The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats

The Wicked and the Just
J. Anderson Coats
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Released: April 17, 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley

Cecily’s father has ruined her life. He’s moving them to occupied Wales, where the king needs good strong Englishmen to keep down the vicious Welshmen. At least Cecily will finally be the lady of the house.

Gwenhwyfar knows all about that house. Once she dreamed of being the lady there herself, until the English destroyed the lives of everyone she knows. Now she must wait hand and foot on this bratty English girl.

While Cecily struggles to find her place amongst the snobby English landowners, Gwenhwyfar struggles just to survive. And outside the city walls, tensions are rising ever higher—until finally they must reach the breaking point.

This did start out a bit slow for me. I heard about it months ago and sort of forgot the synopsis by the time I actually picked it up. It wasn't really what I expected, but I ended up really enjoying it. Cecily and Gwenhwyfar found themselves forced into one another's worlds when Cecily's father moved them to a home in Wales where Gwenhwyfar was content to keep an empty house. Cecily immediately took issue with Gwenhwyfar, as they had very different ideas about what their roles should be.

I couldn't help but like Cecily more, because despite her often inappropriate behavior, she was mostly just a victim of ignorance. The guilt and remorse she felt throughout the book seemed very honest to me. Gwenhwyfar, on the other hand, was an extremely vengeful person. Even though she was surprised by Cecily's few acts of kindness, she had no empathy toward the hardships Cecily faced. And while I could definitely understand why Gwenhwyfar was so hardened, the emotional distance she kept prevented me from really connecting to her.

British history is something that really fascinates me, and the history of the Welsh being occupied by the English is not a historical event I know much about. However, after reading The Wicked and the Just I am very intrigued by this time, and I plan on doing some research to learn more.

I do fear that although this is a book written for teens it may not be well received by them, and that is a shame. This is not an action-driven story, and I think historical fiction is already under-appreciated in the young adult world. I, for one, will read anything this author pens as I very much appreciated the amount of research and care it takes to write a story like this.

Waiting on Wednesday (33)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is...

The Académie
Susanne Dunlap
Coming April 10, 2012 - Preorder it below
Indiebound | Amazon | BN

Historical Fiction is something I crave in today's world of YA. Sure I'm usually a contemporary girl, but when it comes to far off lands and mythical creatures, give me princes in 1800 Paris any day.

Waiting on Wednesday (30)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is...

 The Rogue's Princess

Eve Edwards

Coming 2013?

Originally published in the UK, the first book of the Lacey Chronicles made its US debut last month. I scored an early copy of it and enjoyed it so much I questioned why I don't read more historical fiction. So when I saw book two was available on Netgalley, I downloaded it faster than you can say "Queen Elizabeth." I'm assuming book three won't be out for some time, and I just don't think I'll be able to wait that long. Looks like I may be ordering the UK version via Book Depository...

Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Timeless
Alexandra Monir
Publisher: Delacourte
Released: January 11, 2011
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 288
Source: Cavalier House Books
Series: Book 1 of Timeless

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor's world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she's never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century's worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life - a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves - a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

Man, I loved this book. I always forget how much I love historical fiction, and then I pick something up like Timeless, and I'm completely swept away. I don't have much experience with time travel in literature, but I think the author did an incredible job of focusing on the story instead of the science. Too often authors can get themselves in trouble with too many details and confusing technicalities. This was not the case with Alexandra Monir's fantastic debut.

Michele has been haunted by dreams of a mysterious man for as long as she can remember. She doesn't know his name or who he is, but she knows his face and his voice. When she's forced to move across the country to live with her estranged grandparents, the last thing on Michelle's mind is her mystery man. That is until she finds herself thrown back 100 years into history and she comes face to face with him.

Monir's descriptions of 1910 New York bring the city to life - all the hustle and bustle, fancy ball dresses and tuxedos - I could really see it. Good historical fiction makes me want to be in that time period, and Timeless had me searching for keys and old diaries in hopes of hurtling myself back in time. Michele's voice was an authentic one, in that I empathized with her from the start. The loss of her mother, the frustrations that came with being in a strange place with distant people, running into the man from her actual dreams - all these things made me root for Michele and a solution to her problems.

Overall, I was invested in the characters, and I loved the setting. My one criticism is I could have used a little more Philip. He was pretty dreamy. Lucky for me (and you), I think he'll be around in book two ;)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

" It's just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery . . . "

Set in WWII Germany, narrarated by Death, The Book Thief tells the tale of Liesel Meminger. Liesel steals her first book at her brother's burial just before her mother delivers her to a foster home. Devastated to be separated from her family, she finds solace in her foster father, Hans Huberman, who teaches her to read. Liesel is soon stealing from Nazi book-burnings and the mayor's wife's library. As life on Himmel Street is turned upside down, Liesel finds herself sharing the power of words with her neighbors during bomb raids and her basement with a Jewish man.


I obviously didn't know it at the time, but this book is why I learned to read. It's one of those books I immediately want to reread as soon as I finish the last page. I don't even know how to review it. I guess I should start by saying I am a WWII/Holocaust fanatic. I first read Lois Lowry's Number the Stars in fifth grade and have been hooked ever since. I was also a Religious Studies major in college with a concentration in Judaism. I'm hoping these personal facts will give you an idea of what drew me to this book and sucked me in from the very beginning. Of course, rave reviews and beautiful writing didn't hurt either.

Liesel is the type of character you want to pick up off the page and cradle. She is so innocent and real, and I felt like I just wanted to protect her. Hans Huberman? Gold, solid gold. He's become one of my favorite book characters of all time. I really don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil a single thing. It's just something you need to experience for yourself. So run, don't walk, and get a copy immediately.