If you can't afford a lavish vacation this summer, here are some books that make you forget where you are by creating a great sense of place. I haven't read all of these, so don't quote me as your travel agent -- they came in response to my call for YA/Kid novels that turn us into armchair travelers with their mastery of setting. Feel free to suggest other titles/authors/places in the comments, and let us know if they're historical, fantasy, or contemporary fiction.
I'm going on a holiday myself and will be back on the Fire Escape 7/28, so in the meantime, leave your suggestions in the comments or send them to mitaliperk@yahoo.com and I'll add them when I get back.
Real Places
- FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE / Melissa Wyatt / rural West Virginia
- BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE / Kate DeCamillo / rural Florida
- WHAT HAPPENED HERE / Tara Altebrando / Las Vegas and Europe
- HEART OF A SHEPHERD / Rosanne Parry / rural Eastern Oregon
- BLOOMABILITY / Sharon Creech / Switzerland
- LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY / Gary D. Schmidt / coastal Maine
- THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY / Kathryn Fitzmaurice / San Juan Capistrano, California
- A NORTHERN LIGHT / Jennifer Donnelly / rural New York
- THE BOOK THIEF / Marcus Zusak / Nazi Germany
- TEN CENTS A DANCE / Christine Fletcher / Chicago
- HATTIE BIG SKY / Kirby Larson / Montana
- HUNGER GAMES / Suzanne Collins
- THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN / Michelle Knudsen
- SAVVY / Ingrid Law
- DREAMHOUSE KINGS / Robert Liparulo
- MORTAL INSTRUMENTS / Cassie Clare (fantasy + NY)
- THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH / Carrie Ryan
- NATION / Terry Pratchett