The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL by Stacey Lee (Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon) is a work of historical fiction in which readers definitely will experience 1890 Atlanta with all of its gender, race, and social class biases. The main character is Jo Kuan, a seventeen-year-old Chinese orphan who lives with her guardian, Old Gin, in a basement hideout formerly on the underground railroad. She wants to be a milliner and has obvious skills until she is abruptly dismissed for making some of the white patrons “uncomfortable.” Next, it is on to being a lady’s maid for a rather spoiled young woman at an estate where Old Gin helps to care for the horses. In an effort to save a local newspaper, she also starts writing an advice column, signing her letters as Miss Sweetie and cleverly tackling questions related to beauty, social mores and "newfangled machinery" like bicycles. Even though THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL is set in a time and place with which our students will have little affinity, I think they will readily relate to Jo’s spirit – she is optimistic, resourceful and daring – a real “saucebox” with an independent streak. And the cover is beautiful and eye catching!  

THE DOWNSTAIRS GIRL received multiple starred reviews (Booklist, Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal) – expect this title to appear on award lists, too.

Fantasy and Science Fiction Trilogies to Recommend

I recently was lucky enough to read short preview excerpts from two sensational science fiction series.  

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu (Legend) is an exciting finish to her Young Elites series. Readers will be immediately transported to another world and caught up in the struggle to survive between various warring factions. Classic anti-hero Adelina returns and exhibits great cruelty. A fragile alliance is formed; action and adventure is rampant.  As I read, I found that I could easily picture the characters and wanted to know what would happen next!  The first in this fantasy series from prolific Marie Lu is called The Young Elites and received many starred reviews. 

More ambitious student readers, particularly those who prefer more of a science focus, will be thrilled to hear about Death’s End, the final book in The Three-Body Problem trilogy written by award-winning author Cixin Liu. This series, referring to the Chinese Cultural Revolution and an alien contact plus astrophysics and virtual reality, has sparked positive comments from students who were finding the writing of Cixin Liu to be very engaging and recommending it to friends.  As a result, I have the first title on my own “to read” list and requested this preview of Death’s End, the third and final book.  Based on a quick review, I would definitely recommend that readers begin with The Three-Body Problem since there are many characters and some unique terms in addition to the complexity resulting from the translation from Chinese to English.  What a fun way to experience the thinking of someone from another culture!  Booklist called The Three-Body Problem “a must read” and Kirkus gave it a starred review.