The cover is a misfit for this YA novel, set in the Gilded Age among New York's sumptuous, opulent, and restrictive society.
Jo Montfort has a dream that doesn't coincide with her family's social status. She wants to be a journalist, and her role model is Nellie Bly, the intrepid reporter. Her enthusiasm for writing about anything of social significance is not encouraged.
When Jo's father dies, Jo is summoned from her finishing school and returns home. Stunned with grief, she puzzles over how her careful father could have accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun.
Struggling between being a dutiful daughter and her desire for a more meaningful life, Jo is unable to accept the circumstances of her father's death. With the help of a young reporter, she begins to question a great many things about her father, the society in which she moves, and the lives of those individuals who have none of the benefits her own life has provided. Her investigation results in a confrontation with the darker aspects that lie beneath the surface of the gilded atmosphere of New York, to family secrets, to betrayals she could never have suspected.
Liked: Jo, a plucky protagonist, Eddie, Oscar, and Fay. Oscar deserves a larger role and would make a great character for another novel.
An entertaining YA novel. Read in June; blog post scheduled for Oct. 9, 2015.
NetGalley/Random House Children's
YA/Mystery. Oct. 27, 2015. Print length: 496 pages.
I just put this on hold at my library a couple of days ago; glad to know it doesn't disappoint. But 496 pages? Yikes. What happened to editing???
ReplyDeleteIt reads pretty quickly; I don't remember ever feeling it was "too long." I enjoy long books that don't feel long. :)
DeleteI'd thought this is a book for adults but that cover is sure eye -catching. The premise sounds intriguing too. Will have to check this out.
ReplyDeleteThe cover doesn't match the content, but I liked the setting and the characters. Especially the minor character of Oscar!
DeleteI think I've read one of Jennifer Donnelly's books before and it was also a historical but I didn't realize she also wrote YA. I'll have to keep a look out for this one as I like the timeframe and of course a mystery!
ReplyDeleteThe only other thing I've read by Donnelly was The Winter Rose several years ago, but I didn't realize it when I requested this one. Now, I realize Donnelly has won all kinds of awards and praise for her YA work.
DeleteOh fun! I read Donnelly's book Revolution and enjoyed it a lot, and I don't think I've read anything else by her so far. But this sounds solid.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to have to look into more of Donnelly's work. :)
ReplyDeleteNellie Bly is one of my favorite historical people, so her name immediately jumped out at me. :-) I haven't read this one, but it does sound interesting. I think I might like it.
ReplyDelete