Theme Spotlight: Fictional Novels Featuring Real People

It's been a while since I have done a theme spotlight so here I am back at it today with fictional novels that feature real people. Many of these have female main characters because I love reading more about the women who have been pushed to the sidelines over the years. I have lots more on my TBR so you can expect a part two in the near future. 

Previous Theme-Spotlights:

Unique Form

Self-Discovery

Family Relationships

Faith and Spirituality in Classics

Gender in Young Adult

Review

McLain is one of my favorite adult historical fiction writers. She tells the story of real women so well. This is her second novel that was released this year and I loved it! I think I liked her debut a bit better but I think that's because it's about the literary world. This one is about Beryl Markham, a female pilot living in colonized Africa. I loved that this followed her from childhood to adulthood and how much of a free-spirit Markham was. This one has a connection with Out of Africa if you are interested in that.  

Review

This is a fictionalized account of Zelda Fitzgerald and her life with F. Scott. I find the Fitzgeralds just as fascinating as the next person so this was a great read. Again, this is one of those books that tells a well-known story from the woman's side. Foweler paints an amazing picture of the Lost Generation's Paris as does the next book on my list. 

This is McLain's debut which focuses on Hadley Hemingway, the first wife of the infamously masculine and jerkish Ernest Hemingway. Before reading this, I was not a fan of Hemingway as a person, I can't deny the quality of his writing but I don't like anything about him personally. This book did not change my mind but instead showed me the strength and class of his first wife. This book features a lot of 20's Paris literary and artistic legends and I was absolutely sucked in. In fact, it may be time for a reread. 

Another favorite from before blogging, this series contains Oscar Wilde as the solver of murders along with his circle of literary figures including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker. I love this series and how well Brandreth has captured Wilde's character. Another series I am hoping to revisit soon. 

Bonus: Inspired by a real woman

Review

More information about the inspiration for the book

This one is inspired by a true story and a real woman, but the characters did not exist. I had to add this one because it's a great female lead historical fiction novel that will make you feel every single emotion at once. 

Leave me your recommendations for fictional books about real people in the comments!

Recently Read: Places No One Knows

Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Genre: Young Adult/ Magical Realism
Publication Date: 2016
Page Count: 384
Rating: 4/5

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On the surface Waverly is perfect. Best friend to the alpha female at school, track star, and wielding an extra-curricular list a mile-long. But at night, she doesn't sleep; she runs. Until one night she runs through her dreams to the house of Marshall the mysterious burn-out. Waverly continues to visit Marshall when she dreams and the two build a relationship, but can they bring their relationship into the day?

I've been on a pretty big magical realism kick lately and when I saw Maggie Stiefvater recommend this one on Goodreads, I immediately requested it from my library. I was really interested in the dream element of this novel, and I thought it was done super well.

This novel's strongest feature is the characters. Waverly is a sociopath. She's a genius, and a robot. She suffers from insomnia and presents a fake version of herself to others all day. Marshall is loveable and troubled. His character isn't as strong as Waverly because she is just so much more interesting than him, but he is fully developed and likeable in the way that burn-out-boys-who-are-having-trouble-at-home always are.

I thought the magical realism element was really well done and blended seamlessly with the contemporary story-line. The dynamic between characters was really interesting and hearing Waverly narrate her high school experience was interesting because of her personality. I thought this novel touched on some really great themes and I really liked how the topic of outgrowing friendships and faking it to fit in was addressed as it wasn't too dramatic. I also liked the the magical realism element was turned into a relatable situation; Waverly and Marshall's connection and relationship exists when they are alone but not when they are with other people. I would have liked to see a few of the side characters explored a bit more, particularly Autumn because she was so interesting to me.  

Also, this book has my new all-time-favorite and most-relatable quote of life:

"I've spent my life wishing gay dead men could be my boyfriend."

(cough, cough Oscar Wilde, Lord Byron, James Dean etc. etc.)

This is the first work of Yovanoff''s I have read, but I am interested to read more as I have heard her other works are quite dark. As always, leave me recommendations for magical realism in the comments as well as which Yovanoff book I should read next!  

TBR Spotlight: Books About Art

I have been watching a series on Netflix called Raiders of the Lost Art which is a T.V. show about lost and stolen art and how it has been recovered. I have always been interested in art history and took an art history class a few years ago in college and loved it. Watching the show has reawakened my interest in the art world and art history so I have been itching to pick up the books on my TBR that involve art or the art world. Here's a few on my list! Also recommend you check out the T.V. show. 

The painting on the front of this one was actually just mentioned in an episode I watched about The Girl with the Pearl Earring as the book cover has drawn interest to the painting in a similar way that the book with the same title drew attention to Vermeer's painting. I have of course heard nothing but praise for Tart so I really need to get to her. 

I've heard good things about this one which was nominated for the Bailey's Prize and the art world element really intrigues me.  

I haven't read anything by Smith yet, but I have heard nothing but great reviews of her works. This one tells two stories, one of which is a story about a Renaissance artist.  

This is a nonfiction work about the team that recovered stolen and seized art after WWII. I have been fascinated with the saga of stolen art taken by Hitler and his officers during the War and would love to read more about it and the team that recovered these priceless works of art.  

What's your favorite novel that revolves around art of the art world? 

Recently Read: The Serpent King

Author: Jeff Zentner
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publication Date: 2016
Page Count: 384
Rating: 4/5

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Dill lives in small-town, religious America. His father is a Pentecostal minister of a church that deals in dangerous trusts with God, well he was until he was arrested. Now Dill is feeling stuck in his life and town, trying to make ends meet with his mom and shouldering guilt for his father's actions. The two bright spots in his life are his best friends Travis and Lydia. The three teens battle to both accept and escape their small town as they graduate from high school,

I had heard a lot of good things about this book but didn't really know what it was about when I picked it up so I was pleasantly surprised with the themes that it dealt with. I loved the theme of the small-town struggle and how religion was dealt with in this novel. I haven't read a lot of YA novels that deal with questioning and accepting religion the way this one does. I come from a small rural town myself and know the large part religion plays in the lives of many that live this way. The religion in this novel is intense, bordering on a cult, and it's hold is a vital part of Dill and his character development. I am not religious myself, but I found this element of the novel really fascinating and it felt very authentic.

I loved Travis; he was unashamedly himself at all times, which I admired very much. He is fiercely loyal and adds great contrast to Dill. Lydia, I had some issues with. To me, she almost felt a little too typical teenage-girl-in-a-YA-novel but at times she had moments of growth and development that I appreciated. Dill was a great character, he was real and complicated and deserving of sympathy; he made real and important growth. 

This book did a great job of honestly portraying the struggle that many kids from small towns face when trying to move on to better and bigger things. I really felt for Dill and was happy for the progress he made in this novel; I thought this was a great and unique coming of age novel that dealt with issues beyond the typical YA issues that were still very much real. I'm not the biggest fan of contemporaries, but I really enjoyed this and flew threw it in two days. I would recommend picking this one up if you are a contemporary buff looking for something a little different, or if you aren't a fan of the typical contemporary. I'm very interested to see what Zentner will do in the future. 

End of the Summer (Hopeful) TBR

AH! August is the beginning of the end for summer vacation. At the end of August I start my last semester of classes before student teaching, which means my reading time for the next year (or really the rest of my life) will be limited. So here's a quick list of books that I want to squeeze in before the end of the summer in between finishing my online class and studying for certification tests (big sad/stressed face.)

 

Trying to knock a couple of books off on my Classics Club Women's Lit event TBR with these two. I haven't made a lot of progress with this list this year as last semester was so much busier than I expected, but I want to keep going and carry over whatever I don't get done to next year. George Elliot's essay Silly Novels by Lady Novelists caught my attention when I came across it while writing a paper on the Domestic Novel for a lit class last fall and Elizabeth Bowen is an author I really think I'm going to like.

 

I still haven't gotten to this much beloved sequel, A Court of Mist and Fury, because I forgot pretty much everything about book one. I think this will be a great book to end the summer with (after I find a recap of the first book) as it's a fun series with a kick-butt female and some sexy times. I've heard over-and-over that this is way better than book one. Bone Gap won the Printz award recently and is magical realism. That's really all I need to hear to want to pick it up.

What are you trying to squeeze in before the end of the summer?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books at the Top of My Wishlist

Books are always at the top of my wishlist so the hardest part about this week's topic was narrowing it down to just ten! Let me know which ones I should buy right this very second! You can add me on Goodreads to see the rest of the books on my wishlist. 

Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish 

Book Titles Link to Goodreads! 

1. So Sad Today, Melissa Broder

I don't have a lot of experience with modern essays, but this collection has caught my eye! I love the Twitter account, so I would love to experience Broder's writing in full. 

2. Out of Africa, Isak Dinesen 

I have been wanting to pick this one up ever since reading McLain's newest novel Circling the Sun which features the author (Karen Blixen) and Beryl Markham (who has her own character in this novel and is the main character in McLain's novel). 

3. Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susana Clarke
I have heard great things about this one, and almost picked it up the other day, but it's so huge I know I won't be getting to it anytime soon! I really want to read it and watch the mini-series soon though!

4. Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and her Daughter Mary Shelley, Charlotte Gordon 
Another chunker of a novel I've had in my hands many times in the bookstore; this one is right up my alley. I spent a lot of time with Shelley and her masterpiece Frankenstein last semester and I find her and her mother fascinating women much before their time. I will pick this one up soon!

5. Wonder Woman the New 52 Vol 1-4
I've read vol. 1-3 and really enjoyed them and picked up vol. 5 and 6 from Bookoutlet so I would like to collect the series so I can reread and continue to read them. Why must graphic novels be so expensive??

6. Cat Woman the New 52 Vol 1-2
Same story here. I have vol 3 from Bookoutlet but need 1 and 2 since I haven't started this series yet.

 

7. Their Fractured Light, Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner
I really liked These Broken Stars and bought the second book but haven't read it yet. I need to get the third one in hardcover to match my other two because they are just too pretty. 

8. Air Awakens, Elise Kova 
This series looks like a lot of fun. I love a kick-ass female lead and I think this series will deliver. 

9. And I Darken, Kirsten White
I've heard lots of good things about this one, and I love the idea of gender-bet historical retellings. Plus see love for kick-ass female leads mentioned above.

10. Recollections of My Life as a Woman: The New York Years, Diane di Prima 
I read di Prima's fake memoir Memoirs of a Beatnik (the content was influenced by male editors as di Prima needed the money) and was so interested to hear the real story of this female Beat poet that I immediately put her real memoir on my wishlist. The Beat scene was dominated by men and masculinity so I would love to hear how di Prima forged herself a path in the scene.

Let me know which of these I should buy first! What's on your wishlist? Let me know so I can add it to my ever-growing wishlist!

Double Review: Chopsticks and Texts From Jane Eyre

Author: Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
Genre: Graphic Novel/ Visual Art
Publication Date: 2012
Page Count: 272
Rating: 3/5

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This is the story of Glory, a young piano prodigy still mourning the loss of her mother, told in images and mementos. There is a minimal amount of words in this novel, as the photographs are what tells this story. 

I found this to be really unique and interesting. I found the story-line easy to follow despite the lack of words and loved the photographs. I also loved the way this novel seemed to be straight forward and then suddenly turned into more. The exact plot and happenings of the novel are really left up to the reader to decide and I thought that was really neat. I would love to give this book to students in my future classroom who do not think they like reading or are reluctant readers because it requires a lot of critical thinking with a minimal amount of text reading. 

This book is a testament to story-telling and was a quick and enjoyable read. It wasn't mind-blowing, but I enjoyed it and it did surprise me. I recommend picking this up if you are in the mood for something a little different.     

Author: Mallory Ortberg
Genre: Literary Humor
Publication Date: 2014
Page Count: 226
Rating: 3/5

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This book is a collection of text conversations had by famous literary characters. It includes everything from ancient Greek plays to The Great Gatsby, Harry Potter, and Nancy Drew. 

I thought this book was clever and entertaining. If you study literature or have read a lot of classics, this will be a fun read for you. The sections on Emily Dickinson and Wuthering Heights were my favorites and made me chuckle. I am always down for books that poke fun at great literature or literary figures. 

Even though I hadn't read every book mentioned in this novel, I was still able to get the jokes because they were novels I knew quite a bit about. I did skip a few that I had never heard of, or hadn't yet read and didn't wish to get spoiled on because I knew I planned to read them soon, but I would say that only added up to about ten pages of the book. I felt I was able to get the jokes on almost all the novels and figures and enjoyed all the conversations from the Romantic poets as I just spent weeks studying them last semester. 

This was a lot of fun, but I'm glad I borrowed it from the library as it took me about forty minutes to read through and the cost of the hardcover is $23. Next I want to get my hands on Kate Beaton's works, but leave me recommendations for similar works and authors in the comments please!