The Red Ribbon by Lucy Adlington

Lucy Adlington is a writer and costume historian. I was aware of her non fiction books about fashion history such as the excellent Stitches in Time but I had not realised that she was also a YA author. Lucy has previously published a number of Young Adult books as L.J Adlington. This is Lucy's first foray into historical fiction and it is a fantastic story, deeply moving and full of intricate detail. The book is the story of Ella who must pretend to be old enough to work if she is to survive and as a talented dressmaker she is determined to work at the sewing workshop at Birchwood. We know it as Auschwitz. It is also the story of the people she meets; Marta, Carla and Rose. If, like me you believe in the importance of historical authenticity in children's fiction then you will really appreciate this book. It is painfully truthful about the horrific conditions that Ella and her friends endure. This is a story about friendship, survival and hope, about what it means to collaborate and to resist and about doing the right thing when everything around you is wrong. The writing is powerful and thought provoking. I found myself re-reading passages constantly and the characters stayed with me long after I finished. This is a book that I urge you to read; eye opening, shocking and inspiring. An incredibly difficult and yet hugely important read. Thanks to the publisher Hot Key Books and Midas PR for a review copy which I will treasure. 

Favourite Historical Fiction of 2016 for Young Readers

This article is from the Irish Times last December but I neglected to post it so here we go. Last December the newspaper's were full of lists of best books of the year but they were for the most part all about books for adults. I was kindly asked my author friend E. R. Murray to contribute some thoughts on my favourite children's books from 2016 as were a variety of children's authors and booksellers. Of course being me I focused on the books that presented history to children, because obviously history is my thing. You can see the article in full at the link down below. Here however is my contribution. 

Lisa Redmond

For younger readers The Moon Spun Round is a collection of Yeats poetry, folktales and childhood writing stunningly illustrated by Shona Shirley MacDonald and collected by Noreen Doody while Kate Pankhurst’s Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World is fabulous fun and full of facts, a great introduction to women in history. Fans of history aged 9 and upwards will adore the moving and wonderfully written Kings of the Boyne by Nicola Pierce and Arrivals by Brian Gallagher about Irish emigrants in Canada may be his best book yet while Caroline Busher’s debut The Ghosts of Magnificent Children is an assured blend of history and the gothic.

Young adult fantasy fans should track down Emily June Street’s The Velocipede Races, a steampunk adventure set in an alternate 19th century, and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, a time travel fantasy, while Catherine Johnson’s Blade and Bone pits a young black doctor against racial prejudice and the danger of the French Revolution.

Lisa Redmond is senior bookseller at Waterstone’s

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/our-favourite-children-s-and-ya-books-of-2016-1.2906266

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein

The Pearl Thief is Elizabeth Wein’s fourth book for young adults. While previous books have featured daring female pilots and WW2 heroines the heroine of The Pearl Thief is Julie; a 1930s Scottish aristocrat back from finishing school to help her mother close up her grandfather’s estate for the last time. Grieving for her grandfather and for the summers she used to have Julie meets a family of Scottish Travellers including brother and sister Ellen and Euan whose way of life is also being closed off and who meet disdain, prejudice and opposition at every turn. On top of this Julie and her new friends have mysteries to solve; what happened to visiting academic Dr Housman who has disappeared? Who knocked Julie unconscious? And what has happened to the pearls in her grandfather’s collection. It’s not all about the mystery though as there is also romance, humour and a lovely portrait of a way of life slowly coming to an end as the countryside changes and the threat of war looms. The struggles with class, poverty and a changing way of life are all deftly handled. Elizabeth Wein is a powerful and consummate storyteller. Beautifully crafted and unputdownable The Pearl Thief is a wonderful mystery, filled with nostalgia and a real homage to the author’s adopted home of Scotland, to the Scottish countryside and to a fading way of life. With echoes of I Capture the Castle and Agatha Christie this will be a real hit with slightly older fans of Robin Stevens, and Enid Blyton.

This book will be published on May 4th 2017.

With thanks to LoveReading and Bloomsbury for a copy. 

Books to Watch out for in 2017 Part Two

There are always many more books that I want to read than I can afford or even have time to read. So here's another post about the books that are just out or coming soon and why you will want them too.

Just Published

The international bestselling author of The Historian returns with an intriguing new book published by Text Publishing in April. A young American woman Alexandra Boyd arrives in Sofia and has a mix up with a bag after helping an elderly couple to find a taxi, so she finds herself trying to track down the Lasarov family and thus begins an epic tale of Bulgaria; it's people, it's history, it's tragedy. Also what a stunning cover. 

This is a dark YA fantasy ideal for fans of Leigh Bradugo and Sarah J Maas. Tea comes from a family of witches but her abilities are different; so when she accidently raises her brother from the dead she is rejected by her own community. She is taken in by an older, wiser bone witch who trains her in elemental magic but dark forces are rising. Released in March by Sourcebooks in hardback this debut has had rave reviews.

Antonia Senior returns to the mid Seventeenth Century for her third novel which features Patience Johnson who believes she has a great destiny to fulfill. Her brother Will meanwhile has been appointed as lawyer to Oliver Cromwell. The Tyrant's Shadow blends romance, drama and political intrigue in an exciting and dangerous era. Published in April by Corvus.

Daniela Sacerdoti's new series sees her move to a new publisher; Headline, and it features another beautiful and atmospheric Scottish location. The first book in The Seal Island series is winning rave reviews and throngs of readers and I hope will bring this brilliant author to a wider audience. Out now in hardback with a paperback due in September.

Tanya Landman travels back to Roman Britain for her latest YA novel about runaway slave girl Cassia who does the unthinkable; crosses Hadrian's Wall to seek freedom. If you are a fan of Manda Scott's Boudica series or N. M. Browne's YA fiction then this is essential reading. Published in April by Walker Books.

Having enjoyed their previous adventures I am keen to discover what Frey and McGray get up to next. This latest instalment of the Edinburgh set detective series sees guest appearances by Ellen Terry and Henry Irving as a new production of the Scottish play comes to town.  Published in April by Penguin.

Set in 1361 as a new wave of plague visits England, this is dark, mysterious, historical fantasy. Perfect for me then. The paperback was just published in April by Headline.  

The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo by Catherine Johnson

Cassandra is a beautiful young lady bored and restless she longs for adventure. Mary Wilcox is a young woman who has been ground down by society, poverty and men, she is ready for change. Fred and Edmund are privileged young men with the world at their feet. Everyone has their place and everyone has a role to play. But what happens when a young woman decides to play a different role? Inspired by a true story this is the tale of a young woman who turns up at small village in England apparently unable to speak English. Taken in by a local wealthy family who decide that she is an exotic Princess, she is subject to experimentation and media speculation. As the questions come thick and fast how long will it be before the origins of Lady Caraboo will be discovered.

Catherine Johnson's wonderful new book was shortlisted for the YA Book prize although it missed out on the final prize; which went to Sarah Crossan. (The Irish ladies are winning all the prizes recently!) Nonetheless Lady Caraboo is an astonishingly powerful tale that combines gritty storytelling; the opening is stomach churning, with romance, friendship, self discovery and a portrait of Georgian England that you can feel yourself sinking into. There is squalor and splendour in equal measure. This is not an easy read. The treatment of women and of the poor is upsetting and vividly written. I am a huge fan of Catherine Johnson's writing and I highly recommend this book and all her books. Perfect as a companion to Pride and Prejudice or Frankenstein or if you enjoyed Frances Hardinge's The Lie Tree.

Thanks very much to Clare Kelly from Penguin Random House for a review copy.