Six Degrees of Separation – from The Horse and His Boy to Ten Little Indians

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month’s starting point is a wildcard, the book with which we finished December’s chain – mine was The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.

Deep Summer by Gwen Bristow, for the #1937Club

Title: Deep Summer
Author: Gwen Bristow
Publication: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., hardcover, 1937
Genre: Historical fiction, late 18th century

Description: Fifteen-year-old Judith Sheramy is traveling by flatboat with her family from Connecticut to Louisiana where they have a royal grant to establish a homestead. When handsome Philip Larne, an adventurer from South Carolina, pulls up alongside on the Mississippi, the inexperienced girl is captivated, although her father and brother Caleb distrust him on sight.

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink, for the #1937Club

Title: Baby Island
Author: Carol Ryrie Brink
Illustrator: Helen Sewell
Publication: Macmillan, hardcover, 1937
Genre: Juvenile fiction

Description: Twelve-year-old Mary Wallace and her younger sister Jean are on their way to Australia from San Francisco to join their father, who has been managing a ranch there for the past two years. Mary and Jean have long been devoted to other people’s babies and entertain themselves by playing with those on the ship.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

Title: A Flicker in the Dark
Author: Stacy Willingham
Publication: Minotaur, hardcover, January 2022
Genre: Suspense
Setting: 21st century Louisiana

Description: Chloe rebuilt her life after the terrible time twenty years ago when her father was revealed to be a serial killer, which destroyed her family and caused her mother to fall apart.

The Freedom Maze (Review)

Title: The Freedom Maze

Author: Delia Sherman

Publication Information: Big Mouth House, hardcover, 2011

Genre: YA Historical Fiction/Time Slip

Plot: Sophie is a gawky 13-year-old in 1960 Louisiana whose parents recently divorced.  Even worse, her father appears to have left the state without saying goodbye. While her mother recovers from being ostracized by friends and tries to improve her job skills, she leaves Sophie to spend the summer at her childhood home on the bayou in all that remains of the Fairchild family’s once-grand sugar plantation.