The Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton

I love reading books about the Middle Ages and this one didn't disappoint (actually, it takes place prior to the Middle Ages). It's set in Scotland in 1162, when Norman lords have been given land in Scotland by the King of England. Jennie lives with her father, a Norman lord, and sister Isabel, who was recently disgraced by a wandering knight but refuses to tell her family what happened to her when she ran away with him. Now her father turns to Jennie to make a valuable wedding match, but she falls instead for Tam Lin, a mysterious man from a once powerful family who was said to have been raised by fairies.

This book has just enough magic realism to make you believe it's true; McNaughton weaves two old folktales, the story of Tam Lin and the story of Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight, into a satisfying book. Jennie is outspoken but she still understands the roles that women must play in her society. While she is at the mercy of her father's wishes, she manages to insert her own independence into her fate.

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine

Compestine was one of the featured authors at the Second Annual Tucson Festival of Books held here this past weekend, so I read this book to get ready. While it is not a biographical book, Compestine did grow up during the Chinese cultural revolution and experienced and/or witnessed many of the scenes in the book. Reading books about terrible times in history generally depress me because of the horrible things that people can do to each other. Did you know that during the Chinese Revolution the doctors were made into janitors and the janitors became surgeons? They trained peasant boys from the fields to be surgeons and sent them into surgery after just a few weeks of training. Mao's faithful made sure that they still had access to quality surgeons even as they allowed peasants to operate on the soldiers.

The good thing about this book is that Ling is a strong character and she stays true to herself through the book.

The Braid by Helen Frost

The Braid tells the story of two sisters living in the Scottish Highlands during the 1850s, when landlords forced people off the Western Isles so they could raise sheep there. One sister travels with her family to America while the other runs away to stay with her grandmother on the Isle of Barra off the western coast. Frost uses two voices written in narrative poems to follow Jeannie and Sarah.

I enjoyed this book; it's a very quick read and Frost includes a poem to introduce each new section that ties in with the story. While most of us know about the Irish potato famine, this book tells us about a piece of history most of us probably never knew. Sarah in particular is a well-written character.

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve

Here Lies Arthuris one of those books that takes a concept -- here it's King Arthur -- and turns it on its head. Sometimes it works -- like with Ella Enchanted -- but this one didn't for me. This story follows a young girl named Gwyna who is taken in by Arthur's PR person, Myrddin (Merlin). It seems that Myrddin is in the business of making Arthur the greatest king that ever lived by creating stories about him that make him sound wonderful. The problem is, the Arthur in this book is a not bright, sadistic, bullying guy -- not the "real" Arthur of legend that I know and love.

While Gwyna is an intriguing character -- especially as she spends some time disguised as a boy -- I really didn't like how Reeve made Arthur out to be such an incredible blood-thirsty double-dealing jerk.

But that's just me.