An intriguing introduction to young Louisa May Alcott as a spunky heroine.
Fifteen-year-old Louisa Alcott cares for her family while protecting a fugitive slave, coping with a budding romance and solving a puzzling murder.
Louisa’s philosopher father refuses to earn a living, forcing the Alcotts to live in perpetual penury despite mother Marmee’s endless economizing. In 1846, Marmee temporarily leaves her family in Concord to work in New Hampshire. A hot-tempered, strong-willed “force to be reckoned with,” Louisa would rather be scribbling stories, but Marmee relies on her to keep house for her father and sisters as well as a runaway slave the Alcotts are hiding. When a slave catcher named Finch discovers the Alcotts are ardent abolitionists, he stalks and threatens Louisa. Her distant cousin Fred arrives for a visit with romantic intentions, further complicating Louisa’s life. After Finch is murdered and her father implicated, Louisa’s determined to find the real murderer. Artfully integrated quotes from Little Women and biographical facts transform this fictitious plot into a tantalizing glimpse of the real Louisa May Alcott’s life, including her complex family relationships, unconventional convictions, and famous neighbors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. A summary of this period in Alcott’s life separates fact from fiction.
An intriguing introduction to young Louisa May Alcott as a spunky heroine. (author’s note, further reading) (Historical fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-3357-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
A proper prep school puzzler.
Sixteen-year-old Londoner Jesminder Choudhary is horrified when one of her classmates is killed—especially when she finds out that the murder scene was re-created from one of her writing assignments.
When news breaks of Hugh Henry Van Boren’s death, Jess receives a chilling anonymous text: “Thanks for the inspiration. I couldn’t have killed Hugh without you.” Jess, who’s of Indian descent and a scholarship student at Heybuckle School, knows that she would make an easy scapegoat for the outraged parents of her classmates if they discovered the connection with her story. When it appears that the police are unable to properly investigate the crime, and the Van Borens’ private investigator proves incompetent, Jess and her best friend, Clementine-Tangerine Briggs, take matters into their own hands. Could the killer be Millie Calthrope-Newton-Rose, Hugh’s ex-girlfriend who was furious at him for cheating on her? Could it be someone in Jess’ Gifted and Talented class who had easy access to her murder mystery assignment? Or is there a connection between Hugh and the Regia Club, a secret society that wields immense influence at the school? The book is structured as a retrospective written by Jess, whose reliance on a scholarship heightens her awareness of her wealthier, mostly white, classmates’ privileges and entitlement. She has a sharp sense of humor, which comes through in her sarcastic commentary and well-timed breaking of the fourth wall. The supporting cast includes some queer representation.
A proper prep school puzzler. (Mystery. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781728296906
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
A charming Jewish love story set against the bleak backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition.
In Trujillo, in the Spanish Kingdom of Castile in 1481, Isabel is a Crypto-Jew; she and her family maintain their Jewish faith in secret.
The Inquisition is gaining control, but 16-year-old Isabel, who has a passion for writing poetry, thinks that as New Christians her family is safe. The family converted to Christianity and were baptized in the hope of making their lives easier and more secure. However, like many other Jews in Spain at the time, they privately practice Judaism—attending church on Sundays but conducting Shabbat dinners every Friday night. They think their secret is safe, but the head Inquisitor, Fray Tomás Torquemada, is now targeting conversos for their private Judaizing. When Isabel is betrothed against her will to the powerful and ruthless alguacil, or sheriff, Don Sancho, Isabel’s parents believe that the upcoming marriage will save them from persecution. But when handsome aristocrat Diego warns Isabel that she is in grave danger from the Inquisition and especially from her husband-to-be, Isabel is determined to save her family, herself, and the man she loves—and live an openly Jewish life filled with poetry. This historical romance is a fast-paced, plot-driven tale with feminist main characters whom readers will root for from the very beginning.
A charming Jewish love story set against the bleak backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition. (author’s note, photos, research notes, poetry citations, further reading) (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-63418-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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