An interesting, if incomplete, glimpse into the history of the American West.
An eclipse gives a young woman from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the chance to follow her dreams.
Elizabeth Bertelsen, 17, spends her days in Monroe, Utah, caring for her many younger brothers and sisters and her nights watching the stars. It’s 1878, and scientists from around the world (including Thomas Edison) are gathering in the American West to study a solar eclipse. Elizabeth dreams of becoming an astronomer, but her mother dismisses the idea as counter to God’s plan for a woman. When Elizabeth’s neglect leads to her sister’s near drowning, Elizabeth atones by traveling to Wyoming to help her older half sister Rebekka through childbirth (her father is polygamous). The shared experience of a train robbery leads to friendship with wealthy Black siblings, which eventually results in Elizabeth’s helping scientists during the eclipse and beginning to believe she can pursue both science and faith. Elizabeth’s quest for self-discovery sometimes drags, however, it’s refreshing to see members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their beliefs well expressed in historical context. Eves’ inclusion of Native American, Black, Chinese, and multiracial characters (and veiled references to gay ones) deliberately highlights the often overlooked diversity of the time. Elizabeth experiences prejudice for her religious faith; meanwhile, Black characters she meets highlight her lack of awareness of the impact of race. However, the overall racial harmony ultimately seems to erase realities experienced by people of color.
An interesting, if incomplete, glimpse into the history of the American West. (author's note, further reading) (Historical fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984849-55-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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BOOK REVIEW
Fiendishly romantic from start to (eventual) finish.
Belial, Prince of Hell, makes his move on London in this trilogy closer.
With 11 ensemble characters (not counting the odd Greater Demon) to juggle, Clare uses up most of her chunky page count untangling the romantic snarls of the first two volumes—plus chucking in occasional attacks by lesser demons or raving maniac Tatiana Blackthorn to give her demon-slaying Edwardian-era Nephilim something to do besides steamily tonguing one another, lengthily weltering in secret longing and self-loathing, or (at last!) explicitly consummating their ardor. The angular figures posing stiffly in Curte’s randomly scattered tableaux do little to either raise or turn down the heat of a narrative that runs to lines like: “He was about to crush his lips to Alastair’s…when a scream split the air. The scream of someone in anguished pain.” Eventually Belial does get around to launching his evil scheme to take over London and then the world despite already bleeding from two wounds previously dealt by legendary magic sword Cortana. The love matches among the tight circle of friends are notably diverse, involving couples whose various members include some who are part Indian or Persian, those who are gay or straight, and even the formerly undead. The book closes with a tidying-up epilogue and even a bonus story, “Aught but Death,” which focuses on Cordelia and Lucie.
Fiendishly romantic from start to (eventual) finish. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9781481431934
Page Count: 800
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
Readers viscerally experience the Holocaust in this gripping novel.
Three Austrian children experience the ravages of World War II.
On Leo Grunberg’s ninth birthday in 1936, he and his two best friends, Elsa and Max, celebrate by riding Vienna’s Ferris wheel. Leo collides with English tourists, leading to a friendly connection that later proves lifesaving when the couple sponsor visas for Leo and his mother. Mr. Grunberg is tragically sent first to Dachau and then Auschwitz. Elsa, whose family, like Leo’s, is Jewish, moves to Prague to escape growing dangers in Austria, but their new lives are shortly upended: Elsa is unable to escape via the Kindertransport, and she is sent with her family to Auschwitz. Christian Max’s father joins the Nazi Party and forbids him to spend time with Jewish friends; initially resentful, Max ultimately joins the Hitler Youth. His father is assigned to work at Dachau and later Auschwitz—where Max becomes a guard—and Max crosses paths with Mr. Grunberg in both locations, each time shunning the man who treated him so kindly. He also meets Elsa in an unforgettably dramatic scene in which he must confront his own humanity. These coincidences may strain credulity, but this sometimes-horrific, sometimes-sentimental page-turner exposes readers to the entire arc of the Holocaust. A note explains how the author’s father’s family escaped the Nazis after meeting a British couple in a similar manner to that portrayed in the book.
Readers viscerally experience the Holocaust in this gripping novel. (resources, further reading) (Historical fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9965-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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