May 1, 2008
Twenty-year-old Violet Hayes returns home after graduating from a refined boarding school for young ladies to learn her father is remarrying. Her mother, whom Violet thought was recuperating from an unexplained illness in a sanitarium, had in truth abandoned her family and filed for divorce when Violet was nine. To get away from her new stepmother-to-be, Violet decides to go to Chicago (the World's Fair is on) to visit with her grandmother and great-aunts. Her main goal, though, is to find her mother. Because Violet tells this story in the first person, the listener views her dealings from a nave adolescent perspective; her thoughts about life are lighthearted and inexperienced. Violet's insatiable reading of mysteries explains her bubbly imagination and influences her understanding of people and events. She is somewhat shallow and superficial, but she matures by book's end into a multifaceted and kindly spirit. The historical setting is interesting, illustrating high society, women's struggle for equal rights, the difficulties of the poor, parenting, romantic love, and Christian social action. Unfortunately, the plot is ultimately predictable. Reader Jennifer Ikeda does a fine job and has good intentions, but the book, published last fall in hardcover, is monotonous and fragmented. Austin, the multiple Christy Award-winning author of A Woman's Place, has written some wonderful novels, but this one is not quite up to par. Purchase on request.Carol Stern, Glen Cove P.L., NY
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