Alternative Englands

It seems that a lot of what I have been reading lately deals with alternative realities set in England. Here's a little bit about some of the books:


How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
So you live in NYC, but your father is getting remarried and he ships you off to relatives in the English countryside - just before that country is occupied in a war. Your aunt has been trapped outside the occupied zone. You are alone in an old farmhouse with your cousins, with no adults and no contact with the outside world. You love your cousins, especially one with whom you seem to have a telepathic connection. Then the farmhouse is taken over by the army, and you and your cousins are separated and sent to different towns. You are separated from the home and people you love, living in a war zone. Food is scarce; there is no transportation. This is how Daisy lives now.


The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (vol. 1 of the His Dark Materials Trilogy)
Lyra is growing up with the scholars at Oxford University. But in this England, every person has a daemon who is with him at all times. Each person's daemon is in the shape of an animal that complements the person's personality. Science and magic are studied in combination. Lyra's mysterious uncle gies her a compass that can tell unseen truths. When children begin disappearing, Lyra, her daemon and her compass are in the middle of the struggle to locate and free them.


Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
A blend of magic and romance, set in 19th century England, this book is written as the correspondence between two cousins. In this England, magic is commonplace. Kate is in London for the season, but Cecelia was not allowed to go. This does not prevent her from having her own adventures at home. An evil wizard is trying to steal magical power, and the girls become involved in preventing the plot.


Mortal Engines (Book 1 of the Hungry City Chronicles) by Philip Reeve
In a disfunctional future, cities follow the laws of Municipal Darwinism. The bigger cities, having rebuilt themselves on wheels, move around the hunting ground and devour smaller settlements, enslave their inhabitants and use their resources. London is on the move looking for new cities to devour.


A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Young English ladies in the Victorian era were held to a strict code of conduct. They were expected to behave well, and marry well. Young Gemma Doyle, however, grew up with her family in colonial India. It was only after her mother's mysterious death on Gemma's 16th birthday, that she was sent to England for schooling. But turning 16 had other effects on Gemma as well - she started to have visions, and developed the ability to visit an alternate realm. There seemed to be a young man from India following her. And what was the amulet her mother had pressed into her hand before dying?


Naughts and Crosses by Marjorie Blackman
There is plenty of action in this book, and a tense relationship between the mismatched Sephy and Callum. Why are they mismatched? Sephy is a cross (dark-skinned) and Callum is a naught (light-skinned). Their relationship is forbidden by law. Until 50 years early, the naughts were slaves. The book starts somewhat slowly, with Callum being one of the first naughts to integrate a cross school. The setting was reminiscent of the Little Rock Nine in the US in 1957 - sounded like a retelling, only with the colors reversed. (If you are not familiar with the Little Rock Nine, check here: http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/features_school.html ) The story, and tension, rise quickly after that. Beatings, racial and family issues, a liberation militia and a kidnapping all figure into the story, helping define this society where black and white can't meet.