I finished! I finished the series, and thus finished my historical read-through of the year. Wahoo! This was an excellent series for historical fiction lovers, getting into the underrated parts of history as well as several well-known events. Even more groundbreaking were not only the diverse set of protagonists, but that they went beyond the 60s.

The last 11 books here are ones I was saving for last as they featured events I had vague knowledge or never heard of. So let’s get to it.

Essie and the March on Selma, and Nina Under Arrest by Anitra Butler-Ngugi are both events I know thanks to the movies like Selma. As such the first three chapters of Essie’s story felt more like exposition, rather than organically delivering the information. Nina’s story worked much better in not only letting Nina’s pride and interest in participating in the Birmingham Children’s Arrests move the story, but make it understandable to readers why adults allowed children to do this, and why they were prepared, and eager to do so.

Intellectually, I know almost all Native tribes in the US were removed from their lands to their reservations, but outside of the two well-known instances of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, and the Diné’s Long Walk, you don’t hear about others. Faye’s Dangerous Journey gives insight to the Ojibwe removal in the Wisconsin/Minnesota area orchestrated by the Indian Affairs Commissioner and merchants to fleece the tribe out of their scarce annuities, leading to hundreds of death. Sigafus did a good job illustrating Faye’s distrust of whites after that, and the tribe’s greater resilience and community in the face of injustice.

Other instance of community after hardship would be Griner’s Fumiko and the Tokyo Tragedy. In 1925, the Kanto Earthquake was the biggest natural disaster the country had ever experienced. The richter scale 5 earthquake not only devasted towns, but prompted fire cyclones, and tsunamis near the coast. So many natural disasters at once led the Japanese to believer it was God’s punishment for allowing too many foreign ways to infect their way of life. Thus, when they began to rebuild, nationalism and traditionalism thrived which were major factors in their entry to WW2, leading to the biggest man-made disaster on their shores-the atomic bomb. History is really connected.

The 1920s seemed to be an era of natural disaster because in 1928, the tri-state tornado blew through three states, flattening entire towns, and killing almost 700 people. Because there had been no funnel, people just stared at the tornado in confusion, not realizing the great extent of danger until it was too late. Plus Gilbert did an admirable job balancing the tornado storyline with Cora’s friendship problem for a plausible reunion in the midst of near death.

In the WW2 section, there were three books covering that era. Ruth and the Night of Broken Glass (Berne), Hettie and the London Blitz (Walsh), and Audrey Under the Big Top (Gunderson). Of the three, Audrey Under the Big Top was new to me featuring the Hartford Circus Fire. Okay technically it has nothing to do with the war, but it was in 1944 so it counts. Basically if a circus tent catches on fire, you run because it will melt burning wax on you, scarring you for life. If you didn’t die from being smothered by the burning tent or trampled to death. It took a matter of a minutes, but Gunderson’s slow paced, time running out pace as Audrey tries to find her missing sisters keep you at the edge of your seat.

Berne’s story of Ruth during Kristalnacht was bitter for obvious reasons. Even as Ruth tries to fight back in small ways, Berne’s ending is the most tragic as Ruth goes on the Kindertransport alone. Her father arrested, her mother will be sent to the gas chambers along with her best friend’s family because of cruel fate that the cut-off was 50 children. She knows she has no one else to rely on now, and it ends there. Just ugh, the tears. All the other stories have some hope for one family member or friend surviving, but not this one.

Compared to that gut-punch, Hettie’s story was a bit tame, but Walsh realistically grapples with the homesickness Hettie experiences and her fear of not fitting in with her parents or her little brothers losing their memories of home after 5 years away. It made the reunion that much more sweet.

Now the two books I was most excited for, Anya Flees the Fallout and Min and the Protests. Both events I vaguely know, but haven’t read any stories about. It makes sense since both stories feature government censorship as the Communist leaders don’t want the world to know the cracks in their societies. Anya only knows the truth because of her scientist uncle’s work in university, explaining the danger of radiation as if the birds dying out of the sky wasn’t big enough of a clue. Fallingent does a good job in sharing Anya’s fear and confusion about the lack of information. Tying it nicely to her passion for journalism, making it an even bigger goal for her.

Min, on the other hand, is kept sheltered from the extent of her activist parents’ activities until the infamous event of Tienman Square. You can’t get much on the event even from the internet so it was interesting to see how it unfolded from Min’s eyes, the sense of hope and terror when he peaceful protest face up against tanks. The fact that so much of it is still shrouded in secrecy is creepy, and that the Wangs have to change their names in order to successfully escape underscores the danger they’re in.

Finally, Tara and the Towering Wave features the Indian Ocean tsunami. The only event I was alive for, but I was like 6, so I have no memory of it. Still it was a gripping book combing survival story with a meaningful thread of Tara learning about her heritage, becoming less scared of the unknown when she is distracted by the desire to help those less fortunate just as she was helped.

And that’s it! It was an unexpected pleasure to find this series at the library, but worth it, introducing me to new perspective of events I know as well as totally new ones. Fans of Dear America, and I Survived can’t do wrong if they want to read or introduce their kids to this series.