Historical Fiction

The Birchbark House

jFICTION/Erdrich, Louise
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Historical Fiction

Omakayas, a seven-year-old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe, lives through the joys of summer and the perils of winter on an island in Lake Superior in 1847.

Guilty confession: the first time I listened to this book was on a trip and we didn't finish it. Not because it isn't lovely! I remember enjoying it so much that I'm excited to pick it up in its physical format and start this one from the top. -Casey

The women in black : a novel

Madeleine St. John

FICTION St. John, Madeleine
Fiction, Historical Fiction

"The women in black, so named for the black frocks they wear while working at an upscale department store called Goode's, are run off their feet selling ladies' cocktail dresses during the busy season. But in Sydney in the 1950s, there's always time to pursue other goals... Patty, in her mid-thirties, has been working at Goode's for years. She's married to Frank, who eats a steak for dinner every night, watches a few minutes of TV, and then turns in, leaving Patty to her own thoughts. She wants a baby, but Frank is always too tired for that kind of thing. Sweet Fay wants to settle down with a nice man, but somehow nice men don't see her as marriage material. The glamorous Magda runs the high-end gowns department. A Slovenian émigré who met her Hungarian husband in a refugee camp, Magda is clever and cultured. She finds the Australians to be unfashionable, and dreams of opening her own boutique one day. Lisa, a teenager awaiting the results of her final exams, takes a job at Goode's for the holidays. She wants to go to university and secretly dreams of being a poet, but her father objects to both notions. Magda takes Lisa under her wing, and by the time the last marked-down dress has been sold, all of their lives will be forever changed" --

Looking for a light and funny read? Set in an Australian 1950's department store during the holiday season, Madeleine St. John's "The Women in Black" is delightful. You'll meet Lisa, Patty, Fay, and Magda--all at different points in their lives--all with different hopes and dreams--as they work during the busiest time of the year. Christmas does not play a major part in this book other than it being a specific time and adding additional stress both at work and at home. What is important here is the relationships of the women, the changes they experience...and of course, the department store. -Anne M

A single thread

Tracy Chevalier

FICTION Chevalie Tracy
Historical Fiction

1932. After the Great War took both her beloved brother and her fiancé, Violet Speedwell has become a "surplus woman," one of a generation doomed to a life of spinsterhood after the war killed so many young men. Yet Violet cannot reconcile herself to a life spent caring for her grieving, embittered mother. After countless meals of boiled eggs and dry toast, she saves enough to move out of her mother's place and into the town of Winchester, home to one of England's grandest cathedrals. There, Violet is drawn into a society of broderers--women who embroider kneelers for the Cathedral, carrying on a centuries-long tradition of bringing comfort to worshippers. Violet finds support and community in the group, fulfillment in the work they create, and even a growing friendship with the vivacious Gilda. But when forces threaten her new independence and another war appears on the horizon, Violet must fight to put down roots in a place where women aren't expected to grow.

This is a splendid book and I know right off the bat, my explanation won't do it justice. Set in England between the wars, A Single Thread follows Violet Speedwell, a woman (approaching 40--her mother's tragedy, not Violet's) who feels lost, but finds meaning in embroidery. But it is more than that. It is also about finding kindred spirits and understanding through each other's art. It is about loss and finding support. Tracy Chevalier's books are always wonderful and this is no exception. A patron recommended this to me and for that I am grateful. -Anne M

Al Capone does my shirts

Gennifer Choldenko

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Choldenko, Gennifer
Historical Fiction

A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards' families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

Added by Anne W