Allison's Book Bag

Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop from Pen to Paper that invites ones to post about one book per week that has been on their wishlist for some time, or just added, and that you can’t wait to get off the wishlist and onto your wonderful shelves. 

If you read Kathryn Erskine’s biography on Wikipedia, you’ll discover that she was born in the Netherlands but has lived pretty much all over the world. Before turning to her first love of writing, she worked as a lawyer. She won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for her novel, Mockingbird. Her family, which includes two children and pets, lives in Virginia.

Dig deeper and you’ll find that one of the places she lived in Newfoundland. Although the name might not mean anything to you, it means everything to me because it’s my own province. Pretty much any interview you read with her will reveal that she considers herself a “recovering lawyer.” A pivotal moment in her career choices happened when Kathryn Erskine’s mom died, inspiring Erskine to start working on her dreams. Penguin quotes her as “realizing that she’d rather write things that people might actually enjoy reading.” She has won multiple awards for her five books, the latest book entry being Seeing Red, which I’ll review this weekend.

Having loved her three most recent books, I’m now placing her first two on my Wish List. Ibhubsei the Lion is about racism, just like Seeing Red. The difference is that Seeing Red is set in Virginia in the 1970s, whereas Ibhubsei is set in South Africa. Here is a brief description of it from Erskine’s website:

John learns the language and plight of the Zulu people.  He sees how apartheid destroys a society and how his own father’s racism and fanaticism are destroying the family.  He realizes the behavior is based on fear and that, as Solomon says, “the fear is killing us all.”  But will John face his own fear and stand up to his father?  Can he protect his younger brother and sister and – literally – stand in the line of fire to save Solomon?  Is he brave enough to deserve the nickname Ibhubesi, Lion, and choose his own path … freedom?

Quaking is about fourteen year old Matt who, after years of being batted around, has learned to rely on herself.  Now she has to cope with the Quaker family, who have taken her in and are active against the war in the Middle East. Here is a brief description of it from Erskine’s website:

Why does Jessica insist on acting like a mom, for God’s sake?  Why can’t their little boy with his gack covered fingers just leave her alone?  And why does Sam have to care about her–and everything–so much?  Doesn’t he realize that only gets you hurt?  And even though Matt knows that pain very well, why is she finally letting down her armor and allowing herself to care?

What’s on your wish list?