Category: Historical

Apache by Tanya Landman

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

This book is about an Apache young woman who goes astray from the traditions of her tribe and decides to become an Apache warrior to avenge her mother, father and brother Tazhi. However, following the path of a warrior isn’t easy and the hardships along the way are evident in the book. Tanya Landman herself said that “I’ve made no attempt to produce an accurate historical novel.” but having said that the book does seem like it’s quite accurate. There are a lot of characters in the book but the main ones are Siki and Golahka. All the characters in the book are different but there are so many I can’t name them all. This book is not happy, if you are the type of person who cries in books then there will be tears from you over this. I will say that it’s quite a confusing read and sometimes I found that occasionally it was difficult to follow what was going on so this isn’t an easy or quick read, but definitely a good one.

Anyway, there are numerous battle scenes in the book between the Mexicans and the Apache. Where SPOILER: numerous people are killed. But if you’ve read any Sarah J Maas books, I’m sure you can cope. Despite this being a Teen/YA novel, it’s quite a serious book and Tanya Landman ventures towards the older half of the teenage years with this novel. However, I do think that anyone could and should read this and I found it very empowering especially for women and teaches young girls to follow their dreams no matter what. This book would be a great last-minute Christmas present for your friends or family and definitely worth the read. I give this book 9 out of 10 stars and hope you enjoyed my review.

Blurb: Siki is an orphan of the Black Mountain Apache. Her mother was killed by Mexicans three years ago and her father lost in an ambush the winter before that. When Siki witnesses the brutal murder of her little brother Tazhi, she vows to become an Apache warrior and avenge his death.

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Spy for The Queen of Scotts by Theresa Breslin

Blurb: As lady-in-waiting to Mary, Queen of Scots, the beautiful Ginette – known as Jenny – is the young queen’s closest childhood friend. Growing up in the elegant but ruthless French court, surrounded by enemies and traitors – not least the jealous, manipulative Catherine de Medici, and Mary’s own scheming half-brother, James – Jenny has always been fiercely loyal to her mistress. But when she overhears a mysterious whispered plot, closely followed by several unexplained deaths at court, she puts her own life in danger and turns spy for Mary.

Jenny quickly realises not a soul at court can be trusted, and when she and Mary return to their Scottish homeland for Mary to claim her throne, they face even greater peril. Desperate to protect her friend from those who would slit her throat to steal her crown, while battling her feelings for the charismatic nobleman Duncan Alexander, Jenny becomes embroiled in a dangerous web of secrets, betrayals and lies.

Age: 12+

Price: £4.95

I’d heard that this book was really good, so when I saw it in the library, I picked it up and gave it a read, and it was definitely worth it.

This book is all about Mary Queen of Scots life who ruled Scotland from 1542 to 1567 and her made up childhood friend Lady Ginette. This book cleverly mixes history and fiction to create an amazing book about Mary’s tragic life story. This is very much a spy book and has plenty of deceit and lies in it, so if that’s the type of thing that you enjoy then I highly recommend this to you. The only thing I would say is that the author could have put in more details about Mary’s real life rather than making some of it up. And there some parts of the book where nothing was happening and that could have been made much more interesting. However, I really enjoyed this book on the whole and give it an 8 out of 10. Sorry there isn’t much to say about this one as saying anything else would give away the book and I don’t want to ruin it for you. This book is suitable for both genders and hope that those of you in the UK are having a great May half-term! P.S. What books are you reading currently?