Tombstone Tea by Joanne Dahme

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Urban Fantasy; Ghosts

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: In order to fit in at her new school, Jessie accepts a dare to spend one night in a local cemetery. Once inside the heavy iron entrance gate, Jessie encounters a handsome young boy named Paul. He tells her she is just in time to watch the rehearsal of Tombstone Tea, a memorial for those buried in the cemetery in which actors impersonate the deceased. But Jessie notices that there is something strange about these actors – something deadly.

In this story we have Jessie who has just moved to town and has the hard task of fitting in. While she is staying the cemetery and encounters Paul she experiences strange encounters. Needless to say she freaks out. But over time she learns more about herself as well as the town. This story is one of those ghost stories that is about helping the community not just one soul. It is a little darker than some ghost stories, so there is some suspense. I found that it quite enjoyable. I really do like Joanne Dahme’s writing style. And in this book we see her changing perspectives throughout the book. 

Publisher: Running Press Teen

ISBN: 0762437189

Pages: 224

Series:

Volume: 

The Plague by Joanne Dahme

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Historical Fiction; 1300’s

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Fifteen year-old Nell’s uncanny resemblance, to King Edward the Third’s daughter Princess Joan, brings the orphan and her brother George from the murky streets of fourteenth century London to a grand calling – a means of protection for the Royal Family by acting as a body double in times of danger. But as the plague that claimed the lives of Nell’s parents continues to ravish England and France, and eventually takes Princess Joan herself, Nell is forced by Joan’s brother, the Black Prince, to take on the princess’s identity for real. Nell must carry out a plan to expand the empire by marrying the Prince of Castile. Knowing she could never permanently play the role of the Princess, Nell is determined to return to England and report the truth of the Princess’s death to the King. With the help of a number of surprising characters – including a Spanish minstrel, a monk, a gravedigger, a band of merchants – and most devotedly by her brother and the young soldier Henry, Nell must escape not only the Black Prince and his army of rats, but the plague as well…

I haven’t read many historical novels. I got this book while I was at the Book Expo America. I couldn’t help but be curious about it having read the back cover. I thought that the character Henry was a brilliant one as he is seen at the beginning as a small youth and then we meet him again as a young man. Nell I found to feel as though she was week and yet she was able to stand up and protect those that she loved. She even tried to help those who where dieing of the plague. I really liked this story.

Publisher: Running Press Teens

ISBN: 0762433442

Pages: 272

Series:

Volume: