All These Lives by Sarah Wylie

Most people think the biggest sacrifice, the greatest act of love you can give is to die for someone. And probably it is.
But sometimes it is the opposite.
The biggest thing you can do for someone is to live.

Finally a Canadian novel with an interesting cover that might actually appeal to Canadian readers!

Danielle (Dani) Bailey is twin sister to Jena who has cancer. Jena's leukemia has not responded to treatment and she needs a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, Dani is not a suitable marrow donor and all she can do is simply watch her sister suffer and perhaps draw closer to death.

When she was younger, Dani survived both a serious car accident and a serious chest infection, Dani's mother has always told her how she was "the girl with nine lives." Later on, her Uncle Stephan tells Dani about the history of the nine lives myth - that when a cat loses one of its nine lives, that life is released into the universe to be caught by another. This misguided and very strange belief that she has nine lives, leads Dani to engage in behaviours she hopes will rid herself of her remaining seven lives, allowing Jena to grab one and be well again.

When Dani isn't trying to harm herself, she is busy being sarcastic to everyone, embarrassing cute Jack Penner whose family is also dealing with a difficult situation, auditioning for a toothpaste commercial, and ticking off Candi and Spencer, two people she truly dislikes at school.

But every time Jena's health takes a downturn, Dani decides to do something that will cause her to come close to dying. Her mother soon recognizes that Dani needs help and sends her to a therapist. Of course, Dani isn't co-operative and is her usual sarcastic self to the therapist. But it is when she commits an act that almost leads to her death, that Dani realizes that she must face her greatest fear, which is not of her sister dying but of living to see her suffer.

Discussion

Sarah Wylie's debut, All These Lives, is a strange, heart-rending account of a young girl struggling to cope with her twin sister's incurable cancer. What makes this novel so intriguing is that the focus of the novel is not on the character with the disease, but on her sister and family.

In Dani, Wylie has crafted a character who is disagreeable, but also tragic. Dani's constant sarcasm is irritating but it's also part of Dani's limited way of coping with her sister's illness. Readers will probably develop a healthy dislike for Dani, but by the end we begin to appreciate just how difficult her family's circumstances are. Part of her problem is the way her parents are also coping. Dani can't ever talk about "IT", her sister illness, because in her family this is a topic to be avoided at all costs. "Even now, it's still hard for him to say it. I don't blame him. It's an icky word. Why couldn't whoever was in charge of naming things call cancer "sugar" and sugar "cancer"? People might not eat so much of the stuff then. and it's so much more pleasant to die of sugar."

Another part of Dani's inability to cope is that fact that despite being a twin, she cannot donate the one thing her sister needs most - bone marrow. This leaves her feeling devastated and frustrated, and determined to help her sister in the only way she knows.

All These Lives offers a unique treatment of young people and cancer, is well written, evenly paced, and a good first novel for Canadian author, Sarah Wylie. Readers might also like to contrast this novel with  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green which also deals with young people coping with a terminal illness.

Book Details:
All These Lives by Sarah Wylie
New York: Margaret Ferguson Books 2012
248 pp.

Prodigy by Marie (Xiwei) Lu

Prodigy, the second installment in the Legend series. If Legend was great, Prodigy is  amazing and just as thrilling as its predecessor.

It opens with Day and June Iparis on a train traveling to Las Vegas, now a military city, to meet up with the Patriot rebels. Shortly after arriving, the Primo Elector suddenly dies and his son, Anden Stavropolous takes his place. Day and June are in disguise, walking along the strip attempting to locate the rebels. His injured leg is in dire need of medical attention and as a result Day is barely able to stand and is slipping in and out of consciousness.

Fortunately, they are found by Kaede who takes them to Venezia, a high-rise military barracks. In an eighth floor officer's suite they are introduced to "Razor", who is a Patriot rebel leader. 

Razor is Commander Andrew DeSoto who is in charge of three of the capital's patrols. Razor has connections to the Colonies and is able to bring a great deal of money to the rebels, whose ultimate mission is to bring down the Republic and reunite it with the Colonies, reinstating the United States of America. Razor agrees to shelter Day and June, and to heal Day, provided they agree to help assassinate the new Elector. Day and June both agree to this, although June has some reservations, which she keeps to herself at this time.

The plan is for June to be captured by Republic soldiers and taken to Denver, CO to speak with the Elector. Once she meets him she will warn him of an imminent plan to assassinate him. This however, will be a diversion from the real assassination, which June will lure him to. Meanwhile, Day, Kaede, Tess and Razor will head to the warfront with the Colonies to organize the assassination. Despite her lack of love for the Republic, June pushes down her reservations about Razor's plan. "What exactly are the differences between Anden and his father? What does Anden think the Republic should be -- and for that matter, what do I think it should be? I mute the screen again and walk away. Don't dwell too deeply on who Anden is. I can't think about him as if he were a real person -- a person I have to kill."

Author Lu gradually unveils in more detail exactly what the rebels, specifically Razor, have planned for Day and June. Not only will June lure Elector Anden to his death, but Day is expected to be the assassin and the murder will be broadcast live in order to foment a revolution by the Republic's citizens.

As planned, June is captured by the Republic soldiers, although the entire capture is rigged by Razor who has Thomas' patrol capture her. Thomas ensures that June is not harmed and she is taken to Denver, CO to meet the Elector. Meanwhile, Day and Kaede manage to sneak aboard the RS Dynasty and are taken to the warfront where they connect with the Patriots at their underground headquarters.

But things quickly begin to unravel. When June meets Anden, she senses that he is not at all like his father. Anden isn't the cruel ruler his father was - he considers the war to be madness.  June is struck by the fact that he cares about his public image and that he seems to be telling her that things might not be as they appear. June discerns that Anden genuinely wants to win over the people and this is confirmed by Anden telling her that he wants to work with the Patriots to establish a new Republic. June learns that he is clashing with Congress over these policies. All this leads June to begin questioning why Razor and the Patriots want him dead when he is on the side of the people.

When Anden tells her that he will be freeing Day's brother, Eden, along with all the other children who are prisoners,  June knows that she cannot participate in the murder of the young Elector.  She sends a signal to Day not to follow through on Razor's plans. June realizes that she needs to find a way to warn the Elector without raising the suspicions of Razor and the Patriots who are watching her every move via security cameras. Can June save Anden and help him in his fight with Congress, while also helping Day get what he wants?

Day too is filled with self-doubts and is strongly conflicted over his mission. Day's doubts begin when he receives June's signal to "stop" . However when Tess tells him not to trust June because, at heart, she is still a Republic soldier, he is confused over where his loyalty should be.  All Day wants is to free his brother Eden, who is being used as a bioweapon, and to escape to the Colonies, which his father told him are cities of beauty and light. But after seeing a captive young boy being used as a bioweapon, Day's resolve to kill the Elector is further strengthened and he now decides to follow through on the rebel's plans. But even the best laid plans can go astray.

Discussion

Prodigy offers a strong second installment in the Legend series. Author Marie Lu creates incredible suspense by using two narrators to tell the story. The reader follows the story from two perspectives; that of June who is captive and dealing with Anden, and that of Day who is part of the Patriots assassination plot. Each advances the storyline by adding what they know, and struggling with what they don't know. This all leads the reader to question who has the truth, June or Day? Is Anden sincere or is he just playing June? And what about Razor, who seems to have set all this in motion without much suspicion on the part of the Republic?

Both June and Day fall back into the roles they had in Legend; June is the brilliant, highly esteemed soldier who is to be repatriated back into the Republic, while Day is the tough, streetwise rebel and charismatic symbol of the Patriot rebels with his signature white blond hair and daring deeds. But Day is very different from Anden. He doesn't care about the future of the Republic. He simply wants to free his brother Eden and flee to the Colonies. Anden however, wants to save the Republic and the Colonies and reunite America.

Author Marie Lu advances her reader's knowledge of the Legends world considerably in Prodigy.  Of great help is the map at the front of the book of the United States post-catastrophe. Most of the Eastern United States is now flooded. This flooding resulted years ago in mass migration to the western states, followed by anarchy and succession from the country. Through Anden the reader learns how the Trials came about and how the Republic came to be a military dictatorship. This leads us to understand better why the people are rebelling and why Anden might be so desperate to change things.

Our world view is developed when Day is shown a world map at the rebels camp. There he learns that China and Africa are now world superpowers; most of Europe's population has fled to Africa; Antarctica is a beautiful place; and that only Brazil, Chile, and Argentina remain in South America. This was all the result of severe climate change caused by changes in the sun. These changes led to massive melting of Antarctica and flooding of the continents. Readers also learn that the Colonies are not the utopia Day and June think it is.

Besides filling Prodigy with well-paced, thrilling action, there are several complex romantic relationships. There is also a fair measure of tragedy in this novel, not the least of which is the unexpected tragedy at the end.

Prodigy is a well paced, strong,  second novel, that will keep Legend series fans hungering for more -- and soon! This is the only dystopian series that can come close to competing with Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games. The writing is polished, the plot secure,  the characters engaging and realistic and the backstory developed.

Book Details:
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Toronto: G.P. Putnam's Sons    2013
374 pp.

Everything was Good-bye by Gurjinder Basran

 " 'What does want have to do with it? He must do what he is told. We all must do as we are told,' Masi said, her eyes close to mine as she placed a bindi on my forehead."

This poignant, heartbreaking novel, tells the story of a young woman caught between personal desire and cultural expectations.


Meena (Meninder) lives with her mother and older sister Tej (Tejinder) in North Delta, a suburb just outside of Vancouver. She is almost eighteen when the novel begins, and in Grade 12 in high school. Meena is the youngest in a Punjabi family comprised of six daughters. Her sisters are Serena, the oldest who is married and has produced the desired male first born, Harjinder who has run away from home after being attacked by a group of boys, Parm who lives in England with her husband, Parveen who married and moved to Edmonton, and Tej who is not yet married. Meena's father died in a workplace accident, when she was very young so she doesn't remember him. However, every Sunday, her mother hosts relatives and friends from the Punjabi community, who come to mourn the loss of her husband, sixteen years previously.

Meena meets Liam at school one day. She feels comfortable talking to him, and he is kind to her. She likes to listen to him talk, describing him as being "symphonic".

"You could be an opera," I told him. 
"No, you've got it all wrong. An opera needs tragedy. And that's your department. You're tragic through and through." 

Meena begins rebelling not only in school but also against the restrictions imposed by her culture and family. She spends more and more time with Liam, talking about life despite the fact that her mother has warned her to stay away from that "white boy" so as not to ruin her chances to make a good Punjabi marriage. Eventually the friendship between Liam and Meena develops into a romantic relationship. But, when Liam asks her to leave with him, Meena cannot make a decision, and one day she finds her only friend has left.

Time passes and in part two, Two for Sorrow,  Meena is now a 24 year old woman working for a PR firm. She is still being pressured to marry, and marry someone from her own culture.  Meena gives in and agrees to meet a wealthy Indian-Canadian man, Sundeep (Sunny) Gill. Sunny works as a corporate lawyer and with his entitled attitude is not a good match for Meena.  Even though neither Sunny nor Meena wish to be married to one another, they go through with the marriage to please their families. Three years pass in an kind of banal existence for both of them, devoid of children and in which Meena focuses on her career. When Sunny and his parents take a six week trip to India, in a twist of fate, Meena unexpectedly runs into Liam at an art showing. Her choices during Sunny's absence will have terrible consequences for everyone involved.

Everything was Good-bye is an excellent novel that explores the themes of identity and self-discovery. Meena struggles to develop her own identity and choose her own path in life but is largely unable to because of the expectations placed upon her by her Punjabi culture and the consequences if she steps outside her culture. These expectations have been there since she was a young girl and dictated how she dressed and behaved. Both the expectations and the consequences of not conforming become more imposing as she approaches adulthood.  She can't date a white boy because this will ruin her reputation for making a good marriage to some well off Punjabi boy. She can't take the writer's course in Toronto, because as her older sister Serena tells her, she has a duty to do what her mother wants.


Characterization in Everything was Good-bye is well done. Meena struggles to balance what she wants in life (to be a writer and be with Liam) with cultural expectations of her family (to marry well in the Punjabi community and to be a good wife and mother). However, the pressure to conform is relentless. We want Meena to have the courage to be true to herself, but her repeated inability to do so, thwart her life and her happiness. Eventually this balancing act becomes to much and the reappearance of her beloved Liam results in her first forward action in 5 years .The repercussions of going against her culture are shockingly deadly, in a way she couldn't have predicted. All this makes her a very sympathetic character.

The reader experiences Liam as an intelligent, kind man who loves Meena and who tries to accept her as she is. Unlike Meena, Liam has the freedom to follow his own path. But Meena's indecision leaves him frustrated and feeling confused.

Sunny is a completely unlikeable character mainly because he is a poor fit for Meena and also because he is abusive. Wealthy, well educated,  his sense of entitlement is overbearing. He is like Meena though because he doesn't like the restrictions his culture has placed on him either. He doesn't have the courage to go against Punjabi traditions. Instead he exists within them, but because he is a man, he has more freedom. It's evident by the way Sunny behaves, that he doesn't love her.

Overall the story was quite dramatic, almost like a Hindi movie, and holds the reader's interest to the very end. The ending is absolutely shocking and borders on unsatisfying because as a reader I didn't get what I wanted - a happy ending. Basran gives us plenty of foreshadowing of the unhappy conclusion to the novel.

Everything was Good-bye is a thoughtful, engaging novel on identity and culture that will resonate for many, regardless of their ethnic background. All cultures have expectations for young people and many of us experience the conflict, loss and confusion that this entails.

Book Details:
Everything was Good-bye by Gurjinder Basran
Toronto: Penguin Canada 2010
254 pp.

The Duchessina by Carolyn Meyer

This wonderfully written historical novel tells the story of Catherine de' Medici, the last surviving member of the Medici family directly descended from Lorenzo Il Magnifico Medici, who was Catherine's great-grandfather.

The opening chapter provides young readers with the background information about Catherine's life before the age of four, which is when Meyer picks up the story. 

Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de ' Medici was given the  diminutive,  "Duchessina" or Little Duchess since her christening. Caterina was born on April 13, 1519 and was baptized three days later in the Medici family church of San Lorenzo. Just weeks after her birth, her mother passed away from childbed fever and her father died after a lengthy illness. 

She lived in the enormous Palazzo Medici with its large inner courtyard and marble statues. The main floor of the palace contained the large apartment of Cardinal Guilio de'Medici where he received visitors. Caterina spent her early childhood days with her nurse, Elisabetta whom she called Betta. 

Caterina received frequent visits from her father's sister, her Aunt Clarissa who told her about her great-grandfather, Lorenzo de'Medici, known as Il Magnifico and whose son became Pope Leo. She also reveals that when Caterina as a baby was sick with a fever, she was taken to Pope Leo who had her stay in Rome in the care of his sister, Lucrezia Salviata. At this time Pope Leo gave Caterina the title of Duchess of Urbino resulting in her nickname, "la duchessina". After the death of Pope Leo, Caterina returned to Florence with her Cardinal Giulio. He would meet with Caterina and her nurse, Betta monthly to be inspected. 

At the age of four Caterina discovered her older cousins, fourteen-year-old Ippolito and eleven-year-old Alessandro who lived in an apartment on the top floor.  Ippolito was handsome and kindly, while Alessandro was cruel and loved to taunt Catherine. Her Aunt Clarissa revealed that Alessandro was the son of a cardinal and his mother was a Moorish slave, while Ippolito was the son of Pope Leo's younger brother, Guiliano. Both boys were bastards (that is illegitimate). Shortly after Caterina's fourth birthday, the successor to Pope Leo mysteriously died, possibly by poisoning and Cardinal Guilio raced to Rome. He became Pope Clement VII and placed Caterina in the care of Cardinal Passerini. Life for Caterina changed dramatically. She was given a grander apartment, beautiful gowns and more servants. Betta revealed that this was to make her a good marriage prospect.

Caterina's Aunt Clarissa reveals that with the death of both her parents, Caterina inherited not just the de'Medici fortune but also her mother, Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne's fortune as well. She was the cousin of the French king, Francois who had tried unsuccessfully to bring Caterina to France. At age five, Caterina was tutored by Fra Matteo. Caterina loved to visit her Aunt Clarissa and her husband Filippo and their four sons, Piero, Leone, Lorenzo, and Roberto, who were Caterina's real cousins. Cardinal Passerini used the visits as a reward but Caterina quickly learned to deceive "and admit to nothing."  meets Michelangelo Buonarotti one day in that chapel. One day when she was almost six years old, Caterina was taunted by Alessandro who told her she looks like a frog. From this experience Caterina began to understand that she must be clever to get what she wanted.

When Catherine was almost eight years old, her world changed again. the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles who was in conflict with Pope Clement, ordered troops to sack Rome as a punishment for the pope's support of the French king, Francois I. The year that Caterina was born, 1519, Charles V, king of Spain became the Holy Roman Emperor. King Francois of France made ware against Charles V and was taken prisoner, releasing him in exchange for Francois's two sons. Because Pope Clement was an ally of Francois, the pope, the Medici family and all of Florence were at risk.  The Holy Roman Emperor Charles ordered troops to sack Rome as a punishment for the pope's support of the French king. Soldiers pillaged, burned, murdered and raped throughout Rome, and Pope Clement VII was forced to flee to safety.

Ippolito and Alessandro are taken by Cardinal Passerini to his palazzo in Cortona. To escape a mob outside the Medici palazzo, Clarissa and Caterina, disguised in a boy's tunic attempted to flee to Poggio a Caiano, the Medici villa in the country. However, they are discovered Clarissa is told that the new governors of Florence want Caterina as a hostage. Caterina and Clarissa are forced to return to Florence where Catherine is placed in the Santa Lucia convent in the Via San Gallo for her own protection. 

Life at Santa Lucia was difficult for Caterina. She wore a rough linen tunic, slept in a bed with a straw mattress and was tormented by one of the nuns, Suor Immacolata who tells Caterina that her father ruined her and many other servant girls and that he died of the "French disease". Between prayers in the chapel, Caterina was made to work in the laundry. She was able to befriend one young nun, Suor Caterina. Eventually Caterina was visited by an ambassador from France, representing King Francois, who revealed that although he could not free her, he could request that she be taken to a more suitable place. The ambassador revealed that Florence continued to be in turmoil and the Medici were hated. 

Caterina was taken to Santa-Maria Annunziata delle Murate which she was familiar with and which the abbess, Suor Margherita was her godmother. There conditions were much better; a small room with a thick mattress and warm blankets, a brazier and a lay sister Maddelena who was her maid servant. Gradually Caterina recovered her health with the care of the nuns. At the convent Caterina is tutored in the virtues. She had already learned to read Latin from Fra Matteo before Cardinal Passerini had stopped the lessons. Caterina was sent to the scriptorium to learn from Suor Battista to be a copyist.Shortly after her ninth birthday, Caterina's Aunt Clarissa died in giving birth to a daughter, Caterina who also died. 

In exchange for being made Holy Roman Emperor, King Charles of Spain allowed the Pope Clement to return to Rome. The previous year when Rome was sacked, Florence declared itself a republic. However, Pope Clement refused to recognize this and made Alessandro de'Medici ruler of Florence for life. To force the Signoria and the people of Florence to accept this, King Charles laid seige to the city. During the seige, Caterina became ill but recovered, many of the nuns succumbed to the plague and her beloved Suor Battista died. 

Caterina was sent back to the Santa Lucia convent. To protect herself, she cut off her hair and dressed in the habit of a novice and was led to Santa Lucia by Silvestro Aldobrandini of the Signoria's Council of Ten, in the hopes of keeping her safe. Eventually Florence capitulated after sixteen thousand of its citizens died from plague and starvation and the surrounding farms and estates had been destroyed. When Caterina learned that the all the members of the Council of Ten were to be executed she wrote a letter to Pope Clement begging for clemency for Aldobrandini. Caterina was forced to move to Rome by Pope Clement but agreed to spare the life of Aldobrandini and exile him. She travelled to Rome accompanied by her maid, Betta and Cardinal Giovanni Salviati and was placed into the home of Lucrezia de'Medici Salviati, Caterina's great-aunt. Living in the palazzo was Lucrezia's elderly husband Jacopo Salviati, her son Cardinal Giovanni and his assistants, her widowed daughter Maria, and her younger daughter Francesca.

In Rome, Caterina quickly discovered that both Ippolito and Alessandro also live at the palazzo and that it was Pope Leo's intention that Ippolito rule over Florence. She was tutored in Latin, Greek, and astrology in preparation for her marriage some day to a nobleman. In the first months of 1531, Caterina and Ippolito spent time in the library getting to know one another. Ippolito revealed that Alessandro is the bastard son of Pope Clement VII. Sadly, Caterina and Ippolito's meetings were discovered by Alessandro. As a result of this discovery, Pope Clement made Ippolito a cardinal, destroying Caterina's hope that one day she could marry him.

Now separated forever from the man she loves, Caterina found herself being tutored by the French Ambassador, Monsieur Philippe. During this time, Caterina also learned that she was to be wed to Henri, Duke of Orleans, and the second son of King Francois of France. In the meantime she is to be under the guardianship of Alessandro in Florence.  Caterina wondered, what her future holds, living in a strange country, far away from her beloved Florence? And will her husband be a kind and loving man? 

Discussion

In The Duchessina, Carolyn Meyer has crafted another rich historical novel that captures the essence of life during the Italian Renaissance, along with all the political maneuvering between the Catholic church and kings and nobility of the period. Readers get a brief history of the Medici's but it is helpful to understand more about this famous family. Lorenzo Medici brought fame, prestige and power to the republic of Florence through his immense patronage of the arts. However, it was his grandfather, Cosimo who began this patronage, spending his vast fortune on both the arts and the government in Florence. Lorenzo continued the patronage.  Some of the famous artists who were supported by the Medici included , Piero, Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarotti.

The Medici's had long been involved in banking but by the 15th century (1400's) the Medici bank had became the largest bank in Europe. It is also likely the Medici's were the wealthiest family in Europe during this time and with this wealth came great political power. They were the de facto rulers of Florence often exerting power through the city's politicians and through arranged marriages with other important families. But the Medici banking business soon became entangled in the running of the government. Bank failures and other mismanagement resulted in the Medici decline in power in the later 1400's. The Medici family, once beloved by the people of Florence, were despised and hated now by the people who wanted a ruler other than a Medici. It is this time period that Catherine di Medici was born into. 

Caterina was born on April 13, 1591 to Lorenzo de'Medici and a French noblewoman, Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, Countess of Boulogne. With the death of her parents, King Francis 1 of France wanted Caterina raised in the French court. Pope Leo X, who was Lorenzo's uncle, refused as he intended for her to marry her cousin, Ippolito de'Medici.  Caterina was cared for by her aunt, Clarice de'Medici. After the death of Pope Adrian VI and the election of Pope Clement VII in 1523, Caterina was taken to live at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi. The new pope's intent was to secure a politically advantageous marriage for Caterina. 

In 1527 the people of Florence revolted against the rule of the Medici and Caterina was taken hostage, shunted from convent to convent. In order for Pope Clement to retake Florence for the Medici, he was forced to crown Charles of Austria as the Holy Roman Emperor. In exchange, Charles troops laid siege to Florence in 1529 leading to the city to surrender in 1530. 

Caterina was taken to Rome to be under the patronage of Pope Clement VII who set about to find a suitable marriage for her. She was married to Henri, Duke of Orleans on October 28, 1533 at Eglise  Ferreol les Augustin in Marseille. She was fourteen-years-old and came with a huge dowry paid for by the pope. However, when Pope Paul III was elected, he refused to continue paying the dowry and this affected Caterina's standing in the French court. The first ten years of their marriage saw no children but Caterina eventually had ten children. 

The Duchessina tells Caterina's story from infancy through the siege of Florence, her marriage to Henri and his death in 1559. The focus in her adult years is on her relationship with her husband Henri who did not love her, and her struggles to produce an heir for the French crown. 

Meyer incorporates many historical details about life in the 1500's into her story. Caterina describes how the season of Advent in the Catholic church was celebrated. "...Advent, the month-long penitential season just before Christmas when the altars were hung with violet silk and everyone abstained from eating meat, eggs, milk, and cheese on certain days." 

The novel describes life in a convent in detail:  "The professed nuns ate first. When they'd finished, the young girls and a few elderly widows and few elderly widows who made their home here entered for the second sitting. The novices and lay sisters ate last. The polished wooden benches and tables smelled of beeswax, and beautiful paintings of the Holy Virgin and the Christ Child hung on the whitewashed walls." The duties of the nuns are also described. In the kitchen, "... the sisters made sweets of honey and nuts and dried fruits, and there was a room where they filled pomander balls with dried rose petals and spices." There was a weaving room where looms were used to make "...fine linen for altar cloths and damask tablecloths. Nuns stitched dainty sleeping shifts and undergarments of embroidered silk, trousseaux for wealthy girls about to be married. They spun fine gold thread for costly embroidery and worked delicate lace for vestments and altar hangings." There was also a scriptorium where "...in a series of small cubicles on the upper floor, a dozen nuns sat at slanted desks and copied manuscripts, missals and graduals and prayer books intended for private devotion."

She also effectively portrays the role of wealthy women in society during this time through the character of Caterina. As with many wealthy girls and women in the Italian Renaissance, Caterina found her life very restricted. She had few choices, although her life was much better than women who were not of the nobility. As a child limited to the palazzo, she learned "...to be content within my small, restricted world: my sumptuous suite of rooms, with occasional escapes to the courtyard, the kitchen, the garden, and the chapel." Caterina notes that the beautiful paintings on the plaster walls of the chapel contain no girls or women, only "...priests, churchmen, shepherds, citizens, slaves."  

Because she was so wealthy and related to Pope Clement, Caterina was used as a political pawn and had no choice in marriage. As with many wealthy women of this period, they were given in marriage to strengthen political and family ties. She could only hope that her future husband would care for her and that she would grow to love him. 

Caterina de Medici was a strong, resilient woman, who suffered through the loss of all those close to her, who had little choice in the path her life was to take but ,who was determined to make the best of every situation. Meyer succeeds in creating a great deal of empathy for the young Caterina as she struggles to cope with situations beyond her control throughout her youth and a disappointing marriage. There is even a tragic loss of love in the novel that adds a sense of misfortune to her life. The author is able to capture Catherine's human qualities of intelligence, independence and strength of character, and make them very real to her readers. Catherine eventually became Queen of France, and after the death of Henri II in 1559, she was deeply involved in the political life of France and Europe. She was the mother of ten children, three of whom became monarchs.

Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de Medici is an excellent fifth book in Carolyn Meyer's acclaimed Young Royals series. There is some sexual content in the novel and therefore this book is for older teens. There is a Medici family tree at the front of the novel, that is helpful to understanding the relationship between various people in the Medici family and a good Historical Notes at the conclusion of the novel.

Book Details:
Duchessina: A Novel of Catherine de' Medici by Carolyn Meyer
Toronto: Harcourt Books       2007
261pp.

The Essence by Kimberly Derting

The Essence by Kimberly Derting is the second book in the Pledge trilogy and unlike most second books, it is mostly engaging read that is well written. This book picks up where The Pledge left off, with Charlaina now Queen of Ludania after having defeated and destroyed the evil Queen Sabara. However, Charlaina carries a dark secret deep inside her. While everyone else, including her beloved Max thinks that the evil Queen Sabara is dead, in fact, her essence has been transferred to Charlaina. Unlike previous transfers where Sabara simply pushes out the essence (soul) of the body she steals, both her and Charlaina continue to co-exist in Charlaina's body. It is a constant battle for Charlaina to keep control over the ancient queen. Even the healing powers of her younger sister, Angelina, cannot rid her of Sabara. It is this struggle that forms the backbone of the second novel.

When the emissary for Queen Vespaire of the Third Realm, Niko Bartolo arrives at the palace, Charlaina finds herself strangely attracted to the man, despite her deep love for Max. At first she does not understand this attraction, but soon comes to recognize that it is Sabara who is attracted to Niko whose response she is experiencing.

Despite the internal struggle with Sabara, Charlaina has begun to effect changes in her country that she hopes will move her people forward. She has removed the class system and made Englaise the state language. Children from the old classes, vendor, servants, counsel and outcast study together. But there is resistance to her changes too.

When Charlaina appears at a new school dedication, the school is bombed and many are killed and injured. The intent was to kill the new queen. Brooklynn, now head of the Ludania's army, is certain her own father is behind the attack.To protect Charlaina from further attacks, Max decides that she will leave early for the upcoming summit of Queens to be held in Queen Neva's palace. But on her way there, Charlaina and her bodyguard, Zafir are kidnapped by a Scablands sympathizer whose intent is protect her from being murdered by someone in her retinue.

Once at the summit, Charlaina must deal with the queens, as well as with Sabara's attempt to force her to be with Niko. The summit, rather strangely, turns out to be one big girls party that ends rather abruptly when Charlaina is challenged by another queen and Sabara intervenes. Charlaina travels to the south of her realm to be with her family. With the traitor still at large, Niko devises a plan to draw out the murderer. This plan reveals foreign interference in Ludania and the potential for war.

The Essence is much different from the first novel, focusing more on Charlaina's internal struggle to control Sabara and prevent her from taking over her psyche. Derting attempts somewhat successfully, to convey to her readers the struggle and the conflict Charlaina experiences over Sabara. Sabara wants to continue living on, so she can be with Niko, who is also very ancient. Charlaina rejects Sabara's attempts to allow her to transfer to another body and begins to understand that she is a danger to those around her. The summit provides the stage for Sabara gaining increasing influence over Charlaina, while the threat of a traitor in the queen's party takes a backstage to her internal struggles. It must certainly be rather bizarre having someone else inside your head, especially when you are either kissing someone you don't necessarily want to (Niko) or kissing someone  you really want to (Max). 

Lacking in The Essence is further development of Max and Charlaina's relationship. Instead Charlaina's relationships with her bodyguard, Zafir, and with Niko and Sabara are the focus. It will be interesting to see where Derting takes the story line from here. The overall storyline of The Essence is weak; the summit was rather disappointing and seemed quite frivolous, and the terrorist acts which set up the prelude to war is obviously a hint at part of the third novel's focus.

Overall, The Essence is a decent second installment which draws the reader in with the strange problem of Charlaina struggling against her old nemesis, Queen Sabara.

Book Details:
The Essence by Kimberly Derting
New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books    2013
341 pp.

Waiting For Superman

In Waiting For Superman, director Davis Guggenheim explores how America's public school system is failing students and their families, resulting in tens of thousands of drop-outs, while also contributing to the phenomena of failing neighbourhoods. Guggenheim initially filmed a documentary in 1999 about teachers which showed that many teachers are heavily invested in the children they teach, coping not only with academic problems but also those problems from home that children bring into the classroom. Ten years later however, as he was preparing to send his own daughter to school, aware of the precarious state of education in America, he chose a private school for his child. But most parents do not have this option. They may not have the finances or they may not live close enough to a good school.

Education has captured the social conscience of America for decades now. Starting in the 1950's almost every president has claimed to be an "education president". The solution has been to throw more and more money at schools in an effort to improve the quality of education that a child receives. The amount of money spent per student has gone from $4300 in 1971 to over $9000 in 2007, while test scores in math and reading have flatlined.

In 2002, President Bush announced across the board testing for all students in the "No Child Left Behind" initiative. In 2009, with 4 years left in the program, most states show math and reading levels that are well below proficiency. In Washington, for example, only twelve percent of students are reading at grade level.

Researchers have begun to study the problem of why students are not learning and have identified that certain public elementary schools are "dropout factories", producing students who are poorly educated, unable to read and do basic math. They identified 2200 such schools across America. One such school is Locke High School in Los Angeles. Approximately 1200 students enter grade 9, most reading at only a grade one to three level! By grade 10 only 300 to 400 students remain. Why do so many kids drop out?

Experts use to believe that failing high schools were the result of failing neighbourhoods, but now the opposite is believed to be true: failing neighbourhoods are the result of failing schools. So what is the cause of failing high schools? The education system in America is a huge bureaucracy which makes reform almost impossible. But more importantly, the quality of teachers is important to student success and there are many poor teachers who are impossible to remove from the education system.

"Students with high-performing teachers progressed three times as fast as those with low performing teachers. A bad teacher covers only fifty percent of the required curriculum in a school year. A good teacher can cover up to one hundred fifty percent."

When bad teachers were caught on video, Milwaukee school superintendent, Howard Fuller attempted to fire them, only to be forced to rehire them with backpay due to a "tenure" provision in their contracts. In public schools today, tenure is automatic, regardless of teacher performance. School boards across the country do, what in Milwaukee is called the "dance of the lemons",  - bad teachers are passed on from school to school because they cannot be fired. Every state has its own way of dealing with bad teachers - except firing them. In comparison to other professions, in teaching, only 1 in 2500 teachers have ever lost their teaching credentials due to poor performance. Researchers state that just firing the bottom six percent would vastly improve the American education system. Of course, opposing this type of action are the powerful teacher unions.

But some, like teacher, Geoffrey Canada are successfully attempting to reform the school system by starting their own schools. Geoffrey Canada is passionate about children and a strong advocate for both social and educational reform. He has demonstrated that good schools are possible and make a difference in student outcomes. Taking a twenty-four block area of Harlem known to be the worst for poverty and crime, Geoffrey Canada organized a school that took an active interest in student's academic progress. The Harlem Children's Zone is brilliantly successful - demonstrating that children from failing neighbourhoods CAN learn.

Similar to other excellent schools,  there are more students than places and that means that lotteries must be held to determine which students are accepted. To demonstrate how precarious the situation is for these children, Director Guggenheim followed five children, Anthony, Bianca, Daisy, Emily and Francisco, as they struggle through a school system where the emphasis is not on learning but on the rights of teachers and adults. Each of these children have dreams of what they would like to be when they grow up. But whether or not they achieve their goals will largely be determined by the school they attend. So for many, the race is on to try for a spot in a good school which means entering the lottery system. Whether or not they are accepted will profoundly affect their future lives.

This documentary was eye-opening mainly because it reveals just how many schools in America are failing schools and it drives home the importance of good teachers. The statistics were sobering and more than adequately demonstrate that good schools are within everyone's grasp. We now know that students from poor neighbourhoods can learn and it is up to the teacher unions to decide whose side they are on; their own self-interest or children in America?

Shadowlands by Kate Brian

At a first glance, Shadowlands by Kate Brian appears to be psychological thriller involving a serial killer. However, as the novel moves along, it morphs into a blend of horror and mystery that draws the reader in to the very end.

One day after school, Rory Miller takes a shortcut through the woods near her home, only to be stalked and attacked by her math teacher, Mr. Nell (isn't that every high schooler's nightmare!). In a stroke of luck, Steven Nell slips and Rory fights back, escaping to the road. There she is picked up by her new boyfriend, Christopher, who calls police. It turns out Nell is serial killer, Roger Krauss, who has murdered fourteen girls in the past decade and who has been the subject of an intensive FBI manhunt. The Miller's are ordered to remain sequestered in their home, because Nell has a history of murdering a girl's entire family when he fails to succeed in a first attempt. When police fail to catch Nell, and he demonstrates that he won't be denied Rory, the FBI decide to send the Miller's far away with new identities. But, Nell, notorious for his brilliance, continues to stalk the Millers.

Rory, along with her older sister, Darcy, and their father travel nonstop to Juniper Landing, an island off of South Carolina. During the trip, Rory falls asleep and has a nightmare involving Nell. When she wakes up she is still in the car with her Dad and Darcy, on the ferry to Juniper Landing.

Rory's relief at being on an island soon gives way to a vague unsettled feeling. The island has no phone or internet service and is often surrounding by a creeping fog that blocks out the mainland. Rory and Darcy meet a group of young people; Tristan and Krista whose mom is the mayor of the island, as well as Joaquin and Aaron. Rory's unease increases as she learns that Tristan is watching her from the house across the street.But when people begin disappearing and others on the island don't seem to remember their existence, Rory enters a state bordering on panic. Added to this are signs that Steven Nell has indeed followed Rory to Juniper Landing? Convinced that she and others are in grave danger, Rory begins pressing Tristan and Joaquin for answers. What is going on?

In many ways this novel was both bizarre and fascinating. The situations with the FBI and how they handled Rory's family lacked realism. Rory arrives home in Christopher's car to find her house surrounded by police cruisers while there doesn't seem to be any organized manhunt of the woods (using helicopters and infrared cameras for example) where Rory was attacked. One week after the attack, when their house is broken into, the FBI sends the Millers off on their own to an unknown destination, with new identities.

However, Brian does a great job at ramping up the suspense as Rory struggles to figure out what is happening, while also dropping the reader numerous clues. The presence of a methodical, brilliant killer, mysterious happenings on Juniper Landing, dense fog that seems to have a will of its own, and three deadly encounters with a serial killer keep the tension high.

The story is told mostly from Rory's point of view, but Brian occasionally adds a second narrator, that of the killer, Nell. His chapters are very well done, and especially creepy. Readers may guess at where Rory is and what's happened, but for most part, the ending is a surprise.

A great novel, with a puzzling cover that seems unsuited to the horror and suspense of the story.

The book trailer is well done:


Book Details:
Shadowlands by Kate Brian
New York: Hyperion    2012
328 pp.

February: Black History Month

As most of us know, February is Black History Month. Here are few resources that I've come across this month that might be of interest.

One of the best movies about the abolition of the slave trade is Amazing Grace which was released in 2006. Directed by Michael Apted, it tells the remarkable story of William Wilberforce, a young British parliamentarian who worked relentlessly to abolish the transatlantic slave trade. British slave ships brought Africans to the West Indies to be bought and sold as property. Wilberforce was working against cultural biases which viewed the dark-skinned people of Africa as less intelligent, less modest, less virtuous - in short, less human than people with white skin. In addition to this, many British parliamentarians and wealthy persons owned plantations or had a stake in the slave trade.  Ioan Gruffudd gives a stellar performance as Wilberforce while excellent supporting performances are given by Benedict Cumberbatch as William Pitt and Michael Gambon as Sir Charles Fox.

The title of the film, Amazing Grace, comes of course, from the hymn of the same name, written by John Newton, a slave ship captain who converted to Christianity and whom eventually became an Anglican priest. His conversion to abolitionist came about gradually. In 1788 he published his Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade which described the terrible conditions on board slave ships traveling to the Americas. Wilberforce was eventually successful with the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 which abolished the slave trade but did not free those already enslaved. Sadly, that did not happened until 1833.

In America, where the slave trade flourished, and eventually led to civil war, it took well over 200 years to abolish slavery and to establish equality for African Americans. In the 1930's, during the Great Depression, men and women were hired to record the stories of slaves, those who were still alive some 70 years after Emancipation and could who could recall life as a slave. Often these people had been slaves as children or adolescents. The project, called the Federal Writer's Project, was part of an initiative to write about American history. Former slaves were interviewed from all Southern states as well as many other states such as Rhode Island, North and South Carolina, Texas and Alabama.

The Slave Narratives can be found on the Library of Congress website. These narratives contain 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery. There are also hundreds of archived photographs.An interesting discussion of the limitations of the Slave Narratives can be found here. Please explore this site in detail as it has much information on the Slave Narratives.

Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer

Meredith Hayes is under the guardianship of her Aunt Noreen and Uncle Everett. Meredith had already been living with her aunt and uncle so she could attend the Palestine Female Institute when both her parents died of fever three years ago. When she comes of age, Meredith will inherit her father's land.

Now at the age of 19, Meredith wants to finish school and teach, not marry Roy Mitchell. But her Uncle Everett is pressuring her to marry Mitchell, an ambitious lumberman. Meredith knows she doesn't love him and she's certain Roy Mitchell feels the same about her, but she's torn between following her heart and doing right by her uncle. That is, until during a lunch with Roy, Meredith overhears him giving orders to burn out Travis Archer from his family land forcing him to sell.

Meredith has been in love with Travis Archer ever since a chance meeting with him at age ten, some twelve years ago. The four Archer boys, Travis, Crockett, Jim and Neill had a reputation for being trigger happy and hostile to all who ventured onto their land. Travis had honored the promise he made to his father not to leave the land for fear of  being forced off the homestead. Meredith had gone onto Archer land to retrieve her lunch pail and was injured by one of the Archer coyote traps. Travis had taken good care of her, behaving quite differently from their unfriendly reputation; in fact, he was tender and kind to Meredith, taking her home to her family. Although the injury had healed, Meredith's leg was slightly shorter and her leg was lame. Overhearing Roy Mitchell order his men to set fire to the Archer barn prompts Meredith to risk her life and reputation by riding out to the Archer property to warn them beforehand. Meredith realizes that all Mitchell wants is her land and the timber on it and that he doesn't love her.

When Meredith arrives at the Archer homestead, although she is recognized by Travis, she is given the typical Archer welcome, hostile and cold. But when Mitchell's men strike and Meredith is badly injured, she is forced to stay the night at the Archer homestead. Soon after, Uncle Everett shows up at the Archer homestead, furious at Meredith's ruined reputation and determined to force one of the Archer men to marry Meredith. Travis, who has begun to fall for Meredith, is determined to be the one to marry her. He proposes that they each draw straws and the loser who draws the short straw will be the one who marries Meredith. Travis rigs the draw and wins - Meredith will become his "short straw" bride.

Meredith and Travis are married but Travis decides that he will court his new wife first, rather than claim his marital rights. This creates considerable sexual tension in the novel because Meredith is in love with Travis, and appears to be more ready that he is, to take on her duties as his wife, in every aspect. Meredith struggles to determine whether Travis truly loves her or is just doing his duty, as he carefully treats her with respect and offers her little in the way of physical affection. As they grow in love for one another, more troubles appear, which challenge their relationship. Meredith also attempts to convince her husband to open his family to helping others in Christ-like charity, rather than greeting all who come on Archer land with a locked gate, a closed heart and rifles. Can Meredith truly win the heart of the man she married and make him see that he has much to offer those around him?

Discussion

Short Straw Bride was a very enjoyable novel. The novel is not well paced, being somewhat slow in the middle as Meredith struggles to cope with Travis' courtship while wanting much more from him. The story then rushes from one exciting event to the next and onto a satisfying, but  very predictable ending.

Travis and Meredith are the focus of the story, and their relationship is well portrayed, with both characters well developed and in strong contrast to each other. Meredith is impulsive, trusting and devout, while Travis tries to control all aspects of life in order to minimize risk. Less well developed are the secondary characters of the novel, such as Roy Mitchell, Uncle Everett and Cassie, Meredith's attractive cousin. The author doesn't take the opportunity to develop Mitchell's character much, simply giving him a small part that is meant to portray his main flaw: an unbridled love for money.

Witemeyer skillfully portrays different types of love in the relationships in the novel. The Archer family is used to portray agape - the Christian love that we are to have for one another. Agape is sacrificial love, that seeks to do what is best for the other person and this is especially exhibited by both Travis for his younger brothers, whom he has been charged to look after, but also by Meredith when she seeks to help the Archers despite the personal risk. Of course, eros, which is love geared more towards personal satisfaction is developed to a lesser extent between the couples in the novel. Travis and Meredith acknowledge their physical attraction for each other, but pursue developing their sacrificial love for one another first.

Being that this is a Christian romance, Biblical scripture is well integrated into the story, avoiding preachy undertones. The main characters seek to do the will of God and ask him frequently for guidance in all important life decisions making their faith seem genuine.

Overall, Short Straw Bride is a good read that holds one's interest. Witemeyer plans a sequel, Stealing the Preacher, which follows Crockett as he struggles to begin life as a preacher. Expected publication is June, 2013.

Book Details:
Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers 2012
363 pp.

Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn

Novels based on Mary Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein seem to abound these days. While Kenneth Oppel's This Dark Endeavour and Such Wicked Intent explore Victor Frankenstein's life BEFORE he creates his monster, in Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters, Suzanne Weyn crafts a good story about his fictional daughters AFTER their mad father's death.

Giselle and Ingrid Frankenstein are the twin daughters of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, the mad scientist. The novel opens with excerpts from Victor Frankenstein's diary, in which he acknowledges the birth of his twin daughters, but dares not to claim them after the death of their mother. Victor is being pursued by his monster-creation, who demands that Frankenstein make him a mate. Frankenstein agrees but in the end, decides to destroy the creature.

Seventeen years later, twins Giselle and Ingrid arrive at Castle Frankenstein, located on Gairsay Island in the Orkneys. They are accompanied by their uncle, Baron Ernest Frankenstein, who has revealed to them that they have inherited both the castle and a large amount of money from their father. Giselle and Ingrid have learned that their father was considered to be raving mad, and although considered lost in the Arctic wastelands, his frozen body has only recently been located and returned to Germany.

The two young women are very different; Ingrid is studious and interested in her father's old scientific journals which she finds in one of the rooms in the castle, while Giselle, who is very beautiful, is of delicate health and suffers from sleepwalking. Giselle is deeply afraid of the dark. Giselle is also recovering from a case of unrequited love after having been rejected by a young man named Johann.

Their story is told in first person narration, through alternating entries in their diaries, beginning in May through to December of 1815. These entries suggest that the madness that plagued Victor Frankenstein, did not die with him! Ingrid is revealed to be inquisitive and intelligent and willing to take risks for the sake of knowledge, while Giselle appears fragile both physically and mentally. Gradually, we come to question Giselle's perspective, as people begin to disappear. Weyn uses the two perspectives to develop two different story lines for each of the Frankenstein twins which ultimately converge unexpectedly.

Once in the castle, Giselle decides that she will oversee its restoration, hoping to create a place where she can hold parties and entertain the social elite of the day. Their new housekeeper, Mrs. Flett, suggests that they hire the young men of Gairsay to renovate the castle, which Giselle and Ingrid agree to. Although Giselle's health appears to improve, she continues to have episodes of sleepwalking and night terrors. She is inexplicably afraid of the dark.  Giselle and her sister take a trip to Edinburgh, where she meets up with Johann, the young man who dismissed her love for him only months ago, but who now seems deeply interested in Giselle. A planned meeting turns disastrous, and Giselle wants only to return to Castle Frankenstein. But even the journey home, results in another bit of tragedy for Giselle.

Ingrid meanwhile, continues to be fascinated by her father's old notebooks, spending much time reading them. She also finds herself drawn to the sullen, wounded naval officer, Walter Hammersmith, who resides in the cottage adjacent to Castle Frankenstein. Ingrid discovers her father's abandoned laboratory, deep beneath Castle Frankenstein, which leads her further into studying his research on animating dead flesh. While in Edinburgh with her sister, Ingrid attends medical lectures disguised as a man, to learn more about the human body. She becomes convinced that her father's research holds the secret to healing, Walter, with whom she has fallen deeply in love, has lost a limb and Ingrid is determined to make him whole again using the knowledge she has gained from her father's research. She manages (somewhat unbelievably) to take him to the laboratory beneath Castle Frankenstein, where she attempts an experimental treatment to try to heal him.

But when people begin disappearing both in Edinburgh and on Gairsay, Inspector Cairo is sent over to the island to investigate. His investigation reveals that both murder and insanity are not far behind the Frankenstein family!

I was pleasantly surprised at how well constructed this story was and how it held my interest. Using the two narratives advanced the story lines quickly and from different points of view. It gradually becomes evident that Giselle's accounts are not reliable and that Ingrid nor her uncle suspect anything. Ingrid's fascination with creating new life and her experimentation with Walter suggest she has inherited her father's obsession. There is a hint of what has caused Giselle's madness near the end and a suggestion that there might be another book?

The novel is filled with plenty of references to the original work of Mary Shelly, Frankenstein. It would be helpful to have read Frankenstein first, but not really necessary as Weyn provides the backstory of Victor Frankenstein and his Monster at the beginning of the novel. The author note at the back of the book explains which elements of the novel are true to the Frankenstein story and which are not. Dr. Frankenstein's Daughter's is a quick, high interest read for younger teens!

Book Details:
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn
New York: Scholastic Press 2012
250 pp.

Victoria Rebels by Carolyn Meyer

Victoria Rebels is another fascinating novel for young teens, written by Carolyn Meyer. This historical fiction tells the story of Queen Victoria of England focuses on Victoria's life growing up, beginning when she was a young child from age seven until just after her marriage to Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld of Germany.

Young Victoria lived at Kensington Palace with her mother, Victoire, who raised her in a very strict manner. Victoria was strongly under the influence of Sir John Conroy, an ambitious adviser to the royal household, who hoped to eventually make himself Victoria's private secretary when she became queen. 

Every aspect of Victoria's life was rigidly controlled, from having her hand held when she walked down the stairs to sleeping in her mother's bedroom until she was eighteen! Her relationship with her mother was so poor, that when she became queen, Victoria banished her mother to a distant part of Buckingham Palace and instructed her that she was not to visit her unannounced.

Discussion

Victoria Rebels is another finely crafted historical novel from Carolyn Meyers. It is based on Queen Victoria's diaries, which were not private, but which Victoria was required to write and which were read by her mother. Meyer offers an engaging portrayal of Victoria as a young girl who eventually grows up, maturing into her reign to become the longest serving (and a most beloved) English monarch and to have an era named after her! It is interesting that Victoria did not want to marry (until she met Albert) and that she was not interested in having children. Whether her views on bearing children changed or she simply did her duty, Victoria and Albert had nine children!

Meyer's ability to portray Victoria with such realism, develops the reader's sympathy for a young woman who led such a rigid life. The novel is divided into three parts; Part I, The Princess, Part II, The Queen, and Part III, The Prince. Told in Victoria's voice, Meyer uses some of the same techniques known to be used by Victoria in her own diaries, such as capitalizing words and profuse use of underlining what she had written!

In Part I The Princess, it's easy to deeply sympathize with Victoria, who really never had a time to be a carefree child. She was groomed from the very beginning to be a queen by her ambitious mother Victoire and her mother's advisor, Sir John Conroy. Victoria was often caught in the power struggles between King William and her mother, Victoire, causing her great distress and fits of temper. She was forced by her mother to keep a diary of all her mistakes and wrongdoings, something that caused a great deal of frustration and anger for Victoria.

In Part II The Queen, Meyers portrays Victoria as petulant, willful, and prideful. It was hard to empathize with her as Victoria felt she was always in the right, stubbornly insisting upon her own way. She often was her own worst enemy. It is quite likely that growing up with so little control over even the smallest areas of her resulted in Victoria herself being very demanding.

Part III The Prince, relates the events surrounding her brief courtship with the handsome, tall Albert, and the early years of their marriage. Her stormy arguments with her beloved husband, Albert, continue to show Victoria's temper, but she also begins to recognize that the way she behaved when she was younger, was wrong. Yet this portrayal (which is historically accurate) makes Queen Victoria quite real to Meyer's readers.

Meyer has included many resources for her readers should they want to follow up on Queen Victoria and the era she lived, known as the Victorian age. There are also extensive notes at the back of the book on several of the main historical figures in the novel, providing background information.

I applaud Meyer has crafted an excellent historical fiction novel which stays true to the facts and often offers a balanced view of history. A great follow-up to Carolyn Meyer's novel is the movie, The Young Victoria which covers almost exactly the time period of Meyer's novel. Emily Blunt stars as young Victoria and Rupert Friend as Prince Albert. With the exception of the wounding of Prince Albert in the movie, it is historically accurate.

Book Details:
Victoria Rebels by Carolyn Meyer
Simon and Schuster: A Paula Wiseman Book     2013
265 pp.

Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini

Fast on the heels of Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, comes Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, a work of historical fiction about Mary Todd Lincoln's African-American dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley. Keckley was the child of  white plantation owner, Colonel Armistead Burwell and his house slave, Agnes.She was born in Dinwiddie Court-House in Virginia in 1818. Her mother Agnes was later allowed to marry George Pleasant Hobbs, who worked for another master.

Her parents were reunited briefly but when George's master moved out west, he was forced to move away. When she was but four years old, Lizzie, as she was then known, was made to look after her master, Col. Burwell's baby daughter, also named Elizabeth. One time when she rocked the baby's cradle too wildly, causing the baby to fall out, little Elizabeth was lashed.

Elizabeth, like many other slaves, endured whippings, cruelty, and rape, eventually bearing a son, whose father was Alexander Kirkland, a white man. Eventually, Elizabeth and her son, George, came to live in the house of Col. Burwell's daughter, Anna and her husband Mr. Garland. The couple was so poor that it was Mr. Garland's intention to sell Elizabeth's elderly mother. To help the family and prevent this, Elizabeth became a seamstress, and was soon supporting seventeen people in the Garland household.

Elizabeth married James Keckley and soon after was able to obtain her freedom at the age of thirty-seven. Special patrons, who felt that it was their duty to pay the fee for her freedom, raised the $1200 requested by the Garland family. However, Elizabeth would be indebted to no white man for her freedom, and she repaid every cent of the fee. Her husband, James, led a dissipated life so Elizabeth left him, moving to first to Baltimore and then Washington, in 1860. While in Washington, she met Mrs. Davis, the wife of Jefferson Davis and became a modiste to her.  It was at this time she met Mrs. Lincoln.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker picks up Elizabeth's story when she is working for Mrs. Davis in 1860. The chapters in the book are labelled according to periods of each year and tell Elizabeth's story from November, 1860 to 1901. Narrated by Elizabeth, the novel recounts mostly about the relationship between herself and Mary Todd Lincoln and  President Lincoln during the American Civil War. The exception is the last six chapters which focus on Keckley's life after President Lincoln's assassination. Readers will find that the latter part of the novel is somewhat anti-climatic, as it focuses on Elizabeth's devotion to the increasingly unstable Mrs. Lincoln, and the writing of Elizabeth's memoir, Behind the Scenes.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker is a beautifully crafted novel, and Jennifer Chiaverini's writing more than adequately demonstrates the impeccable research that went into understanding these historical figures, allowing her to successfully create the conversations and relationships that existed in the Lincoln White House during this time period.

Mary Lincoln in a dress sewn by Elizabeth Keckley.

Chiaverini also demonstrates to her readers how everyone was affected to some degree on a personal level. Mary Todd Lincoln had a brother, three brothers and three brothers-in law fighting for the Confederate army. However, she was a staunch abolitionist. And Elizabeth Keckley was good friends with Jeffereson and Mrs. Davis, despite their beliMrs. Lincoln is portrayed as a passionate but unstable woman, fiercely devoted to her husband and his political career, active socially and politically on his behalf. She was a devoted mother, who suffered greatly over the deaths of her sons, Eddie and later on Willie. However, she was impulsive and ran up large debts in an attempt to refurbish the White House. Her time in Washington as First Lady was marked with controversy and through Elizabeth we see that no matter what she did, she experienced criticism from all sides and was often ostracized by the social elite of Washington. Through Elizabeth's narrative, we learn how Lincoln's assassination devastated Mary and led gradually to the unraveling of her life.

Although the main relationship in the novel is that between Elizabeth Keckley and Mary Todd Lincoln, Chiaverini also gives us glimpses of the relationship between Mary and her husband Abe Lincoln. The integrity, intelligence and wit of President Lincoln is portrayed, as well as his devotion to his sons, and his tender but firm way with his wife. We also see, through the eyes of Elizabeth just how burdensome the Civil War period was to President Lincoln who was criticized for his views on slavery and on the management of the war between the North and South. Chiaverini is able to bring to life these historical figures in a way the is wonderfully realistic. Her presentations of Mary, President Lincoln, their children, and Elizabeth Keckley are complex and believable.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker provides insight into how the war affected the nation as well as how it split apart families and friends. Much like World War I fifty years later, both sides felt they could overcome the other quickly. Incredibly, as in the Battle of Bull Run, residents of Washington traveled to the battlefield to watch, as if they were attending the theatre. Instead it turned into the bloodiest battle in American history, at that point and changed both sides view of the war which was to become a four year bloodbath that saw many lose fathers and ef that they had the right to own slaves. Chiaverini uses Elizabeth to convey to her readers the enormous suffering the Civil War caused on a personal level. When Elizabeth learns that her son, George, has been able to pass himself off as a white man and enlist, she has mixed feelings; terrified that she may lose him, but recognizing that he has a duty to help those of his race, not yet free.

This well-written novel will appeal to readers of historical fiction, and those with a particular interest in Civil War history and the emancipation of slaves.Highly recommended!

You can read Elizabeth Keckley's book at Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24968/24968-h/24968-h.htm Barbara Hambly's The Emancipator's Wife is a historical fiction about Mary Todd Lincoln. To see pictures of the dresses Elizabeth Keckley sewed for First Lady, Mary Lincoln, go to http://biblelessonsite.org/slidekeckley.html

And those interested in learning more about Lincoln are directed to read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Book Details:
Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
New York: Dutton 2013
356 pp.