At the Sign of the Star and A True and Faithful Narrative by Katherine Sturtevant

I could have sworn I had already reviewed these two... but apparently not...

Since A True and Faithful Narrative was a cybils nominee, and I can be a little bit anal about series, I just had to read At the Sign of the Star first.

At the Sign of the Star

In At the Sign of the Star, we meet Meg, the only daughter of a widowed bookseller in Restoration London. She spends most of her time in his bookstore, helping him -- but then he remarries, and his new bride has different ideas for the proper upbringing of a young girl.

To me, this novel seemed almost like an extended prologue for A True and Faithful Narrative, introducing us to the characters, setting, and time period. But it is a very sweet little novel (only about a hundred pages) -- and an enjoyable read. (Also, of note -- while this is shelved as YA -- it would be completely appropriate for middle grade readers -- though the sequel is more challenging)

A True and Faithful Narrative

In A True and Faithful Narrative, we find our heroine, Meg, three years older, and now with several younger brothers and sisters -- not to mention two different suitors.

When Edward (her best friend's older brother) comes to tell her that he is leaving for Italy (and to hint that he might be interested in marrying her when he returns), Meg flippantly tells her that he should get captured by pirates so that he'll have stories to tell her when he comes home. But when her words come true, Meg feels horribly guilty and works tirelessly to get the ransom money to bring him home.

Edward does finally return home, but he is a changed man, having experienced so much, and he asks Meg to write his story for him.

This is a fantastic work of historical fiction -- I knew very little about this time period -- but Sturtevant has described it in such wonderful detail and really brought it to life, as good historical fiction should do.

And I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel!