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FRANKIE by J. Sydney Jones

FRANKIE

By

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 1997
Publisher: Lodestar

A novel set against the backdrop of a 1913 Colorado coal miners' strike--it culminated in a massacre that left 15 women and children dead. A mysterious street child, Frankie, is full of inflated stories about her origins, but Luke, 13, can tell she's hiding something: One of her tales repeats verbatim the plot of a play he saw the year before. Luke's sister Beth is jealous of Frankie and plots to get rid of her. Luke is torn--he doesn't trust Frankie but he's also in love with her. They both become involved in the strike, and as the details of Frankie's past emerge, Luke learns some hard lessons about judgment and acceptance. The unique, expertly evoked setting and complex interplay of feelings make for an intriguing story. The narration wavers--Jones often lapses into adult tones and perspectives and some details of plotting and history are pasted on rather than woven in. When these signs of the author's hand at work recede, readers will be drawn to the mysteries of the book in the same way that Luke is drawn to Frankie.