An enjoyable, if uncomplicated, beach read about a novice journalist during wartime.
In this novel, a young woman scores a job as a reporter for a Westchester County newspaper in the waning days of World War II.
The war in Europe has ended, but fighting on the Pacific front is in full force. That is where Marty Gregg’s fiance, Eddy, is stationed, and she hasn’t received a letter from him in several weeks. Meanwhile, with all the young men off to war, Marty has been hired as a reporter for the Port Chester Sentinel. Worrying about Eddy, she finally dozes off to sleep. Suddenly, she is jolted out of bed by the piercing wail of a siren. The Rye, New York, shipyard, which has been producing landing barges for the war effort, is ablaze. With the enthusiasm of a fledgling Lois Lane, Marty rushes to the shipyard. Unfortunately, Ben Bronson, a newbie reporter just out of high school assigned to the Greenwich, Connecticut, desk, has already been to the scene even though Rye is Marty’s territory. Now she must convince her editor, Phil Barrett, to assign her the story. Phil is already disgruntled over having to hire women to fill jobs usually held by men. Over dinner at an Italian restaurant, Phil agrees to let her run with the write-up, but the playboy bachelor has a more nefarious interest in Marty. This is the first adult novel by Tolles, a children’s book author. Tolles’ prose has a vintage charm reminiscent of the era, but it lacks the sophistication of adult fiction. Marty narrates the tale with an innocence and simplicity that are quaint by today’s standards. Despite Phil’s numerous sexual advances, she is slow to fully grasp his intentions. Describing a dinner with him, she says: “We didn’t get off to a good start. ‘Hi, Marty,’ he said when we met and he hugged me right up close. Oh, not good.” Still, the author skillfully evokes the atmospherics of America’s homefront wartime mentality. She introduces a bit of humor when Marty dresses as a man to access the Plains Club for an FBI briefing on the shipyard explosion. And the hunt for the arsonist keeps the narrative engaging.
An enjoyable, if uncomplicated, beach read about a novice journalist during wartime.Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62815-915-8
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A vibrant tale of a remarkable woman.
Who was Shakespeare?
Move over, Earl of Oxford and Francis Bacon: There’s another contender for the true author of plays attributed to the bard of Stratford—Emilia Bassano, a clever, outspoken, educated woman who takes center stage in Picoult’s spirited novel. Of Italian heritage, from a family of court musicians, Emilia was a hidden Jew and the courtesan of a much older nobleman who vetted plays to be performed for Queen Elizabeth. She was well traveled—unlike Shakespeare, she visited Italy and Denmark, where, Picoult imagines, she may have met Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—and was familiar with court intrigue and English law. “Every gap in Shakespeare’s life or knowledge that has had to be explained away by scholars, she somehow fills,” Picoult writes. Encouraged by her lover, Emilia wrote plays and poetry, but 16th-century England was not ready for a female writer. Picoult interweaves Emilia’s story with that of her descendant Melina Green, an aspiring playwright, who encounters the same sexist barriers to making herself heard that Emilia faced. In alternating chapters, Picoult follows Melina’s frustrated efforts to get a play produced—a play about Emilia, who Melina is certain sold her work to Shakespeare. Melina’s play, By Any Other Name, “wasn’t meant to be a fiction; it was meant to be the resurrection of an erasure.” Picoult creates a richly detailed portrait of daily life in Elizabethan England, from sumptuous castles to seedy hovels. Melina’s story is less vivid: Where Emilia found support from the witty Christopher Marlowe, Melina has a fashion-loving gay roommate; where Emilia faces the ravages of repeated outbreaks of plague, for Melina, Covid-19 occurs largely offstage; where Emilia has a passionate affair with the adoring Earl of Southampton, Melina’s lover is an awkward New York Times theater critic. It’s Emilia’s story, and Picoult lovingly brings her to life.
A vibrant tale of a remarkable woman.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780593497210
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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