Email this review to a friend.

It's 1899 and May Amelia is growing up to be an unladylike girl in Washington state. Surrounded by seven brothers, May is constantly into trouble and most often catching a hard time from her father. It takes some hard times for the family, and some crashed dreams, in order for May to realize how important the family bond really is and that she is, in fact, their only May Amelia.

Reviewed by Amanda B., Main Library

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

May Amelia Jackson is sick of boys. After all, she's got seven of them. Living on the bend of the Nasel River in Oregon, May Amelia is far from being the proper young lady her folks and relatives want her to be. She prefers logging, climbing trees and scaring off wailing cougars. While living in her little, countrified town, May has to deal with troublesome brothers, wicked grandmothers, stern fathers, smelly sheep and even death. All in all, a funny and enlightening read from the view of Miss May Amelia Jackson. Creatively spun and enjoyably written. A highly recommended read for all!
-Abby, Charlotte, NC

A cheerful, funny story with a few sad parts as well. An excellent book.
-Jori, Midlothian, VA

I think this is a very cool book. Even a very girly girl person could read this book, and the girl in the book isn't. There is always another adventure she's on or is going to be on. It's one of my favorites and should be yours! I would read this if I were you!
-Kaitlin, Matthews, NC

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

The United States is at war with Germany and Jenkinsville, Arkansas, is the site of a German POW camp. When Patty, an abused eleven-year-old Jewish girl, meets Anton, she sees him not as a Nazi prisoner, but as a frightened man who yearns for the days before Hitler and the war. When Anton escapes, Patty offers him asylum and food, risking her own freedom to protect him. The events of that summer will stay with young Patty for the rest of her life. Anton left her with memories of what it is to be loved and valued, but Patty must pay the consequences for her actions.

Reviewed by Louisa M., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in Freedom to Read

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

See more titles featured in Banned in the U.S.A.

Reader's comments about this book

I love this book very much. It's one of my favorites.
-Pearlney, San Francisco, CA

I read the book Summer of My German Soldier and I must say this book is fantastic. I could read it over and over again.
-Vanessa, Cincinnati, Ohio

I had to read this book for summer reading and it was ok in the beginning but in the end it's a great book.
-Jordan, Pacirica, CA

I had to read this book for a project in Middle School. When I first heard about the project, I thought it was going to be very boring. Surprisingly, I got hooked on the book quickly. I soon found myself absorbed in the book's details and Patty's life. For anyone who likes Historical Fiction, this is definately a book for you!
-Janet, McLean, Virginia

I love Summer of My German Soldier. A Jewish girl hiding and helping a Nazi. Some people would say it is the ultimate irony. But Patty looks past Anton's uniform and see's a scared young man. Anton starts to see past the fact Patty is a Jew and see a lonely girl. Together they are inspiring.
-Elizabeth, Charlotte, N.C.

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

How does a poor, twelve-year-old girl in Saitter, Louisiana, learn to cope with a simple mother, a "slow" father, and derisive school mates? As Tiger Ann Parker struggles to grow up, circumstances help her decide whether to stay or to escape to the city and live with her sophisticated Aunt Doreen. First her grandmother dies, then Hurricane Audrey sweeps through their rural town creating havoc, while exposing everyone's true character. This powerfully written story illustrates the value of heart-felt love, hard work, and self-sacrifice which strengthen and bind together family and friends.

Reviewed by Loretta T., North County Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

This is a beautiful story of love, devotion and dreaming beyond your limits. Well written and down-to-earth.
-Abby, Charlotte, NC

This book really made you think about the lives other people might be living. Excellently told, it makes you feel like you've known Tiger Ann Parker and her friends and family for years.
-Jennifer, Concord, NC

Fantastic! I absolutely loved it!
-Bethani, Huntersville, NC

Great book. Love it. She coped with problems well
-Bailey, Alabamma

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

In 1902, fifteen year old Rose Carney travels from Ireland to Chicago to join her father and brothers. Like many girls her age, she works to buy tickets for her mother and sisters to come to America and reunite her family. Rose must use all of her resources to deal with her father's drinking and her brothers' dangerous involvement in politics. She is a shy young girl at the beginning and a strong young woman at the end. The book is realistic and takes the reader through some of the hardships of the time period. But it also shows what it takes to survive and be hopeful for the future. A good coming of age story.

Reviewed by Christie B., Independence Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

There is a whole series of Ellis Islasnd books if you liked this one.
-Caley, Charlotte, NC

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Life in the US Southwestern Territories was difficult. Sarah Agnes Prine, age 18, gives a picture of the time in this fictional display. Guided by her father's desire for greener pastures, Sarah follows the family to Texas and back to Arizona when illness, nature, and violence take her father and several brothers. Through years of hard work filled with happiness and tragedy, we see one woman fulfill her dreams of building her own family and receiving an education. Sarah is an inspirational character of determination and will who evokes the atmosphere of the wild west.

Reviewed by Sarah H., Independence Regional

See more titles featured in Against All Odds: Stories of Survival

See more titles featured in Wild, Wild West

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

The Harpers are a family living in the Texas hill country a few years after the Civil War. Daddy struck it rich in the California Gold Rush, but his luck has been on a downhill slide ever since. When the bank in San Antonio threatens the family with foreclosure, Daddy involves his six daughters in a series of get-rich-quick schemes to pay off his loans. His first two ideas, rustling cattle and making moonshine are failures, but the girls are determined to make his most recent plan a success--so they don't let him have anything to do with it. Let by the youngest sister, Lily, the girls attempt a stagecoach robbery, only the beginning of their adventures. This story of trying to save the family home is told with humor and depth.

Reviewed by Erin N., South County Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

Lily Harper, youngest girl in the Harper family, likes to live life differently. When her father, cursed with bad luck, devises some adventurous plans for his six daughters to fulfill - Lily takes charge - and spins her world around. Giggles and the spinning of your brain guaranteed.
-Abby, Charlotte, NC

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

This historical romance about two African Americans during the time of Reconstruction offers hope. War has divided families, loved ones, and the government. Obi and Easter are living separate lives, one in the South and the other in the North. Their hearts yearn to be together again. Through the struggle, pain, and war, their hope, love, and faith unite them as one. Hansen ends this final book in a trilogy with intrigue, romance, and dramatic action.

Reviewed by Sylvia E., North County Regional

See more titles featured in Romance

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

This book is moving and powerfully written. Very good!
-Jori, Midlothian, VA

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Inspired by a medical missionary, 19-year-old Christy Huddleston leaves her comfortable home in Asheville, North Carolina to teach children in Cutter Gap, Tennessee. Trading city life for the isolated mountain community, Christy must combat mountain superstitions, poverty, and violence in order to educate her pupils. Along the way, Christy develops close relationships with David Grantland, the community's minister, and Dr. Neil MacNeill, the only physician in the area. Through hardship and triumph, Christy grows in her faith and learns to follow her heart. Christy is a classic novel of one woman's determination to help others.

Reviewed by Sarah H., Independence Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

See more titles featured in Inspirational Romance

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

The eyes of Teddy, a nine-year-old girl, were drawn to the body swinging from a tree limb. The horror increased when Teddy recognized one of the men in white robes as her father. The author depicts what life might have been like for a girl whose best friend is black and whose father is in the Ku Klux Klan. The tension is there even in normally innocuous sentences, such as when her father says to her, "I want us to have a long talk as soon as we can, but I have a meetin' tonight." You can read more about the many children who participated in the civil rights movement in books such as Witness to Freedom and Freedom's Children.

Reviewed by Mel B., North County Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Lucy has been determined to return to her home in Massachusetts since her widowed mother moved her family to a small mining town in California to run a boarding house for rough and boisterous miners. Just as Cushman brought Medieval England to life in The Midwife's Apprentice and Catherine, Called Birdy, so she brings the western frontier to life using a strong-willed female protagonist. Lucy shares her miserableness and sense of injustice in this first person narrative, but it's the letters to her grandparents in Massachusetts that add a punch to the text.

Reviewed by Nancy S., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

This humorous tale is from the view of a distressed pioneer, California Whipple. She hates her name almost as much as she hates the place she lives. So she changes it to Lucy Whipple. Through many trials and tribulations, Lucy realizes that life in the great west isn't the worst thing that could happen; and in fact, Lucy learns a great number of valuable lessons in her journey. Through and through, an enjoyable read! Another dazzling classic by Karen Cushman!
-Abby, Charlotte, NC

You must read this tragic story written in a humerous way. You won't be disappointed.
-Jori, Midlothian, VA

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

It was a long march for the captives of the Indians after the fort at Deerfield, Massachusetts was taken over in 1704. Thirteen-year-old Mercy Carter started telling the other children to learn the Indians' names and they'll treat you better. Even though friends and relatives were killed, many of the children grew to like their new life and love not their capters now, but their parents. Readers of this novel will be able to better understand how some captives would have refused ransom and decided to stay with their adoptive families.

Reviewed by Mel B., North County Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

Awesome Indian captive story. Magnificent.
-Leia, Cornelius, NC

Catherine Cooney has gone to a new level with this book. Full of adventure, readers will be walking beside Mercy feeling her fears and will to survive against the odds in this harsh territory. I am now a Cooney fan!
-Michelle, Charlotte, N C

This realistic, well written story is very good.
-Jori, Midlothian, VA

Really good, great book. I loved it. Intense and interesting, you get inside Mercy's heads
-Anonymous, N/A

Outstanding historical novel. Used it in my fifth grade class in conjunction with the study of the hostilities between the English and French during Queen Anne's War in colonial New England.
-Paul, Westfied, MA

This is good and interesting.
-Kasandra, Ponca City, OK

An amazing and well-written book. It truly gets across the dangers of the French and Indian War.
-Marcus, Chisago City, MN

This is a great book, it gets right into the action quickly without getting too complicated. This story really paints a picture in my head of what the war was like. This great book also makes me feel as though I were there.
-Stephen, Greencastle, PA

This was an amazing, eye opening novel. Caroline was a magnificent and smart woman. This book would be recommended by me any time!
-Kathryn, Coral Spring, FL

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

I truly enjoyed the book Stealing Freedom. The book is about a slave's journey to freedom and the people who affect her. Ann Marie Weems and her family, excluding her father, have been slaves. Their master has never split a family, but when her family is separated she is saddened. When her father finds a way for everyone to be free Ann's master refuses to let her go. Ann tries to cope, but when she moves she meets more friends and falls in love, she is faced with a decision to escape and leave her beloved Alfred. I think you should check this book out to discover what happens to Ann, her family, and Alfred. This was a really good book and I recommend it for people who really enjoy Historical Fiction.

Reviewed by Alexis, Train Your Brain Summer Reading

See more titles featured in Black History Month

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

It is the greatest book I have ever read. I would recommend this book for ages 12 and up. It tells you a lot about what African- Americans had to overcome.
-Rebeckah, Charlotte, N.C.

This is a great book. It shows us a really vivid picture of the lives of African-American slaves.
-Michelle, MD

I LOVE this book! It is so inspiring to read the story of a girl my age doing something like escaping slavery. It's so cool!
-Jessica, Wyoming, MI

I love this book so far because a girl who is that brave is a girl who will have a great influence on young and old people. This book is really inspiring and I think that it should be read by more people.
-Jenny, FL

Excellent. A true novel. Anyone 7 and up. 5 stars easily. A great class book. Great excitement. Loved it.
-Ross, Gunter, TX

This book was truly amazing!
-Alyson, Nixa, MO

It was pretty kewl and vivid
-Melissa, Alexandria, Louisiana

I loved this book it was so amazing,and it truly shows how cruel slavery was and how well thought out the underground railroad was. I would recommend this book to any teenager- even if you are not a huge reader(such as myself).
-Nichole, MD

I love this book a lot!I like how it tells you the adventure of her running away and her feelings.
-Tierra, VA

This book was OK. It was sort of confusing to me, but I loved how it took place in my hometown.
-Brenna, MD

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

In her personal journal, fourteen-year-old Billie Jo reveals the grim realities of life in the 1930's during the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma through her own plight and healing. Hesse has an incredible ability to weave historical facts into a fictional story. Readers will also experience the heat, wind, and sand of the Dust Bowl through the free-verse poems. For example, Billie Jo writes after the first rain: "soaked to my underwear, I can't bear to go through the schoolhouse door, I want only to stand in the rain."

Reviewed by Nancy S., Morrison Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

Moving, creative story from the eyes of Billie Jo. When you read it, you can almost taste the dust from her backyard on your tongue.
-Abby, Charlotte, NC

A must read for any teenager. A moving story. You feel like like you are there in the story.
-Arielle, Charlotte

This book will really open your eyes. It taught me to be happy with what I have and not take life for granted.
-Carrie, Matthews, NC

LOVED IT!!!!
-Taylor, Charlotte, NC

This powerful, tear jerking story is awesome. Beautiful. Please read it.
-Jori, Midlothain, VA

Great book...an inside look at what the dust bowl was like. A must read book.
-katie, east hatford, CT

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Sarah Louisa Wheelock vows that she will never let a man control her life. Imagine her horror when her father promises her hand in marriage to old, rotten-teethed, whiskey-smelling Ezekiel Kunkle! Feeling that there is no choice, she leaves her Michigan home and joins the Union Army cleverly disguised as a young man. This fast-paced novel chronicles Sarah's adventures, first as a Civil War male nurse and then, after she is discovered to be a woman, as an undercover female "operative" for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Her assignment: investigate Rose Greenhow, a suspected confederate spy living in Washington, D.C. Sarah's determination is unfalterable and each challenge she faces will set you cheering for her to emerge unharmed!

Reviewed by Tricia B., South County Regional

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

I really enjoyed this book...the historical accuracy was off da chain!!
-Sha'Tomia, Charlotte, NC

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

It all begins when the main character, Matilda, wakes to just another day, or is it just another day? She helps out with her normal chores but when it comes time to go to the market her mother won't allow her. She finds out the city of Philadelphia has been taken over with fever. This is just the beginning of her quest for life. This book will make you laugh, cry, and everything in between.

Reviewed by Brittany, Charlotte, NC

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

This is a wonderful book!
-Angela, Concord, NC

This book is one of my favorites! It is clever, very well written, funny, and sad. It made me laugh and cry. This book is definitely recommended - it's incredible.
-Jori, Midlothian, VA

I loved this book. It was so good.
-Beka, Huntersville, NC

This book is the best! I read it every summer and I never get tired of it.
-LeAnne, Wisconsin

This book is the best book I ever read. It is so well-written. Through the whole book there were so many expressions on my face!!
-Adriana, East Brunswick, New Jersey

I thought that this book was awesome... Really shows the importance of knowing our history.
-Alexandria, Patten, Maine

This is a very wonderful and exciting book. It is very suspenseful and historic. The character goes through some difficult changes such as teenagers would in this day and age. The author interprets real life into the book and makes it seem very real.
-Michelle, Illinois

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

The year is 1903 and sixteen-year-old Eliza Brown has what some would consider an exciting life. She lives at Stepping Stone Lighthouse, where she ensures that ships at sea never crash into her shore, she spears eels, and she meets all types of sailors. But to Eliza, her life is a bore. She craves the freedom and experiences that she can only find on the mainland. When her sister learns that she is pregnant and needs help at home, Eliza has the opportunity to move to City Island to live with her sister while also teaching at the local school. Will City Island provide Eliza with the type of adventure that she craves? Will she have the experiences that she has always longed for? Eliza's spirit and determination hold readers' attention while they wait to see if Eliza will keep the good light.

Reviewed by Trish

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

Eighteen-year-old Sarah's family wants her to be married, so she is sent on endless social functions, never alone and always watched, to find a husband. Sarah is sick of it! She lies about her age to apply for a job at Mount Vernon. The dilapidated homeplace is being restored. After getting the job, the Civil War breaks out. Read how Sarah protects Mount Vernon from the soldiers and makes it a neutral site while working within and around the social restrictions placed upon women in the nineteenth century. She does fall in love, but the road to romance is rocky. The story is interesting even though some facts were stretched. Historical notes are included at the end for futher reading.

Reviewed by Donna R., Mint Hill Branch

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Reader's comments about this book

This is a very good and interesting book. I read it for my English class and I loved it.
-Deydrick, Gaithersburg, Md

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

The Civil War has begun and fifteen-year-old Tilly Pruitt has no idea how her life is about to change. As the town of Grand Tower gathers for a dance, a steamboat from New Orleans docks in their town. The arrival of two young ladies, Delphine and Calinda, will alter Tilly’s family forever. These mysterious young ladies seem to reflect what the north thinks about the south. Delphine resembles a true southern belle in her dress and actions while Calinda has a darker complexion, is silent and always follows behind. The town wonders, is Calinda a slave? When Tilly’s mom allows these two women to room and board at their home we discover that nothing is as it seems. Follow this engaging story as we discover the true meaning of family.

Reviewed by Angela A., Cornelius Branch

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.

Email this review to a friend.

In Too Big a Storm, by Marsha Qualey, we meet Brady Callahan. At the beginning of the summer of 1969 Brady is trying to deal with the fact that her older brother, Will, is missing in Vietnam. A worrier by nature, Brady now has more than enough information to keep her mind busy for a lifetime! But, during that summer Brady meets Sally, an impetuous, but politically minded rich girl, and Mark, a young Vietnam veteran, who will turn Brady’s life upside-down. As Brady becomes more involved with Mark and Sally she realizes that Sally’s political activities could take them all down a dangerous path. This politically minded novel focuses on how Brady deals with her family’s ups and downs as well as the tumultuous political climate of the late 1960’s.

Reviewed by Jessica B., Mint Hill Branch

See more titles featured in American History Teen Heroines

Add your comments about this book

Connect to the PLCMC Online Catalog
Support the Library with your purchase.