​I have another wonderful historical fiction novel to share with you today: Light and Air, by Mindy Nichols Wendell. We have a lot going on this week (starting up homeschool with a senior in high school all the way down to a pre-pre-schooler!), so let's start out with the Publisher's description:

It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it?

When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned—and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital: far from home, far from family, far from the world.

Tucked away in the woods of upstate New York, the hospital is a closed and quiet place. But it is not, Halle learns, a prison. Free of her worried and difficult father for the first time in her life, she slowly discovers joy, family, and the healing power of honey on the children's ward, where the girls on the floor become her confidantes and sisters. But when Mama suffers a lung hemorrhage, their entire future—and recovery—is thrown into question....

Light and Air deals tenderly and insightfully with isolation, quarantine, found family, and illness. Set in the fully realized world of a 1930s hospital, it offers a tender glimpse into a historical epidemic that has become more relatable than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Halle tries to warm her father’s coldness and learns to trust the girls and women of the hospital, and as she and her mother battle a disease that once paralyzed the country, a profound message of strength, hope, and healing emerges.

My thoughts:

I LOVED Light and Air. It had all the atmosphere and quiet building of suspense that I associate with my favorite vintage stories; in fact, Light and Air felt more like a book actually written in the early twentieth century than a modern book set then. (I can say that about very few books, and the lack of it is not necessarily a problem as much as a recognition of style, but I sure do like it when I find it.) 

As a head’s up to parents, this book (as you can see from the description) deals with some heavy topics: a child dies, multiple miscarriages are mentioned, and a parent suffers from depression and anxiety. None of these topics is gratuitious, however, and the plot is beautifully woven around the idea that even the dark things we go through can make us better human beings if we allow ourselves to hurt and heal. 

Have you read Light and Air yet? What did you think of it? Personally, I’m tucking it neatly away in my “2025 Newbery Hopeful” shelf!

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, be sure to visit Always in the Middle: http://gpattridge.com

(Note: The publisher's description says the book is set in Upstate New York. The book itself gets it "right:" the setting is near Buffalo, in Western New York. We had a fun, friendly little argument about this over on Instagram, but all the people who actually lived near Buffalo--like I used to!--agree that Western New York is the correct term.  ;)

After a long hiatus, I'm back with Marvelous Middle Grade Monday—and it's good timing, because there are some amazing books that have come out this year and I can't wait to share them with you!

First up, a spectacular WWII Historical novel: The Night War, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. 

Confession: I wasn't a huge fan of Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's other historical fiction. For a variety of reasons, despite the fact that *everyone* seemed to love ​The War that Saved My Life,  I simply couldn't connect to the main character (this says a lot, author friends, about why you have to find the right agent/editor/readers for your book and not judge its value on one opinion!). But I decided to give her another chance with The Night War, both because the description was so alluring and because I'd heard so much buzz about its merits and controversy about its authorship. (Briefly, and I'll get into this later, some readers were put off by the fact that a non-Jewish author depicted a Jewish main character.) And I'm glad I put my pre-conceived ideas aside, because I loved The Night War from the very first chapter.

Here's the publisher's description:
It’s 1942. German Nazis occupy much of France. And twelve-year-old Miriam, who is Jewish, is not safe. With help and quick thinking, Miri is saved from the roundup that takes her entire Jewish neighborhood. She escapes Paris, landing in a small French village, where the spires of the famous Chateau de Chenonceau rise high into the sky, its bridge across the River Cher like a promise, a fairy tale.
But Miri’s life is no fairy tale. Her parents are gone—maybe alive, maybe not. Taken in at the boarding school near the chateau, pretending to be Catholic to escape Nazi capture, Miri volunteers one night to undertake a deadly task, one that spans the castle grounds, its bridge, and the very border to freedom. Here is her chance to escape—hopefully to find her parents. But will she take it? One thing is certain: The person Miri meets that night will save her life. And the person Miri becomes that night could save the lives of many more.
In her return to the era of The War that Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley brings a new and different story, one with a mystical twist, that explores a little-known slice of World War II history, a highly unusual friendship, and the power of choosing courage even when—especially when—there are no good choices to be had.
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Like most WWII stories, I would recommend this to mature middle grade readers. Besides the usual WWII prejudice and violence, there are some mentions of the mistress of King Henri of France in the 1500's, mentions of menstruation (not exactly a mature topic but one I feel children have the right to hear about from their parents first), and many theological questions that might be overwhelming for young children without guidance (though they're EXCELLENT conversation starters, and I think this would make a perfect parent-child book club or family read aloud). 

Back to the topic I teased before… The author is neither Jewish nor Catholic, and, yes, she gets some details wrong on both counts. (I have heard many people talk about the Jewish elements, but so far no one has mentioned the Catholic ones, like the fact that baptisms were not celebrated during Mass in the 40's, or that the rosary does not begin with the first Hail Mary of the first decade). Here's the thing. As a Catholic, I appreciate that an author tried to represent members of my faith and to do it honestly and fairly. I loved that alongside the stereotypical "mean nun," you have several spectacularly brave and kind nuns. I feel the same when male authors tell a story about a female character, or when non-homeschoolers try their best to honestly represent homeschooling, or when non-Americans make the effort to get American culture right. Especially in historical fiction, I think we have to acknowledge that NONE of us truly knows what it was like to live in a different time. No matter how much we may have in common with our characters, we historical fictions writers are stuck in the dilemma—and with the advantage—of needing to use research and imagination to get us through. I'm willing to accept a few mistakes because no one but Kimberly Brubaker Bradley could have imagined and researched and told this unique story. If I had written it, the prayers of the rosary would be correct, but the heart would be different. If a Jewish author had written it, they wouldn't have made the same mistakes about the Jewish experience, but it would be a different story. This story came to Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and no one else, and I'm very grateful that she chose to tell it. 

Have you read this book yet? Do you agree or disagree with my opinion? I'm always happy to have respectful conversation in the comments, and I certainly think this topic has room for varying opinions.

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, visit Always in the Middle, at http://gpattridge.com.