In 1778 Rebecca Syng, the teenager who narrates this story, is sent to be a lady's maid in the Shippen household in Philadelphia. Becca's father had been a successful silversmith before he fell on hard times and then died, leaving his family to fend for themselves in the country. There Becca's mother married a good-for-nothing man who drained what was left of her meager resources so that she had to supplement their farm's income by sewing for the fine ladies of Philadelphia. Becca is sent to the Shippens to care for their beautiful and spoiled youngest daughter, Peggy, and at the same time to develop the polish that she would once have received in finishing school, which she can no longer afford to attend. Although the Revolution is raging (Becca's brother is fighting with General Washington), the Shippens entertain the British officers who occupy Philadelphia, attend their balls, and flirt with their soldiers. Peggy is especially flirtatious, and Becca observes as she falls for a handsome British officer and then, when the British are forced to leave, for the American dandy Benedict Arnold. Peggy marries Benedict and Becca watches in horror as Peggy convinces him to betray his country. Rinaldi (The Fifth of March, 1993, etc.) takes her role as a historical novelist seriously, to which her long and informative endnote attests. This tale of treachery comes alive under her pen. (Historical fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Nov. 28, 1994
ISBN: 0-15-200880-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
Beautiful and important.
When Death tells a story, you pay attention.
Liesel Meminger is a young girl growing up outside of Munich in Nazi Germany, and Death tells her story as “an attempt—a flying jump of an attempt—to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.” When her foster father helps her learn to read and she discovers the power of words, Liesel begins stealing books from Nazi book burnings and the mayor’s wife’s library. As she becomes a better reader, she becomes a writer, writing a book about her life in such a miserable time. Liesel’s experiences move Death to say, “I am haunted by humans.” How could the human race be “so ugly and so glorious” at the same time? This big, expansive novel is a leisurely working out of fate, of seemingly chance encounters and events that ultimately touch, like dominoes as they collide. The writing is elegant, philosophical and moving. Even at its length, it’s a work to read slowly and savor.
Beautiful and important. (Fiction. 12+)Pub Date: March 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83100-2
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
A delightfully captivating swatch of autobiography from the author of Kiss. Kiss, Switch Bitch and many others. Schoolboy Dahl wanted adventure. Classes bored him, there was work to be had in Africa, and war clouds loomed on the world's horizons. He finds himself with a trainee's job with Shell Oil of East Africa and winds up in what is now Tanzania. Then war comes in 1939 and Dahl's adventures truly begin. At the war's outbreak, Dahl volunteers for the RAF, signing on to be a fighter pilot. Wounded in the Libyan desert, he spends six months recuperating in a military hospital, then rejoins his unit in Greece, only to be driven back by the advancing Germans. On April 20, 1941, he goes head on against the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Athens. On-target bio installment with, one hopes, lots more of this engrossing life to come.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0142413836
Page Count: 209
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986
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