(3) 4-6 Dear America series. After the death of their parents, her aunt plots to institutionalize Pringle Rose's mentally handicapped brother Gideon, so the siblings escape to Chicago where Pringle takes a job as a nursemaid. But soon the 1871 Great Fire of Chicago begins. With a backdrop of unearthed secrets, union struggles, and raging flames, the brave, likable protagonist vividly recounts this dark time in Chicago history.

Reviewer: Nancy Hull

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. When lady's maid Minnie's wealthy employers are killed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Minnie is mistaken for their daughter. In a book that is both a mystery and a historical adventure, Minnie must decide if she should live a lie. As Dear America volumes reliably do, this fast-paced, engaging story gives readers a picture of an important historical event.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. In a book that is part mystery, part ghost story, Patron provides a multi-layered tale of one girl's experiences in the very wild West. Angie investigates the death of her father--who she doesn't believe is actually dead. She's a likable protagonist, and the many supporting characters give readers a good picture of life in a Gold Rush town as the boom turns to bust.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. In this follow-up to The Winter of Red Snow, Abigail and her family follow George Washington's Revolutionary War regiment. Abby is a young teenager coming of age during wartime, and her growth is both realistic and engaging. Historical information occasionally overtakes the story's plot line, but fans of the Dear America series may welcome the background and will otherwise find a solid read.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. After eleven-year-old Lydia and her brother are orphaned in the 1918 influenza epidemic, they're sent to live in the Shaker community at Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Lowry masterfully establishes character, situation, and place as the reader experiences, right along with Lydia, her early struggles and eventual acceptance of the ordered, industrious life of the Shakers. An excellent addition to the Dear America series.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. In 1954 Virginia, Dawnie Rae wants to be a doctor, to help her brother be "normal," and to meet Jackie Robinson. With her parents' approval, she also wants to attend the all-white Prettyman Coburn School. Harassed by Coburn students and teachers and rejected by lifelong friends, Dawnie Rae, through Pinkney's authentic scenes of boycotts, violence, and familial love, walks the difficult path toward racial equality.

Reviewer: Nancy Hull

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. Three reissued titles find orphaned Margaret as companion to a wealthy woman aboard the Titanic; Abigail describing Valley Forge; and "Mem" telling of the Mayflower voyage. In new series entry Fences, Piper discusses her family's involvement in WWII. Each of the fictional diaries, in addition to presenting one girl's unique perspective, conveys engaging information about the story's time period. Review covers these Dear America titles: The Winter of Red Snow, The Fences Between Us, A Journey to the New World, and Voyage on the Great Titanic.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. Three reissued titles find orphaned Margaret as companion to a wealthy woman aboard the Titanic; Abigail describing Valley Forge; and "Mem" telling of the Mayflower voyage. In new series entry Fences, Piper discusses her family's involvement in WWII. Each of the fictional diaries, in addition to presenting one girl's unique perspective, conveys engaging information about the story's time period. Review covers these Dear America titles: The Winter of Red Snow, The Fences Between Us, A Journey to the New World, and Voyage on the Great Titanic.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. Three reissued titles find orphaned Margaret as companion to a wealthy woman aboard the Titanic; Abigail describing Valley Forge; and "Mem" telling of the Mayflower voyage. In new series entry Fences, Piper discusses her family's involvement in WWII. Each of the fictional diaries, in addition to presenting one girl's unique perspective, conveys engaging information about the story's time period. Review covers these Dear America titles: The Winter of Red Snow, The Fences Between Us, A Journey to the New World, and Voyage on the Great Titanic.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. Three reissued titles find orphaned Margaret as companion to a wealthy woman aboard the Titanic; Abigail describing Valley Forge; and "Mem" telling of the Mayflower voyage. In new series entry Fences, Piper discusses her family's involvement in WWII. Each of the fictional diaries, in addition to presenting one girl's unique perspective, conveys engaging information about the story's time period. Review covers these Dear America titles: The Winter of Red Snow, The Fences Between Us, A Journey to the New World, and Voyage on the Great Titanic.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. This is an engaging fictional account of real events. Deliverance, a pious twelve-year-old girl, recounts events during the Salem witch hunts of 1692. Her friendship with a woman who is later persecuted as a witch and the unfounded claims of the accusers cause the young girl to rethink her beliefs. An illustrated historical note is appended.

Reviewer: Lauren Rizzuto

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. At fourteen, Angela begins working in a shirtwaist factory. Conditions are harsh, and she takes part in the large shirtwaist strike of 1909–1910. Her sister, however, goes to work at the Triangle Waist Company where the following year a terrible fire kills 146 workers. The moving diary raises many of the issues in the labor movement of the time. A historical note is appended. Glos.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(4) 4-6 Dear America series. Set in 1763, this story is based on the true life of an African slave educated as a "companion" for a French girl. Traveling to America during the aftermath of the French and Indian War, they confront danger and uncertainty. Some of the internal dialogue seems too sophisticated, but this is an interesting look at a little-known aspect of French slavery in colonial times.

Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. Fourteen-year-old Polly and her family have recently emigrated from England. Her diary recounts their first year in New Yeovil, Minnesota which proves more difficult than her father, a Baptist pastor, had promised. Droughts, fires, blizzards, and locusts plague their daily lives; while "savages" make for uncertain neighbors. The diarist of this novel is based on the author's own family history, making for a poignant read.

Reviewer: Lauren Rizzuto

(4) 4-6 Dear America series. When her new stepfather, a trader, decides to move the family to Santa Fe, Missourian Florrie and her family start out for New Mexico Territory. In her diary Florrie records her trip as well as her worries about her pregnant mother and her grief over leaving friends along the way. Occasionally the plot seems overloaded with every possible experience, but Florrie's tale is engaging overall.

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(4) 4-6 Dear America series. Set in western Massachusetts in 1774, this story in diary form chronicles the persecution of British Loyalists. Level-headed and compassionate thirteen-year-old Prudence recounts the hardships Tories face. Subplots, such as Prudence apprenticing her midwife mother, don't have a chance to flourish, but readers will still enjoy the story and its details of daily life. A historical note and illustrations are appended.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. In 1932, twelve-year-old Bess begins attending Perkins School for the Blind following an accident in which she loses her sight. Her twin sister records Bess's diary entries for her--and writes a few herself, providing readers with an additional point of view to round out the narrative. Denenberg creates a convincing, engaging portrait of Bess's adjustment to her new school and her new life.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(4) 4-6 Dear America series. Grace records her experiences living in the Texas panhandle in 1935. The sixth-grader grieves when her best friend's family leaves for California. She also begins accompanying her mother, a nurse, to the hospital, where she assists the staff and becomes friends with a doctor's son. A historical afterword and photos accompany the touching, if somewhat overly sweet, story.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. In this well-crafted diary, thirteen-year-old Kat Bowen records her daily activities, growing sense of abandonment by her doctor-father and her suffragette-mother, and surging interest in the suffragette movement. The text also highlights the actions of the Woman's Party. Back matter includes details of the women's movement and black-and-white archival reproductions.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(3) 4-6 Dear America series. In a journal covering the first few months of 1968, Boston teenager Molly describes her family's concern for her brother, a Marine serving in Vietnam (whose experiences are recorded in The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty), as well as her own volunteer work at a local veterans' hospital. Molly's clear-eyed narrative convincingly captures teenage life during this difficult era; a historical note supplies additional information.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta