ON THE BLUE COMET

ON THE BLUE COMET, by Rosemary Wells, ill. by Bagram Ibatoulline (Candlewick 2010)(ages 8-12).  In this young middle grade novel, eleven year old Oscar lives with his father in a small house in Cairo, Illinois.  There, they've created a world of their own: ten Lionel trains, including the Blue Comet.

It all comes crashing down, though, two years into the Great Depression, when the bank takes the house and the trains, too.  Now, Oscar must move in with his aunt and cousin while his father seeks work out in California.

On Christmas Eve, the trains are on display in the bank's lobby.  When bank robbers appear, the mysterious night watchman urges Oscar to flee by "jumping."  He does so, first into the train set and then ten years into the future... 

ON THE BLUE COMET offers a fanciful and enjoyable time travel yarn featuring cameos from famous actors and politicians and bankers of the era.  Full color illustrations add richness to the depiction of the times.

TURTLE IN PARADISE

TURTLE IN PARADISE, by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House 2010)(ages 8-12). It's 1935, and eleven-year-old Turtle has been shipped off to live with her aunt, uncle, and a boatload of cousins in Key West, Florida, where, to her, everything is strange. How will she adjust to life as a Conch? Will the boys ever let her into the Diaper Gang? And will her mother ever come back for her?

Drawing on family history, Holm provides a fun and fascinating look at a young girl trying to learn the ins and outs of a strange, new world. Evocative of a bygone era, and with just a touch of The Little Rascals, TURTLE IN PARADISE is an enjoyable and sometimes bittersweet read.

BUG BOY

BUG BOY, by Eric Luper (FSG 2009)(12+). It's the height of the Great Depression and 15 year old Jack Walsh is senior exercise boy for his stable at Saratoga racetrack, but aspires to be a world-famous and winning jockey. It's all he can do at the moment, though, to keep his mind on his job, eke out a meager existence, and send modest sums back home.

But Jack gets his chance when his stable's premier jockey suffers an accident at the gate. Jack immediately becomes an unexpected success and celebrity. But between the mobsters who want to fix the races and the fat cats who own them, can Jack make it to the finish line in one piece?

Replete with period detail, BUG BOY exposes in compelling fashion both the glamor and dubious ethics of the 1930s horse-racing culture. Jack is likeable, engaging, and sympathetic. In short, BUG BOY is the fascinating story of a young man deciding who he is and wants to be in a world of temptation, corruption, and (sometimes) integrity.

I WANT TO LIVE: THE DIARY OF A GIRL IN STALIN'S RUSSIA

I WANT TO LIVE: THE DIARY OF A GIRL IN STALIN'S RUSSIA, by Nina Lugovskaya (Houghton Mifflin 2007). In 1932, in the heart of Stalinist Russia, thirteen year old Nina Lugovskaya began writing her diary. It covers everything you'd expect: stories of her friends, crushes, siblings. And experiences with the police state that sent her father to prison camp.

The diary was seized by the NKVD (forerunner to the KGB) when Nina herself was arrested at 18 and used as proof of Nina's anti-Soviet sentiments. The volume(s) was uncovered after the fall of the Soviet Union in the KGB archives.

I WANT TO LIVE is a chilling account of life in a totalitarian state. Particularly intriguing are the passages marked by the State as indicative of anti-Soviet thoughts. At once terrifyig and compelling, I WANT TO LIVE offers a searing portrait of the girl, the place, and the period.