A royally original and captivating debut.
In the tradition of Princess Grace and Princess Diana, Bartlett’s heroine is thrust into the spotlight to lead a life both decadent and tragic.
Isabella Cordage was born a minor player in the royal circles of Bisbania, a small mythical country in Europe. Her candor and ease allow her to become the Prince of Gallagher’s closest female confidant. Though her social status makes her an improbable candidate for queen, Isabella manages to stand out amidst a gaggle of royal sycophants and capture the prince’s heart. Now under the scrutiny of paparazzi, who dub her Princess Izzy, Isabella finds that her life has become fodder for the tabloids. And she has one secret: a friendship with an American mechanic many years before her engagement. While attending Yale, Geoffrey performed weekly maintenance on Isabella’s automobile. During the routine car-bomb inspections, the two developed an easy camaraderie, and he introduced her to the poetic lyrics of Bruce Springsteen (hence the title). The couple managed a brief kiss, redolent with romantic possibility, before Isabella returned home. Now positioned to be queen, she worries about a photograph that may have been snapped of this kiss. In order to keep her past a secret and stave off a pre-wedding press bonanza, Isabella decides to buy Geoffrey’s silence, offering him a position at the castle. Though he would never think of extorting Isabella, the lure of financial security and the glamour afforded by living among royalty bring Geoffrey and his young wife to Bisbania. This sets in motion a course of events that leaves the reader frantically flipping pages to solve the fantastic riddles hidden within. Bartlett’s narrative voice is whimsical without ever being absurd; her only fault is her overly ambitious attempt to pull off one too many devastating revelations: Plane crashes, paternity questions and romantic entanglements are more than enough to keep the plot zooming along.
A royally original and captivating debut.Pub Date: March 23, 2006
ISBN: 0-446-69559-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: 5 Spot/Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
