Soup's On! Er...Book's On!
My flister mpbarker is having a virtual book release party on the Class of 2k8 blog to celebrate the release of her YA novel, A Difficult Boy. I don't know what a virtual book release party is, but apparently it involves imaginary booze. Shampagne?
I picked up A Difficult Boy because it's set in 1839. I spent most of 2007 (halfheartedly) writing in 1843, which turned out to be a surprisingly underrepresented swath of American history, so it was exciting to find something in that time frame. mpbarker was a living-history worker, so if you're looking for period detail you won't be disappointed.
The protagonist is Ethan, a nine-year-old just indentured to cover his father's debts, but the star of the story is Daniel: an Irish boy with a tragic past and a secret bond with the master's mare, Ivy. Through Ethan we see Daniel struggling to make the best of a mercurial master and local prejudices, alienated from both the land he lives in and the one he left. The most vivid parts are the scenes of Daniel and Ivy. I don't know anything about horses, but this book made me wish I did.
A Difficult Boy is a good solid read that will make you want to ride horses and speak Gaelic. It has elements to appeal to both boys and girls. If a story about horsemanship and class struggles sounds good to you, you can check out a .pdf of the first chapter here. Then hop on over to the party, congratulate her, and let the champagne flow. Virtually.
I picked up A Difficult Boy because it's set in 1839. I spent most of 2007 (halfheartedly) writing in 1843, which turned out to be a surprisingly underrepresented swath of American history, so it was exciting to find something in that time frame. mpbarker was a living-history worker, so if you're looking for period detail you won't be disappointed.
The protagonist is Ethan, a nine-year-old just indentured to cover his father's debts, but the star of the story is Daniel: an Irish boy with a tragic past and a secret bond with the master's mare, Ivy. Through Ethan we see Daniel struggling to make the best of a mercurial master and local prejudices, alienated from both the land he lives in and the one he left. The most vivid parts are the scenes of Daniel and Ivy. I don't know anything about horses, but this book made me wish I did.
A Difficult Boy is a good solid read that will make you want to ride horses and speak Gaelic. It has elements to appeal to both boys and girls. If a story about horsemanship and class struggles sounds good to you, you can check out a .pdf of the first chapter here. Then hop on over to the party, congratulate her, and let the champagne flow. Virtually.