Historical Fiction

For this week I read The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and As Fast as Words Could Fly, written by Pamela M. Tuck and illustrated by Eric Velasquez. 

The War That Saved My Life follows young Ada during the start of World War II. It is a beautiful and inspiring story that does an excellent job tying in the history of the era. It gives a personalized view of what it was like as children in London and how they were sent away in droves, waiting for someone to take them in, as well as what it was like living on tightening rations. As a history major, I have had my fair share of WWII lessons and facts, but I was so thrilled to see things incorporated in that I had never heard or thought about before. For instance, I knew from the dates that London was not bombed right away when the war started, yet, reading it from a personal perspective, it gives so much more weight to the fact it was over a year of waiting. It was also fascinating reading about the blackout hours, something that was important in their daily life and routing, and yet is rarely mentioned when discussing the war. Overall I think the book did an excellent job giving a personalized view of the war and life in that era, it would without a doubt hook readers interest. 

As Fast as Words Could Fly follow Mason Steele in his town of Greenville North Carolina. Mason helps his father by writing letters about the movement of the local civil rights group; the group shows their appreciation by gifting him a typewriter to help him with his letters. Soon, Mason's father tells Mason and his two brothers that they will be attending a new school, a previously all-white school that is noticeably against the supreme court's desegregation decision. Mason is treated very differently from his white peers, but he keeps his chin up and begins to excel in his new school, specifically in his typing class. Mason continues to practice his typing, and even become the fastest in the school, qualifying him the in typing tournament. Again, Mason is the only black child there, yet he doesn't let that slow him down. This book does a great job at showing what life was like for blacks and other non-whites in the 60's. I think it excels in that fact that it shows it realistically; what Mason's father saw a victory (desegregating the schools) that was far from changing the environment and attitudes of those involved. Mason continued to be discriminated against and they had to rely on groups like the SCLC, the Youth Corps, and the Department of Education for support. I think this book also makes kids realize that when we think of civil rights stories, they automatically assume that it helped bring the two sides together. I feel like many times the endings of civil rights stories climax in a "Remember the Titans"-esque way, with both sides beautifully coming together, with minds being opened and souls being changed. Yet, it is stories like Mason that was much more accurate; the fact that he won his tournament and no one clapped, cheered, or even seemed to acknowledge his victory. This fits much more accurately with the time, and I think it's important for students to learn that that era was marked by small victories like a typing tournament, but was often not acknowledged by all sides.