The demand for stories about the world of Alexander Hamilton shows no sign of letting up, and this entry ably feeds the need.
The story of Alexander Hamilton’s romance with Eliza Schuyler as seen through the eyes of her younger sister Peggy.
Set during the American Revolution, the tale offers the adventure of war, the family dynamic of sisterhood, and the drama of young love. Peggy Schuyler is a spirited young woman who feels overlooked in her large family as her two older sisters attract attention and suitors. This feeling only grows when George Washington’s aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, seeks her help in his efforts to woo her sister, Eliza. Their home is at the center of information about wartime conflicts in upstate New York and Canada, facilitating many cameos as well as glimpses at exchanges with the Oneida nation. In her relationships with her sisters, Peggy is supportive of the steadfast Eliza and occasionally exasperated by the more worldly Angelica. She carries out an amazing act of courage when British Loyalists storm their home looking for her father. While Elliott was inspired by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, her story is based on independent research, and her afterword is as readable as the novel itself. Like many historical novels for teens, the language is quite modern, and the narrative has a fast pace.
The demand for stories about the world of Alexander Hamilton shows no sign of letting up, and this entry ably feeds the need. (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267130-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A triumphant debut.
Fourteen-year-old Heera knows what fate awaits many girls growing up in Lalten Bazaar, a red-light district in Bihar, India, commonly known as Girls Bazaar.
Her neighborhood is controlled by gang leader Ravi Lala, who uses predatory loans and the support of corrupt police officers to keep families impoverished and force girls into prostitution. As a member of the marginalized Nat caste, Heera knows many obstacles await her. Her cousin Mira Di was auctioned off by her father to a traveling dance company. When a fight with a bully leads to Heera’s expulsion from school, she knows it will only be a matter of time before her father sells her to Ravi Lala. Fortunately, Heera receives help from Rini Di, a women’s rights advocate in charge of a hostel for vulnerable girls, and joins kung fu lessons at the hostel. As Heera’s strength and self-confidence grow, so does her desire to help the girls and women in her community break free, especially when Heera finds out that her best friend will soon be sold and smuggled abroad. Heera’s narration contains vivid sensory descriptions that, along with the Hindi words scattered throughout, bring the setting to life, quickly immersing readers in her world. The depth of the story’s details and its themes of bodily autonomy, community, and women’s empowerment reflect Gupta’s experience as the founder of Apne Aap, an NGO working to end sex trafficking.
A triumphant debut. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781338825091
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod.
Can a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms?
Cass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing “The Sims” so much her parents had to take the game away. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. To be fair, her grades are suffering. And sure, maybe she’s missed a college application deadline. Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great—but she still can’t help comparing her to Rowan, Cass’ online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But Rowan doesn’t want to be a dirty little secret and doesn’t see why Cass can’t be honest about this part of her life. The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass’ estranged mother, narratively unearned.
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-324332-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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