Book Review: Gill Jepson's Out of Time Series

Gill Jepson has released three out of the four books in his Out of Time series and I eagerly await the conclusion to this adventurous time traveling tale. Without going into detail, this series centers on the Furness peninsula in Britain and is wonderfully rich in details about the history of the area. Gill Jepson's family is from the area and he grew up on its stories. He uses the people and places from the area and his own family history to create a backdrop of colorful characters that help the heroes on their quest.
   With regards to the writing style, there are a few issues with scene transitions that seem a little abrupt. They do not impact the story line, but it can be disruptive for readers. The plot twists and quest elements involve the reader in the chase. The series is well suited to middle school and high school readers of both genders.

Book Review...

   Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers mixes romance and danger with a girl's story of coming of age and understanding how the world is not as black and white as we might want it to be. The writing is wonderfully rich in detail. LaFevers transports the reader back in time to an era in French history when the political landscape looked quite different from what we know today. This book is as full of spies and assassins as any James Bond type story and will appeal to readers who enjoy cloak and dagger novels. As for the romance aspect, there are several female characters to keep an eye on, but it is the main character that the reader will be most interested in.
   This book is best suited for young adult women, but it is most certainly not limited to that audience. The historical background is well done and will hopefully inspire more readers to chose historical fiction in the future.

Geography

One of the facets of a novel is the location. When you are setting out to describe a historical place make sure you do your research and know how the geography has changed in the intervening years. For many places this means man made changes in rivers, mountains, draining swamps, creating islands or any other method used to make more habitable land areas. In some cases in the Middle East and Africa the opposite is true. The desert as we know it was not nearly so widespread in Ancient times. Most of the Middle East was in fact quite fertile and green. Mountain ranges are in a constant state of change as well. Mt Everest keeps growing to greater, more challenging heights. The landscapes of today are not the same as those of our predecessors.

Cities and towns can change just as rapidly as any landscape. Buildings rise and fall, streets are laid over old fields and ruins are all that remain of once prosperous neighborhoods. In many areas this happens in even as short a span as a single decade.

It is the job of an historian to preserve as much of the past as possible for future generations, but it is writers who are able to really bring alive those long lost places and paint a picture with words. A good writer can resurrect a lost civilization out of the ruins of the modern landscape with the right research. Until next time, keep reading and writing.

The League of the Delphi Book Review

The League of the Delphi by Chris Everheart is a thrilling mystery that keeps you guessing right to the end. Follow Zachary White as he delves into family secrets that lead him into the distant past to uncover a dangerous present. Chris Everhart's writing balances the thrill of the chase with the mystery of an intricate puzzle. The characters are wonderfully developed and the town comes alive on the page. Rich with a variety of culture, Everheart brings a wider world to small American town. Excellent read for young adults. This book has it all, action, romance, history and mystery.    
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15766944-the-league-of-delphi" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The League of Delphi (The Delphi Trilogy #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1343076856m/15766944.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15766944-the-league-of-delphi">The League of Delphi</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2854680.Chris_Everheart">Chris Everheart</a><br/>
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   Hello readers. I hope everyone has had a great holiday season. I have been busy with parties and family, but now I am ready to get back to business.
   My first book review of the year is on Ronit Lowenstein-Malz's novel Escape in Time, translated from Hebrew into English, and illustrated by Laurie McGraw. Set to publish April 2015, this young adult novel is based on real life events surrounding a Jewish-Hungarian family and their struggles during World War II.
   This wonderful narrative revolves around two main characters, Miri and Nessya. Nessya is a young Jewish girl living in modern day Tel Aviv with an understanding of the Holocaust, but no real connection to it. Miri is her grandmother who lived through the events of World War II as a young girl herself, but has kept this from Nessya. The story unfolds in a vivid and memorable way as Miri's recollections of the war and its horrors are brought to life.
   Although marketed to young adults, I believe it would be well suited to all ages as young as 12 and up. Young readers today will have no trouble understanding the events and details of Jewish-Hungarian life as Miri explains them to Nessya. Unlike many Holocaust novels, this one gives just enough detail to show what it was like to live through a war without becoming too morbidly gory and giving nightmares making it better suited as a first introduction to the events for young readers. It also shows the fighting spirit of Miri's family and what can be accomplished even in the darkest of times.
   Historical fiction such as this enriches our understanding of the past and helps to give clarity to the future. Encouraging younger generations to better understanding the past is how we can try to ensure that such events to not happen again.