Historical Fiction Books

Hello beautiful people! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. It has been crazy during these past few days, with all that is going on in the world. I am reassured that God has everything under control, and is keeping His children safe in the palm of His hands. 

I naturally have an obsession for history and facts. Historical fiction most definitely always feeds my appetite. 


The first must read, is the chapter book called, The War that Saved my Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It is a 2016 Newbery Honor Book. I absolutely enjoyed every single chapter of this book! This book will make you feel all kinds of emotions, and sentiments. You will one day feel exaggeratedly furious, and later be filled with an intensity of hope. This books takes place during WWII, in England. Ada, a ten-year old girl, suffers from an excruciating leg pain, since birth. Her mother demonstrates zero affection, or love towards her. Therefore, keeping her daughter captive in their apartment. Ada even suffers from malnutrition, physical abuse, and verbal abuse. Her younger brother Jamie, has the freedom to leave their one-room apartment, and even has the opportunity to go to school. Ada decides to teach herself to learn how to walk. She then discovers that people from the outskirts of the city, are taking in children to keep them safe from the war. Later on, Ada escapes her home with Jamie, after hearing that the war will soon be coming to London. They take a train in order to get to their destination, and Jamie realizes that Ada has no idea of what the world looks like, or works. A single woman named Susan, is forced to take the children in. Although Susan is obligated to take custodial responsibility, she gives them the best care, opportunities, and affection. Ada suffers from Stockholm syndrome, and a physical disability. Therefore, making it difficult for her to flourish to her maximum potential. Susan also battles with depression, because a loved one passed away. With a series of reactions, adventure, rehabilitation, friendships, and war, this book brings a message of hope to the hopeless. Most of all, this book has an unexpected, but wonderful happy ending! This book is worth the read! 



The second must read, is the picture book called, A Fine Dessert, written by Emily Jenkins, and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Sophie Blackall is an award winning illustrator. She is the winner of the 2019 Caldecott Medal for her book titled, Hello Lighthouse. Her illustrations in that book are mind blowing, and you can read more about them, from one of my previous blogs dated, February 16, 2020. I absolutely adore her illustrations, because you can vividly see all the leg work, and research that she does. The different eras and places represented in this book are: 2010 in California, 1910 in Boston, 1810 in South Carolina, and 1710 in England. The book transports you through several centuries, and helps the reader capture the process of making a blackberry dessert through time. Jenkins wrote this book in order to demonstrate joy, by using the lives of exceptional people, during different times, places and circumstances. She believes that although times were tough in the past, craftsmanship was always evident in human lives. Blackall visited the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to see fabric patterns from the 1700's. In addition, she made her own whisk made out of twig, in order to know how it felt to whip cream in 1710. She read slave owners' diaries from the 1800's. She also browsed through furniture catalogs from the 1900's, in order to include that lifestyle in her illustrations. Blackall also perused several real estate websites, to find a faultless 2010 house model. She made sure to include warm hues that were used in past centuries, and modern day pops of color. You can tell that she is inspired by a diversity of botanicals, and makes sure to make the green vegetation stand out through the different eras. Her illustrations have a folk art vibe, with a simultaneous type of victorian vintage twist. Without a doubt, the illustrations give meaning to the text. For the endpapers, she squished blackberries and used the purple juice to paint them. With the leftover blackberries, she made a dessert for her own family. In the end of making the dessert, Blackall licks the bowl, just like all the characters do in this superb book. You will enjoy this book, and you will also have the opportunity to make your own blackberry dessert, because this book also includes the recipe!

Being mindful,

Evelyn Portillo

P.S. I am tempted to eat a yummy blackberry dessert now!