A cloying fable better suited for a bedtime story.
The fictional tale of a young woman who attains her childhood dream of becoming a queen.
Debut novelist Buckley depicts the imaginary country of Molgravia as one whose citizens value resilience and determination. Nona, the only child of Vlok, an entrepreneurial count, and Henrietta, a somewhat self-absorbed but loving mother, internalizes these ideals from a young age. Raised in comfort, she delights in being cast as queen in her school play. When she tells her parents of her desire to someday become a real queen who has the power to help people, they tell her it’s unlikely since they’re not of royal lineage or of the highest economic class. Nona matures into a beautiful, intelligent young woman who attracts two serious suitors, neither of whom entirely captures her heart. Upon attending a royal wedding in her country’s capital, she meets a charming foreigner, Wolfgang, the king of Gavia—a fact unbeknownst to her until later that weekend. They begin an enduring romance and eventually wed. While Nona wins over the hearts of the Gavian people, she inwardly despairs over her futile attempts to become pregnant. As she sinks deeper into depression, another country attacks Gavia, forcing it to go to war. Nona summons her faith and positivity, and in just a few days, the enemies withdraw and peace returns. Soon after, she becomes pregnant and overflows with optimism: “There is no obstacle on your way you can’t overcome, no situation out of which there might be no solution.” Nona may be cheerful, but her frequent saccharine soliloquies border on self-righteousness and paint her as more of a caricature than a realistic character. The narrative as a whole is rife with moralistic aphorisms yet short on dialogue, plot development and suspense. Copy editing glitches also detract from the writing. Nevertheless, Buckley paints an absorbing account of the cultural norms and seasonal rhythms of life in Nona’s village. Molgravia comes alive in what appears to be Europe of yesteryear, although this seemingly old-fashioned tale occasionally invokes more modern sensibilities through its call for gender equality.
A cloying fable better suited for a bedtime story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0646570853
Page Count: 186
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
© 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.
