This complicated and absorbing narrative, set in ancient Athens about 350 b.c.e., is told in the first person by 14-year-old Phano. Her stepmother Nera, once a courtesan, is married to Stephanos her father, but Phrynion, who had Nera once, wants her again. This convoluted dance of desire and possession—and treachery, for Phrynion is an evil man—is seen through Phano’s eyes, even as she herself is married to a man she loves, Theo, and he rises in the Athenian hierarchy to be an archon and basileus, king of the nine archons. Basing her tale on an ancient fragment of a prosecutor’s speech before an Athenian jury, Galloway (Snake Dreamer, 1998, etc.) weaves myriad details into Phano’s story as skillfully as Phano spins wool. The daily activity, food, and drink of Athens, the precarious position of women, even those not slaves, and the political situation of the city with Philip of Macedon threatening it are all a part of the intricate design. Readers will be caught by Phano’s casual attitude toward slavery, as well as her growing understanding of how Nera has used her body and her wiles to keep Phano safe and well. The recounting of sacred Greek feasts and rituals, a key one of which, the anthesteria, holds a pivotal role for Phano as wife of the basileus, is fascinating. Richly rewarding. (Historical fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2002
ISBN: 0-385-72907-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage.
Adrian, the youngest of the Montague siblings, sails into tumultuous waters in search of answers about himself, the sudden death of his mother, and her mysterious, cracked spyglass.
On the summer solstice less than a year ago, Caroline Montague fell off a cliff in Aberdeen into the sea. When the Scottish hostel where she was staying sends a box of her left-behind belongings to London, Adrian—an anxious, White nobleman on the cusp of joining Parliament—discovers one of his mother’s most treasured possessions, an antique spyglass. She acquired it when she was the sole survivor of a shipwreck many years earlier. His mother always carried that spyglass with her, but on the day of her death, she had left it behind in her room. Although he never knew its full significance, Adrian is haunted by new questions and is certain the spyglass will lead him to the truth. Once again, Lee crafts an absorbing adventure with dangerous stakes, dynamic character growth, sharp social and political commentary, and a storm of emotion. Inseparable from his external search for answers about his mother, Adrian seeks a solution for himself, an end to his struggle with mental illness—a journey handled with hopeful, gentle honesty that validates the experiences of both good and bad days. Characters from the first two books play significant secondary roles, and the resolution ties up their loose ends. Humorous antics provide a well-measured balance with the heavier themes.
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291601-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
Beautifully written historical fiction about giddy, queer first love.
Finally, the intersectional, lesbian, historical teen novel so many readers have been waiting for.
Lily Hu has spent all her life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, keeping mostly to her Chinese American community both in and out of school. As she makes her way through her teen years in the 1950s, she starts growing apart from her childhood friends as her passion for rockets and space exploration grows—along with her curiosity about a few blocks in the city that her parents have warned her to avoid. A budding relationship develops with her first White friend, Kathleen, and together they sneak out to the Telegraph Club lesbian bar, where they begin to explore their sexuality as well as their relationship to each other. Lo’s lovely, realistic, and queer-positive tale is a slow burn, following Lily’s own gradual realization of her sexuality while she learns how to code-switch between being ostensibly heterosexual Chinatown Lily and lesbian Telegraph Bar Lily. In this meticulously researched title, Lo skillfully layers rich details, such as how Lily has to deal with microaggressions from gay and straight women alike and how all of Chinatown has to be careful of the insidious threat of McCarthyism. Actual events, such as Madame Chiang Kai-shek’s 1943 visit to San Francisco, form a backdrop to this story of a journey toward finding one’s authentic self.
Beautifully written historical fiction about giddy, queer first love. (author’s note) (Historical romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-55525-4
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
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