Monday, December 18, 2017

Bookish Gift Guide 2017: Historical Fiction Reads

This is the week where everyone is hustling and bustling trying to finish their holiday shopping. If you need a few quick gifts for family or a friend, check out my Bookish Gift Guide series. Although I love historical fiction, I selected only a few of my top favorite historical fiction novels that I've read in the last few years.


1. Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal is a coming-of-age novel set in 1960's in New Orleans. Ibby moves in with grandmother, Fannie, at a young age. Over the course of four year intervals, readers learn more about Ibby, Fannie, Queenie and Doll. The four women bond over good and tough times regarding family and segregation.


2. Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee is a wonderful western historical fiction. Join two girls traveling out West on the Oregon Trail while they meet new friends and battle the rough terrain. What I love about this book is the diversity between the group of five friends. Their knowledge and acceptance of each other leads to their survival.


3. Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley is set in 1959 in Virginia. Sarah Dunbar is one of the first black students to attend all-white Jefferson High School. There she meets Linda Hairston, daughter of town's most vocal opponents of school integration. In this novel, star-crossed lovers must hide their feelings for one another in order to protect each other.


4. Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee is set in 1906 in San Francisco. Mercy Wong is determined to break from the poverty of Chinatown and creates a new persona as a wealthy heiress who gains entry into a boarding school for wealthy white girls. But then a historic Earthquake strikes! Pick up this book to find what happens to Mercy.


5. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See focuses on mother and daughter relationships. Li-Yan lives in a village of the Akha people of Yunnan China until she is forced to abandon her daughter. Throughout the novel, Li-Yan separates from her mother and daughter but finally reconnects with them by the end of the book. Her mother stays in the village while Li-Yan seeks for a better education. Li-Yan's daughter is adopted by an American couple who live in California. This novel is a story about tradition, culture, family, love, loss, sacrifice, perseverance, new beginnings and origins.


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