A passionately written book that bodes well for the author’s future efforts.
In Wade’s debut historical novel, a young man gets caught up in the movement to outlaw slavery in the British Empire, eventually becoming a spy to uncover and report the behavior of slave owners.
In late-18th-century London, Perlman’s father, Mordecai, is a tailor who wants his son to follow the trade and lead an inconspicuous life. But when Lazarus meets the activist Thomas Clarkson, he knows that he’s found a worthy cause—the abolition of the British slave trade. Lazarus volunteers to sail to Barbados and expose the brutality of slave owners. This, he hopes, will put the lie to the propaganda of the planters’ lobby and force Parliament to finally outlaw the buying and selling of human beings. In Barbados, he sets himself up as a tailor and ingratiates himself with the sugar cane plantation owners, the aristocracy of the island. They’re a hatefully brutal bunch—racist, arrogant, entitled, and gratuitously cruel. The slaves, however, are unfailingly kind and helpful to the young idealist. The leader of the planters’ society, Lord Harrington, is especially vicious, raping slave girls and mutilating any other slaves who cross him. Lazarus reports Harrington’s evil deeds to the Anti-Slavery Society, but his cover is blown and he must flee for his life. Wade’s debut novel is remarkably graceful and thoughtful. Not only is this an extended examination of the evils of slavery—Britain abolished the sale of slaves in 1807 and the owning of slaves in 1833—but it’s also a bildungsroman of Lazarus Perlman. At the end, the protagonist is shown to be unsure if he’s done very much good—a humility that speaks well of him, because we, as readers, know that he has. Barely out of his teens, he shows himself to be a formidable fighter for humanity who would have made his father proud. Overall, the book effectively speaks against intolerance and cruelty that persist to the present day.
A passionately written book that bodes well for the author’s future efforts.Pub Date: June 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9856376-0-6
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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