A tragically flawed premise results in a lamentable waste of excellent writing
More spurious adventures with those crime-solving minxes Ada Byron (Lovelace) and Mary Godwin (Shelley).
They are joined by their sidekicks from series opener The Case of the Missing Moonstone (2015), “Charlie” Dickens and Percy Bysshe “Peebs” Shelley, as well as two new characters, their younger sisters, impish Allegra and prim Jane, respectively. In this frolic, the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency is hired to investigate a young lady’s intended groom. High jinks ensue. As in the previous volume, Stratford plays so fast and loose with historical fact that readers familiar with it will wonder why he bothers. In addition to closing up the 18-year gap between Ada and Mary, he resurrects Allegra from the dead (she died at the age of 5) and erases the fact that Jane was the illegitimate Allegra’s mother. (All of this is revealed in the historical notes at the conclusion.) It’s a shame that Stratford has built his novel on such a heap of lies, as it’s not otherwise a bad book. The mystery itself is no more contrived than many middle-grade whodunits; the character development (independent as most of it is of actual history) is snappy; and at a sentence level, it can be downright lovely: a release of breath “lift[s Ada’s] stray brown bangs in a wave hello to the dust motes in the air.”
A tragically flawed premise results in a lamentable waste of excellent writing . (Historical mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-75444-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Sensitive and tender.
A coming-of-age tale gets to the heart of family dynamics in the face of drastic life changes in the earliest days of the Depression.
Esther’s family moves to a farm in Wisconsin when her father loses his job. She comes to like farm life in spite of the hardships of a house with no electricity, an outhouse instead of a bathroom and lots of chores. But her overwhelming mission is to win her mother’s love by being obedient and helpful, for she believes that her mother doesn’t really love her, as she never hugs or kisses the girl and seems to recoil from any display of affection from her. Esther’s mother sees dangerous omens everywhere: in dreams, in the configuration of the moon and in small daily occurrences. Some of these beliefs cause even more painful difficulties in their relationship, as when she demands that Esther end a friendship when she sees the girl has a mole that is, to her, the mark of angry fairies. Esther is often confused, but she’s able to withstand everything that happens with resilience and a measure of hope. Every episode, whether ordinary or momentous, fills in a bit of the puzzle and leads Esther and readers to a growing understanding and acceptance of the nature of love and home and family ties. It’s a quiet, old-fashioned story; Bean’s black-and-white chapter heads reinforce its cozy, mid-20th-century feel.
Sensitive and tender. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16352-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Poignant, inspiring debut novel of loss, belonging and being true to yourself
After her father’s death, 11-year-old Brenda “Chip” Anderson feels lonely and alienated when she’s transplanted from New York to Mt. Airy, N.C.
A tomboy and “daddy’s girl,” Chip loved hanging out in the woods with her father, but now Mama moves the family to Mt. Airy to live with Grandma, who takes an instant dislike to Chip and focuses on entering Chip’s two sisters in the Miss Dogwood 1977 beauty pageant. As former pageant winners, Grandma and Mama become obsessed with grooming Chip’s sisters for the pageant, leaving her to grieve and adjust on her own. Chip’s father always told her she was “perfect just being” herself, but now she’s confused. When she discovers Miss Vernie’s School of Charm, “free to those who need it,” Chip enrolls, hoping to surprise Mama and Grandma by secretly entering the pageant. Miss Vernie assures her students they will be most beautiful if they are themselves, but Chip learns the hard way by trying to become a “brand-new Brenda.” The quiet, gentle plot progresses slowly, allowing Chip to heal, form new friendships and assimilate Miss Vernie’s unorthodox charm lessons before becoming a “brand-new Chip.”
Poignant, inspiring debut novel of loss, belonging and being true to yourself . (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-220758-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
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