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
The timeline overlaps the events of the companion novel, but fans of the first won’t feel déjà vu. There’s more of a sense...
One quarter of the “Gang of Five” from The Misfits (2001) tells his own story of coming out and overcoming bullies and prejudice through alphabetical entries in his “alphabiography.”
Joe Bunch aka JoDan aka Scorpio (among other names) works his way from October to March to fulfill his teacher Mr. Daly’s assignment to write about his life from A to Z, including “life lessons” at the end of each entry. Though things do go Joe’s way, the story is nothing but realistic. Howe has created a character that lives and breathes with all of the inconsistencies, fears and longings of your normal average seventh-grade homosexual. Joe still thinks “exchanging saliva” is excruciatingly gross, but he knows he wants to date boys. He thinks Colin is cute and fun to be with, but Joe just can’t “tone down” on command. His family is not surprised when he finally lets them in on his secret with the gentle assistance of his artistic Aunt Pam and his (sometimes overly) helpful best friend Addie.
The timeline overlaps the events of the companion novel, but fans of the first won’t feel déjà vu. There’s more of a sense of spending extra time with a favorite friend. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-689-83957-X
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Ginee Seo/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2005
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains.
Myla and Peter step into the path of a gang when they unite forces to find Peter’s runaway brother, Randall.
As they follow the graffiti tags that Randall has been painting in honor of the boys’ deceased father, they uncover a sinister history involving stolen diamonds, disappearances, and deaths. It started long ago when the boys’ grandmother, a diamond-cutter, partnered with the head of the gang. She was rumored to have hidden his diamonds before her suspicious death, leaving clues to their whereabouts. Now everyone is searching, including Randall. The duo’s collaboration is initially an unwilling one fraught with misunderstandings. Even after Peter and Myla bond over being the only people of color in an otherwise white school (Myla is Indian-American; mixed-race Peter is Indian, African-American, and white), Peter can’t believe the gang is after Myla. But Myla possesses a necklace that holds a clue. Alternating first-person chapters allow peeks into how Myla, Peter, and Randall unravel the story and decipher clues. Savvy readers will put the pieces together, too, although false leads and red herrings are cleverly interwoven. The action stumbles at times, but it takes place against the rich backdrops of gritty New York City and history-laden Dobbs Ferry and is made all the more colorful by references to graffiti art and parkour.
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains. (Mystery. 10-12)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2296-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
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