Forged in the Fire

Forged in the Fire
Author: Ann Turnbull
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN-10: 0763631442
ISBN-13: 978-0763631444

In this thrilling sequel to No Shame, No Fear, Will and his beloved Susanna have trials aplenty to go through. It’s London in the year 1655 and Will has been disowned by his father for becoming a Quaker. Will travels to London to seek his fortune, make enough money to be able to marry Susanna and bring her to live with him. Susanna stays behind to work and wait for letters from Will, in particular the one that will tell her he’s coming for her. The letter comes but Will doesn’t and Susanna isn’t the type of girl to sit and wait when she’s worried about someone she loves.

Will’s been thrown into jail for his beliefs and is sitting in Newgate prison where the plague has struck. He eventually is taken out of the prison and sent to recover from a non-plague related illness at the home of rich Friends. When he is lucid, he finds out that his job in the bookshop where he was working no longer exists as the owner and his family all died of the plague.

Half the story is told in Will’s viewpoint, the other half in Susanna’s and I have to say I was completely captivated by this historical star crossed lover’s tale. I got caught up in the history and the horror of living in the times of the plague. There’s this scene where people are killing all the cats because they believe they carry the plague and Will’s roommate Nat sneaks in a kitten to save it.

I always love books that have great history in them, especially history I know little about. The story of Quakers in England, their persecution and trials is definitely something I now want to learn more of after reading this.

The letters are wonderful and are written with such grace and beauty of language. Here are a couple of samples of Will writing to Susanna.

"Dear heart, I write this in the evening, after work, and try to picture thee also in thy room in London, perhaps with Nat, eating hot pies from Pudding Lane (for I remember what thou told me of thy habits). As long as I hold thy image in my mind, I can believe thee safe and in good health. I know thou dare not write to me. We receive few letters now, and there are fewer travelers on the road to bring us news, but we know the pestilence still rages and has begun to spread into the country..."

"Love, don't fear if thou hear nothing from me for a while. The authorities may restrict the post -- and even if they do not, I may hesitate to write to thee for fear the carrier should be infected. Take care to steam any letters from London over boiling vinegar; we are assured it is a preventative..."

I heartily recommend Forged in the Fire and hope for another in this wonderfully different series.

Fall of the Amazing Zalindas

Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars: The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas
Authors: Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin
Illustrator: Greg Ruth
Publisher: Orchard Books
ISBN-10: 0439828368
ISBN-13: 978-0439828369

The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas is the first in the proposed Baker Street Irregulars new series from Scholastic and I think it’s a great start. It begins with three tightrope walkers falling to their deaths in a London Circus and introduces the gang of street urchins that helps the great Sherlock Holmes in his crime solving.

Holmes has another case involving a missing and very valuable book and while he and Watson are solving other leads, the Irregulars, led by Wiggins and Ozzie get down to business with the circus folk.

The boys are all interesting and colorful characters with different stories and strengths. Ozzie in particular has quite a bit of depth and color. He’s the sick one of the bunch and very frail but has a razor sharp memory and an uncanny ability for copying documents. Wiggins is the leader and he’s the protective papa of the bunch always looking out for the others. I expect we'll find out more about the others in future books.

Besides the boys, there is the wonderful character of Pilar whom they meet in the circus. Pilar is a Spanish gypsy girl (fortune-tellers daughter) and seems to be able to genuinely see the future while going into a trance. She adds a dash of spice to the gaggle of boys.

The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas is full of details, reads like a casebook and has fine illustrations which give the book a good flavor. There’s Cockney slang, a glimpse of what life was like for the poor children of that time. It has a old style Victorian feel to it which gives the book a sense of authenticity.

Both boys and girls will love the book for its sense of fun and adventure. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

London Calling

London Calling
Author: Edward Bloor
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375836357

John Martin Conway is a seventh grade scholarship kid in a rich prep school where his mother works as a secretary. He feels out of place and hates the school and the great grandson of the school’s founder Hank Lowery. After a fight at the school he retreats into his basement room to do independent study and brood. Then his grandmother dies and leaves him an old WW2 era radio which he begins listening to while doing research on the Blitz in London. The radio acts as a conduit for time travel and Martin finds himself sitting in London during the Blitz with a boy named Jimmy who has things to show him. Jimmy turns out to be a ghost who needs something from Martin in order to be at peace.

Back in his own time, Martin researches more and more about the Blitz and the people he met while with Jimmy. He finds out things about his much glorified grandfather as well as Hank Lowery that aren’t what is believed about either. As he shuttles back and forth in time, Martin comes into his own. He discovers a love of history, finds closeness with his sister, learns much, grows and comes to terms with his father’s alcoholism.

London Calling is a story of old secrets, a murder mystery, a story of redemption, of loss and of growing up with all its pain and angst. It’s provocative and engaging as well as an extremely interesting read. It’s one of those books that will interest the reader in a subject and send them off and running to find more on that subject. I love books like that, the ones that intrigue you so much that it leads to more and more reading.

The story has a very personal and real feel to it. The characters are well developed and the mystery about just what Hank Lowery and Martin’s grandfather were up to in London had me eagerly turning the pages to find out. I hadn’t read Edward Bloor before and London Calling made me a fan. I’ve added his other works to my list of books to buy.