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The Charlotte Years
I did it! I did it! Yay, yay, I did it! Finally finished the Little House books. So proud of myself.
And that’s pretty much the most exciting thing I can say about the quartet. Much like The Martha Years, four books over the ages of 5-12 is not enough time to see dynamic growth. Rather the excitement comes from external events around Charlotte like the War of 1812, cholera and new siblings rather than Charlotte herself.
It’s funny but Martha, Charlotte’s mother was the scene-stealer for me. As a grown women, Martha retains her quick temper and love for storytelling but it’s interesting to see how she has matured as a woman and a mother to her kids. It makes me wish once more to know what happened between the years in Scotland and immigrating to America. Especially as in the story, she hadn’t been in contact with her siblings due to the lack of mail back in the 16th-17th centuries. The reunion between her and her brother, Duncan was especially sweet in that sense. I wonder if that actually happened.
Charlotte is interesting too. While Martha is headstrong, Caroline is maternal and a homebody, and Laura is spirited and into adventure, Charlotte is the most feminine. She’s into sewing, embroidery and hopes to become a teacher but retains her own wanderlust that weaves the generations together.
And that’s about it. I apologize if this isn’t an in-depth look into the quartet or reflections on the differences between time periods as I did for the original Little House/Caroline/Rose series, but there light and quaint.
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Beacon Street Girls
As I hit my quarter life crisis or point, whatever you want to call it, I decided that I should finally read the book series I have at this point always skimmed-the Beacon Street Girls!
Just as the tagline says “They’re real, they’re fun, they’re just like you.” Each book presents a slice of life at the Abigail Adams Junior High School through a close-knit group of five, Charlotte, Maeve, Avery, Katani and Isabel. The series tackles the typical milieu of middle school problems such as making friends among disparate personalities, rivalries in a class election, parents separating, healthy eating and so on.
According to wiki, it was created as a wholesome alternative to what the publishers saw as obscene and exploitative children’s literature of the early 2000s. You know, the time when everyone was focused on Hillary Duff’s virginity when she was 16 so I understand where they were coming from. I liked they brought up common topics in a natural way like living with an autistic sibling and showing various female role models in nontraditional and traditional roles like housewife, mechanic, fitness instructor, model and so on.
And moreover, I believe they succeeded in showing the ups and downs of seventh grade in a way that didn’t feel too preachy (though some points were obvious when the girls talk about how it’s uncool to talk about someone else’s weight or drinking is not fun) and focused more on how the girls’ personalities bounced off one another and the natural conflicts and adventures that would occur.
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Sarah Masters Buckey Interview
Sarah Masters Buckey is the author of several mysteries in the American Girl historical line, and the stand-alone History Mystery series. She graciously took the time to answer my questions about the historic fiction genre, working with the American Girl brand and what’s coming next. Enjoy!
1. What first drew you to writing? More specifically, the historic fiction genre?
I was lucky to grow up in a house with lots of old books – a Hardy Boys collection that had belonged to my father, my mother’s editions of Kidnapped and Treasure Island, and even a set of Dickens that was given to my grandfather, as a reward for rescuing a man from drowning.
At the time, I didn’t know these stories were historical fiction– — I just loved reading them!
2.You’ve covered many different eras from the War of 1812 to Roaring 20s. Do you have a favorite era you like to revisit, or does it depend on the book?
It depends on the book. I love immersing myself in a historical period, and every time I do, I find that the history is more intriguing and full of contradictions than I could have imagined.
For example, in researching the Roaring Twenties, I learned there are still lots of hidden secrets from the Prohibition Era. We may think of people a century ago as being more law-abiding than today. But during the 1920’s, a huge number of people were illegally importing/making/selling/ drinking alcohol – and sometimes earning vast amounts of money from it.
3. You primarily write for American Girl. How did your partnership with well-known brand begin?
I’m working on my own projects– I’ve begun a historical mystery series for adults. But I enjoyed working with American Girl for many years. I started writing for them when my older daughter was nine years old. She was a huge fan of American Girl Magazine’s stories.
So, one Christmas, I wrote a historical fiction story as a gift for her. Later, I sent the story to American Girl to see if they might be interested in publishing it in the magazine. They politely declined.
But AG kept my name on file, and, when an opportunity came up to write a Samantha story for the magazine, they contacted me. I had a lot of fun creating a story for Sam – and I was thrilled when they accepted it. My daughter was amazed to see my story in the magazine, too. Later, I started out by writing the first book in the American Girl History-Mystery series, The Smuggler’s Treasure.
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Book Highlight: Farrah Noorzad and the Ring of Fate
Friend suggested I read this, and wow, what a ride. If you’re a fan of Percy Jackson or want to learn a new mythology, this is the book for you.
Farrah sees her father just one day every year—her birthday. But this year, her wish to bring them closer goes wildly awry when Farrah discovers she is a half-jinn…and her father is one of the seven great jinn kings. Her wish traps her father inside a legendary ring, and the other six jinn kings will follow unless Farrah can rectify her mistake.
Pursued by menacing shadow jinn, Farrah’s quest takes her to a floating mountain range. Joined by Idris, the jinn boy whom she inadvertently freed from the ring, and her newly discovered half-brother, Yaseen, Farrah must find a way to navigate the mysteries and dangers of her new world in order to save her father and face the most devious jinn lord of all.
The premise and the set-up is pretty typical chosen-one material with Farrah being told that her father’s mysterious absences from her life are due to cultural restrictions rather than anything supernatural. So naturally when she makes a wish for her fate to be rewritten and find her place in her father’s world, she doesn’t expect him to be sucked away into another dimension. Not to mention the rest of her family thinks she just has an overactive imagination when she tells them what happened.
While the beginning starts out predictable, where Zargarpur shines is in detailing the magical jinn world and hierarchy. It truly is magical, and you can see the colors and sparks flying as she blends legend with fantasy. Moreover, she excels in the character relationships like Farrah’s feelings towards her maternal family whom she loves, but also feels pressured to become less dreamy, more sensible. But she comes to see they are not so different from her. Her mother’s pragmatism comes from self-preservation and trying to protect Farrah.
Her new friend, Idris, has an interesting dynamic (which I suspect shall become a ship in later books, just got the vibes) from reluctant allies to friends. Her oldest and best friend, Arzu is fun and is surprisingly able to contribute a lot to the last third of the book even though she’s only a human. She’s also based on the author’s best friend from childhood which I thought was so so sweet.
Farrah also finds out that she has a half-brother who’s full jinn, and doesn’t trust humans at all. Obviously, this brings up confusing feelings for Farrah as she wants to connect with Yaseen, but is hurt by his prejudice and the fact that her father (who obviously fell in love with a mortal woman to have her) encouraged these feelings of distrust. Is that how her father truly feels about her? She already felt weird in the human world, is she not to be accepted by jinns either?
It doesn’t help that she has the big bad, Azar, creeps into her thoughts and biggest insecurities, tempting her to betray her father and new friends for the sake of power. I gotta be honest, I love the evil guy voicing the character’s dark desires as a trope so I loved the push-pull between Farrah and Azar.
And her father. . . her feelings towards her father is the most complicated of all. I enjoyed how Zargarpur doesn’t make the obvious choice of Farrah immediately accepting her father back into her life. Rather, she is still unsure she wants him in her life even to help her with her newfound jinn heritage/powers. But I suppose we’ll have to see it develops in the sequel.
Overall, this was a fun book with quick pace, lots of action and complicated family relationships for readers to devour.
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The Martha Years
Well, I’m almost done with the entire Little House series. This is the second series by Melissa Wiley (who also wrote the Caroline Years) about Laura’s great grandmother, Martha Morse. It’s interesting to know that she was rather wealthy, being the daughter of a lord (or laird as Wiley tries to write most of the words with a Scottish bent) Funny when you think about Laura Ingalls’ humbler upbringing. But it fits in the overarching story about each women in the family being a pioneer. While Wiley doesn’t get into Martha’s journey to early America, you can tell she has the adventurous spirit of her descendants.
Instead, Wiley contributes her usual research excellence in imbuing the reader into the culture and traditions of the Highlands in the 1700s like the superstitions associated with Hogmanay, and christenings; Celtic fairy tales and songs, and the many duties and cultural expectations of being a lord’s daughter.
And honestly, that’s about it for my thoughts. I enjoyed the fairy tales that the family shared around the fire, as well as bits about family history like her grandfather dying in Bonnie Prince Charlie’s war but otherwise, the series was rather slow and forgettable. It starts when Martha is around 4 and ends when she’s 11, so there’s not much change or development on her part.
Knowing that she’d grow up to marry the blacksmith’s son, and move to America with practically nothing, I’d much rather see that journey especially since the series is about the different sorts of frontiers and pioneers in the family.
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Top 5 Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales
Thrilling, daring, and downright gruesome stories from American history, in graphic novel form.
- Trenches, Treaties, Mud and Blood: This one gets number one spot for sheer ambition in retelling the foundational history of WW1. All in the form of animal mascots. It sounds silly, but it did help differentiate all the countries and show how the Great War really spanned the globe and changed modern warfare. It does so in a way that gives you a good grasp of major events and battles, and the sheer hell of war, while also pointing out that this is just a little peek into the theater of WW1. And like any good historical fiction, it made me want to learn more.
- Alamo All Stars: Another book about epic battles. Yes, I say battles because even though everyone remembers the Alamo they may not realize it’s because the battle of the Alamo was such a failure that the next battle is where they said their famous cry. It delves into the Mexican side of the story, why Davy Crockett was such a beloved hero and was a rollicking good time.
- Cold War Correspondent: A lot of these books get into the top 5 by virtue of introducing me to something new. In this case, I learned about Marguerite Higgins, one of the first female war correspondents, and the Korean War which tends to get buried between WW2 and Vietnam.
- Lafayette: I’ll admit, I hear the Hamilton rap every time I see the title. But that aside, like Hamilton did for Alexander, this book dives into the Marquis’ life, highlighting his flaws, his glories and how this orphan was desperate for a family and soon found one with his Revolutionary comrades. He made this ultra-privileged French noble from centuries ago feel human.
- The Underground Abductor: This one gets into the top 5 by virtue of being the first one I read and thus getting me into this epic series of American History. Not to mention introducing me to the greater story of Harriet Tubman. I mean, not just the part about being the most successful conductor of the Underground Railroad but like everything that came before and after-her real name, Aramanita Ross, her husband, being hit on the head by a brick which gave her narcolepsy and visions that aided her work, freeing 800 slaves on a plantation, and so much more. We’re always taught that Harriet Tubman is a hero and role model, this story helped hit it home.
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Ranking Feminine Pursuits
To continue the journey of historical romances with non-traditional leads, Waite’s Feminine Pursuits trilogy celebrates women loving women, and the their fight for rights and respect in their occupations. It’s also interesting as these can be read as stand-alones rather than a trilogy. Sure, characters pop up from other books but it is not very noticeable. Plus it’s very supportive women helping women which we love to see.
- The Hellion’s Waltz: The final book in the series may be the shortest, but it’s the sweetest and has the best balance of character arcs. Maddie, the slightly amoral weaver sticking justice to con-men, and Sophie, the straitlaced, modest pianist are darling together. Both have big hearts, but Maddie almost becomes a martyr for her cause, not seeing that she can depend on her friends instead of protecting them all the time. And Sophie doubts herself, her judgement, her beauty, her talent, but her time with Maddie not only opens her eyes to the fact that sometimes you must resort to swindle to obtain justice. But that she is wonderfully talented and should seize her chance to shine. It’s perfectly romantic, and gives wonderful insight to London’s industrial age and how it started the mistreatment of the labor force (especially the female labor force in weaving which is considered unimportant even though WE ALL WEAR CLOTHES) by capitalists. Also custom-designed instruments are surprisingly interesting.*
- The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics: The first book in the trilogy stuns as it focuses on the widowed Catherine St. Day’s invitation to one Mr. Muchelney to translate a work of astronomy for London’s scientific society. Mr. Muchelney is dead, but his daughter, Lucy, who did most of the calculations for his work is eager to take the job. She needs to take her mind off of her girlfriend marrying someone else. This book worked in delving into Catherine’s complicated feelings. Her husband was emotionally abusive and she has no interest in putting herself under the thumb of another in marriage so a fling with Lucy should be easy. No financial constraints or contracts to bind them, but love gets in the way. The conflict is interesting as Catherine is so insecure about not having a talent, and being placed second to someone else’s scientific pursuits. Just in general, feeling inferior because she’s more of an artistic brain. So it was wonderful to see her overcome these fears as well as her fears about being a good partner to Lucy and coming to their own arrangement that solidifies their love for each other even though they can never be open. But it is second because Lucy’s arc is more vague. She has to stand up for herself against the all-male scientist brigade but Catherine undoubtedly gets more depth in their relationship. Also there is a point where Lucy states that her feelings for Catherine are different from her ex-girlfriend because she (the ex) was selfish, expecting Lucy to revolve around her. But it comes out of the left field as we don’t get much insight to their relationship beforehand. I will say that Lucy schooling the scientists at the end was a big “You go, girl” moment.
- The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows: Much as above, the widowed Agatha Griffin gets the bulk of interesting character development from finding second love after the death of her beloved husband to her maternal struggle of fearing for her radical son’s future and his love life. Also learning to live again as she used her work as an engraver to push down her feelings of loss and grief. Perhaps it’s because Catherine and Agatha are older (and you so rarely see middle aged romance protagonists) but they’re in different places in their lives compared to young heroines and have different challenges. It’s just interesting! Penelope is almost middle aged, happily married to her brother’s lover (whose conveniently away on a waler with said brother) so she can freely bee-keep and sleep with whomever she wants. But even though she’s content, she’s lonely not inspiring the same level of love. Perhaps she isn’t capable until Agatha. Much like Lucy, her arc feels less-defined. There’s a bit about learning to stand up for herself but eh, Agatha was just more fascinating as a character. I do appreciate how Waite has her novels are set within months instead of the space of days or a few weeks. It makes Agatha and Penelope’s friendship to love more real. This also has the most atmosphere as it deals with the timely politics of a small town fiercely involved in the divorce of King George and Queen Charlotte and what it means for noble women in divorce. It touches on censorship, morality brigades, and the hypocrisies of rich white women feminism. Plus lots of technical research on bee-keeping and print-engravings. It made the town come alive, but also slowed the book so it felt longer than needed even if I enjoyed the Christmas Eve ghost story. So this comes last. Also the cover for this one is atrocious. It’s like bad photoshop, the model on the cover looks like she belongs in a modern day office, not a regency romance!
*Sidenote. There is a reoccuring character, Mr. Frampton who is a scientist that is basically inventing the future computer. I think he’s an expy of Charles Babbage. Much like Babbage, he is having trouble figuring how to compute it. Naturally, I thought by the third book with Maddie’s weaving skills and punch-card system and Sophie’s musical technique, they’d give him the idea of how it could be done. Much like how Ada Lovelace did that for Babbage in real life. But it didn’t happen! It felt like a set up with no follow-through. Then again, it was a minor part of the book, but it bothered me.
Now on a semi-related subject. I realized as I was reading this series is that it’s all bi x lesbian. Makes sense as Waite says she’s bi. But I think all of the queer books I’ve read (which take with a grain of salt is like four authors.) it’s always bi woman x lesbian. This trilogy. Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls trilogy. The only lesbian x lesbian I’ve read was Herrera’s An Island Princess Starts a Scandal.
On the other side of the coin, in the mlm, Alexis Hall’s Paris Ballincourt and Boyfriend Materials is all gay x gay men. Two out of three couples in Seducing the Sedgewicks is gay x gay man. Only one bi man x gay man.
If I put my little social psychology cap if I may, I have a theory.
Let’s be honest, a majority of romance readers are straight women, me included. Correct me if I’m wrong, that’s like the first thought when it comes to the demographic. So perhaps the bi woman x lesbian is popular because even though it’s not the point of the book, the bi woman is more palatable. Like she could be interested in a man which makes her relatable to readers even though it’s not the point of the story.
But if that’s the logic, why wouldn’t there be more bi men so the readers can imagine the protagonist is still interested in woman even though it’s not the point of the story.
Well there’s a phenomena of women fetishizing gay men just as men objectifying lesbians. Something I simply don’t understand when it comes to either gender. It’s gross to me. But back to the point, maybe it plays to the wider perception that bi women are palatable and bi men are rare or a “stop to gay town.”
So comment below. Should there be more bi men in romantic fiction? More bi man x man, bi woman x bi woman, bi x bi in general? (Lyla Lee made an adorable bi guy x bi girl couple in I’ll Be the One)? Are there more lesbian in fiction than I realize?
Well it’s pride month in June so it’s some food for thought. Comment below!
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Kathryn Lasky Interview
Kathryn Lasky is the prolific NYT-bestselling author of Guardians of Ga’hoole, Tangled in Time, Georgia O’Keefe mysteries and many other books in various genres. She graciously took the time to answer my questions about inspiration, world-building and more. Enjoy!
- What usually comes first-the idea of a character or the premise?
It’s sort of six in one half dozen of the other, but by and large, I think it’s usually the premise of the book.
Such as in FACELESS, I want to write a book about World War 2, and then maybe I can have a girl who is a spy, but then I mix in a little fantasy: this girl belongs to small clan of spies called the Tabula Rasa that has worked ceaselessly to fight oppression. They can pass unseen through enemy lines and “become” other people without being recognized. They are, essentially, faceless.
2. Does your writing process/narrative tone change from when you do nonfiction, mystery, fantasy to historical fiction?
Yes the tone does change. In non fiction, it is a much more neutral point of view, a more distant third person. Meanwhile in fiction it is a much more up close, and personal POV as I am trying to inhabit a character.
3. How do you choose which historic event to center a story on with over a thousand years to choose from?
Well I have my favorite eras so to speak—like World War 2 and the 16th century. I also like 19th and 18th century American history.
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Ranking Seducing the Sedgwicks
I know, it’s been so long since I’ve done a ranking, but I’m glad to start the first ranking of 2025 with Cat Sebastian’s sweet and steamy Sedgwick trilogy. Lots of alliteration there. Much like Herrera’s Las Leonas trilogy, it dives into the forgotten bits of history aka gay people have always existed and managed to find love and found family outside of the norms. And that titles aren’t all that’s cracked up to be because it’s built on the exploited and will make you deny your true self. But moreover, it’s about love and how it’s never sinful and you are worthy of it, no matter your traumas or failings.
- A Gentleman Never Keeps Score: This one was probably the most complex yet heartwarming romance where I wasn’t sure how Sebastian would be able to reconcile their vastly different backgrounds. Hartley being a dandy white gentleman whose reputation is stained by his proclivities and Sam who’s a working-class black man and former boxer. Any association would be a danger to Sam, exposing him as gay as well as racism. Plus Hartley has a boat-load of trauma to work through that makes him prickly and difficult- it’s hard being a gay man who’s scared of men. Sometimes, I agreed with Hartley that Sam is an absolute saint because he gives so much. Yet it never feels like an unequal partnership as Hartley sees past the fetishisized stereotypes other lovers put on Sam. Also just as Hartley must reconcile how much being a “gentleman” is worth to him, Sam must struggle with what it means to be independent and when to accept help. It was just so good!
- It Takes Two to Tumble: This was a perfect encapsulation of grumpy x sunshine a-la Sound of Music. Just as Captain Dacre is taken by the vicar, Ben’s love for baby animals, laughter and little miracles of God, I was taken to. The two form a sweet relationship navigating the intensity of their feelings and their futures in a world where a relationship like theirs cannot see the light yet Ben doesn’t want to go through a sham marriage. It’s the usual stakes for historical m/m, but refreshing as neither have much angst over their sexuality as a sin, but moreover what they’re willing to do to make a future work. The only thing that makes pulls it to #2 is that the subplot with Dacre reconnecting with his children feels more told than shown. Also the fact that Ben is acting like a nanny to three wayward children of stern sea captain before heading back to his vicarage reminds me so much of SoM that I keep picturing Christopher Plummer instead of the cover models.
- Two Rogues Make a Right: This one had so much potential since Martin and Will’s “friendship” has teased throughout the series. The relationship itself is fine, very sweet actually as Will and Martin acknowledge that they’re more than friends, but kind of soul mates. But the conflict feels drawn out, hampered by both being self-sacrificing yet insisting they were selfish, and it just got tired after the last 50 pages. Also the cover model for Will reminds me of Chris Colfer and it takes me out of the story.
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High School AUs
What is it about them that draws people in?
Is it that there is a enclosed space where you have your friends, enemies, and frenemies all in one place making it a perfect breeding ground for conflict and hijinks?
Is it because it harkens to the author and readers’ nostalgia of the glory days?
Is it that it’s where a lot of coming of age begins where you reckon with the innocence of childhood and the beginning of responsibilities, but you have a lot more idealism compared to adulthood?
I read five different high school AUs featuring IPs- Dc Superhero Girls, Descendants, Equestria Girls, Ever After High and Monster High.
Which is funny because I think DC Superhero Girls and Equestria High by nature that they’re targeting a younger demographic, could be Middle School AUs. I say middle school because I think the only thing that separates the high school and middle school AUs is the intensity of romance. Middle school is more crushes, while high school is relationships.
But as everyone knows middle school is hell, they slap the High School AU label on it instead. Plus they want it to be aspirational for the readers who are the 9-12 demographic and high school kids are so much cooler.
I skimmed most of these books when I was younger so this was my first real read-through of each. DC Superhero Girls by Lisa Yee was fun, good for its age and I liked the different variations of what it means to be a family legacy, the pressure of expectations etc.
Equestria Girls by Perdita Finn- I have never read, never seen the movies. The 4th generation of MLP was a bit after my time. Still it was cute, friendship was pounded in my head. I was a little confused that it was more magical realism than a straight High School AU so that took some getting used to. Like the first book establishes that magic is not a thing in the human world and by the second, everyone just accepts it and they start getting power ups like Sailor Moon.
Many say there are similarities between Disney Descendants and Ever After High, both being high school AUs of popular fairytales and focusing on being born a villain and changing destiny and who does it better. In my opinion, Ever After High did it better. Sorry.
Descendants has a bad case of only focusing on Mal to the detriment of the supporting cast while the Ever After High books by Shannon Hale and School Stories by Suzanne Selfors expands the worlds and the characters and what they face by forging their own paths. At least Jessica Brody’s School of Secrets rectifies the too-much-Mal problem by giving minor characters a chance in the spotlight but has so little promotion that no one knows how good the books are.
Finally, Monster High was such a nostalgia trip, I loved it. Especially as I found out about the Monster High diaries for the first time and read them all in two days. I mean, there were only five so it was quick, but still. I enjoyed how Monstrata gave readers a glimpse into the family lives of the goulfriends while the Daneshvari quartet focuses on the school and overarching mystery.
And yeah, that’s about it. Put your thoughts in the comments below. What draws people to high school AUs? Should there be middle school AUs? Any other thoughts.
#dcsuperherogirls, #disneydescendants, #equestriagirls, #everafterhigh, #gittydaneshvari, #goulfriends, #highschoolau, #jessicabrody, #lisayee, #melissadelacruz, #middlegrade, #monsterhigh, #monsterhighdiaries, #nessimonstrata, #perditafinn, #rachelreads&reviews, #schoolofsecrets, #schoolstories, #shannonhale, #suzanneselfors
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Rachel Reads & Reviews 