Compelling, fast-paced historical fiction.
Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is recruited for her math prowess to support U.S. efforts during World War II.
It’s 1942, and Eleanor, who’s Jewish, lives with her family in Jenkintown, just outside Philadelphia. The Schiffs anxiously await news from abroad about the Nazis, Jewish ghettos, and the fate of family members in Poland. Following her participation in MathMeet, a competition for Pennsylvania high schoolers, Eleanor is recruited for the top-secret Philadelphia Computing Section of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. Like her math professor father, who’s been disabled by a stroke, Eleanor has long had a gift and passion for math; she quickly sets herself apart from the rest of the group. Eventually, she’s even selected to go to an army air base in the California desert for a classified assignment involving a new bombsight called the Norden. Gordon anchors this work of fiction, which includes equations and models, in many real historical elements. Alyce, Eleanor’s new friend at the PCS and the only Black woman on the team, is a kindred spirit. Gordon explores segregation in military and civilian life, the Japanese American internment, sexism, and the Holocaust in ways that are historically accurate and appropriately horrifying. Eleanor starts off unsure and unnoticed but slowly, believably blossoms in self-confidence; the supporting characters are also well drawn and likable. The plot moves quickly, and the brisk pacing will keep readers turning pages.
Compelling, fast-paced historical fiction. (image credits, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781338853827
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful.
January 1945: as Russians advance through East Prussia, four teens’ lives converge in hopes of escape.
Returning to the successful formula of her highly lauded debut, Between Shades of Gray (2011), Sepetys combines research (described in extensive backmatter) with well-crafted fiction to bring to life another little-known story: the sinking (from Soviet torpedoes) of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff. Told in four alternating voices—Lithuanian nurse Joana, Polish Emilia, Prussian forger Florian, and German soldier Alfred—with often contemporary cadences, this stints on neither history nor fiction. The three sympathetic refugees and their motley companions (especially an orphaned boy and an elderly shoemaker) make it clear that while the Gustloff was a German ship full of German civilians and soldiers during World War II, its sinking was still a tragedy. Only Alfred, stationed on the Gustloff, lacks sympathy; almost a caricature, he is self-delusional, unlikable, a Hitler worshiper. As a vehicle for exposition, however, and a reminder of Germany’s role in the war, he serves an invaluable purpose that almost makes up for the mustache-twirling quality of his petty villainy. The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn’t change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning.
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful. (author’s note, research and sources, maps) (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-16030-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
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