The subject’s voice, strength, intelligence, and heart ring out on every page.
Ethel Greenglass’ story has often been told with her husband, Julius Rosenberg, at the forefront; now it’s her turn.
Traitor or spy frequently precedes Ethel Rosenberg’s name in history books. This volume shows that there is much more to this woman who has been vilified for decades. In high school, she was a talented actress with dreams of leaving her Lower East Side tenement. She believed in workers’ rights and, after heading into the workforce, participated in strikes. Ethel found someone who shared her beliefs when she met and fell in love with Julius, an engineering student who joined the Young Communist League while in college. From an early age, she worried about others and questioned inequality and oppression, so communism appealed to her sense of justice: She saw it as a way to support workers, people like her own family, who had struggled for much of their lives. This account follows Julius’ 1950 arrest for espionage, soon followed by her own. It explores the impact on their young sons, the trial, and the public response. Even if readers are already aware of how the story ends, this work, which utilizes a variety of forms of poetry and is enhanced with historic photos, will read like a thriller complete with passion, politics, and family betrayal.
The subject’s voice, strength, intelligence, and heart ring out on every page. (timeline, source notes, bibliography, further information, picture credits) (Verse historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63592-625-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
A brilliant novel with characters that linger long after the screams fade.
A brooding manor house hides more than family secrets in Cañas’ YA debut.
Minerva Treviño is accustomed to hardship—after all, she’s grown up in an impoverished part of the Capital with many siblings, a resentful stepmother, and an abusive father who mines chispa, the mysterious sparks of energy that power the city. A chance to escape appears when Minerva answers an ad for a lady’s maid. Soon, she becomes the sole companion to Encarnación del Valle, an aging socialite with connections to the recently deposed Viceroy’s family. Political unrest has consumed the unnamed Latin American country ever since Valbuenista guerrillas seized power, only for the newly installed president to be assassinated in a coup. Hoping to flee the chaos of the Capital, Minerva and her employer retreat to the family’s remote manor, la Casa de las Gardenias, that lies deep within the mountainous jungle. The looming house fills Minerva with unease. Strange occurrences, hostile servants, and sinister residents convince her that something far darker lurks within its walls. The atmospheric worldbuilding and steadily mounting tension create a delicious genre-blended mix of gothic horror, historical fantasy, and anti-colonial fiction. The complex characters and a propulsive plot will keep readers riveted through the feverish climax. Minerva, who is “mixed-blood” with Indigenous ancestry, is a compelling and relatable teen hero who struggles with self-confidence.
A brilliant novel with characters that linger long after the screams fade. (Paranormal. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780593620410
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage.
Adrian, the youngest of the Montague siblings, sails into tumultuous waters in search of answers about himself, the sudden death of his mother, and her mysterious, cracked spyglass.
On the summer solstice less than a year ago, Caroline Montague fell off a cliff in Aberdeen into the sea. When the Scottish hostel where she was staying sends a box of her left-behind belongings to London, Adrian—an anxious, White nobleman on the cusp of joining Parliament—discovers one of his mother’s most treasured possessions, an antique spyglass. She acquired it when she was the sole survivor of a shipwreck many years earlier. His mother always carried that spyglass with her, but on the day of her death, she had left it behind in her room. Although he never knew its full significance, Adrian is haunted by new questions and is certain the spyglass will lead him to the truth. Once again, Lee crafts an absorbing adventure with dangerous stakes, dynamic character growth, sharp social and political commentary, and a storm of emotion. Inseparable from his external search for answers about his mother, Adrian seeks a solution for himself, an end to his struggle with mental illness—a journey handled with hopeful, gentle honesty that validates the experiences of both good and bad days. Characters from the first two books play significant secondary roles, and the resolution ties up their loose ends. Humorous antics provide a well-measured balance with the heavier themes.
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291601-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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