Katherine Sturtevant

This is a smart book and an example of historical fiction at its finest. Seventeenth century girls do NOT write their own stories. They get married and have children and clean the house. Meg has two suitors, but she cannot escape the notion that she really wants to write her own stories. Her father is a bookseller and Meg helps in the store. She has even, unbeknownst to her father, dabbled with a quill. Can she be married and still stay in the store? When Edward, one of the suitors, asks Meg show more what he should get his sister on his trip, Meg tells him to bring his sister a wedding gift. When Edward places his hands on Meg’s and asks what he should get for her, Meg panics and tells him to get captured by pirates so the bookstore will have a great story to sell. When Edward is indeed captured by pirates and taken prisoner in heathen, Northern Africa, Meg is filled with guilt. Edward eventually returns with a very different perspective. His definition of “heathen” is tempered by a knowledge of what he experienced juxtaposed against what he has been taught in his London home. Edward gives Meg the opportunity to write his story and Meg discovers that she has her own preconceived notions about the world, equally in need of adjustment. Put this book in every middle school library. With a different cover, this one easily goes into high school libraries too. Teachers could use this book as a way to discuss students’ own views about gender roles and ways to see a bigger world filled with many more possibilities. Highly recommended for both middle school and high school libraries and classrooms! show less

Sturtevant, Katherine. (2009). The Brothers Story. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 275 pp. ISBN 978-0-374-30992-3 (Hardcover); $16.99.

In the coldest winter in England’s history, Kit and Christy are desperately scratching to eat, stay warm, and survive. His younger brother, Michael, has already died and his mother has sent him begging. Surviving for Kit may be a bit easier than for his twin brother Christy. Christy is developmentally disabled and we are in Essex in the year of our show more Lord, 1683. Attitudes about disabilities were decidedly different. Kit loves his brother and hates being responsible for him at the same time. Finally Kit decides to abandon his brother and take his chances in London Town. What brings this book into the review spotlight, however, is the fact that emotions about families, especially twins, remain constant. Just how would a young boy feel about abandoning his twin in the 17th century? Younger readers will read this one as a survival story (and don’t be surprised to see readers don coats while reading). Older readers and teachers may be even more impressed with the exceptional attention to the details of the Essex village, including its vernacular. Sturtevant has crafted a book that respects its time but still confronts readers with difficult and important ethical considerations that are still relevant today. This book has easy and obvious ties to history classrooms and is especially well placed in high school and even middle school libraries. show less

Fabulous young adult novel with a strong female character, Meg Moore, who demonstrates the struggle of female writers in colonial times. This book uses its setting cleverly to help readers understand what 17h century England was like as well as the dangers of travel and the "new worlds" that Edward Gosse experiences. Great "love triangle" story, too! I know my high school girls would enjoy this book - the characters are complex and strong in their convictions. I teach colonial American show more literature, but I really think this novel could be a great summer reading choice or even a supplemental book while we study colonial narratives and Puritan female writers like Anne Bradstreet. show less

In this sequel to At the Sign of the Star, we find our heroine Meg at 16 years old and trying to decide if she wants to marry (and if so, who?). Her inheritance has been lost with the birth of her young half-brother, so Meg knows that she'll have the best chance of the life she wants if she marries a bookseller... But then there's also the brother of her best friend. Edward made his interest known before he was to set sail for a business trip. Meg, surprised and not knowing what to say, made show more a joke about him being captured by pirates so she could write his story... Then when Edward really is captured by pirates, Meg feels it's on her head to raise his ransom...

Another great historical novel with great characters. Meg is a totally spunky girl, but the supporting characters are well-developed, too. I'd recommend both Sturtevant's books to the young writers in your life. show less