historical fiction Archives - A Nest in the Rocks

When the leaves start to change color and the temperature drops, when pumpkins and apples rule every roadside market and suddenly orange is everyone’s favorite color, … one can’t help but think of autumn. Of color and beauty and abundance but also of the coming winter and full moons and stark branches. It can be a bit spooky, and anything that draws strong emotions just begs for a story. Especially when it’s a whole season.

That’s why Strange Star is the perfect autumn read for your middle-school classroom or your family. It’s great for book clubs – that’s where I taught it – or in lit class or for a student choice read. It’s a fast-paced adventure story that will engage your students immediately.

Because it’s the imagined backstory to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

How did she write that story, anyway? What prompted a woman to tell a tale of corpses and surgeries and scientific experiments gone awry? What made this young woman pen a tale of heartbreak and horror?

Emma Carroll’s imagined version is definitely a modern idea of what might have happened – but that’s part of what makes it so great. It’s a colorful tale of adventure, of a diverse cast of characters considering what if: What if I could have saved that baby? What if people had the power to reverse death? What if, despite my history and reputation, I can be different? What if my past didn’t dictate my future? What if a person’s gender or skin color doesn’t define who they are or what they can do? What if society’s norms can be changed?

Carroll’s story is a work of historical fiction at its best: it acknowledges historical ideas and cultural norms but puts characters in place who challenge them in ways that fit the parameters of the story. It’s based on real science and real history, so it’s meaty, but it involves folklore and crushes and scientific experiments and gossip and enough murderous intent to engage any student. Strange Star will prompt your students to challenge old ideas and encourage lively discussions and creative writing – and I enjoyed digging into this book so much that I made it a book club read for both of the groups I work with.

Our book clubbers chose to discuss this at night, in the country beside a roaring bonfire at the side of a pond, while we roasted hot dogs and made s’mores and generally got into the spooky groove of the whole thing. We enjoyed being able to consider kid and adult opinions alike – but whether you meet in a classroom or a campsite, your students will have a great time with this story.

That’s why I’m sharing these Discussion Questions and Creative Writing Prompts for Emma Carroll’s Strange Star.

Emma Carroll’s *Strange Star* is the perfect autumn read for your family, book club, or classroom.

This resource includes discussion questions sorted by chapter for teacher use and organized additionally with a single chapter’s questions per page for student use for cooperative learning, homework, or assessment. There are also essay questions and creative writing prompts, all designed to encourage interaction with the story and to demonstrate comprehension.

There is so much to dig into with Strange Star – I know you’ll have great conversations with it!

What are you reading this season?

Cordelia Owens can weave a dream around anything and is well used to winning the hearts of everyone in Savannah with her whimsy. Even when she receives word that her sweetheart has been lost during a raid on a Yankee vessel, she clings to hope and comes up with many a romantic tale of his eventual homecoming to reassure his mother and sister.

But Phineas Dunn finds nothing redemptive in the first horrors of war. Struggling for months to make it home alive, he returns to Savannah injured and cynical, and all too sure that he is not the hero Cordelia seems determined to make him.

As the War Between the States rages ever nearer and Savannah’s slaves start sneaking away to the islands off the coast to join the Yankees, both Phin and Cordelia get caught up in questions they never thought they’d have to ask–questions that threaten the very dreams of a future they’d cherished.

A review of "Dreams of Savannah" by Roseanna M. White — A review of “Dreams of Savannah” by Roseanna M. White

Historical fiction has long been one of my favorite genres. I love history, so stories that make me live it for myself are just awesome. I absolutely love the American colonial period, the Wild West, stories of heroism during World War II, and even love and adventure in the Middle Ages.

The American Civil War has become a sketchy time for me to read about, though. I dislike reading about Southern characters who try to justify slavery, which – although it’s historically accurate – is frustrating to me. Even when they change their views throughout the story, it often feels cliched and too easy.

Roseanna M. White’s Dreams of Savannah is different, though. It’s richer, full of White’s signature drama and quotable wisdom. There’s nothing about this plot that is cliched. Attitudes don’t get miraculously “fixed.” There’s not exactly the traditional happily-ever-after scenario (which, when you think about it, while nice, isn’t realistic). The cast of characters doesn’t suddenly become friends and get along.

Which is really what’s so great about the story. White creates a meaningful ending to the drama with realistic resolution amidst the true history of what was happening in Savannah at the time. You’ll turn the last page with a sigh of thankfulness at the way that it ends, wanting to cheer on your favorite characters while knowing that this is how life really works.

But even better are the lessons that Phin and the quirky, story-telling Cordelia learn – and they’re ones that our society is also in dire need of figuring out: that love is more important than money or position or stuff. That you can’t predict the future. That relationships matter – that people matter, no matter who they are or where they come from or what they look like. Ultimately, that everyone has a story to tell, something they’ve lived or endured that has forged them into the person they’ve become, and that there’s understanding and growth to be had from learning those stories. That when we do learn those stories, it helps us to put the person ahead of the packaging they come in.

So while I was a bit hesitant to read another Civil War-era book, White won me over once again with her wisdom and creative storytelling. Dreams of Savannah is both entertaining and educational – an engaging read perfectly timed to deliver an important message. It’s definitely a 2021 must read book.

Click here for more information and to order your own copy.