Rachel's Hope by Shelly Sanders

Rachel's Hope is the final installment in the Rachel trilogy that traces the journey of Rachel Paskar and her family who have fled the 1903 pogrom in Russian to Shanghai, China and are now in San Francisco. 

It is the winter of 1905 and sixteen-year-old Rachel, her sister Nucia and Nucia's husband Jacob, and the orphan Menahem arrived eight days ago in San Francisco. They have just been released from quarantine. Rachel and Nucia's mother and father are dead: her father murdered during the Kishinev pogrom in Russia while her mother died from from consumption in China. The four of them are searching for the lodging house the woman at the Eureka Benevolent Society had marked on the paper map.

A month later both Rachel and Nucia are working as maids at the Haas home on Franklin Street in the upscale neighbourhood of Pacific Heights.The Haas family were Bavarian Jewish immigrants who own a prosperous dry goods store. Although the Haas are Jewish they practice some American customs like Christmas and Easter. Nucia works as the upstairs-maid wearing a white uniform and meeting with the mistress of the house every day. Rachel however, works downstairs wearing a black uniform like the other maids. The Haas also have a Chinese servant, Wah who does their laundry.

After work Rachel and Nucia walk home to their boarding house on Sixth Street where they live in a second floor flat at the back of the house. They are met outside by Jacob and Menahem. Jacob announces that he has taken out a loan from the Hebrew Free Loan Association to start his own business as a vendor selling food from wholesalers to restaurants and shops. This upsets Nucia who believes his steady job at the Standard Shirt Factory is safer and she worries if his business fails. Rachel, however supports Jacob's plan believing that they should take risks to improve their lives.

Menahem attends Spring Valley School and struggles to be accepted. Rachel finally buys him some new clothes but they are much different that what he is used to wearing. Boys in America wear short pants with high socks, not the long pants Menahem is used to wearing in Russia. In a letter to Sergei, Rachel tells him that Gentiles live peacefully with Jews and that Jews can become prosperous in America. 

Rachel, Nucia, Jacob and Menahem begin to settle into life in San Francisco. They attend synagogue at Temple Sherith Israel along with Mr. Bloom and his wife Esther. The service is a Reform Sabbath and Rachel notes that it is very different from the services in Russia and China. They form a strong friendship with the Blooms who invite them over for Saturday dinner, and who often give Nucia leftover meat and fish from their kosher store. Rachel and Nucia also attend free English classes for new immigrants at the First Chinese Baptist Church. Rachel finds that she is beginning to understand English. Jacob with his job as a vendor also becomes proficient in English. In order to better fit in with his new classmates, Menahem decides to change his name to Marty. Rachel also begins taking high-school English and mathematics classes two nights a week. She hopes to obtain her high school diploma in three years. She hasn't given up on her dream of becoming a journalist.

In a remarkable twist, Rachel meets Anna Strunsky in the large bathhouse at the Sutro Baths located at Lands End. Anna is a Russian Jewish immigrant who came to America when she was nine-years-old and is now a journalist. She is planning to return to Russia later this year to cover women's stories for San Francisco Bulletin and California Women's Magazine. She wants to cover the worker's strikes. Rachel states that Russia is not safe for Jews as there have been riots and over five hundred Jews have been killed. And people in St. Petersburg are being shot by the Cossacks and police when they demonstrated for better working conditions. Anna believes she will be safe because she is an American reporter. Anna offers to help Rachel with her English, if she will help her relearn Russian. 

Rachel meets up with Anna at a cafe called Coppa. There, Anna shows Rachel some articles about the movement to free the Russian people. She tells Rachel that she has read about the terrible lives of the Russian peasants, about the factory workers' strikes and the massacres of Jews. Rachel explains how her father lost his life in the massacre that happened in her town of Kishinev and how it was instigated by the lies published by the newspaper editor in the village. She tells Anna, "I dream of being a writer, like you, to tell the truth and make sure people don't forget what happened to us." Rachel also tells Anna about Sergei Khazhenkov, who is fighting for the workers in Petersburg. Anna asks Rachel to write down details about him so that when she returns to Russia she can try to locate him. Rachel reveals that she cares for him but because he is Gentile they cannot be together.  Anna tells her that things are changing and that she is seeing someone who is not Jewish.

To help Rachel in her quest to become a journalist, Anna advises that she must read more. At the public library at City Hall she loads Rachel down with copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Wuthering Heights, Ten Days in A Madhouse, and Around The World In Eighty Days. Rachel has her letter about arriving in San Francisco published by the Jewish newspaper, Emanu-El complete with her full name. Rachel becomes interested in the women's suffrage movement after attending a meeting of the National Council of Jewish Women at Temple Emanu-El. With four hundred women in attendance, Rachel learns that men in California voted against suffrage because many women involved in the suffrage movement were also involved in the temperance movement and the men did not want to lose their right to drink alcohol. This leads Rachel to send an article to the Israel's Messenger in Shanghai for publication. While the Editor-in-Chief publishes her article which she wrote in Yiddish, he encourages her to focus on writing in English for American newspapers.

On April 18, Rachel, Marty, Jacob and Nuncia flee their flat in the early morning hours. As the buildings around them topple. they escape unscathed. They watch as the Wells Fargo Bank crumbles to the ground. The falling bricks from the dry goods store injure some and kill others. As they flee down the street, sunken in some places by several feet, they see twisted streetcars and watch as the broken gas lines, catch fire. Buildings along Market Street catch fire, one after another.  The smoke makes Marty cough and he beings to struggle to breathe.

In the morning Jacob learns that everything south of Market Street is gone including synagogues, the Haas Brothers store. Four days later, Rachel and her family visit their runined boarding house and decide to walk to Golden Gate Park where people are being assigned tents to live in. Rachel takes Marty to a hospital where he is diagnosed with asthma and is treated by the doctor. Rachel and Marty spend several weeks at Mr. Levison's home, to allow him to recuperate. There, Rachel helps Nathan Pearce care for his baby daughter, Ruthie, after his wife was killed in the earthquake. Although Rachel feels a growing attachment to Nathan, she decides to refuse his offer to work for him as a nurse for Ruthie and opts to return to Jacob and Nuncia who are still living in a tent. Back in Golden Gate Park, Rachel wonders if she will ever achieve her dream of becoming a journalist. The earthquake seems like such a setback for all her plans to finish her schooling and attend university.

During this time from 1905 into early 1906, Rachel's friend, Sergei has fled St. Petersburg after the deadly march on the Tsar's Winter Palace and has slipped onto a train to Moscow. He is a fugitive, a member of the secret revolutionary group, the Combat Organization, wanted in the murder the Interior Minister of Russia, Viacheslav von Plehve. He had supported the anti-Jew pogroms including the one that killed Rachel's father. When he's caught on the train after falling asleep, a stranger, Dimitri Kalyayev bribes the police officer, telling him Sergei is his son. Dimitri explains that he helped Sergei because he recognized him from the newspaper and he provides Sergei with directions to a safe house. 

The two storey wood house on Volgogradsku Prospekt belongs to the writer, Maxim Gorky. Shortly after he arrives, Boris Savinkov, the leader of the Combat Organization in Petersburg, and the architect of the von Plehve assassination, arrives. Gorky doesn't believe the tsar will give the Russian people more power or freedom. Sergei agrees to help distribute the newspaper Iskra to every factory in Moscow to encourge the workers to fight for better wages and working conditions.

Two weeks later, many Moscow factories are on strike: thirty thousand workers on strike demanding a democratic government and better working conditions. Food is scarce. Gorky wants to form a soviet council like that in Petersburg that is intent on "obtaining democracy for all Russian people." While Savinkov believes that the bombings and assassinations have helped their work towards democracry Sergei does not and neither does Gorky who believes "The pen is the mightiest weapon, much more powerful than any bomb." He believe words give people the courage to fight and so Gorky proposes they distribute leaflets.

On October thirtieth, the tsar signs an Imperial Manifesto supposedly "guaranteeing civil liberties for all Russian people  and legal power for the Duma."  but as Gorky suspects, the tsar has the power to veto legislation passed by the Duma and citizens can still be arrested for speaking out against the government.

Sergei is involved in getting dynamite for the Moscow revolution on December 5th. Savinkov organizes the securing of weapons while Gorky orders the distribution of signs to get more people involved. They build barricades across Tverskoi Boulevard. The intent is to block off all of Moscow's main streets from the Russian troops. Barricades are also being constructed on the circular street around the Kremlin. 

The revolution begins but Sergei is ordered back to Gorky's house. Despite controlling some areas, they have lost men so Savinkov tells Sergei they want to bomb the headquarters of the secret police (Okhrana). However, Sergei doesn't want to be involved in another bombing but he finally agrees to instruct the bombers, fifteen yea old Victor and sixteen year old Arkady. However, the bombing doesn't go as planned with one of the bombers, Viktor shot and killed. 

On December 17th, Sergei and more revolutionaries are at Krasnopresnenskaya Street with loaded rifles, facing a large number of government troops included the Semenovsky Regiment. Gorky gives a speech and then the fighting begins. For hours Sergei and the other revolutionaries fire at the soldiers. However, when the government begins shelling them Sergei and the others are forced to flee through the streets. Sergei is quickly captured and taken to Taganka Prison in Moscow. An elderly man in the prison who has been exiled before tells Sergei he will languish in prison on March and without a trial will be exiled. That is what happens: Sergei is exiled for five years to Chita in Siberia, thirty-eight hundred miles from Moscow. Will Sergei ever survive to leave Russia and find Rachel?

The question remains, will Rachel's hope to be reunited with Sergei come to pass and if so, do they have a chance at a future together?

Discussion

Rachel's Hope is a engaging and well-written conclusion to the Rachel Trilogy. In this third novel, Rachel and Sergei's stories are told beginning in the Winter of 1905 through to Winter of 1908. The author makes use of two alternating narratives, that of Rachel Paskar and Sergei Khazhenkov to describe the event of this period. In San Francisco in America it is a time of recovery from the devastating earthquake of 1906, while for those in Russia, it is a period of social and political upheaval that sees the seeds of revolution sown.

Life in San Francisco is described through the eyes of Rachel Paskar, a new immigrant and refugee from the Jewish pogroms in Russia. When she goes shopping at a store for Menahem and herself, she is treated with respect as a customer. However, she remembers what it was like in Russia, "The colorful fabrics reminded her of the thread store her mother had loved in Kishinev. Rachel recalled the last time she'd gone to that store for her mother, when the owner had called her "a stupid yid."

Rachel finds that that the Jewish community are less strict about their practice of Judaism than in Russia and China. In the Sherith Temple, Rachel is amazed at the opulence of the temple, a sign that in America one can show pride in being Jewish, something not possible in Russia. "In San Francisco, Jews could build grand buildings like Sherith Israel with its plush red-velvet seats, impressive organ, and bright stained-glass windows. Here, one could show pride in being Jewish."  She observers that men and women sit together instead of being segregated, and the rabbi tells them that married women do not have to cover their hair with a headscarf, both of which trouble Nuncia. Mrs. Bloom counters that she likes "...being able to choose how I want to be Jewish.". Mr. Bloom who is Jewish is selling both kosher and non-kosher food as even Jews are eating non-kosher foods. While Mr. and Mrs. Bloom support the loosening of restrictions, Nunia expresses concern. "These traditions are the only link we have to Russia...By holding onto them, we are keeping our memories alive." However, Rachel points out to Nucia just how different everyone looks and the different languages they hear on the street. "Don't you see how different people look from one another here?...You can dress however you like, speak in any language, practice any religion, be who you want to be here in America."

Rachel, Jacob and Nuncia struggle to understand why some immigrants want to change their names. Menahem announces that he wants to change his name and in fact is already going by "Marty". He tells his family that the teacher struggles with the name. Nuncia reminds Menahem that his parents gave him his name and it is the name of his grandfather but he isn't convinced. Mr. Bloom explains that many immigrants have long names that are difficult to pronounce and so it's not unusual for them to use a simpler name. 

She also finds that women have more opportunities in America than women in Russia, but still not as many as men. When Anna tells her about women in America working to get the right to vote, Rachel remarks, "Back in Russia I would have been happy with permission to go to university, or to travel without a note from my father."  Rachel finds school different in America where students can voice their own opinions. "In Russia, teachers spoke and students listened. Personal views didn't matter unless you were a grown man. To speak your mind as a student had not been acceptable."

When Rachel attends a meeting of the National Council of Jewish Women at Temple Emanu-El regarding women's rights, she notes that a meeting attended exclusively by women would never be allowed in Russia. And unlike Russia, Rachel can read whatever she wants, choosing books from the library that Anna Strunsky takes her to. It's important to note however, as Sanders writes in her Historical Note, that Jewish immigrants to San Francisco faced a much easier time than Jews in other American cities. "The broader integration of Jews into the host society is what set San Francisco apart from other major cities at the time, where Jews continued to exist in more ghetto-like conditions"

Rachel's Hope is a study in contrast between America and Russia in the early 1900's. While America is seen as a land where most immigrants had the opportunity to better their lives, Russia is being torn apart by rebellion and revolution as its people, most of them destitute, fight for basic rights. Workers in Russia are the lowest paid in Europe. There are demonstrations for better living conditions, better wages, safer working conditions in factories, and more say in the governance of the country. As the people struggle to obtain change, their peaceful demonstrations are met with force and violence. Sergei remembers the demonstration at the Winter Palace. "Just a few days earlier, he and thousands of other factory workers, women, and children had marched to the Winter Palace, the tsar's home in Petersburg, to protest for better working conditions, increased wages, and an end to the catastrophic Japanese-Russian war. It had been planned as a peaceful demonstration, but when they arrived, the Russian military opened fire, killing and injuring thousands of protestors."  As the government and the tsar resist any change, the people of Russia resort to bombings and assassinations. 

Sergei's description of life in Moscow is in marked contrast to the shops and restaurants in San Francisco. While Rachel experiences her first meal in a restaurant where she can choose what she wants to eat, life is very different in Moscow. Sergei notes: "...he moved past the closed-down shops with empty shelves...Food had been scarce since the railway workers' strike. Supplies couldn't get  into the city. Shops had been drained of food, clothing, and necessities. The lack of medicine forced the hospital to close." People are starving, among them Sergei notes, are many hungry children. Four days into the rebellion, Sergei observes the children in Moscow who are helping build barricades, how they do not have warm clothing. "Not one wore clothing suitable for the frigid winter air. The girls had threadbare, stained shawls around their shoulders. The boys had coats that were either too small with sleeves halfway up their forearms, or too large leaving space for the icy air to seep through."

His experiences in Russia change Sergei forever and in ways that eventually lead him to realize he can never be with Rachel.  His conscience is troubled because he was involved in the assassination of a government official. He witnesses the death of many people during the unsuccessful revolution. At Gorky's  house, Sergei is still haunted by the murder of von Plehve. "I will never be free from guilt, he thought as he wiped his brow. Even though I am not behind bars, guilt is suffocating me, destroying me from the inside." When he finally does escape Russia and makes his way to San Francisco, his reunion with Rachel is not what either of them were expecting.

In Russia Rachel and Sergei could not be together because he is Russian and Rachel is a Jew. But in America they still cannot be together but this time it is different. Sergei tells Rachel, "Much more divides us now...Too much has happened to me. Too much time has passed." He explains that he doesn't want to bring back memories of the past with his presence and that he does not fit into her world. Athough Rachel still believes he is the good person she knew in Kishinev, Sergei tells her, "You don't know that. You don't know anything about me. You don't know what I had to do to get here. You don't know the nightmares that keep me up at night, what I wish I could change about my past." Rachel and Sergei are a study in contrasts, Rachel a survivor who is thriving, Sergei a survivor but deeply scarred.

Despite the tragedy of Rachel and Sergei, the novel ends on a hopeful note. Rachel is moving forward with her dream of becoming a journalist by attending university and has met a man, Alexander who is in love with her.

A mark of good historical fiction is the ability of the author to develop the setting. Author Shelly Sanders' portrayal of life in both revolutionary Russia and early 20th century San Francisco feels authentic. The chcaracters are well crafted and included a few real-life characters of Maxim Gorky and Anna Strunsky. The author realistically portrays several historic events that occur in the novel: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the 1905 Russian Revolution. Readers are directed to Sanders' Historical Note at the back.

Although this trilogy was written over ten years ago, it is an important and timely work, considering the rise of anti-semitism in America, Canada and Europe. Highly recommended.

Book Details:

Rachel's Hope by Shelly Sanders

Second Story Press      2014

ebook

482 pp.

Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill

Within These Lines is a heartrending story of love and loyalty in a time of when war breeds hatred and fear. It tells the story of two teenagers, one white and one Asian, a mixed race couple, a forbidden love and two people who choose to challenge the social conventions of a country at war. Within These Lines begins three months after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. The story spans the period from March 21 to December 25, 1942 and is told in the alternating voices of Evalina Cassano and Taichi Hamasaki.

Evalina Cassano, an Italian-American awakens to the news that over sixty Japanese Americans living in Los Angeles have been voluntarily relocated to Manzanar in Southern California.

When Evalina expresses her concern to her mother that all the Japanese, even those born in America such as the Hamasaki children will also be forced out, her mother tries to reassure Evalina that they are safe. But Evalina is concerned because she has been secretly seeing Taichi Hamasaki, whose family supplies the produce to Alessandro's, the Casanova family restaurant.

Distraught, Evalina heads down to the market on the waterfront. But the Hamasaki's green Chevy truck is not there and someone else occupies the space where their table is usually set. This leads Evalina to take the ferry to Alameda.

Taichi's family live on a farm in Alameda, across the bay from San Francisco. On the same morning, Taichi's family is visited by FBI agents who search their home. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Taichi's family burned everything they owned that tied them to Japan including letters, family photographs, Japanese books and kimonos. Taichi's family is in the process of packing suitcases because they are moving to his Aunt Chiyu's home.

Evalina phones Taichi and they meet at the dock. Before he leaves to see Evalina, Taichi's older sister Aiko forces him to tell her about his secret relationship with Evalina. She was also in a forbidden relationship with a Caucasian and suffered a miscarriage. When Evalina and Taichi meet, she admits her fear for him. Taichi reveals that his family has reallocated their land back to their neighbours, the Medinas while they are away. The bombing of Pearl Harbor has changed all of Evalina and Taichi's future plans. Evalina has earned a scholarship to attend University of California Berkeley and they hoped Taichi would be able to do the same. The war has also changed the future for others too; Taichi's best friend Diego Medina will not enlist in the U.S.Navy and Eva's best friend Gia LaRocca is planning to marry her boyfriend Lorenzo.

Several days later, Taichi and his father Katsumi make their last delivery to the Cassano's restaurant. During this meeting, Taichi passes a note to Evalina asking her to meet him at Lafayette Park. The two have an emotional meeting, with Evalina giving Taichi her address, begging him to write and let her know what's happening. The Friday afternoon before they are due to leave, Taichi visits Evalina's home, expecting her to be alone. Instead her mother greets him and with Evalina the two say their goodbyes. Taichi reveals that they will be evacuated on Tuesday, likely to Manzanar. In a private moment, Evalina learns the Hamasaki family will leave from the civic center at noon. After Taichi leaves, Evalina's mother offers her sympathy and understanding, but Evalina is not sure how much her mother understands about her relationship with Taichi.

On Tuesday April 7, Taichi and his family arrive at the civic center to leave San Francisco. They find a long line of other Japanese American families, overseen by guards. A group with the First Congregational Church hands out sandwiches and water. It is hot and tiring waiting. Aiko spots Evalina, who as promised has come to see them. Just before he boards the bus, Evalina promises Taichi that she will wait for him and will write him.

The next morning Evalina is furious at the coverage of the "evacuation" in the local newspapers. Meanwhile Taichi and his family arrive at Manzanar and come to realize that the camp is not ready for them. As the months pass by and life goes on for Evalina, Taichi begins to wonder if they can really continue their relationship. Will he ever leave the camp? While Evalina continues to advocate for the Japanese Americans, Taichi finds himself drawn into a deadly revolt that costs a friend his life and endangers his own family.

Discussion

Within These Lines tackles the shameful imprisonment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II in response to hysteria over the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese.  Japanese Americans were displaced from their homes and businesses, and placed in prison camps merely because they looked like the enemy. In this well-crafted novel, Morrill weaves together the forbidden relationship between two American teens and the events of the Japanese internment to portray the reality of life at this time.

Evalina Cassano is an Italian-American whose family has a past history of involvement in the Mafia in Chicago. She forms a strong attachment to Taichi Hamaskai, a first generation Japanese-American boy whose family supplies her family's restaurant with fresh produce. The two teens keep their relationship secret not only because they suspect their families won't approve but also because interracial marriages are illegal in California. The realization that Taichi and his family will be sent away, is devastating to both teens.

Morrill uses Evalina to express the injustice of the government actions. Unlike many of her fellow Americans, Evalina's relationship with Taichi helps her to view Japanese Americans differently, not as potential enemies but as loyal Americans who have the same dreams and desires as any other American. When Evalina visits Taichi at Manzanar and experiences the reality of the internment camp, she is further angered by the injustice of the camps and the mistreatment of these American citizens.

Initially, Evalina writes numerous letters to government officials including General DeWitt as well as to newspaper editors in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Her letters to newspapers have been signed anonymously.  initially expresses her views against the internment to parents and friends. When her mother refers to the evacuees as "Japanese", Evalina points out that "the majority of the Japanese Americans who are being evacuated" have "....done nothing except be born to parents who have Japanese heritage. And most of their parents would have become citizens long ago, except that our government has denied them that option since the 1920s." 

At college Evalina's activism on the internment question spills over into her Comparative Politics class taught by Professor Blake. Despite her having visited two of the camps, Evalina receives a poor grade on her paper discussing the Japanese internment. When Evalina confronts Professor Blake about her mark, it is clear he considers her a Japanese sympathizer and later on tells her she is young and misguided. Over time however, Evalina becomes not only more vocal but also more courageous about speaking up for the rights of Japanese Americans. When Grace Bishop asks Evalina to write an article she decides it's time to sign her name. Evalina had told herself that she would be taken more seriously if people did not know she was an Italian American teenage girl. But she finally admits that she has been afraid. "I have felt afraid of people knowing that it was me, Evalina Cassano, who wrote those angry words. Afraid of being laughed at, ridiculed, told that I should just be quiet and feel grateful. Told that I'm too young to understand or too Italian to be a real American...I feel afraid of people knowing that this fight I'm fighting isn't just about the evils of racism, but that it's personal to me...." Evalina begins signing her name to her writing....

Morrill captures the era with her realistic portrayal of 1940's America attitudes and customs, especially as they related to Americans of Asian heritage. While Evalina's parents are more accepting and compassionate towards Japanese Americans, Evalina encounters others who are not. For example, her best friend's mother, Mrs LaRocca derogatorily refers to Japanese Americans as "Japs", and states, "I know I'll feel a lot better when they've been cleared out....Not that there aren't nice Japs among them, but why risk it?" This view encapsulated many Americans thoughts on the their fellow Americans of Japanese heritage. Morrill also highlights the common Caucasian tendency to lump all people from Asia together. When Evalina arrives at the market and discovers the Hamasaki's are not there she also notices that Mrs. Ling has posted a sign at her table that reads "We Are Chinese". Mrs. Ling tells Evalina that she has posted the sign because, "Some white people get confused. They think we are the enemy." 

As expected, the newspapers of the time propagandized what was being done to Japanese Americans. Evalina is furious when she reads the account of the evacuation because it is portrayed as something joyful, with "the air of an outing." The public is told that military guards were there to protect the Japanese Americans from curious onlookers when in reality the soldiers were guarding the evacuees as though they were dangerous. "Was I at the same place as this moronic journalist? Because I saw no victory signals. No broad smiles. No bobbing heads. And the only raised thumb was mine to reassure my friend that I was okay. What a load of propaganda. In America! In my own newspaper!" Evalina wonders how many Americans will think that for the Japanese Americans, this will be a fun experience. "He made having your property seized and being loaded onto a bus while surrounded by military police sound like heading off for some kind of vacation!" 

The reality of life in the internment camps is seen through Taichi's narratives. The camp consists of crudely constructed houses that in reality are barracks. There are armed guards to greet them. The barrack "floors are bare planks, coated in a layer of sand that's blown up and in. The only thing separating us from the other families already living in the barrack are the olive-colored blankets like those we're holding in our hands draped from the roof beams. One bare lightbulb dangles over each apartment, which I can see because of the open rafters." There are few working toilets, little privacy, and strange food.

Morrill describes the humiliation and shame the evacuees feel through the character of Taichi. When Taichi sees that his family of five will share a twenty-five by ten foot space for an indefinite period, he thinks, "My heart feels like a fist as it pounds in my chest. This is too much. Too much to take in. Too much to be asked of us. Too much dignity to lose all in twenty-four hours. How can this be real?"  During his first night when he has to use the toilet, a searchlight follows him from the barrack to the toilet and continues to light the steps until he reappears, following him back to his barracks. "I lie on my lumpy mattress, hot with shame as the cold Manzanar wind continues through the night." While the average American believed the camps were a place of leisure and plenty, the reality was much different.
 
The poor living conditions are not the only difficulty as Taichi and his family discover. Although the Hamasaki family is fictional, the conditions described at Manzanar and the riot that occurred there were not. The Black Dragons were are real gang that were pro-Imperial Japan and who attempted to take over the camp.

Morrill's characters are realistic, well crafted. The forbidden romance between Taichi and Evalina, set in the uncertainty of war and displacement serves to successfully draw the reader into the story. If you didn't comprehend the reality of the internment of Japanese Americans, you will after reading Within These Lines. Look for further information about the camps and the events described in the author's About The History in the book's back matter.

Book Details:

Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill
Grand Rapids, MI: Blink     2019
350 pp.

Julia Morgan Built A Castle by Celeste Davidson Mannis

Julia Morgan was born in 1872 in Oakland, a city on San Francisco Bay. Julia's father was an engineer at a time when cities like San Francisco were rapidly growing. He often took his young family on tours around various construction sites, giving Julia the opportunity to see how buildings were constructed. They frequently visited her cousin, Pierre LeBrun an architect working in New York City. Julia dreamed of being an architect like her cousin but this profession was not considered suitable for a young woman.

In 1890, Julia was accepted into the University of California at Berkeley's engineering program - the only woman in her class. When she graduated in 1895, Julia was hired by Bernard Maybeck, one of her professors who had studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. This school was renowned throughout the world but was closed to women. However, times were beginning to change and there were rumours the school might soon open to women students.

Hopeful that this would happen, Julia moved to Paris where she studied the architecture of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower as well as many other buildings. Julia spent time sketching and making notes and she eventually studied at the studios of two Parisian architects. The Ecole des Beaux-Arts however remained closed to her until 1897 when she was allowed to take the school's exam. Julia was made to write it three times before she was finally accepted in October of 1898. She graduated from the school in 1902, at the age of thirty, winning the first place medal for her design project on a theatre.

Eventually Julia returned to the United States and opened her own business in San Francisco. Most of her buildings survived the devastating earthquake of 1906. In 1919, William Randolph Hearst, a wealthy newspaper publisher commissioned Julia to build his home on land he owned in the Santa Lucia Mountains. This project would occupy more than half of Julia Morgan's fifty-year career as an architect.

Discussion

Julia Morgan

Julia Morgan Built A Castle portrays the life of famous architect Julia Morgan who is probably best known for her design and building of the Hearst Castle, the residence of William Randolph Hearst at his ranch in San Simeon, California. Julia was both an engineer and architect by training, two disciplines which helped her excel in her work.  Hearst Castle is a stunning example of the melding of architecture and engineering.

Mannis captures Julia Morgan's determination to follow her own dream of becoming an architect. She, like many other women of this era, had to prove themselves above and beyond what was required of men. Many obstacles were placed in her path; she had to write the entrance exam to L'Ecole des Beaux Arts three times and when the requirement that certificates be completed by age thirty, Julia completed hers in three years instead of the normal five years.

Women were thought incapable of working as architects, and it was believed they could not understand the construction of buildings. Yet Julia's bell tower, on the Mills College campus in Oakland withstood the 1906 San Francisco earthquake which leveled almost all buildings in the vicinity. Eventually, her work spoke for itself, earning her the reputation as an outstanding architect.

Although Julia Morgan worked on and completed numerous other projects while working on Hearst Castle, it was one of her best known works. Construction stopped in 1947 on the estate which Hearst called "La Cuesta Encantada" or Enchanted Hill. You can learn more about the Hearst Castle here.

Mannis' text is enhanced by the rich, earthy tones of illustrator Miles Hyman. His bold artwork with solid lines and strong colours, mirrors Julia's determined approach to life. The author has included a special note at the back with more details about Julia Morgan, but there are no photos of this famous woman architect nor of any of the buildings she designed.

image credit: https://www.californiamuseum.org/inductee/julia-morgan

Book Details:

Julia Morgan Built A Castle by Celeste Davidson Mannis
New York: Viking      2006

Shooting Kabul by Naheed Hasnat Senzai

It is July 2001, and eleven-year-old Fadi Nurzai's family are fleeing their home country of Afghanistan. Fadi along with his father Habib,his mother Zafoona, his older sister Noor and younger sister Mariam are packed into a taxi hurtling across the dusty plain in the dark. Their driver is Professor Sahib, Habib's former  teacher at Kabul University. After a six hour ride from Kabul, they arrive in Jalalabad, a city in the eastern province of Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Here they will rendezvous with a truck to take them to across the Afghan border with Pakistan to Peshawar where Zafoona's cousin and her husband will meet them at the border.

Only a month earlier, Fadi's father had told them they were leaving Afghanistan. Zafoona needed better medical care for a cold that had turned into a serious illness. But also the Taliban had tried to recruit Fadi's father in what was a thinly veiled threat. Although he had put them off for the time being, it is inevitable that they will return.

Habib was born in Afghanistan but had travelled to Madison, Wisconsin where he earned a Ph.D in Agriculture. Afterwards he returned to his homeland inspired to help rebuild Afghanistan after the defeat of the Soviets by the Taliban.

When he and Zafoona had returned to their homeland along with their family, the Taliban asked Habib to rid the country of the poppy fields used for opium. Gradually Habib had been successful in this endeavour, getting farmers to grow food for the country. However, the Taliban's strict interpretation of Islam began creating problems as they began suppressing civil rights. Music, movies, books and photography were banned, women were forced to wear the burka, and schools for girls were closed. Fadi's father had hoped to obtain work at Kabul University in the agriculture department but it was closed because of the years of war. Instead, Habib opened a dry goods store in downtown Kabul to support his family.

Just past midnight an army truck shows up at the rendezvous point to take them to Pakistan. Habib, realizing this is their ride, orders Fadi to take Mariam, while Noor follows with their mother. As they move towards the truck, suddenly dozens of people emerge from hiding, running towards the truck. Fadi is gripping Mariam's hand tightly and tries to steer them towards his father in the back of the truck. In the chaos, with everyone scrambling to get on the truck, the Taliban arrive, creating even more panic. But as Fadi's father pulls him into the back of the truck, Mariam slips from his grip, trying to retrieve her pink Barbie, Gulmina which as fallen to the ground.

Panicked by the approach of the Taliban, the truck driver announces he is leaving. To Fadi's horror, the truck roars away, leaving six-year-old Mariam behind with many others and the Taliban in hot pursuit. Zafoona, already ill and exhausted is completely hysterical. Her pleas for the truck to return to retrieve Mariam are ignored while Habib who wants to jump out of the truck, is held down by the other men. Returning would mean capture by the Taliban and possible execution.

On the plane to London, Fadi berates himself, feeling responsible for losing Mariam. He thinks back to when they arrived in Peshawar. Once in Peshawar, Fadi's father went back over the border in an attempt to locate Mariam, but could find no trace of her. Zafoona's cousin, Nargis promised to contact them and let them know when she heard any news. Unable to delay any longer, Fadi's family had to go to the American consulate in Peshawar to pick up the papers "arranged with the help of Habib's old college advisor in the United States." Zafoona had wanted to remain in Peshawar but Habib told her that if they did not leave their asylum papers would expire and they would have been stateless - unable to return to Afghanistan but unable to remain in Pakistan.

When they arrive in San Francisco, Fadi and his family are met at the airport by Uncle Amin, who is married to Zafoona's younger sister Khala Nilufer. Once a doctor in Kabul's main hospital, Amin and Nilufer had left Afghanistan in 1998 along with his parents Abay and Dada, a month after Fadi's parents had arrived back in the country from the United States. Uncle Amin works two jobs as a lab technician to support his family but he generously offers them to stat with him at his home in Fremont. Fadi meets his cousin, Zalmay, who is his age. While eating lunch, the adults talk about little Mariam and how UN Refugee Agency has sent out a bulletin about Mariam and how there are many people looking out for her. However, Fadi's feelings of guilt overwhelm him and he hides inside the pantry.

In August of 2001, Fadi's father and his Uncle Amin have contacted many family and friends in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, all searching on both sides of the border for Mariam. Meanwhile Habib moves his family out of Uncle Amin's house into an apartment at the Paradise Apartment Complex.

Fadi begins the school year at Brookhaven Middle School where he is in Mr. Torres' 6B class. Almost immediately he draws the attention of two bullies in his class, Felix and Ike. Fadi does a good deed by returning a classmate's wallet and she introduces herself as Anh Hong. Meanwhile at home, Fadi's family learns that Mariam may have been taken in by a family with two boys who were trying to get to Peshawar. This information upsets Zafoona and she argues with Habib telling him they should not have left Peshawar.Zafoona wants to return to Peshawar to search for Mariam but that requires money the Hurzai family does not have.

When Fadi learns about the school photography club and an upcoming contest with the chance to win tickets to India, he believes he just might have found a way to go back and help find Mariam. With the encouragement of Anh and Noor's money for the club fee, Fadi is determined to win. Meanwhile he must deal with the class bullies and his own feelings of guilt. When the contest doesn't produce the results Fadi is hoping for, he all but gives up until a remarkable meeting changes everything.

Discussion

The events in Shooting Kabul bracket the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City and throughout the United States. The novel provides young readers with insight into the immigrant experience during this time. Fadi's parents who returned to their homeland of Afghanistan with the hope of helping to modernize their country are now refugees in the United States. But their relief at escaping from the Taliban is marred by the loss of Mariam who was accidentally left behind in Jalalabad.

Shooting Kabul focuses primarily on the struggles of eleven-year-old Fadi as he experiences tremendous guilt and shame for not being able to hang onto his little sister Mariam when they were trying to board truck to take them out of Kabul. He is so certain of his own guilt in the matter that he is shocked to discover that each member of his family is also struggling with guilt. Shortly after arriving in San Francisco, Zafoona confesses her feelings of guilt to her sister Nilufer,
" 'She's my baby. I'm her mother. It's all my fault,' cried Zafoona, and, she burst into ragged sobs...
'No you don't understand,' said Zafoona. 'If I wasn't so sick, I could have looked after her. But instead everyone was looking after me. Noor and Habib were so worried about getting me on board the truck that they lost track of Fadi and Mariam. It's my fault.'"

Despite hearing this, Fadi continues to believe Mariam's situation was his fault, and he withdraws, often withdrawing from his family. In their new apartment, Fadi overhears his sister Noor confessing her responsibility for the loss of Mariam to their father. Noor states that she was responsible for caring for Fadi and Mariam; "No, I'm the oldest. I should have taken care of them...It's my fault Mariam is lost!" Fadi is shocked to overhear this admission but he thinks, "Everyone things it's their fault she's gone. But it's my fault, not anyone else's. I'm the one who doesn't deserve to belong to this family. I'm the one who's torn it apart."

Fadi then hits on the idea that he will return to Peshawar to find his sister. However without money this will be difficult so he devises a plan to travel to Pakistan. Just how deeply Fadi feels the loss of his sister is demonstrated when he sneaks into the trunk of his father's taxi to hitch a ride to the airport. His plan is to board a flight to London and then to catch a plane to Peshawar. Fortunately for Fadi, when he is unable to get out of the trunk, disaster is averted when his father opens the trunk to place a passenger's luggage inside.

Fadi then becomes determined to win the grand prize of a trip to India, in a local photography contest. Although planning to enter the photography contest gives Fadi hope his pain and guilt surface in a destructive way when the family visits a Toys R Us store.
"From both sides of the aisle hundreds of Barbies stared down at him. Fadi closed his eyes. His body felt cold and his hand went numb...His eyelids flickered open. Cowgirl Barbie gave him an accusing glare. Artist Barbie stood next to her, holding a paintbrush, sharing a conspiratorial frown with Doctor Barbie....Assembled on the bottom row stood a platoon of Barbies from around the world. Native American, Korean, Spanish, Nigerian, and Austrian Barbie were whispering to one another...whispering about Gulmina." The sight of the Barbies triggers the image of Mariam "holding out Gulmina, asking him to put her into his backpack." Fadi becomes enraged and begins destroying the Barbie display. "He knocked off a line of dolls, and they crashed to the floor. He stomped on the slender rectangular boxes, his tennis shoes making crunching sounds. He fell to his knees and ripped of the lids and pulled out Diamond Princess Barbie. He shook her with all his might and started banging her and Soccer Barbie against the concrete floor. The store manager found him, huddled on a pile of crushed boxes and Barbies, sobbing." The scene is tragic and disturbing, portraying the trauma many refugees from war-torn areas  experience.

Although both Zafoona and Noor have told someone about their guilt over Mariam, Fadi has been unable to confide in anyone, carrying his burden alone. However, after losing the photography contest and any chance of traveling to India, he confides in Ms. Bethune, telling her what happened that night in Kabul. Fadi is shocked that she does not consider him responsible and she helps him look at what happened in a different way, encouraging him not to blame himself for something he had little control over. Fadi never does tell his family about his guilt because the situation is resolved before he has the opportunity to do so.

Throughout the novel Senzai does an good job of incorporating recent Afghan history into the story so that younger readers have the background information to understand the events that occur. Readers experience the 9/11 attacks from the perspective of the Afghanistan refugees through the characters of Habib, Zafoona, Uncle Amin and others. The author also portrays how the Afghani people themselves view Osama Bin Laden, in the scene after 9/11 in the grocery shop in Little Kabul, and how they believe the events of 9/11 will impact their country. By incorporating many details about the country itself young readers from the United States and Canada are able to learn a bit about  Afghanistan's a rich heritage and diverse ethnic groups.

Shooting Kabul is another fine novel from this author and is highly recommended. Senzai states in her Author's Note at the back that "I didn't want to write this book..." because it touched many sensitive and personal issues including Islam, Afghan history and politics. Senzai's father-in-law's experiences are mirrored in those of Habib making the novel a very personal story. But it is a story well worth reading because it provides young readers the opportunity to understand Afghan history and culture separate from the American perspective presented in the media and because it also portrays the challenges refugees experience in coming to a culture vastly different from their own.

map credit: https://www.cia.gov/static/6795428c1b9ef1df4e25cd6418c88f44/afghanistan-admin.jpg

Book Details:

Shooting Kabul by Naheed Hasnat Senzai
New York: A Paula Wiseman Book      2010
273 pp.

Levi Strauss Gets A Bright Idea by Tony Johnston

"Gold!" somebody yelled. Next thing anybody knew,

the whole world rushed to California and

started digging up the place. The trouble was

they rushed so fast, they lost their pants." (that's American for trousers!)

So begins this tongue-in-cheek picture book about how (possibly) blue jeans were created. Subtitled "A Fairly Fantastical Story Of A Pair Of Pants" author Tony Johnston imagines gold miners who take to wearing barrels when their pants wear out. Levi Strauss, newly arrived from New York City discovered that that material used for tents was more durable and after testing the trousers he made, he sold them to the miners. His denim pants were such a success that he sent for his brothers to join him out west.

In fact the real story of how the blue jean pant, now known as "blue jeans" came to be, may never be known. Levi Strauss was born in Buttenheim, Bavaria which in 1829 was a part of Germany, to Hirsch and Rebecca Strauss. Two years after the death of his father from tuberculosis, and with increasing persecution in Germany because of their Jewish faith, Levi along with his mother and two sisters came to America in 1847. Levi's two older brothers, Jonas and Louis had emigrated to America earlier and had established a dry goods business in New York City. When the Gold Rush began in 1849, Levi saw a business opportunity in providing goods to those seeking their fortune and so he travelled out west to San Francisco. There he opened a dry goods store but he also placed ordered for his brothers' business back in New York.

Levi Strauss

In fact it is likely that the true creator of the blue jeans was Jacob Davis, a tailor in Nevada. Davis who had purchased cloth to make pants for his own store, had the idea to strengthen the pants by placing rivets on the pocket and fly seams to make them more durable. But he didn't have the money for a patent, so he wrote Strauss asking him for financial help. The patent was granted in 1873 to both Davis and Strauss. Initially the pants were made from heavy canvas material but later on they came to be made from denim which was dyed blue.  Eventually Strauss had the jeans made in a factory which he built. Sales of the jeans made Levi Strauss very wealthy and they came to be representative of western American culture and fashion. Strauss gave back to the community and his philanthropic efforts were well known; he was the director of several San Francisco companies, donated money to help the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum and the Hebrew Board of Relief as well as donating money for twenty-eight scholarships at the University of California Berkeley.


Johnston's humorous tall-tale is accompanied by Stacy Innerst's illustrations which were created with acrylic on on old blue jeans, giving them a very unique look. While this picture book is not an accurate biography but rather a fun read-aloud, it might lead readers, parents and teachers into discovering the history of what has come to be a staple item in most peoples closets today. From acid wash to skinny jeans, blue jeans are probably the most worn and versatile clothing item we all wear.

picture credit:  http://www.nndb.com/people/001/000162512/

Book Details:

Levi Strauss Gets A Bright Idea by Tony Johnston
New York: Harcourt Children's Books              2011

Outrun The Moon by Stacey Lee

Outrun the Moon is a fictional account of the 1906 earthquake that destroyed the city of San Francisco. At 5:12 am on April 18, a huge earthquake with its epicenter near San Francisco hit the city. The northern 477 kilometers of the San Andreas fault was ruptured. The city experienced strong shaking for 45 to 60 seconds. However, the worst was to come. The earthquake ignited fires which burned through the city for three days. Hundreds of people were burned alive in the rubble of the buildings.

Outrun The Moon begins several days before the earthquake. Fifteen year old Mercy Wong (Mei-Si) lives at thirty-three Clay Street in Chinatown, San Francisco with her ba (father), Wong Wai Kwok, her mother Lei Ha who is the undisputed best fortune-teller in Chinatown and her eight year old brother Jack. Her ba is Catholic but her mother practices a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism. Mercy's brother has poor lungs and has delayed speech because of the bubonic plague inoculations forced on the Chinese who were blamed for the recent bubonic plague outbreaks in the city.

Mercy's best friend is Tom, a member of the Chinese community whose father expects him to be a herbalist. However Tom is interested in flying and has built a hot-air balloon he calls Tom's Floating Island. He wanted to be part of the Army Balloon Corps but when that disbanded, Tom became interested in the new machine developed by the Wright brothers. After a short unexpected balloon ride, Tom gives Mercy a special herb, chuen pooi (also called Fritillaria bulb) used in Chinese medicine for colds and coughs. Mercy is thrilled because this is going to be her family's "ticket to a good life."

Mercy plans to use the herb to bargain her way into a girl's school using her "bossy cheeks" and her business savvy gleaned from Mrs. Lowry's book, The Book For Business-Minded Women. She was given this book by the mortician she used to work for. Taking Jack with her they visit Chocolatier Du Lac where Mercy tells Madame Du Lac that she wishes to speak with her husband who is president of the board that runs St. Clare's School for Girls. She wishes to be admitted to the school and she hopes to bribe Madame Du Lac with a rare herb, chuen pooi which "is also known to fade freckles and lighten the complexion." Tom's father refused to sell the herb to Madame Du Lac. Madame Du Lac agrees to obtain Mercy a meeting with her husband after she is given the bulb, but Mercy tells her she will tell her how to prepare it only after she meets with Monsieur Du Lac.

Mercy arrives at St. Clare's on Monday determined to bargain her way into the school. Her ba runs a laundry business and the work is hard. She does not want her brother Jack with his weak lungs to inherit such a life.  Having graduated from the Oriental Public School, higher education is closed to Mercy because she is Chinese. Mercy hopes to gain admission to St. Clare's so that when she graduates, she will be able to start her own business, supplying Chinese herbal teas to Americans. Her dream is to purchase a house in the wealthy Nob Hill area of San Francisco where Jack and her family can live.

At St. Clare's, Mercy sees Elodie, Monsieur Du Lac's daughter whom she recognizes from the Du Lac's chocolate shop.  Monsieur Du Lac informs Mercy that it is not possible for her to be admitted to the school, but Mercy persistently argues that publicly funded schools are required by law to admit Chinese students. Mercy offers to help Monsieur Du Lac sell his chocolates in Chinatown and to arrange for him to go before the Benevolent Association which manages all affairs in Chinatown. In return, she wants him to allow her to attend St. Clare's on a full scholarship for three years. Monsieur Du Lac refuses and instead offers her to attend for three months in exchange for not only getting the hearing but securing him the right to sell his chocolates in Chinatown. If she does not, her attendance at St. Clare's will be revoked.  He tells her she will pretend she is a Chinese heiress.

That night Monsieur Du Lac's car arrives to pick up Mercy and take her to St. Clare's. From the neck down she looks like a St. Clare's girl with her navy dress, black stockings and boots and her felt hat, all courtesy of Monsieur Du Lac. Her ma warns her that it will take time to fit in, Jack gives Mercy his Indian head penny, but Ba is not there as he is working in the laundry. On her way to St. Clare's, William, the Du Lac's chauffeur stops to pick up Elodie Du Lac who informs Mercy that her father has told her she is to pretend that Mercy is a Chinese heiress.

At the school Mercy meets Headmistress Crouch who is amazed at her proficiency in English and who immediately begins checking Mercy's credentials. Crouch informs Mercy that she will be meeting Monsieur Du Lac on Friday. To Mercy's disappointment she discovers she will be studying French, comportment and embroidery rather than commerce or economics. After correcting Mercy's posture and telling her more of the rules she lets her know that she will be rooming with Elodie Du Lac.

At St. Clare's, Mercy meets Harriet Wincher, Katie Quinley who is from Red Rock Texas, twins Ruby and Minnie Mae Beauregard from South Carolina, Francesca Bellini and Father Goodwin. After Mass, Mercy attends her comportment class taught by Mr. Waterstone who informs her that he has a special interest in cultures of the Far East. Waterstone questions Mercy about Chinese customs and asks her to demonstrate a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Mercy, not having ever performed a traditional ceremony makes a ridiculous ceremony up on the spot.

Mercy and Elodie struggle to get along as roommates. After dinner and Good Friday Mass, Mercy prepares for her meeting with the Benevolent Association, coming up with the idea that the Du Lac's chocolates could be marketed to the Chinese as an funeral offering to the ancestors. Elodie informs Mercy that she will also be attending the meeting, but the Du Lac chauffeur, William informs the two girls that the meeting will have to be rescheduled. Furious, Mercy knows that she must show up at the meeting and manages to convince Elodie to stand in as proxy for her father, as she will someday be involved in his chocolate business.

The meeting before the Chinese Benevolent Association is almost a disaster, as Mercy presents her idea. Her friend Tom Gunn, whose father is a herbal doctor, is against allowing the chocolate to be sold in Chinatown for health reasons. However, the Benevolent Committee approves the selling of the chocolate in Chinatown. On her way home, Mercy stops to visit her family but her little brother Jack is asleep. Unbeknownst to her, it is the last time Mercy will see her mother and Jack. On the way back to St. Clare's, Elodie who has clued in to Mercy and Tom's mutual interest, tells Mercy that she will make Tom a consultant on the selling of chocolate to Chinatown, but Mercy tells her this will not be possible.

On Easter Sunday night, Mercy sneaks out of St. Clare's and meets Tom at Laurel Hill Cemetery. Tom tells her that he is leaving Tuesday at dawn for Seattle to work for a man who is building a plane. He tells a shocked Mercy not to wait for him and she, not wishing to dishonour him tells him he deserves to follow his dream. But inside she is crushed at Tom's decision.

The next days see Elodie bully Mercy and attempt to expose her. When Mercy reads the girls fortunes during embroidery class, Elodie informs the teacher, Mrs. Mitchell. The class is interrupted by Crouch who announces that two girls were seen leaving the grounds the previous night. One is discovered to be Katie Quinley who lost her shawl in the garden. Katie refuses to tell who the other girl was, but not wanting Katie to be punished, Mercy admits to being the other girl. She is whipped, sent to confess to Father Goodwin who assigns her penance to weed the herbal garden and is made to sleep in the attic. Headmistress Crouch also informs Mercy that she has sent correspondence to China to determine if Mercy is a legitimate Chinese heiress.

The next morning the girls are assigned to do their own laundry because Mercy's uniform was not turned inside out. Mercy uses her knowledge of laundry to quickly get her and her friends, Ruby, Minnie Mae, Katie and Francesca's laundry finished. Elodie is furious when she discovers what has happened and the two girls get into a brawl with Elodie revealing Mercy's true identity. Headmistress Crouch pulls Mercy from classes and assigns her to work in the kitchen until Monsieur Du Lac returns from his trip. As Mercy is pondering her immediate future in the garden, an earthquake strikes, destroying the school and changing Mercy's life forever.

Discussion

Outrun The Moon is an entertaining piece of historical fiction that provides readers with a snapshot of life in early 1900's America. The novel is centered around the devastating earthquake of 1906 which destroyed the city of San Francisco. Lee devotes a considerable part of the novel to portraying life in 1906 San Francisco before the earthquake - the first nineteen chapters - which set the stage for the disaster.  The city at this time was home to approximately 15,000 Chinese. Chinese were prevented from immigrating to America by the Chinese Exclusion Act passed in 1882, renewed in 1892 and made a permanent law in 1902. Many Chinese came to America during the Gold Rush years and were also laborers on the building of the railroad across the continent. However, they were gradually forced out of these jobs and many settled in cities like San Francisco where they worked in restaurants and laundries. The effect of the Chinese Exclusion Act was to prevent the Chinese men who were already in America from bringing over their families. As a result of this xenophobia, Chinese living in San Francisco in 1906 experienced intense discrimination.

Lee attempts to portray the racial discrimination Chinese experienced through her main character, Mercy Wong. Mercy, despite being born in America, is only able to attend the Chinese public school and there is no opportunity for her to further her education by attending high school. When Mercy first arrives at St. Clare's, she overhears the girls talking about her. Not only do they have little understanding of her culture, but their comments are derogatory. 

" 'You suppose she speaks English?' The talk continues.
'The ones here hardly speak any at all. Mother says they're not bright enough.'
Someone snorts. 'The girls in Chinatown hardly need English. They're all soiled.' The speaker lowers her voice, but I catch the word just the same."

Lee also informs her readers about some of the problems the Chinese community encountered in early 1900's San Francisco. Chinatown was located on prime land in the city, land that wealthy white business owners wanted. The Chinese community recognized this and refused to sell or to be driven away. When Mercy meets with the Benevolent Association she feels that the Chinese community should be less protectionist and more open to working with others so that they can gain the same rights as white Americans.

In her Author's Note at the back of the novel, Lee indicates that immediately after the earthquake, people of every race and class worked together to help one another. This is effectively portrayed in the novel as all the girls of St. Clare, led by Mercy Wong, work together, setting up a kitchen to feed the homeless survivors. In this way they bring together many different people in the city. Mercy begins to realize that what Mr. Mortimer, the mortician told her, that "death is the great equalizer", is true. Mercy notices that "some of the invisible walls are beginning to crack" between different people when a white woman offers crackers to a Sonoran woman and her child. As the St. Clare girls struggle amongst the ruins of the city, Mercy experiences more freedom than she's ever had before. Elodie, stripped of her friends, her mother dead and her father far away, is on equal footing with Mercy. Oliver Chance, a white man, seems to show interest in Mercy as he and a friend help out in the park. When Francesca suggests that he is from a good family, Mercy remembers that as a rule, white people do not associate with Chinese. As she notes, "The trembler moved us in mysterious ways, shifting underlying assumptions about social rank and order. "

Mercy is a strong female character, whose faith in God is severely tested by the disaster. She states that her brother "Jack's birth proved to me that God exists." But with his death, "the sea is empty for me." She struggles with the unfairness of their deaths, that she should be comfortable "when Ma and Jack suffered such unspeakable deaths." No religion offers her comfort. "The ancestors have turned their backs on my family, even after all those offerings we made. And Ba's Christian God - the all caring, all powerful one - He has been the most disappointing of all. Though I am not speaking to Him anymore, I still plead with Him to let me find Ba soon. It's the least You can do."

From the disaster Mercy becomes aware of how fragile life is. "You expect certain things to always be there, like the bakery on the corner, or the boy you grew up with. But when the very ground can eat you alive without warning, what's to say the ocean won't dry up? Or the stars won't suddenly shut off? Nothing is forever." She wonders what has happened to her father and if Tom is even safe.

With Chinatown destroyed, and Jack gone, Mercy has lost her sense of purpose. Jack and her ma no longer need a big house, or an easier life, nor will they feel hunger again. Mercy struggles to accept what has happened and how her life has changed. "The stars wink, teasing me with the notion that this has all been some colossal joke. That I will wake up any second in the living room of our flat on Clay Street with the smell of pomelo in the air. But the universe never jokes. It is always profoundly, unflinchingly serious." To deal with her pain of loss, Mercy reaches out to those in need and organizes the kitchen to help others who have suffered.

It's unfortunate that Lee decided to present such a negative view of a Catholic priest in her novel, choosing to portray Father Goodwin as unfaithful to his vows of celibacy. No doubt there have been Catholic priests through the ages who broke their vows, but was it really necessary to portray a priest in this disparaging manner in a young adult novel, especially when the main character, Mercy is a young Catholic girl struggling with her faith. It seems as though Lee succumbed to the current 21st century view that ALL Catholic priests are of poor character.

Overall, Outrun the Moon is a well written historical novel. Mercy's voice is sometimes humorous and at other times thoughtful. Her wit provides much comic relief and makes her seem a realistic character who finds within herself the ability to weather adversity. Her indomitable spirit causes Headmistress Crouch to reassess her view of Mercy whom she now considers to be someone who gets things done. Supporting Mercy is a well-developed cast of characters, each a bit different -  from the kindly Francesca, the spoiled rich girl Elodie to the crusty Headmistress Crouch. The novel takes its title from a phrase Mercy's mother tells her at the very beginning, that we cannot always control what happens in life, but we can view events with a different perspective. This is in reference to her telling Mercy that she has foreseen her own death. She reminds Mercy that she tells clients that they cannot change their destiny but they can change their perspective. " 'It is like the moon. We can see it differently by climbing a mountain, but we cannot outrun it. As it should be.' "

Book Details:

Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons Ltd.     2016
391 pp.

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko

Chasing Secrets is a historical fiction novel about an outbreak of the bubonic plague which began in the city of San Francisco in March, 1900 and continued for a number of years. This novel is set in the year 1900, at the very beginning of the outbreak.

Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth (Lizzie) Kennedy lives in San Francisco with her sixteen-year-old brother, William (Billy) and her father who is a doctor. Lizzie's mother died five years ago from stomach cancer. 

She attends Miss Barstow's School for Young Women which is a finishing school for young girls. The girls learn how to run a household and how to attract and marry a wealthy man. Unfortunately, they do not study science, and math classes stop after the third grade. Lizzie was enrolled in the school on the advice of her Aunt Hortense when she turned eleven. But she hates the dancing, etiquette and entertaining classes and much prefers to accompany her father on his house visits.

Lizzie is driven to and from Miss Barstow's by their Chinese cook, Jing, who also cares for their garden, horses and chickens and their cat. Lizzie has a strong attachment to Jing, who makes a special cake on her birthday. Lizzie's home is next door to her Aunt Hortense and Uncle Karl Sweeting's house which is on Nob Hill. Her aunt and uncle are extremely wealthy as Uncle Karl has made a great deal of money in the sugar business. Unlike her wealthy sister, Lizzie's mother married a doctor who often doesn't charge for his visits if people cannot pay.

The novel opens with Lizzie taking the next three days off from school as she accompanies her father on his house calls, something Aunt Hortense doesn't approve of. Their first call is to attend Mrs Jessen who is in labour but discover that her daughter, Caroline is also in need of medical care as she has broken her arm. Lizzie's father assigns her to set Caroline's arm, while he delivers the baby. However, Lizzie find this is easier said than done because Caroline won't let her near. Lizzie realizes that Caroline is frightened for her mother so she works on allaying her fears. Lizzie eventually sets the arm and helps her father deliver the Jessen baby, a healthy boy. When Mr. Jessen, who is a policeman in San Francisco, returns in the morning, he mentions about the enormous number of dead rats found in the walls of a restaurant in the city. Later when Jing picks up Lizzie and her father from the ferry, he tells them that Chinatown is under quarantine for the plague. Dr. Kennedy tells his daughter that there was an outbreak in Hawaii but no confirmed cases in San Francisco. As a result of the quarantine, Aunt Hortense asks Lizzie's father not to take her on any more calls. He agrees to this much to Lizzie's dismay.

Stuck at home with their maid Maggy Doyle, Lizzie decides to investigate the third floor after hearing strange sounds. On the third floor she discovers a Chinese boy who identifies himself as Jing's son, Noah, living in Jing's room. Noah tells Lizzie that he lives in the house unknown to everyone. Noah is worried because his father has not returned and he believes he has been caught in the quarantine when he went to Chinatown to work as a translator. Lizzie promises not to tell anyone about Noah's presence and to help him find his father. When she brings Noah dinner, Lizzie tells him she will ask her Uncle Karl about getting Jing out of the Chinatown quarantine.

That evening when Lizzie visits her uncle's home, she learns that many doctors do not believe the plague has come to San Francisco. Uncle Karl who owns the evening newspaper, the Call, has refused to publish anything about the plague, unlike his rival, Randolph Hearst. Karl believes that Hearst is publishing the reports of the plague so he can sell more newspapers. Uncle Karl tells Lizzie not to worry about Jing but that he will make some calls in the morning.

The next morning Lizzie tells Noah that her Uncle Karl will try to find out about Jing. Lizzie learns that Noah's mother still lives in China giving them something in common - they both miss their mothers. Noah tells her that he was living with his Uncle Han but came to live with Jing before the quarantine set in because his father was afraid he would starve.

Next Lizzie attempts to enlist Billy to take her to Chinatown. Lizzie notes Billy's black eye but he simply tells her he ran into a door. When Billy refuses to help her, Lizzie harnesses their horse, John Henry, and tries to leave without Aunt Hortense noticing. Of course her aunt does notice, but Billy rescues Lizzy and together the two of them travel to Chinatown. During their drive, Lizzie learns that Billy has been fighting but she promises to keep his secret since their father would never approve. At Chinatown, they find the area roped off and guarded by the police. Even Lizzie dropping Karl Sweeting's name doesn't help. As they drive around the area, Lizzie overhears two police mention about "waiting on the monkey". Desperate to find Jing, she asks for Officer Jessen but he too is unable to help.

When they arrive home, Billy and Lizzie discover that Aunt Hortense is moving into the spare room because their father will not be returning until the following week due to a smallpox outbreak. With Aunt Hortense's eagle eye on everything, Lizzie wonders how she will feed Noah and how she will ever manage to locate Jing and bring him home. Her attempts to find Jing lead Lizzie to uncover the truth about the plague in Chinatown and San Francisco and to reveal many secrets both in her family and the city.

Discussion

Chinatown circa 1900

Chasing Secrets is a well-written historical novel about life in early 1900's San Francisco. Choldenko fills her story with interesting details about what life was like for a young girl from a reasonably well-off white family during this era. Well-to-do young girls like Lizzie lived in large, clean homes with servants and good food, had access to what medical treatment existed at that time. They attended dances such as the cotillion (a kind of debutante social event). Although young girls received some schooling, their teen years were spent preparing to run a household. 

Noah's life would have been very different from Lizzie's, partly because he was a boy but also because he was Chinese. He would have had just as much difficulty attending school as she would. At the turn of the 20th century, the Chinese were restricted in where they could live in cities including San Francisco, and the general population were not accepting of the Chinese, even those Chinese born in America.

In Lizzie Kennedy, Choldenko has crafted a courageous, determined heroine, intent upon forging her own destiny. She is determined to find her family's beloved missing Chinese servant. Without betraying Noah's secret, Lizzie continues to search for his father, Jing, even if it means breaking the social conventions of the time. She harnesses the family's horse and buggy, preparing to drive herself to Chinatown until Billy intervenes to help her. When that fails Lizzie even attempts to pass herself off as a nurse to gain access to Chinatown. At the cotillion, Lizzie sneaks into the bar in an effort to learn more about what it happening in Chinatown. Later on she even dresses as a boy and attempts to ride her horse into Chinatown at night to warn Jing and Noah that people are intent upon setting the area on fire.

One of the themes in Chasing Secrets is that of friendship. Through Noah, Lizzie learns the meaning of friendship. At Miss Barstow's, Lizzie has not made many friends. "Now I'm thirteen, and my friends are the cook, the maid, our horse, and my father." When she meets Noah, she confesses to him that she doesn't have any friends because she's different and she seems to say the wrong thing. Noah advises Lizzie to pick out one girl she likes best and to start with her. When Lizzie declares that they are friends now, Noah states that outside her home, they cannot be friends. However, Lizzie tells him "We decide if we're going to be friends. Not them." Noah helps Lizzie learn to dance and he crafts her a "button-head lion", "so you'll remember to be brave...With everyone. Be your best true self. That's what Baba says." After the quarantine is lifted, Lizzie worries about whether she will ever see Noah again. She considers him her best friend. Eventually Lizzie does make friends at Miss Barstow's by following what Noah told her. She becomes friends with Gemma Trotter and her twin brother, Gus, who it turns out has a crush on Lizzie.

Another prominent theme is the Kennedy children's struggle to forge their own path in life. Lizzie's father wanted his son Billy to become a doctor. Even though Billy shows an aptitude for medicine as evidenced by his ability to stitch his shoulder himself, he wants to be a fighter. It is something he likes to do but his father is horrified. Billy tells his father, "I don't want people to take advantage of me. I need to be able to back up what I say. Otherwise it's just talk." Billy believes his father does not have much respect in the community because he doesn't stand up for himself when people don't pay him for his services. When Dr. Kennedy tells him he doesn't want his son fighting for a living, Billy states, "I'm not going to live my life as 'your son.' I'm going to live it my way. Make my own decisions. Think for myself." One of those decisions is to not get vaccinated against the plague.It is a decision that has profound repercussions for the Kennedy family.

In the same way, Lizzie finds herself at odds with the life her Aunt Hortense wants her to have. She had enrolled Lizzie in the finishing school with the idea that she will eventually marry and manage a household. Aunt Hortense doesn't like Lizzie accompanying her father on his medical trips. But with the death of Billy things change. Eventually even Aunt Hortense comes to realize that young people want to live as they choose. When Lizzie tells her that she wants to go to college, she is shocked when her aunt agrees. " 'I wanted a different life for you. Your father wanted a different life for Billy. But that didn't work did it? You'll have to' --she can hardly get the words out over the welling in her throat--'live your life your way.' "

The theme of "chasing secrets" is woven throughout the novel. Almost every character is keeping secrets or as Billy states, "Everybody has secrets...even Orange Tom."   Lizzie is keeping Noah's presence in her house a secret as well as her friendship with him which would not be considered appropriate for a girl her age or social status. Billy is keeping his fighting a secret because he knows his father disapproves. Uncle Karl and his friend Peter are keeping secret the efforts of Dr. Kinyoun (who has injected the plague pathogen into a monkey, a rat and two guinea pigs) to prove the presence of bubonic plague in the city. Dr. Roumalade is keeping secret his triaging of patients based on their social status and his unethical use of a vaccine known to kill those already exposed to the bubonic plague. Jing's secret revolves around the existence of Noah and his work in Chinatown, while the Chinese in Chinatown and the city officials are keeping secret the deaths from the plague by hiding the bodies in barrels and sneaking them out of Chinatown.

Fans of historical fiction will enjoy Chasing Secrets. Choldenko captures the atmosphere of San Francisco at the turn of the last century with strong, well developed characters and an exciting mystery.

Choldenko provides her readers with a wonderfully informative Author's Note at the back that provides information on the city of San Francisco, Chinatown, medicine in 1900, the plague and the plague epidemic of 1900 in San Francisco. There is also a map at the front of the novel so readers can understand the setting of the novel.

These websites may provide valuable information on the bubonic plague in San Francisco:

A Science Odyssey: People and Discoveries: Bubonic Plague Hit San Francisco:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dm00bu.html

Bubonic Plague in Chinatown from the Library of Congress:
https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-san-francisco-plague

Book Details:

Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko
New York: Wendy Lamb Books     2015
278 pp.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer Smith

One September day before the start of school, the power in New York City and throughout the eastern seaboard of the United States goes out. Moments before, Lucy Patterson had just made the elevator, pushing the door open to rush inside. When the elevator comes to a grinding halt, Lucy and the new boy, who'd only moved into the basement apartment a month ago with his father, the new superintendent, are left completely in the dark. They do not know how extensive the blackout is, believing it is only a problem in their building.

As they wait to be rescued, Lucy learns the boy's name is Owen Buckley and that he's not taken a liking to New York. Owen and his father moved to New York after the death of his mother. Her death made living in their home in Pennsylvania too painful and after being out of work for a year, as a contractor, Owen's father was given a job as the building superintendent in New York.

Both teens are on their own; Owen's father has gone out to Brooklyn on a personal errand and Lucy's parents are away in London, England. Lucy and Owen bide their time in the dark elevator, talking about life in New York City and how they view the city in a different way, she a native New Yorker, he a newcomer.

Eventually, they are rescued from the elevator, only to discover that the entire city and seaboard is without power. Initially, Owen and Lucy go their separate ways but Owen reconsiders and follows her up to her apartment, 24D. They get a flashlight and go down to the street to find water and ice cream. Since Owen has a key to the roof of their building, he and Lucy decide to spend the night up there. Owen learns that Lucy is often left alone by her parents who seem to be always traveling to "amazing places". Her father works for a British bank and they travel frequently. They always send Lucy a postcard from whatever city they are visiting.  Owen notes that Lucy seems sad about her parent's absence and they joke about how postcards always say "Wish you were here." when really if people did feel that way, they would have invited the person along. They spend the night talking about family, travel and life in general.

When morning comes, Lucy finds herself alone on the roof. Owen meanwhile has gone back to the apartment worried about his father, who was stuck in Brooklyn the previous day.  He finds his father in the apartment lobby suffering from heat exhaustion after having walked all the way home and spends the next day taking care of him. Because of his father's absence, the apartment building which is owned by his father's second cousin, Sam Coleman, was not taken care of properly during the blackout. Coleman warns Owen that if his father doesn't do his job he will lose it. Which is exactly what happens. As a result, Owen and his father set out on a journey that takes them across America. His father is in search of both a job and an escape from the memories of his wife.

Lucy searches for Owen but doesn't find him. When the blackout ends, her parents contact her and book her a flight to London. When she arrives, Lucy learns that her father is trying for a job at a bank in London and that they will not be moving back to New York. While in London, Lucy sends Owen a postcard with "Wishing You Were Here" embossed on the front and writing "I actually do." on the back. Owen in New York, also sends Lucy the same kind of postcard with the same message.

A few weeks later they both meet up unexpectedly in New York. Both Lucy and Owen reveal to one another that they will be leaving New York City - Lucy to London, and Owen to wherever his father can find a new job. Although they promise to keep in touch via postcards, Owen and Lucy must decide whether their relationship is something that will survive the turmoil of the next year.

The Geography of You and Me chronicles Lucy and Owen's attempts to continue their relationship against the backdrop of the enormous changes both of their families experience throughout the coming year. Readers will love the romantic tension Jennifer Smith creates throughout the novel and the somewhat inconclusive but realistic ending. It would be interesting to meet Lucy and Owen five years into the future to see how their lives and their relationship have unfolded.

Smith tells Owen and Lucy's stories in alternating narratives, which often include parallel actions and thoughts in both characters lives even though they are separated by geography and time. This tends to lend a sense of destiny to their relationship which is rather endearing and romantic.Owen's narrative focuses on how he and his father try to come to terms with the loss of their mother/wife. I wondered how realistic it was for Owen to have missed most of his senior year yet still be able to graduate and get accepted at six colleges. Lucy's narrative deals more with her life changing from that of an outsider in New York, to finding her niche in a new place. "In New York, she'd stood apart, and in Edinburgh, she'd stood out; but here, she just stood alongside everyone else, and there was comfort in that, in fitting in for once."

If this novel has one weakness, it's that Smith fails to convey to her readers the chemistry that Lucy and Owen seem to feel towards each other. Their initial meeting doesn't really provide readers with an understanding of why these two people are attracted to each other - other than maybe both are lonely. After their third disastrous meeting, it seems like all is over. Yet something in both Owen and Lucy leads them to break off with their current partner, in the hope of rediscovering what attracts them to one another. Unfortunately, it's all a bit of a mystery that is never quite revealed to the reader and that even the characters themselves don't quite understand. Perhaps that is what is so baffling about love.

Those who enjoy a light, contemporary romance will want to read The Geography of You and Me. Jennifer E. Smith has a masters in creative writing and is the author of several popular young adult novels including This Is What Happy Looks Like.

Book Details:
The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer Smith
New York: Little, Brown and Company    2014
337 pp.

The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman

Chan Jan Wai lost his wife when she gave birth to their only surviving child, a daughter named Jade Moon. Jade Moon was born during the Year of the Fire Horse - a bad omen for her family. Girls born during such a year were said to be dangerous, bringing tragedy to their families and Jade did just that, for her mother died giving birth to her.

Now seventeen years old, Jade lives with her father and grandfather and their servant, Nushi,  in the small village of Jinjiu on their family's ancestral lands. Because she was born in the year of the Fire Horse Jade has been told that she is cursed, that she brings bad luck to everyone she meets by her strong will. As a result, she has a reputation for being wild and headstrong. She cannot be what others want her to be - quiet, soft spoken and agreeable. Instead, she is outspoken and challenging. Jade finds her life in China like a prison with no future and a fiery reputation that she seems to live up to. Jade's father had intended to marry off Jade but no one will marry a Fire Horse girl.

Jade's future is about to change though, when a stranger, Sterling Promise, arrives in Jinjiu, claiming to be the adopted son of her father's brother, Chan Jan Keung - an uncle she did not know. Sterling has come to convince Jade's father to travel with him to America to start a business. When Jade learns of Sterling's plans to travel to America, she is resentful because she knows she will never be allowed such an opportunity.  Jade dreams of a life bigger than that found in her village. She believes that living in America would present her with the chance to finally be who she truly is without the judgement of others.

At first Chan Jan Wai is reluctant to accompany Sterling, but he changes his mind and also announces that Jade will travel with them to America. They travel to Hong Kong to board a ship that will take them to America. But first they meet Master Yue, for whom Sterling worked when he was younger. This is when Jade learns about Sterling's past and begins to distrust his motives for traveling to America.

When Jade, her father and Sterling board the steamer to take them to America, Jade is sent to bunk with Mrs. Ying and several other women passengers. Mrs. Ying tells Jade about America and how the Chinese are poorly treated there and how Americans do not want the Chinese in their country. She also warns Jade to learn what plans her Father has for her as most Chinese women who travel to America are either married off or forced into prostitution.

Jade learns from Sterling Promise that she must study and learn her "story" in order to get into America. After the 1906 fire in San Francisco, the list of American citizens was lost. The list needed to be remade so when the Chinese were asked if they were born in America, they all answered yes, meaning even those not born in America became American citizens since there was no way to disprove their claims. When they were asked if they had children, the Chinese increased the number of children they had in their families saying that some sons were born in America but sent back to China. These sons became known as "paper sons" because the American Chinese sell their identities to those back in China trying to come to America. They do not exist except on paper. This is how Jade's uncle was able to go to America for Mr. Yue.

Jade also discovers that her father plans to marry her off to Sterling Promise. When the three reach America, they are sent to Angel Island, an immigration station to process immigrants from Asia. Jade is separated from her father and Sterling and eventually interviewed. When Jade and her father are refused entry, but Sterling is allowed to do so, Jade uncovers the terrible truth about what the two men had planned for her.

Jade's father had no intention of staying in America and deliberately thwarted their entry by giving incorrect information to immigration officers. The plan was to have Jade marry Sterling Promise in America and return to China with her father. She was brought to America to ensure that this would happen - that Sterling would keep his promise and that Jade would actually marry him. To get her back to China, the father would have suggested they return for a visit and then Jade would not have been allowed to return to America. She would have provided a son so that the Chan family line could continue. However since Jade and her father must now return to China, things must change. Jade's father tells Sterling Promise that he expects him to return to China in a year to marry Jade.

When Sterling and Jade discuss their future, Jade tells Sterling that she only wishes to be allowed into America. She refuses his offer of marriage and furious that he has abandoned her and her father, devises a brilliant plan to escape from Angel Island. Stealing Sterling's immigration papers and disguising herself as a young man, Jade makes it to San Francisco only to be caught up in a war between two tongs (criminal organizations) who are fighting for control of Chinatown. She is taken in by the leader of one of the tongs, Mr. Hon and is trained to be a fighter. Hon runs many gambling houses but is looking to expand his business into prostitution. As tensions escalate, Jade must use all of  her characteristic wit and fiery determination as a Fire Horse to save herself, a friend and possibly many others too.

Discussion

The Fire Horse is a wonderful novel about a young woman's struggle to find her identity, to accept who she is and to have others accept her as well. This struggle is set against the backdrop of China and America in the early 20th century. China is a place where tradition and family duty still take precedence in contrast to America where new ways quickly replace tradition. In China, Jade cannot be true to herself, and she hopes that in America it will be different. However, once in America, circumstances quickly force Jade to outwardly change who she is in order to survive while staying true to her Fire Horse qualities. This is the reverse of what her existence in China was;outwardly she was Jade Moon but inside she had to pretend to be someone else. This double identity is reflected in the cover of the novel which gives readers hint of what is to happen in the novel.

Woven into all of this is the background historical setting of life in Chinatown in San Francisco in 1923. The Chinese immigrants have not integrated into American society but have their own area of the city and it is rife with gambling and the trafficking of women for prostitution. Making this setting more believable is the inclusion of the character Miss Donaldson, who is a stand in for the real life Miss Donaldina Cameron, an activist who helped trafficked Asian women. 

Born in New Zealand, Miss Cameron was a devout Presbyterian who ran the Occidental Mission Home in San Francisco, providing a safe place for Chinese women who were trafficked and abused. She had a reputation for being very kind and courageous, often breaking into brothels to rescue young women.

The author accurately portrays how difficult it was for Chinese immigrants to come to America during this time. As a result of deeply rooted racial prejudice, they were not welcome in the country and it took weeks, even years to be processed at Angel Island, often leading them to commit suicide. They were grilled over the most minute details, in contrast to white European immigrants who were processed on the other side of the continent, at Ellis Island, in a matter of hours.

Honeyman does an excellent job of developing her characters. Jade Moon is a terrific protagonist, strong, full of life, and fiery. She grows throughout the novel, coming to believe in herself, recognizing and accepting her weaknesses and her strengths. Sterling Promise helps Jade in her journey, while also developing himself. He comes to see Jade's temperament not as a curse, but as a gift that has helped him learn about himself.

With its upbeat conclusion and unusual subject, The Fire Horse Girl is an intriguing, well written novel that will appeal to many historical fiction fans.

Book Details:
The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman
Arthur A. Levine Books: An imprint of Scholastic Books    2013
321 pp.