Elijah of Buxton

I had wanted to read Elijah of Buxton, or any Christopher Paul Curtis book, for so long. The author's name came up over and over again in different classes and his books have been enticing me on my classroom library shelves for a while. Yet, like so many other fabulous books waiting to be read on my TBR list, I had not read any of his books yet.

I was glad to see Elijah of Buxton available at my university library as an audio book. I am starting to notice a trend of thoroughly enjoying the voices in the audio books that I have been able to listen to this summer. Mirron Willis really brought this book to life. I loved how Christopher Paul Curtis was able to present his historical fiction, a genre that I always love.

He told the story of Buxton, a settlement in Canada for escaped and freed slaves. Elijah, the first boy to be born free in the settlement holds a special role in the community, but his mom also brings up often that he is a fragile boy. This is a key part of the book as Elijah encounters various situations in the book in which he needs to be anything but "fragile". Mixed in with the serious aspects are funny boy pranks and memorable childhood experiences with friends that had me rolling. I can see why Christopher Paul Curtis has made a name for himself!

A Northern Light

I love historical fiction, as well as mysteries, so listening to Jennifer Donnelly's novel A Northern Light was a perfect way to spend my commute. The book follows Mattie during the last year of high school and the summer after; however, it is not presented in a chronological manner. Instead, it alternates between past and present. As a reader, I was constantly trying to predict what would happen as I learned more information. The glimpses into the present made me realize that the last look into the past was not going to end up being what it seemed at the time, leaving me tossing around different ideas in my mind about just how Mattie would find herself in the events of the current portions of the book. This happened over and over as I learned more information. Just as when a prologue gives a hint of what is to come and is in the back of the reader's mind the whole time, this provided a similar feeling, except in an extended manner.

Set in 1906, Mattie is struggling with her strong desire to graduate and continue her education in contrast to expectations set by her family to stay home. This is especially complicated because her mother has died and she feels a responsibility to take care of her younger sisters. Yet, she has one close friend and an influential teacher encouraging her to follow her dreams.

As if that was not enough to keep Mattie's mind occupied, she also has to navigate through her first romance and the prospect of getting married, as well as sifting through a murder mystery. A real murder inspired this portion of the plot, and Donnelly gives some background about that at the end of the book. One of the things that I missed about some of the other audio books that I have listened to is the omission of some of the background information at the end of books that I always love. I was thrilled that this audio version included the author's commentary.

It looks like Donnelly has some more great novels that I hope to eventually read. So many good books to choose from and less time to read them in with my doctoral studies...