Season 2, Episode 14: Historical Fiction With A Fresh Perspective

Marisa and Mary are back with a new episode of The Book Jam! Winter has just begun and it makes us want to read historical fiction books-but these aren’t your typical historical fiction titles. Both titles we talk about today give voice and fresh perspectives to this genre. Marisa talks about So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow; this book was set in 1863 in the Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island and centers on the binding love of a family of four black sisters each finding their own way. Mary talks about The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros, a book set against the backdrop of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. In this queer historical book (with paranormal elements), a Jewish Romanian immigrant teen is possessed by the dybbuk of his murdered best friend and is thrust into a deadly hunt for a serial killer. Other topics we discuss are our feelings about being told the books you ‘should’ read and how the pandemic affects reading habits.  Check out the Books Mentioned below to add even more books to your To Be Read pile. Marisa’s book: So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow. Teen, Grades 7+. Published by Fiewel Friends, September 2021. Mary’s book: The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros. Teen, Grades 7+. Published by Inkyard Press, October 2021. Books Mentioned: Harry Potter series Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë One of the Good Ones by Marika Moulites and Maritza Moulites A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee Travelers Along the Way: A Robin Hood Remix by Aminah Mae Safi What Souls Are Made Of: A Wuthering Heights Remix by Tasha Suri Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo Delilah Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Diviners by Libba Bray Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray Beauty Queens by Libba Bray Ash by Malinda Lo Huntress by Malinda Lo A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo Karen McManus’ works Skyward by Brandon Sanderson The Killing Joke by Alan Moore Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson Guardian of the Galaxy series Wonder Woman: Lords and Liars by Mariko Tamaki Wicked Things by John Allison