I’m Jim McKeown, welcome to Likely Stories, a weekly review of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
I have made a slight turn from the books I usually suggest for Christmas Presents for the readers in your family. This time, I have selected a few YA Novels. I start with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Young Liesl Meminger’s life changed when she picked up a discarded book. With her father’s help, she learns to read and write.
The next selection is Jackaby by William Ritter. This story is a mix of Sherlock Holms and Buffy the Vampire slayer. Abigale Rook is hired by R.F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained. On her first day of work, she finds herself in a thrilling case.
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna is a story of sixteen-year-old Deka who lives in fear and anticipation of a strange ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. She is already different from everyone else because of her intuition.
The last YA novel is The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. She has spent every year of her life in Cousins Beach. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favorite people are there.
Next are Semi-Adult Level Novels. Since its publication in 1914, Dubliners has been arguably the most famous collection of short stories written in English by James Joyce. The Letters of Abelard and Heloise remains one of the world’s most celebrated and tragic love affairs.
“The next writer is E.M. Forster who wrote Howards End when he ‘sets in motion a chain of events that will entangle three different families, he brilliantly portrays their aspirations to personal and social harmony.” A magnificent read.
“Elizabeth Taylor was born in nineteen-twelve, into a middle-class family in Berkshire, England and she passed in nineteen-seventy-five. She was a librarian and a governess. She penned eleven novels, which were widely acclaimed. You’ll Enjoy It When You Get There, is spectacular collection of short stories. You, too, will enjoy them.”
“When I was about fifteen, I stumbled upon a book my mother was reading. When she finished it, she gave it to me, and I fell in love with this wonderful story and all the characters. Lastly, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Betty was born Elizabeth Werner on December fifteenth, eighteen-ninety-six. She was the daughter of German immigrants. She grew up poor in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, the very world she recreated with such meticulous detail.”
I hope you can find lots of wonderful stories to share with your family. 5 Jingles Each!