Review: Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart
From Goodreads: It is 1876, the year of the Centennial in Philadelphia. Katherine has lost her twin sister Anna in a tragic skating accident. One wickedly hot September day, Katherine sets out for the exhibition grounds to cut short the haunted life she no longer wants to live.
Filled with vivid detail that artfully brings the past to life, National Book Award nominee Beth Kepart’s DANGEROUS NEIGHBORS is a timeless and finely crafted novel about betrayal and guilt, hope and despair, love, loss, and new beginnings.
Beth Kephart is such a fantastic writer that I am always in awe of her prose and story telling ability, so much so that reviewing any piece of literature from Kepharts small but growing canon is always hard for me to accomplish. Kephart is astonishingly capable of making her characters come to life in such a way that putting down the book to do menial tasks such as walking the hound become impossible. Which is why August of 2010 will always be known to me as the month that I learned walking the dog while reading results in severe coordination disability, causing walking into a pole, nose bleeds, and incredible embarrassment to all who try. This life lesson is just one of the things Kephart has taught me while reading her books.
Why Teens Will Love It:
The teen scene is in such need of historical fiction and heart-wrenching tales, Kephart has supplied both in her Dangerous Neighbors. We learn so much about the bonds of sisterhood and America in her early stages of development from a East Coast perspective. There is a flash of young love and life lessons to be learned from picking up this fantastic novel.
Why Adults Will love It:
Kephart does not write down for the reader, her prose is sincere and the story line is engaging to those of all ages. Katherine and the other characters will speak to you and having you remembering your formative years in a very exciting way.
This story is not to be missed. I give it four stars instead of five only because of my selfish need for more, Dangerous Neighbors is such a short book. Pick a copy up at your local bookstore today!
FTC Disclosure: I picked this up at BEA and read it lovingly
Review: Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
I have read two previous works from author Sarah Dunant(@sarahdunant), and have been a fan of her style of writing and historical fiction for quite a while. Dunant is able to capture your interest from early in the book, make you fall in love with the characters and provide a history of a time or event while keeping the story interesting. Dunant also uses her platform (or at least I feel so) to show us the history of women in different lifestyles and professions, you always come away with a feeling of happiness the world for women has evolved as much as it has. Flowery language, and brilliant descriptions capture and transport you to an ancient time where you can actually smell the bread baking.
Sacred Hearts follows a choir nun Sister Zuana, and a novice Sister Serefina through the reformations of the church in the 1600′s, first loves, and realizations of what life really means when you are cloistered behind abbey walls. Zuana was raised outside the abbey by a physician father who taught his daughter much of his own alchemy. Having a daughter educated in medicine however did Zuana no favors, when her father passed she was forced to either marry or become a nun. Zuana grapples with her sin of placing her father in her thoughts and prayers more than the holy father himself. Serafina a novice in love struggles with anorexia by holy proxy, being locked in a convent unwillingly, and finding her true place in life. Events in the convent are constantly disruptive as the novice finds her place and learns consequence. This novel transports you to Italy in an amazing time for the church and women. The ending of the book is absolutely perfect. I would recommend this book to anyone who has read and enjoyed Dunant’s previous works, if you like Historical Fiction, if you are interested in women’s hardships in ancient times, or if you just feel the need to read a beautiful story of love and life.
Review: Follow Me by Joanna Scott
Joanna Scott takes us on a virtual thrill ride through Sally Werner’s life, spanning three generations. I really enjoyed the parts of the story based on Sally, when she left her baby, and the adventures she had a long the way. Sally changed her name a few times, Sally Bliss, Sally Mole, but she never really learned her lesson about running.
Sally has another child along the way, a girl she names Penny. She inadvertently ruins Penny’s life although for spoiler reasons I cannot say why and I think that took away from Sally’s story quite a bit.
Sally’s namesake and granddaughter is telling the story of Sally’s life and life beyond Sally. The way she describes her relationship with her Grandmother reminds me a lot of my East Coast up bringing.
The story skips around a bit and although it was very well written and I didn’t get lost in the plot at anytime I had a hard time connecting. I loved the parts of the story that were about Sally herself, but drudging through the tapes from little Sarah’s Father was a bit over the top for me. I know it was relevant to the story but it dragged on quite a while.
I do recommend this book to people who like a good story, appreciate recent history, and grew up or wonders about what it’s like to grow up on the East Coast. Sally’s story is definitely worth the read.
