Good historical fiction is, in a word, impressive. It immerses the reader in the world of the past—its sights, sounds, smells, and experiences. Through meticulous detail and a healthy dose of imagination, it brings different times, places, and cultures to life. Deborah Hopkinson’s middle-grade novel, Into the Firestorm: A Novel of San Francisco, 1906, brings the black-and-white earthquake photos we’ve all seen into the full color of the imagination… More
There don’t seem to be a great many Canadian authors prominent in the U.S. YA market, but Margaret Buffie is definitely a name I’ve heard before. Her ninth book for young adults, Out of Focus, has a dramatic storyline worthy of a problem novel, but the intriguing and varied cast of characters is well-realized, creating a story that’s much less easily classified into a single genre… More
