Less about the Civil War and more about the plight of slaves and the societal constraints placed on women, this is an eventful family saga. On her 14th birthday, Evvy, the oldest of five sisters, must begin the life of a woman. She learns that she will be stifled by more than her corset. Evvy’s family owns a profitable plantation that includes a reputable academy for boys and a smaller school for girls. As the probability of war increases, the precarious balance of running the plantation is upset by the death of Evvy’s youngest sister, leaving their mother almost senseless with grief. Meanwhile, Evvy uncovers the secrets of both her family’s involvement in the Underground Railroad and that to keep the plantation, her father must sire a son. When the war begins and her father goes off to fight, Evvy takes on the massive burden of running both the house and school. She also finds herself forced to make a desperate (and astonishing) decision to save all that she loves and values. The plot is bulging with issues but bolstered by intriguing little details about daily life, from how a woman hid perspiration to the making of soap. In her debut, Brenaman, drawing on some of her own family history and thorough research, writes an insightful story full of surprises. She palpably illustrates the confined life of women, bound by law and cultural norms to her father and husband when her only assets are her charms and if she’s lucky, like Evvy, her cunning. (afterword, sources) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23713-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2002
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
It’s 1949, and 13-year-old Francine Green lives in “the land of ‘Sit down, Francine’ and ‘Be quiet, Francine’ ” at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles. When she meets Sophie Bowman and her father, she’s encouraged to think about issues in the news: the atomic bomb, peace, communism and blacklisting. This is not a story about the McCarthy era so much as one about how one girl—who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture—learns to speak up for herself. Cushman offers a fine sense of the times with such cultural references as President Truman, Hopalong Cassidy, Montgomery Clift, Lucky Strike, “duck and cover” and the Iron Curtain. The dialogue is sharp, carrying a good part of this story of friends and foes, guilt and courage—a story that ought to send readers off to find out more about McCarthy, his witch-hunt and the First Amendment. Though not a happily-ever-after tale, it dramatizes how one person can stand up to unfairness, be it in front of Senate hearings or in the classroom. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50455-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
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