Wakingbraincells.com Website Review

i like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. — dr. seuss. set in the 1880s, this novel explores the world if essie, a young african-american woman who grew up with a neglectful mother and was rescued from poverty and prostitution by a kindly cleaning woman. determined to keep learning even though she left school at an early age, essie continued to read everything she could get her hands on. while working at a boarding house, essie meets dorcas vashon, a wealthy african-american woman who sees potential in essie and offers her a way to transform her life. taught etiquette and new manners by dorcas over several grueling months, essie becomes victoria and takes on the persona of dorcas’ niece. as victoria enters the social elite in washington, d.c. she must hold to the lie that she is living until she can’t manage it any longer. bolden captures a period in american history that is rarely seen in books, much less te*n novels. it is the period after restoration gave african-americans new rights but before the jim crow laws came st*ipped them away. it is a dazzling time to be a member of society and bolden gives us details about the books, the manners and the dresses that make up that world. the setting of washington, d. c. opportunities it brings, essie wrestles with the lies she must tell to keep it that way. her strength of character is particularly evident when she is pressed such as learning etiquette and at the end of the book when she must make a moral decision. it is then that essie fully a fascinating look at a neglected piece of american history. appropriate for ages 12-16. this was a great year for books for te*ns, particularly those written by diverse authors about diverse characters. here are the 20 books. mary’s monster: love, madness, and how mary shelley created frankenstein. (and the best burger in los angeles) by amy spalding (9781510727663) by-the-sea, breathe in the magic, taste beautifully-named ice cream flavors and linger in the autumnal graveyard for awhile. – my review