An often compelling historical novel with a vivid, complex heroine.
An evocative, lyrical debut novel that chronicles one woman’s journey from Barbados to America at the dawn of the 20th century.
In 1909, Dellie Standard is at a crossroads. Her mother recently died, and she’s torn between a promise she made to her mother to leave their native Barbados and her loyalty to her younger siblings. At the same time, Pendril, her handsome boyfriend, is planning to go to sea. After Dellie has a horrifying encounter with the master of the sugar estate where the Standards are tenants, she realizes she has to leave “the jewel in His Majesty’s Caribbean crown.” She packs her sewing basket and follows her sister, Lillian, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where she hopes to find work as a seamstress. Once she arrives, however, her road is hardly easy; although Lillian, Lillian’s husband and their old friend Winnie welcome her, Dellie has difficulty finding work, and Lillian’s landlady is hostile to newcomers. Eventually, Dellie finds comfort with other expatriate “Bajans” at the Grand and Majestic Fish Lodge of Barbados, an association aimed at advancing the “aims of education and land ownership.” She also befriends Owen Gibson, a Pullman porter who becomes her ambassador to “the world of the American Negro.” However, Dellie never forgets Pendril, even though she never receives a single letter from him, and she fears that he’s forgotten about her. Carey is a scrupulous researcher and weaves historical events such as the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire into her narrative without ever interrupting the plot. If this poignant novel has a flaw, it’s that Carey packs so many events into its pages that it feels rushed at times. By cutting some scenes that aren’t essential to the narrative, such as the haughty landlady’s attempt to force Dellie to pay for uneaten meals, Carey might have had more room to flesh out other sections. For example, while Lillian and Dellie are at New York Harbor waiting for their sister Maude to arrive, Carey mentions the sun and the harbor wind but doesn’t spend much time describing “the long awaited reunions at the Immigration Station.” If the author used her substantial descriptive talents to add depth to moments such as these, readers might have felt even more connected to Dellie’s world.
An often compelling historical novel with a vivid, complex heroine.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 318
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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