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Find these and other great books at Brace Books and More.
Belle Starr: The Truth Behind the Wild West Legend
By Michael Wallis
If you haven’t already heard, Michael Wallis is a pretty cool guy! Not only is he an award-winning author and historian, he also helped with the creation of the movie Cars AND voiced the Sheriff in the movies!
Wallis recently visited Brace Books to showcase his newest title Belle Starr: The Truth Behind the Wild West Legend.
I knew from the moment I picked this book up that it was going to be so much more than tall tales from days gone by. Wallis puts so much thought and research into his writings that he often finds things that no one has previously reported.
Belle Starr has always been labeled a Wild West rebel. A girl with a mean streak; a bandit, a thief and many other unrighteous things. Many have claimed she robbed stagecoaches and trains, banks and bars. But as Wallis dove into his research, he found a much softer side to Ms. Myra Maibelle Shirley, as she was originally known. Her brother was viciously attacked and killed at the height of the Civil War—a traumatic event from which Belle would never recover. Desperate to avenge her brother, she set out to find the Yankees who took him from her. Further into the story, we learn the only actual crime Belle was convicted of was horse theft. So that leads us to the theory that maybe Ms. Belle Starr wasn’t actually a high-profile criminal, but possibly just a girl who didn’t follow the correct ways of a woman in the late 1800s. Labeled a rebel, an outlaw and cast aside as troublesome, we may never truly know who Belle Starr was, but one thing Michael Wallis is certain of—she would have fit in nicely at the 101 Ranch!
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Reviewed by Tara Anson
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
by Gennifer Choldenko
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman is dedicated to “every kid who carries adult responsibilities on eleven-year-old shoulders.” Hank Hooperman is one of those kids.
The novel opens with the landlord announcing he’ll be evicting them the next day – unless they pay the whole six months’ rent owed – tomorrow. How on Earth is Hank supposed to make that happen? His mom left a week ago and hasn’t come back yet. He’s also been scrounging for food the last week for his little sister, Boo, and himself. Breakfast this morning was half a Popsicle each and the remaining saltines. Seven for Boo and seven for Hank. Mom’s disappeared before, but it wasn’t so complicated when Grandma Mae was still alive. They have no remaining family.
Hank discovers the name and address of Grandma Mae’s best friend, Lou Ann. Using his mom’s bus pass, he takes Boo and himself on a bus ride to see if Lou Ann can help them. It becomes a good news/bad news situation. Lou Ann adores Boo. (Everyone adores Boo.) Hank is another story. Lou Ann doesn’t like teenage boys. Even so, she allows the kids to stay with her for a few days.
Lou Ann arranges for Hank to attend the local school as a guest, where he makes friends and begins to fit in for maybe the first time in his life. Meanwhile, Hank does everything he can think of to be helpful around the house and not annoy Lou Ann, even though it seems like he can’t win, no matter what he does, because Lou Ann expects him to be a screw-up.
Then his mom shows back up and Hank is put in a situation where, no matter what he does, it will be the wrong choice.
This is absolutely the best book I’ve read this year!
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Reviewed by Lorrie Layton
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