Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliott

Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc. By David Elliott. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. Historical fiction.

This fascinating novel in verse tells the story of the Maid of Orleans, Joan of Arc. The flame, the sword, and a sewing needle all get their own voices to help tell what happened. Other poems feature each of her parents, the royalty, Saint Michael, and Joan herself, among other voices. Readers may gain a better knowledge of the history and as well as the people of the times. They will certainly have new understandings of the very sad and human nature of Joan's part in history as well as the many different kinds of poems that can be written. Some of the poems such as the arrow are shape poems. It would be interesting to have high schoolers do a readers' theatre with some of the selections. Definitely a good choice in teaching point of view!

"Who can say why some arrive and then depart forgotten while others fashion history?" page 14

Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather

Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather. Alfred E. Knopf, 2017. Young Adult fiction.

It's hard to imagine a novel that can combine both witches in Salem and the Titanic, two of my favorites, but this one does! A typical high school story of girl wants to fit in and find love, but with some magical twists, the book includes a main character who "dreams" of being on the HMS Titanic itself. Set in modern day Salem, Samantha Mather lives with her father, after the mysterious death of her stepmother who was a witch. School chums include some of The Descendants who claim ancestry among the witches of the renowned Salem trials. Samantha has ties to the minister Cotton Mather AND a couple who survived the tragedy of the great ship's sinking. Teens will appreciate the young love, the clique of girls, and the high school scenes amidst the big dance that has a Titanic theme. Interestingly enough, the author herself explains her own family's connections with history in notes at the end.