A historically thoughtful and dramatically thrilling tale sure to delight readers.
Generations of an Italian family suffer religious persecution over 400 years in Dearden’s historical novel.
In 1487, Daniel Reynaud enthusiastically answers Pope Innocent VIII’s call to travel from his home in Lyon, France, to Piedmont, Italy, to hunt down heretics: the Vaudois, a Christian sect that believes only Jesus is the proper head of the church, thereby rejecting the authority of the Pope. A talented archer, Daniel is eager to join the fight but horrified by the merciless way the Pope’s army murders “the Waldensians,” as they are often called, including unarmed women and children; his moral crisis is astutely depicted by the author. He decides to abandon his own troops and warn the Vaudois of an imminent attack, as he’s attracted to their principles—and to the young woman, Lena Jaquet, who teaches them to him. In this panoramic tale, which stretches from the 15th to the 19th century, Dearden chronicles the relentless persecution experienced by the Vaudois in Italy with a special focus on the family line that descends from the marriage of Daniel and Lena. (In the final part of the story, set in the mid-19th century, James Reynaud finally leaves Italy for the United States, intoxicated by the ministry of the Mormons and exhausted by the perennial struggle of the Vaudois.) Especially for a novel directed toward a younger readership, this is a marvelously complex tale, both historically painstaking and morally nuanced. The Vaudois are not simply heroes, as James learns upon his conversion; they are as capable of prejudice and dogmatism as anyone (“An unfortunate reality of mankind is that people begin to hate those things which they don’t understand”). Also, while America has a reputation for religious liberty, there is no shortage of closed-mindedness there as well. This is a fascinating story, perfectly composed for its target audience.
A historically thoughtful and dramatically thrilling tale sure to delight readers.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2023
ISBN: 9798987525715
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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