A first-time read for me.
Must admit that I fell in love with the house before I fell in love with Katie John. I found some of her adventures rather annoying, but then there would be this spark of realness that kept me going. However, up until the last chapter, I was pretty sure that I would not be moving on to the sequels. And then, my love of the house took over and I know I'll have to read more, just to find out about the house's new life.

Despite my love of history, I've never been one for sweeping, old-school historical romances. But the Maud connection put it on my to-read list.
Glad the focus was more on the people surrounding Fort Snelling than Fort life itself, and having visited Fort Snelling last summer, I was able to picture the landscape. None of the characters really captured by attention, but something pulled me along.
Definitely not one of the better of the genre--and it really paled in comparison to All This and Heaven Too (I would place both books in the same general genre). There were glimpses of the Maud to come, which I enjoyed, but you could tell this was written early in her career.

Really enjoyed this. Fabulous old house! Old family mystery! Girl who loves to read!
But only 3 stars because I saw all of the plot twists a mile away. Still a delightful read and a reminder of how much I enjoyed ZKS as a kid (now if I can just remember the name of the ZKS book I read over and over. . .)

Loved. Loved. Loved.
Couldn't help but think of Glee as I read this. Just read it.

Here's one of my signs of a great book: I cried at the end (I am a sap when it comes to kids, but books rarely make me cry), but they were happy tears. When brushing my teeth this morning, I started thinking about it again and teared up again.

Will be forcing it into my roommate's hands shortly.

Fascinating preservation story, which is not a bit like many other preservation stories. Well-researched and well written.

I first became familiar with Gilmore's work in college--her Gender and Jim Crow just about changed my life. At the very least, it changed the way I think about history.
Defying Dixie is a much longer, more complicated volume, but well worth the effort. It's the story of how the far left (mainly, Communists) helped get the Civil Rights movement going, long before the "official" civil rights movement. You'll meet some amazing people--I am completely in love with Pauli Murray, and the book is worth reading just for her story.
Much of the story is centered around North Carolina (where Gilmore is originaly from), so from my 2 years studying history in the state, I ran into some familiar names.
This book is not a history for everyone, though I think everyone should read it. These ideas that most of us take with no second thoughts were once completely unheard of--this is about those people, black and white, that started to work for these ideals.
Recommended to everyone with an interest in the story of Civil Rights.

Not sure what to add, except. . .
I loved the presence of smart women and that they talked about how it was hard to be smart. I loved the subtle unfolding of all the layers. And I loved that Klages didn't tell us what to think about the Bomb. Have already requested sequel from the library--hope it gets to me before Christmas!

This is a book I should have loved--women's suffrage! strong women! 1920!
It's the story of a young girl who follows her sister--who just happens to be a suffragist in Tennessee, trying to make sure that this last, crucial state ratifies the 19th amendment.
And yet, it was heavy handed beyond belief. Way too many "lucky breaks" The cast of famous historical characters was like a parade.
And every kind of viewpoint was presented in one tidy character. And I could never suspend my disbelief that an 11 year old could travel cross country.
This book probably also suffers since I just finished Green Glass Sea, which presents complex history with amazing subtlety in a completely natural, kid-friendly way. This is not the book to get kids fascinated with women's suffrage.

There is a _lot_ of truly terrible non-fiction for children out there. (Of course, there's a lot of bad non-fiction for adults too. . .) My biggest complaint with most histories--lack of a sense of humor. Fleischman doesn't have this problem.
This book, while definitely not a straight-forward biography of Twain, is going to be much more likely to get kids interested in biography and Twain. It's not fabulous, but is enjoyable and readable. Loved all the illustrations and breezy style. And for someone who's never read a full-length bio of Twain, it certainly left me wanting more.

Pretty sure I read this as a kid. I liked it, but somehow it was missing the funny. They got into plenty of goofy adventures, but it just doesn't have the wit and charm of say, The Great Brain books.