Chronicles of Courage series: Voyage of Plunder and Voyage of Midnight.