All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry

This is an intriguing book about a young woman who has been abducted and later returned to her home. Instead of being welcomed back, she is treated with suspicion and loathing—partly because she returns with half of her tongue cut out. The story is set in an unnamed time and place, but it feels like pre-colonial days in New England. The village Judith comes from has a Puritan air about it, and is under attack from "homelanders" sailing from in from some unknown place. Judith's mother is especially ashamed of her daughter and doesn't allow Judith to express herself of explain her own disappearance or the related murder of another girl from the village. Judith pines for Lucas, the boy next door, who is now a young man ready to marry another village girl. The story is narrated by Judith as if she is speaking directly to Lucas, explaining her actions and revealing her secrets little by little. The writing is poetic and there are subtle revelations on almost every page, so pay attention. Spoilers ahead—stop reading here if you care. I did enjoy the book, but I had a few things about it that bothered me. I found the undefined setting to be distracting —I kept looking for actual historical details that weren't there. I thought the homelanders would come back or be revealed to have greater meaning. And while the cover is beautiful, Judith is specifically said to be plain looking, so I think the gorgeous, modern-looking model on the front doesn't really reflect the character of Judith.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl is the second book by Rainbow Rowell to come out in 2013. I am a huge fan of Eleanor & Park, so I was excited to finally read Fangirl as well. This is the story of Cathe and her first year at college. She is an introverted girl, and an identical twin. Her mother abandoned the family years ago and she has a lovely father who is a bit unstable. It's hard enough to leave him behind, but she's also facing life on her own for the first time because her twin sister, Wren, chose not to room with her at college. Cathe's passion is writing fan fiction about Simon Snow—it's what she has always done and she can't imagine life without that emotional and creative outlet. This book takes readers through Cathe's entire freshman year. She struggles with Wren, she worries about her dad, she finds a surprising friend in her surly roommate, and she meets Levi, a really nice guy who slowly wins her over. Rainbow Rowell knows how to slowly bring characters to life and she knows how they talk. You leave her books knowing exactly what these people are like and feeling like you have a new set of friends. This is a really satisfying book for readers who like to live deeply in someone else's life. Recommended for high school readers.    

The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, The Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel by Deborah Hopkinson

I really enjoyed this book. I knew nothing about John Snow and his discovery that cholera was a water-borne disease, and now I know a lot. The story is set in London in 1854, and the main character is an orphan boy named Eel who is struggling to survive and support his little brother. Eel learns that people in his neighborhood are dying from the deadly disease that they call the "blue death." The theory of the day is that the disease is caused by "miasma," which meant it was carried in the foul-smelling air of London. Eel runs to alert Dr. John Snow, hoping that he could help save a man who was dying of the disease. John Snow doesn't help the sick man, but he does tell Eel that he thinks the disease, called cholera, is spread through contaminated water from the nearby Broad Street Pump. Dr. Snow hires Eel to help him prove his theory by interviewing neighbors and mapping the spread of the disease. It was obvious that the author incorporated a lot of historical facts into the story, but it never overwhelmed the story for me. I enjoyed the story and what I learned from it. This would be a perfect tie-in for a middle school science class. Recommended for 4th-6th grade readers.