In Tamar, a compelling story of courage, love and betrayal, Mal Peet, winner of Britain's 2005 Carnegie Medal for the best children's and young adult books, takes us back and forth in time, from the Dutch resistance movement during World War II to the 1990's. Tamar, named by her grandfather who was a code breaker in Holland during the war, is shocked by his suicide and determined to solve the puzzle he's left her in some old maps. But the most exciting sections of the book take place in Holland where Tamar and Dart, both code breakers, try to organize the resistance in the most dangerous of circumstances with the Nazis on their heels at every moment. Add romance to this mix in the person of Marijke who is Tamar's love but also the object of Dart's passion. A tightly constucted plot with unrelenting suspense and sound characterization will hold you hostage till the last page.

This book explores the life of a young lacemaker, Isabelle Bonnard, living in 18th century Versailles. Isabelle's world changes forever when she bumps into Queen Marie Antoinette and becomes the friend of her daughter, Princess Thérèse. But the changes are not all good and their unlikely friendship is soon threatened by the rise of the French Revolution.

At first I was skeptical of a book about the French Revolution being appropriate for kids if it was not entirely historically inaccurate. But I want to assure both parents and historians that the author managed to stay true to the turmoil of the period without going into too much gory detail. There is some blood but surprisingly little, all things considered, and the exact charges leveled against Marie Antoinette are very broadly described and narrated from the perspective of an eleven year old. Still, it does not in any way candy-coat the real strife of the times. There is the raiding of the Bastille and the Women's March on Versailles demanding bread. Meanwhile, the story focuses on the main character, Isabella's, struggle to stay loyal to her friend when all around her are rising up against the monarchy. It is inevitably a sad story since it is generally accurate, but it's also an engrossing page-turner (I finished it in one day)! The end felt a bit abrupt to me, but otherwise it's an excellent novel, particularly for girls into historical fiction.

Today, May 19, is the anniversary of the execution of Anne Boleyn who was beheaded by sword at the Tower of London in 1536. When Boleyn demanded that Henry VIII make her his wife, not his mistress, years of religious turmoil in the Catholic Church ensued because of their prohibition against divorce. Henry did have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled and wed Boleyn in 1533. But because she couldn't produce any male heirs, she was accused of adultery and executed. (Sometimes you just can't win).

There's a treasure trove of books on Anne and now, even her sister, Mary, whose story was told in the recently released film, The Other Boleyn Girl based on the book by Philippa Gregory.

According to a New York Times article, it took a citywide fund-raising effort for The Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to raise the $68 million needed to keep a Thomas Eakins masterpiece - The Gross Clinic in the city. "The painting is widely considered to be among the greatest convases in American art".

Though Eakins' fame is "almost entirely posthumous and he was little known and admired in his native city" during his life time, but in Lawrence Goldstone's debut The Anatomy of Deception, Eakins is front and center in this highly readable, intriguing and historically well-researched forensic thriller. Also depicted are the real-life characters such as William Osler (the Father of Modern Medicine), famed surgeon William Stewart Halsted and the vibrant social scene of Philadelphia 1889.

Historical mystery readers, especially those of Caleb Carr and Matthew Pearl will find much to like here.

Black Ships* is debut novelist Jo Graham's captivating retelling of Virgil's The Aeneid from the perspective of Gull, a slave girl taken at the sacking of Troy.

At 17, Gull was chosen by the oracle Pythia as her successor for her prophetic visions, but she must decide if she would give up her exalted position and sail with exiled Trojan Prince Aeneas on the black ships, in order to guide him to his destiny.

Graham ably re-creates a vivid picture of the ancient world in this historically based fantasy. Her spare style complements the action-filled plot, and the “smoldering emotional resonance” fully engages the reader.

"Shades of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Caleb Carr's The Alienist, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, and Kim Newman's Dracula-inflected Victoriana"(Kirkus)... now, if that does not intrigue you, let me tell you this is by far one of the best thrillers I have come across in quite awhile.

A guaranteed page-turner, British(Oxford)scholar Jonathan Barnes' hectic, layered, odd and oddly affecting literary extravaganza The Somnambulist* features the shadowy magician/private detective Edward Moon and his sidekick - the 8' tall, bald, mute somnambulist.

"Barnes is up to something very special here. He's created a new genre, really, a graphic novel written in longhand, and it combines the subtle horror of Patricia Highsmith, the goofy gore of Christopher Moore, and the cartoon action of the TV series Heroes. Read for the sheer fun of it"~ Jen Baker for Booklist. Trust us on this one.

* = Starred Reviews

The Queen Gambet: A Leonardo da Vinci Mystery* by Diane Stuckart is the first of a projected series.

Set in 15th-century Milan, the Renaissance artist/inventor was pressed into service by the Duke of Milan to solve a murder during a spectacular chess match played with human pieces.

With high-stake political maneuvers across Europe and a priceless painting in the balance, da Vinci must investigate quietly behind the scene, with only the help of Dino, his young apprentice who has his own secrets to guard.

This new historical whodunit renders a lively portrait of court life in Renaissance Milan, as well as fleshes out the humanity and the genius of the renowned master.

*=Starred Review

I have been saving this for a leisurely read and I was not disappointed.

Princeton professor Sophie Gee's lively, highly literate debut Scandal of the Season* provides the backstory to Alexander Pope’s famous poem "The Rape of the Lock".

1711, London. The anti-Catholic sentiments and secretive Jacobite plots to overthrow the Protestant queen makes for an uneasy social season. Pope’s growing literary reputation allows him entry into high society where he watches with interest the courtship and secret affair between beautiful Arabella Fermor and Robert, Lord Petre.

When Robert is forced to offer marriage to a wealthier heiress, Arabella’s disappointment and humiliation brings on the scandalous event that inspires the famous poem and launches Pope's career.

“Delightfully gossipy, psychologically insightful and historically fascinating”, this novel is "sprinkled with literary cameos, ...crackling verbal one-upmanship and crude double entendres...". For readers of Mary Balogh and regency romance.

* = Starred Review

I read Catherine, Called Birdy when I was a freshman in high school and very much enjoyed it, so this was a natural choice to look at now. I found the story of The Midwife’s Apprentice to be more melancholy than that of Catherine but still good.

Brat’s journey and her many names of Brat, Beetle, and finally Alice show her development over time from homeless urchin to a girl who knows what she wants and will do anything to be the Midwife’s Apprentice.

Alright, I haven't read it yet but the critics are heaping high praise on David Blixt's debut novel The Master of Verona.

This first-time novelist+actor of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival has deep roots in the Ann Arbor Community (see the A2News interview), and will be at Borders Downtown on Wednesday, July 25th at 7 p.m. for a reading and signing.

Set in the Italian Renaissance and populated with such luminaries as Dante (Inferno) and the reimagined Montagues and Capulets, this historical is narrated by Pietro Alighieri, the 17 year-old son of Dante. Amidst the excitement of war between Padua and Verona and the drama of the Paduan court, Pietro witnesses his two best friends, Mariotto and Antonio being pushed to the edge of rekindling an ancient blood feud by their joint love of the same woman.

"Intricate plotting, well-staged scenes and colorful descriptions enhance head-spinning but lively entertainment" ~Kirkus.

"The precipitous ending, marked with dizzying revelations by the protagonists, do nothing to mar a novel of intricate plot, taut narrative, sharp period detail and beautifully realized characters." ~Publishers Weekly