In My Mailbox and thoughts about In The Shadow Of The Lamp by Susanne Dunlap

In My Mailbox is feature held by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren, which encourages bloggers to share what new books they have got this week.

This week I got:

Crusade by Linda Press Wolf for review from Bloomsbury, which is being released in January. Thank you Bloomsbury!

Blurb summary:

'When a dazzling handsome boy riding a white charger arrives in Georgette's village, she is spellbound- both by the boy and by the crowd that surrounds him. They are all children. The boy is even more entrancing when he speaks. He sees volunteers to join his Crusade-  a perilous mission from which some may not return.

Georgette has never left her village before, but she knows she will follow the boy.

And so begins a journey filled with terrible danger, sacrifice and true love, a journey which will take all of Georgette's courage to survive.'

The press sheet describes it as 'both thought provoking and powerful it should find a place in every historical fiction fan's library.'

I have had this on my TBR list ever since I saw it featured on a Waiting on Wednesday post and it was a lovely surprise to have it arrive through my mailbox. It sounds so intriguing and is set in a period of history that I have not read much about so I'm looking forward to reading it.

Over the last week I have read finished reading Captivate by Carrie Jones and will be reading the third book in the Need series, Entice soon.

My thoughts about In The Shadow Of The Lamp by Susanne Dunlap

I won an ARC of In The Shadow Of The Lamp by Susanne Dunlap a few weeks ago on her Facebook page and this week I finished reading it. I will post a review nearer the release date in April next year but I want to share some of my thoughts about it now.

Here is the Goodread's description of it:

'It's 1854 and sixteen-year-old Molly would give anything to change her circumstances as a lowly servant in a posh London house. So when she hears of an opportunity to join the nurses who will be traveling with Florence Nightingale to the Crimea, she jumps at the chance. The work is grueling, the hospital conditions deplorable, and Miss Nightingale a demanding teacher. Before long, the plight of British soldiers becomes more than just a mission of mercy as Molly finds that she's falling in love with both a dashing young doctor and a soldier who has joined the army to be near her. But with the battle raging ever nearer, can Molly keep the two men she cares for from harm? A love story to savor, and a fascinating behind-the-scenes imagining of the woman who became known as "the lady with the lamp."

I loved the premise for it as I have studied Florence Nightingale at school and I thought it sounded like it was told from an interesting angle and it turned out that I *loved* it! It was everything a fantastic YA historical fiction novel should be. The protagonist Molly was a character that I instantly warmed to and she was a very strong willed girl with lots of courage to overcome her fears making her very sincere. Her voice was very distinct and really drew me into the story so that I read it at every spare moment I had at school, on the bus, or at home. Susan Dunlap has captured the horrors and hardships of the Crimean war through the eyes of a young girl in words perfectly.  It is one of my favourite books that I have read this year and should definitely be added to your 2011 reading list!