Steve Sheinkin

I wasn't looking forward to yet another book about the American Revolution, but this one was really fun. Little tidbits---like what John Hancock ordered for lunch and what he actually had---make the people of that time more vivid. The historic park around Concord and Lexington was one of my favorite places to visit and walk with my kids, and this book made me miss eastern Massachusetts just a little bit (that and the state's good contact tracing).

I’ve read and really liked other books by Ruta Sepetys but had never read a book by Steve Sheinkin. The two together are genius.

I was not expecting the humor in this one. There was a lot of it and I enjoyed it immensely. I also enjoyed the parts that were poignant.

I was immediately hooked on this one because Lizzie is such a special, memorable character. I’m also interested in that time period (WWII) and place (England) and subject matter (young people on their own without parents, code show more breaking.)

A lot of lines cracked me up including “Willa is American. From a posh place called Cleveland.” I’m not sure that readers in England will get that this is amusing, and a little further into the book: “… in the cultural capital of Cleveland.“ Yes, the grandmother (not Willa) that lives there is wealthy, but even so.

It is everything about Lizzie though that had me smiling and still has me smiling. Lizzie is a hoot. I love her. She has joined my short list as one of my favorite literary characters.

I also like Lizzie’s brother Jacob and all of the other many characters.

I enjoyed how the various relationships were written because they seemed authentic and believable.

There is a mystery about their mother and it’s very well done. There are a lot of twists and turns with that storyline and also with the storyline of the ill-fated attempt to get Lizzie to Cleveland.

I almost put this on my 6 star books shelf because I couldn’t find many flaws in this story but I’ll have to see if this story and its characters stay with me as I think they might before I do that. Hilarious!

I listened to the audio as I read the book. I recommend doing the same. Even for readers who normally never read audiobooks, I recommend at least listening to at least a sample of this book. I think that the dual voice narration (Jacob and Lizzie) is brilliant and it added even more to showing Lizzie’s character in particular.

This was a fun read and it has left me with a bit of a book hangover. Highly recommended for 9-13 year old readers and for family reading and for teachers/classroom reading. Also recommended to almost all of my adult friends who can enjoy children’s books.

It’s the best kind of historical fiction. I like how real events are incorporated (Bletchley Park, the first day of the Blitz, London’s preparations at the eve of the war, etc.) I greatly appreciated how at the end of the book both authors revealed what parts of the story were true and which were fictionalized and also which characters were real people and how true to history they were portrayed.

ETA: The included vintage photos were a good addition to the book. show less

“The Port Chicago 50” by Steve Sheinkin provides a valuable tool in engaging young readers in the fraught racial past of the United States. With clarity, consistency, and directness, Sheinkin retells the story of 50 sailors who, after being traumatized by a horrific explosion which led to the death of more than 300 of their shipmates, decided not to follow orders to return to their dangerous job of loading ammunition. The men who refused where all black, and in fact all of the sailors show more who handled the dangerous cargo in unsafe conditions were black as well. The story told is one of racial injustice, but also of perseverance and conviction and the foundations of the American Civil Rights movement. The book itself is written in a narrative style which keeps the reader engaged and does not get bogged down by unnecessary details. As a tool for teachers, it offers so many different ideas which could be discussed in class, from the importance of character and determination to the wrongs so brazenly and even legally committed on the black people of this country. And the author makes appoint to pull the reader in, to make them consider what they would do. “Think about that. Robinson felt he had to prove himself in combat in order to “win” the rights already guaranteed to all citizens in the United States of America.” Sheinkin also paints a clear picture of the extent of prejudice in this country. In one harrowing account, a black sailor recounts how, in a restaurant in the south at which his military convoy had stopped, he was forced to eat in the kitchen standing up, while German prisoners where seated and served alongside the white sailors in the convoy. The epilogue does a great job of tying in the story of the Port Chicago 50 with the beginning of the civil rights movement in America, and the entire book is full of adventure, suspense, and even the superhero-like appearance at trial of Thurgood Marshall. The layout was easy to read and the use of illustrations was helpful, although a number of photographs were heavily pixilated. Nonetheless, it was an exciting, enjoyable, engaging read. What a great book to use in teaching the history of race in the United States. show less

Bomb does a good job taking us through the progression of science, and scientists that came to understand nuclear fission during WWII. the book also takes the tack of a fun (albeit somewhat simplified) discussion of the spies and double-agents wrapped up in the building of the bomb. What the book does expertly is bring it all home in the end to really make you think about what the massive weaponization of countries has wrought us, and where we really stand. "In the end, this is a difficult show more story to sum up. The making of the atomic bomb is one of history's most amazing examples of teamwork and genius and poise under pressure. But it's also the story of how humans created a weapon capable of wiping our species off the planet. It's a story with no end in sight. And like it or not, you're in it." -Steve Sheinkin show less