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The only life Oney Judge has ever known is servitude. As part of the staff of George and Martha Washington, she isn't referred to as a slave. She is a servant -- and a house servant at that, a position of influence and respect on the plantation of Mount Vernon. When she rises to the position of personal servant to Martha Washington, her status among the household staff -- black and white -- is second to none. She is Lady Washington's closest confidante and, for all intents and purposes, a member of the family -- or so she thinks. Slowly, Oney's perception of her life with the Washingtons begins to crack as she realizes the truth: No matter how close she becomes with Lady Washington, no matter what secrets they share, she will never be a member of the family. And regardless of what they call it, it's still slavery and she's still a slave. Oney must make a choice: Does she stay where she is, comfortable, with this family that has loved her and nourished her and owned her since the day she was born? Or does she take liberty -- her life -- into her own hands and, like her father, become one of the Gone? 272 pages For more information about Taking Liberty
In the mid-1800s, it was hard to be a girl, and even harder to be a girl all alone. Charlotte could not remember the event that left her all alone, but she could remember the nights in the orphanage that followed. Charlotte hoped every day for new parents that would adopt her and take her home, but those parents never came. When Charlotte's best friend is adopted and she has to face that aloneness, she decides to do something about it. So begins the life of Charlotte "Charley" Parkhurst. Charley was the best stagecoach driver the west had ever seen, but Charley lived a secret life, with hopes and dreams she never shared. This little known heroine from history comes alive in this story of a girl, a horse, and a dream. 138 pages For more information about Riding Freedom
By: Gary Blackwoord In 1776, the rebellion of the American colonies against British rule was crushed. Now, in 1777-the year of the hangman-George Washington is awaiting execution, Benjamin Franklin's banned rebel newspaper, Liberty Tree, has gone underground, and young ne'er-do-well Creighton Brown, a fifteen-year-old Brit, has just arrived in the colonies. Having been shipped off against his will, with nothing but a distaste for English authorities, Creighton befriends Franklin, and lands a job with his print shop. But the English general expects the spoiled yet loyal Creighton to spy on Franklin. As battles unfold and falsehoods are exposed, Creighton must decide where his loyalties lie... a choice that could determine the fate of a nation. 261 pages For more information about The Year of the Hangman
Left alone in the Maine wilderness, while his father returns south to get the rest of the family, 12-year old Matt is charged with protecting his family's new property and log cabin. While awaiting his family's return, Matt faces many challenges. Thanks to a Native American chief and his grandson, Matt learns survival skills. More importantly, he discovers friendship and develops an appreciation for another culture. 135 pages For more information about Sign of the Beaver
By: Mildred D. Taylor Set in a small town in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this powerful, moving novel deals with issues of prejudice, courage, and self-respect. It is the story of one family's struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. It is also the story of Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to her family. The racial tension and harrowing events experienced by young Cassie, her family, and her neighbors cause Cassie to grow up and discover the reality of her environment. 276 pages For more information about Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
In 1861, when war erupted between the States, President Lincoln made an impassioned plea for volunteers. Determined not to remain on the sidelines, Emma Edmonds cropped her hair, donned men's clothing, and enlisted in the Union Army. Posing in turn as a slave, peddler, washerwoman, and fop, Emma became a cunning master of disguise, risking discovery and death at every turn behind Confederate lines. 144 pages For more information about Behind Rebel Lines
A fictional biography for young adults, Courageous Kate: A Daughter of the American Revolution is the compelling account of a heroine and a young mother who rode out from her Carolina backcountry home to warn Patriot militias of enemies on the move. Kate Moore Barry served as a scout and a spy and is credited with helping Gen. Daniel Morgan defeat the British at the Battle of Cowpens, a turning point in the war for independence. Written by local author and Converse College graduate. 130 pages For information about Courageous Kate
By: Theodore Taylor On December 7, 1941, Americans were stunned to learn that Japanese forces had launched an attack on Pearl Harbor. In this engrossing and extensively researched account, Theodore Taylor examines both sides of the battle, taking a close look at the events leading up to it and providing compelling insight into the motives and operations of the brave men and women swept up in the fight. 208 pages For more information about Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
I have to admit that I have not read every single one of these books (even though I am working on it!) I am currently reading Eyes of the Emperor and absolutely loving it! The synopses of these books (except for Courageous Kate, which was published by Spartanburg's Hub City Writers Publishing Company) come from the Barnes & Noble website There is a link to more information about these books so you can choose your favorite! -Emily C. Conrad, founder of the Need to Read Book Club
If you have any questions or comments (or if you know a Historical fiction or nonfiction book you want us to check out) email us at: read@needtoredbookclub.org |
November Choice Books
For this year's November meeting, the Need to Read Book Club is offering each book club member a new book based on American history - both fiction and non-fiction.
However, we at the Need to Read Book Club know that all of you have your different interests... and of course, a guy's favorite read is different than a girl's favroite read. Thus, we offer a wide variety of books based during different time periods of American history. We want you to pick out books according to your particular interests. We want you to pick out the best book for you!
Tell your Need to Read Book Club facilitator after you have chosen your book and we'll get your order!
For more information about Sounder
Eddy Okana lies about his age and joins the Army in his hometown of Honolulu only weeks before the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Suddenly Americans see him as the enemy - even the U.S. Army doubts the loyalty of Japanese American soldiers. Then the Army sends Eddy and a small band of Japanese American soldiers on a secret mission to a small island off the coast of Mississippi. Here they are given a special job, one that only they can do. Eddy's going to help train attack dogs. He's going to be the bait. 256 pages For more information about Eyes of the Emperor
August 1793. Fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook is ambitious, adventurous, and sick to death of listening to her mother. Mattie has plans of her own. She wants to turn the Cook Coffeehouse into the finest business in Philadelphia, the capital of the new United States. But the waterfront is abuzz with reports of disease. "Fever" spreads from the docks and creeps toward Mattie's home, threatening everything she holds dear. As the cemeteries fill with fever victims, fear turns to panic, and thousands flee the city. Then tragedy strikes the coffeehouse, and Mattie is trapped in a living nightmare. Suddenly, her struggle to build a better life must give way to something even more important -- the fight to stay alive. 256 pages For more information about Fever 1793
Susanna English desperately wants to join the circle of girls who meet every week at the parsonage, but she doesn't realize the leader of the group, the malicious Ann Putnam, is about to set off a torrent of false accusations that will lead to the imprisonment and execution of countless innocent people-victims of a witch-hunt panic. 320 pages For more information about A Break with Charity
To escape an abusive father and an arranged marriage, fourteen-year-old Sarah, dressed as a boy, leaves her Michigan home to enlist in the Union Army, and becomes a soldier on the battlefields of Virginia as well as a Union spy working in the house of Confederate sympathizer Rose O'Neal Greenhow in Washington, D.C. 320 pages For more information about Girl in Blue
Amos Fortune was born the son of an African king. In 1725, when he was 15 years old, he was captured by slave traders, brought to America and sold at auction. For 45 years, Amos worked as a slave and dreamed of freedom. At 60, he began to see those dreams come true. 181 pages For more information about Amos Fortune: Free Man
In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression. 227 pages For more information about Out of the Dust
By: Thomas B. Allen This fascinating account of espionage during the Revolutionary War should be gobbled up by young history buffs as well as anyone delighted by codes and ciphers and the elaborate ruses of devious and daring spies. "One if by land, two if by sea" is only the most famous of the Revolutionary War's exploits of espionage and counter-espionage. Readers will learn about messages coded on laundry lines (where black petticoats and white handkerchiefs carried secret meanings), different kinds of invisible ink, masked messages hidden within ordinary-seeming missives, "accidentally" dropped balls of yarn, and a message swallowed in a silver ball. George Washington was an accomplished spymaster, as was Benjamin Franklin, from his post in Paris; Benedict Arnold's treacherous espionage has made his name synonymous with "traitor." 192 pages For more information about George Wahington, Spymaster .
By: James Lincoln Colleri & Christopher Collier All his life, Tim Meeker has looked up to his brother Sam. Sam's smart and brave -- and is now a part of the American Revolution. Not everyone in town wants to be a part of the rebellion. Most are supporters of the British -- including Tim and Sam's father. With the war soon raging, Tim know he'll have to make a choice -- between the Revolutionaries and the Redcoats . . . and between his brother and his father. 224 pages For more information about My Brother Sam Is Dead
By: Neta Lohnes Frazeir Based on a true story originally written by one of the survivors, Neta Lohnes Frazier's account of seven children traveling westward still has the power to astonish. In the 1840s, the Sager family set off on the Oregon Trail, a dangerous and adventure-filled journey. Tragedy struck when both the mother and father succumbed to fever, orphaning the youngsters-one just a newborn. The entire wagon train adopted them, until they arrived at the Whitman Mission in Oregon. There, the Sagers settled into an ordinary life.until the day of an Indian massacre. The bravery of the Stouthearted Seven will amaze today's young readers. 208 pages For more information about Orphaned on the Oregon Trail |
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Riding
Freedom By:
Pam Munoz Ryan
The
Year of the Hangman
Sign
of the Beaver By:
Elizabeth Geroge Speare
Roll
of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Behind Rebel Lines
By: Seymour
V. Reit
Courageous
Kate By:
Shelia Ingle
Air
Raid - Pearl Harbor! 
Sounder By:
William H. Armstrong
Eyes
of the Emperor By:
Graham Salisbury
Fever
1793 By:
Laurie H. Anderson
A
Break with Charity By:
Ann Rinaldi
Girl in Blue By:
Ann Rinaldi
Amos Fortune: Free Man
By: Elizabeth Yates
Out of the Dust
By: Karen Hesse
George
Washington, Spymaster
My Brother Sam Is Dead
Orphaned
on the Oregon Trail