The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

I ordered this book from Scholastic for my classroom.  After reading it, I realize that it is more suited for Jr. High or High School students than 4th graders.  Although I think that younger students  benefit from learning about the Holocaust, I think books more like Number the Stars are more age appropriate for 9 and 10 year olds.  being sent to a concentration camp.  The story told has a magical element of time travel, that she had a hard time selling to me.  However, the purpose and story is there.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

What a journey. This book was an emotional roller coaster for me. Even though I made the mistake of seeing the movie before reading the book, I enjoyed every minute of reading this wonderful story. Wow.

The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds

I’ve always been intrigued by small religious communities: the Amish, the Mennonites, etc. who seemingly live in their own time and space.  The author does a great job in this book with setting the scene.  While reading this book, I too was walking around the compound of The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God’s Almighty Baptizing Wind.  I was very angry at whoever wrote the description on the back of the novel however, as they gave away events in the story that don’t happen until well into half the novel.  Even so, I enjoyed the story of Ninah and was rooting for her the whole way through. 

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

I chose this book because it’s about a teacher, and I’m a teacher, but it turned out to be so much more.  I love it when authors are able to tell a story inside a story.  The main characters attempt to solve a mystery that happened at the boarding school years before.  A little mystery, a little magic, and a priceless read.

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

 The words in this book surprised me. They flowed, they danced, they made me happy. Everything about this book was delightful, it was unexpected, it worked.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

What a breath of fresh air!  There are jewels on nearly every page of this delightful mystery.  I’m always drawn to adult books written about children, and Flavia certainly did not disappoint.   I was hooked from the first page, and am so glad that this is only the first book in the series!

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

The fact that this was a true story was the only reason I trudged through the terrible writing. The author got caught up in the unimportant fictional details and let the beauty of the true story fall through the cracks. The Widow of the South is the true story of a woman who, unwillingly at first, gives her house over as a hospital and later a graveyard for the fallen soldiers in the Battle of Franklin.