Alessandro Manzoni
The Betrothed
Original Italian Language Title: I promessi sposi
Manzoni has the gift of vividly describing the innermost motives of his characters and their actions, how they strive towards light and goodness and also descend to the depths of evil, their courage and cowardice, selflessness and selfishness. Bright, exemplary figures and dark, inhuman ones can be found in all classes: among the common people, nobility and also servants of the churches.
In some places the narrator deviates from his main characters over numerous pages and acts as a “history professor,” adding detailed background information on the time: the rampage of the Thirty Years’ War, the famine and how and why the plague spread so easily in Milan.
Among other things, I was impressed by how the tyrannical head of a criminal organization (nowadays we would call them Mafiosi) is so shaken by the nature and behavior of the kidnapped young woman (whose kidnapping he himself ordered) that he turns into a protector of the weak and poor.
And in the case of another girl, it is painful to see how parents use pressure and unfair means to ensure that their young daughter must ‘voluntarily’ decide to go to a cloister in order to become a nun.
Due to the book’s style of writing and how detailed it is, it is more suitable for not-so-young readers. The book has become more topical than ever since the Corona virus began spreading to every country in 2020 and … can affect anyone.
GK
“Manzoni helps us think good thoughts … He has sentiment, but he is devoid of any sentimentality “ (Goethe)
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Dan Gemeinhart
Some Kind of Courage
This gripping tale of a 12-year-old boy in the Wild West moves you from the first page to the last.
Joseph has lost his mother, his father and his sister. The only thing he has left to his name is his Indian pony named Sarah, who is sold out from under him by his “foster father” to an unscrupulous horse dealer.
So, Joseph sets off, determined to go to get his horse back. Along the way he does things that adults, in particular, do not expect. He listens to his inner voice and remembers the advice from his beloved mother and his upstanding father, remembers what they taught him.
He … remembers the advice from his beloved mother and his upstanding father, remembers the examples set in the way they lived.
I was thinking about things we lose, and things we have to hold on to, and things we have to fight to get back.
If it comes to a fight, Joseph fights hard but always fair, even against those who are hostile towards him.
Written in vivid, youth-friendly language that is not at all vulgar, the book includes scenes that will make you laugh, smile, wonder and rejoice, but also ones that will leave you reaching for the tissues.
Highly recommended!
Ages 11 and up.
RK/GK
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Forrest Carter
The Education of Little Tree
A five-year-old Native American boy is brought up by his grandparents after the death of his parents. He not only learns to read and write, but above all he learns to love nature and the things of real value.
Simply written, heart touching. For boys and girls around 12 years of age and up.
RK
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Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Little Princess
In an English boarding school for girls, Sara is treated like a princess because of her wealthy father. But when her father loses his fortune and dies, suddenly everything changes: the orphan is then treated like a slave.
The way Sara deals with the new situation is admirable and definitely worth reading.
It’s a pity I didn’t find this book as a young girl. It would have certainly have been one of my favorite books. But it was all the more rewarding to read it as an adult.
Be sure to read one of the unabridged editions.
RK
A book that gives courage and hope to everyone who reads it, as it is about a girl who, unaffected by wealth and money, follows her own path even in great desperation and under the most adverse circumstances.
Her loving heart, her inner dignity and imagination give her strength and help her to see the light in the darkness, even in the most difficult moments.
This story about the power of love and friendship, which can overcome anything, is thus a literary jewel in children’s and young adult fiction.
ML
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Katherine Scholes
The Boy and the Whale
This book tells the story of a boy named Sam who spots a whale on the beach, which he initially believes to be dead. But then he discovers that the whale is alive and he attempts to help it.
Sam becomes more and more familiar with the whale, builds a screen to protect him from the sun, wets him with sea water and sends his dog off with a message to get help. But then all of Sam’s efforts seem to have been in vain when the two Higgs brothers discover him and the whale; both of them are out to hunt trophies and want the teeth of the living animal.
What I like about the story is seeing how brave Sam is and what incredible strength and courage he uses to save his whale and how he is able to help it after all.
KM
An exciting short story in which the reader can feel the suffering of the whale and the hope, the fear and the desire of the boy to help.
Ages 10 and up
GK
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Jakob Streit
Milon and the Lion
The Greek adolescent Milon is sold as a slave and resold, and has to work for various Roman owners as a porter, a sailor on ships, a shepherd, a house servant.
The reader experiences the Acropolis in Athens, the volcanic eruption with the fall of Pompeii, stormy sailing trips on the Mediterranean, fighting as a gladiator in the arena in front of the Roman emperor.
Milon’s good character, his helpfulness and sincerity, as well as the way in which he meets and helps a lion while shepherding sheep form the twists and turns of his destiny. Milon is able to free himself from slavery on his own.
When he met the first Christians, he is impressed by the exemplary way they live their lives. Little by little the young man realizes that in the teachings of Jesus he can find that which he has unconsciously longed for.
This book is told from the perspective of a peer, so it is very suitable for children and adolescents. The encounters and the relationship between the boy and the lion are described in a particularly impressive and credible manner.
Ages 12 and up.
Pu
A very special book that I can wholeheartedly recommend. Especially at Christmas time. It is told against the historical background of early Christianity.
BPH
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