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.

Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee

Title: Outrun the Moon
Author: Stacey Lee
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication date: May 24, 2016
Pages: 400
Source/format: ARC from publisher

Rating: ☆☆☆☆1/2

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

San Francisco, 1906: Fifteen-year-old Mercy Wong is determined to break from the poverty in Chinatown, and an education at St. Clare’s School for Girls is her best hope. Although St. Clare’s is off-limits to all but the wealthiest white girls, Mercy gains admittance through a mix of cunning and a little bribery, only to discover that getting in was the easiest part. Not to be undone by a bunch of spoiled heiresses, Mercy stands strong—until disaster strikes.

On April 18, an historic earthquake rocks San Francisco, destroying Mercy’s home and school. With martial law in effect, she is forced to wait with her classmates for their families in a temporary park encampment. Mercy can't sit by while they wait for the Army to bring help. Fires might rage, and the city may be in shambles, yet Mercy still has the 'bossy' cheeks that mark her as someone who gets things done. But what can one teenaged girl do to heal so many suffering in her broken city?

M Y  T H O U G H T S

After reading Under a Painted Sky, I knew I had to read Stacey Lee's next novel. Outrun the Moon is about a free spirited 15-year-old girl named Wong Mei-Si, also know as Mercy, who wants to get a better education for herself. Because of the laws in America at the time, Chinese children can only attend school until the 8th grade. Mercy wants to be further educated and is able to enroll into St. Clare’s School for Girls.

I definitely connected with Mercy from the beginning. She is resourceful and knows what she wants. She is also caring and is the brainchild of Mercy's Kitchen after the Great San Francisco Earthquake strikes. Mercy would definitely be a Slytherpuff. Although a rare gem, Mercy has qualities of both houses. She is cunning and ambitious yet loyal. She takes risks but doesn't run into danger without thinking about the consequences. Mercy values intelligence but not for cultivating for its own sake; she uses her intelligence to get ahead.

Based on Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon, Lee is a mastermind in creating fantastic female friendships. In Under a Painted Sky, we have Andy and Sammy. In Outrun the Moon, Mercy befriends many girls despite having a rough start trying to make friends at the all white girls school. She became quick friends with Francesca and eventually became good friends with her nemesis, Elodie. The friendships between the girls are strong. Despite their many differences, they bond together after the earthquake to provide for others. It's important in time of distress to see people come together no matter what their religion, race or ethnicity is.

Lee writes historical fiction beautifully. I feel like I am right in Chinatown in 1906. Her descriptions are colorful; they are full of life. The Chinese culture in the novel is authentic which I appreciate greatly. It's nice seeing a bit of my culture and heritage painted across the many pages of Outrun the Moon. Lee also touches upon the Chinese Exclusion Act and and how Chinese people are treated during the early 1900s.

What I enjoyed reading is about how Mercy is a non-conformist. She doesn't listen to the rules about what she should do as a girl or a Chinese girl. She fights for what she wants and doesn't want to just settle down. Mercy wants to be independent and wants to travel the world. I love how she advocates for herself. She is a good role model for teens.

I highly suggest Outrun the Moon for readers who enjoy historical fiction, boarding schools and Chinese culture. Three of my favorite things are rolled into one exceptional novel.