Discover Top Posts Tagged with #read alike

You’re not done reading?

If you enjoyed Michelle Moran’s Nefertiti, you will enjoy the following books set in similar time periods and cultures!

You’re not done reading?

Helen of Sparta Amalia Carosella Lake Union Publishing April 1, 2015

Long before her fateful escape with Paris of Troy, dreams of war and fire prompts Helen to flee from her home, betraying her betrothed and family in the process. Falling into the arms of Theseus, son of Poseidon, Helen learns of what she must do to prevent the war lying the depths of her dreams. Carosella expertly combs history and mythology in a well research tale of a young woman’s battle against fate and gods.

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Tall, Dark & Hilarious : A Warm Bodies Read Alike

Read-Alikes: In the Shadow of Blackbirds

I finished In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters today, a mix of a whodunnit mystery, ghost story, historical fiction, and a bit of psychological thriller. The bold heroine, Mary Shelley Black, is a girl in 1918 who loves science, convinces her aunt that husbands aren’t everything, and busts a whodunnit all before women could even vote. While the Spanish flu is killing people all over the city, Mary Shelley deals with the loss of Stephen, a budding romance and long-time friend, who presumably was killed in the war. After a near-death experience, Mary Shelley suddenly procures the ability to communicate with Stephen’s restless ghost who cannot move on until he understands his own death. I recommend In the Shadow of Blackbirds for women and girls in science, young feminists, history enthusiasts, and even horror fans. The book didn’t grip me the way that I thought it might as a feminist historian who can get into anything that involves a séance, but I don’t think that means it’s a bad book. I was dissatisfied by the result of the mystery and did not find Stephen to be a compelling character. I did love the originality and Esther Greenwood-like characteristics of Mary Shelley Black, though, and found the book worth reading by virtue of her snappy comebacks.

If you read In the Shadow of Blackbirds or like similar books, here are some other options for you:

If you love Mary Shelley’s snappy comebacks:

The Diviners, Libba Bray

Libba Bray, a prolific young adult writer of Beauty Queens fame, also published (among many others) the historical mystery The Diviners in 2012. This book also has a supernatural and ghost element. Unlike In the Shadow of Blackbirds, the ghost is the murderer rather than the victim. Evie, a snarky Ohioan with the power to view people’s memories, is sent to New York City to live with her uncle after she causes a scandal in her hometown. Evie is a funny and feisty narrator with all the spunk and glamor of a flapper girl and all the wit and power of a feminist.

If you love teenage scientists:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Jacqueline Kelly

During the turn of the century, Calpurnia Tate, a 12-year-old girl who loves science and nature, investigates green and yellow grasshoppers in her backyard and the disparities in their growth. This has the historical and science aspects of In the Shadow of Blackbirds, and a focus on familial relationships--Calpurnia is bonding with her grandfather over the course of the novel similarly to Mary Shelley and Eva. Each chapter begins with quotes from Darwin, but Calpurnia’s grandfather also teaches her about her fellow women who studied science. Great for historical fiction lovers and women and girls in science!

If you like disease epidemics:

Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson is another YA giant perhaps most well known for Speak, an indictment of victim-blaming and rape culture. Her historical fiction novel Fever 1793 is like In the Shadow of Blackbirds in its examination of a terrible epidemic that struck a city and kills thousands. Fever 1793 follows 14-year-old Mattie Cook during a yellow fever outbreak in 1793 Philadelphia. Anderson’s well-researched dip into historical fiction explores the little-known stories of care provided by African-Americans for yellow fever victims. In the style of In the Shadow of Blackbirds’ Mary Shelley, Mattie takes charge in a crisis situation and will satisfy historical fiction and disease epidemic readers who love a teenage girl who knows how to get stuff done.

If you like photography and mysteries:

Fall For Anything, Courtney Summers

Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers is a young adult mystery surrounding the death of Eddie’s father. Eddie doesn’t understand why her father, a successful photographer, would kill himself. She meets a former photography student of her father’s who knows him perhaps more than herself. Their friendship, and subsequent romance, could give her clues to her father’s sudden death. Mary Shelley and Eddie, a contemporary girl, don’t have much in common, but each of them has experienced tragedy and mysteries remain.

#cat winters #in the shadow of blackbirds #read alike #young adult #historical fiction #ya lit #literature #book review #books #feminist books #courtney summers #laurie halse anderson #jacqueline kelly #libba bray #ya #book recommendations

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson If I Stay by Gayle Forman The First Part Last by Angela Johnson Going Bovine by Libba Bray Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Noggin by John Corey Whaley If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell Just One Day by Gayle Forman Like No Other by Una LaMarche

(https://molinekids.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/if-you-loved-the-fault-in-our-stars/)