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  • Details
    J.A. Redmerski

    J.A. Redmerski

    Author

    J.A. (Jessica) Redmerski is a New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and #1 Amazon...
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Cassie (21 KP) is asking for a recommendation

Jan 21, 2019  
Recommend Me
Looking for good books for my 10 year old daughter. She is reading on a young adult/adult level. I want her to feel challenged but dont want her reading content that is too mature for her age. She enjoys most genres. Open to all ideas!
      
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Kelly (279 KP) Jan 22, 2019

I had, same issue with my son, most school library books at his reading level were blocked to him until recently. What about books by Frank Cottrell Boyce? He used to love those at that age.
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Cassie (21 KP) Jan 22, 2019

Thanks for the recommendation!
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Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated Pigeon English in Books

Jul 2, 2019  
Pigeon English
Pigeon English
Stephen Kelman, Gbolahan Obisesan | 2015 | Children, Young Adult (YA)
10
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It is funnt and tragic (0 more)
Nothing (0 more)
This is a great first novel
This is a must read. Written in first person and from the point of view of Harry, an eleven year old boy (If my memory serves me well) is the most intelligent and convincing narration I have come across. The novel is funny yet disturbing and the reader is told of the young boys own world but through the innocence of a (not quite mature enough to understand the world) boy. Present tense with analepsis allows the reader into the distance between his old life and his new life. Kelman's terrific talent of show not tell, and the young protagonists inexperience creates a sense of irony, as the adult reader see's what the child is too young to notice himself.
I am not going to go into the plot as I feel that this is something I do not want to spoil but believe me, Kelman's characters are fully fleshed out and the world they live in as real as any run down council estate in the UK. This novel surprised me, made me laugh and brought me to tears and has left a tiny book shaped hole in my heart. Well done Stephen Kelman
  
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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Cleopatra's Moon in Books

Feb 15, 2019  
CM
Cleopatra's Moon
Vicky Alvear Shecter | 2011
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>Cleopatra's Moon</i> tells the childhood story of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Marc Antony (Marcus Antonius) and the most famous Cleopatra (VII) in history. The story covers her life from ages six to sixteen, from her parents' fall from power to the capture of Cleopatra Selene and her brothers to their lives living in Rome.

Catered to the young adult market, <i>Cleopatra's Moon</i> has a lot to offer older readers as well. While there may not be as much meat on the bones as many adult historical fiction novels have, the history is plentiful and smoothly incorporated into the story. Aside from a few, minor instances, not much Cleopatra Selene said or did stood out as odd and the history seemed sound (though I am far from an expert). The author's writing style is easy to read, has a nice flow, and the descriptions are well-done; I could easily picture the surroundings, so the scenes came alive for me. She doesn't shy away from suggestive scenes, making the story feel more realistic, though nothing is described explicitly either. The author is up front about what is and is not fact in the six-page section at the end of book entitled "The Facts Within the Fiction," which gives the reader more information about the people mentioned within the book. If anyone goes into this book expecting more love story than historical fiction, they will be sadly disappointed. Any love story takes a back seat to Cleopatra Selene's struggle with both herself and her circumstances in life.

If I had one quibble with the book, it was the children's and Cleopatra Selene's voices. The children sounded a bit too mature at times, including Cleopatra Selene when young. Although in her case, it was more her voice didn't change much throughout the ten years the book covered and it was too familiar. I've come across other young adult protagonists that sounded very similar to her, both historical and contemporary, so I was hoping hers would be a bit more distinctive from the rest. Still, it's a very small thing and I did like Cleo Selene; she wasn't passive, but she wasn't aggressive either, she fell somewhere in between the two, which worked well for the book.

After all has been said, <i>Cleopatra's Moon</i> does what any (good) historical fiction novel should aspire to, it made me want to know more about the time, people, and places.