From Realism to Historical Fiction

"How Do You Spell g-e-e-k?" by Julie Anne Peters is a light and entertaining read about ..... spelling bees.... and friends - one who is determined to win and spends all her time spelling and one who is asked to be a sponsor to a new girl in school who is a real geek but who is also a great speller. This is a National Book Award finalist that has many heartwarming moments about fitting in and true friendship. Can you see yourself in any character?


Historical fiction presents readers with a story that takes place during a period in history. The book "The Fire of Ares" by Michael Ford is the first in a series called "Spartan Warrior". The setting of this book is Ancient Greece where a group of people, the Helots, have been conquered by the Spartans and forced to be slaves. A young Helot boy, Lysander, works the fields each day for a tiny amount of grain to feed himself and his sick mother. He wears around his neck a pendant, The Fire of Ares, a beautiful red stone given to him by his mother. He has been told never to show this pendant to anyone and the adventure in the story begins when an old Spartan sees the stone and knows who it belonged to. The life of a Spartan is very hard as this group of warriors are put through very tough training. You will be interested to learn how hard these times were for both the Spartans and the Helots. And of course what happens to Lysander! I think boys will love this action packed series but I know I found it good also.

Next up - the "Battle of the Labyrinth" of the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians series".

What are you reading today?