An engaging though somewhat anachronistic glimpse into the life and mind of a talented young woman sidelined in the annals...
On their grand tour of Europe, esteemed 12-year-old musician Nannerl Mozart begins to challenge the social limitations that exclude her from the professional opportunities her younger brother, Wolfi, enjoys.
Told from Nannerl’s youthful third-person-limited perspective supplemented by fictionalized diary entries and letters, the novel speculates on the inner life of Mozart’s older sister, a skilled performer in her own right. Readers are swept into the politics and bustle of Europe’s 18th-century music scene as the Mozart family travels from one performance for nobility to the next. Despite her affection for Wolfi, Nannerl can’t help resenting the attention he receives from adults, especially after she shows a renowned composer the symphony she has written and he laughs in her face. While the author’s note reveals several instances that differ from historical records, the novel truly shines in its descriptions of Nannerl playing and composing music, moments when the voice transcends its generic tone: She envisions herself traveling through arrangements of notes as though they were landscapes or painting the notes into the air colored by her emotions and memories. Originally published in 1996 as The Secret Wish of Nannerl Mozart, the book has a dated feel in the way it addresses gender stereotypes and dynamics, even within its historical setting. Characters are assumed white.
An engaging though somewhat anachronistic glimpse into the life and mind of a talented young woman sidelined in the annals of history. (chronology, glossary, works cited) (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77260-089-6
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Second Story Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A journey of wartime survival parallels the strength Sora needs to fight for her own dreams.
Sora is 12 when she and her younger brother trek hundreds of miles to safety during the Korean War.
In the summer of 1950, the 38th parallel is closing, separating North and South Korea. Those caught in the northern part of the country will live under a Communist regime, full of harsh regulations, limited freedoms, and indoctrination. The novel, told in three parts, begins as the Pak family finally decides to escape to Busan, a city on the ocean at the southern tip of the peninsula—370 miles away. Almost immediately, Sora and 8-year-old Youngsoo are separated from their parents. Basing her story in part on her mother’s own experiences in North Korea, debut author Lee paints this gripping and emotional midwinter escape with the eye of a wartime journalist and the determined heart of a young girl. As Youngsoo weakens from hunger and sickness, Sora carries him for the rest of their journey, across frozen rivers and through dangerous cities, past the front line. Flashbacks to her family’s experiences during the Japanese occupation of Korea provide Sora strength and comfort and provide additional context for readers. Sora struggles against the Korean cultural norms of male supremacy, the low status of girls clear from her mother’s constant verbal abuse. Still, she rises.
A journey of wartime survival parallels the strength Sora needs to fight for her own dreams. (author’s note, photographs, glossary, maps, timeline) (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4494-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A sensitive, moving debut.
When 11-year-old Eric Harper begins caring for an injured unicorn, his life is changed by the choices he makes, the relationships he forms, and the secrets he uncovers.
Eric lives with his family on land that has belonged to Harpers for generations and shares a special bond with his grandmother. One day, Eric spies what he thinks is a white deer but quickly realizes is a white unicorn. Filled with the “most amazing feeling of comfort and happiness and excitement,” Eric follows the lame unicorn to the farmhouse his ailing grandmother recently sold to Dr. Brancusi, a veterinarian, and her daughter, Allegra. (All three characters appear to be white.) Dr. Brancusi senses Eric’s concern and asks him to help her treat the unicorn. Discovering the unicorn is pregnant with twins, Dr. Brancusi warns Eric they must keep her hidden until the babies are born and hires him to assist. Eric’s affinity to the unicorn deepens, and when she’s threatened and runs away, he frantically searches. In the end, although Eric experiences loss, he gains a special family connection. Despite the presence of supernatural creatures, Eric’s quiet, genuine, first-person voice tells a realistic story of family love and discovering one’s true self, the presence of the unicorn and other magical creatures adding just a touch of whimsy to a story about very real emotions, revealed in Green’s black-and-white illustrations.
A sensitive, moving debut. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-76112-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
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