Jane Singer

Every now and then, if you are lucky, you will come across a book on a topic you never knew you wanted to explore.

Booth’s Sister by Jane Singer is one. Being Canadian I had an interest, certainly, in American history and politics, but no driving urge to know more about the John Wilkes Booths or Lee Harvey Oswalds. Much of what you hear about the latter swirls around conspiracy theories and yawn, government cover-up. This has never really whetted my appetite.

I knew nothing of Booth, other show more that he shot a pivotal figure during the Civil War and was subsequently caught and killed.

I think the credibility of this book centers on the author and her credentials as an historian. But bearing in mind that this was a work of historical fiction and not non-fiction, I did find myself becoming more and more involved and by the end of the book, I was wanting more.

I wanted more of what it was that inspired and influenced John Wilkes Booth during his childhood. How does one grow up in a house of thought and people dedicated to anti-slavery and pro-union, and with such close a relationship to a sibling (as to border on adulation), diverge so greatly in social philosophy and political ideology?

Given what is happening in the US today since the election of a black president, I drew many parallels while reading this book. The polarization in politics, the fanatical and fundamentalist beliefs and the vitriol being hurled in America today is reflected in this book set over 150 years ago.

It actually made me nervous for the realities of today as I watched the manifestation of an obsessive belief in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Singer takes considerable literary licence and that is not necessarily a bad thing in Booth’s Sister. It adds colour and gives the reader a real sense of being an insider in this home. Structurally, a few sections were a bit disjointed and some of the transitions in time and reality were slightly confusing, but overall I enjoyed reading this book. I will certainly read the published memoir of Asia Booth. show less

Enjoyable read which kept my interest to the last page. Starting with the murder of Abraham Lincoln and the effect this event impinged on the lives of Asia Booth and her immediate family -the novel then reverts to the childhood of the heroine and her brother John Wilkes Booth, the killer of president LIncoln. The author portrays Asia Booth as a "tomboy" and a frustrated shakespearean "actor" held back because of her gender and the conventions of the 19th century. We feel empathy towards her show more as the novel progresses through her teenage years to her growth into womanhood and wife. Although pro-union and married to a yankee, she is stiil drawn by the magnetism of her brother to engaging in disloyal behavior through letting her house become a conduit for confederate spies as a "drop" for dispatches. She is a magnificent well-drawn character who under "house arrest" as the manhunt for her brother continues in the background , faces her captors with courage. The author has researched the period and told a wonderful tale. show less

STARS
I love how brave Maddie and everyone who was risking their lives for their beliefs no matter what side of the war they were on. Maddie story kept me riveted did not put the book down till it was through.
At the ending are a bunch of study guide questions that help you to think more deeply. After that is a list of which characters are based on real people. Plus their is a list of books about different subjects of the civil war era.
Maddie was 15 at start of the war. Her mother had died show more just months before that and her father inlisted in the second New Hampshire Infantry Regiment as a private. Maddie was taken to Washington D.C. to stay with her Aunt at her boarding house.
Maddie could remember everything she saw she wanted to join and fight with her father but no one would let her. While she was out in the city she noticed one of her Aunt's boarders from the south was dressed as a preacher in disguise outside of a famous Rebel's house of Rose Greenhow.
Because she impressed Mr. Webster of her observations she recalled he introduced her to Mr. Pinkerton where she was tested and than trained as a spy.
I hope their are more adventures of Maddie to come in the future. I will gladly read them. It gives you glimpses of what life might be like at that time. Different family members choosing different sides of war to support. Slaves trying to get to freedom and slave traders willing to kill them. Even different cemetaries for black and white. How quilts hanging could tell a message or doll wearing different colors in a window. show less

When I saw that this was a book about a Union spy, I expected it to be filled with suspense and action. However, the story lags for the first half--I would not have finished this novel if I hadn't wanted to see the spy action--and then runs too quickly in the second half. Even then, it ends all too soon without much spy action.

The beginning is about Maddie's dad joining the Union army and Maddie worrying about him while adjusting to life in her Confederate-sympathizing aunt's boarding show more house. In fact, Maddie doesn't officially meet the spies until midway into the book and even then it is mostly about her learning how to be a spy.

I wanted to see more of Maddie's life and training as a spy. The novel ends before more is revealed about the rebel spy that looks like Maddie and how Maddie deals with said spy being out to kill her. It is one of the most unique plot angles to the story, and it isn't developed! I was also disappointed that there isn't as much danger to Maddie and Jake's relationship as the synopsis suggested.

While I am disappointed about the lack of action as suggested by the synopsis, I did love the characters. Maddie is a fun character. She isn't just an independent-minded woman in a time when they were expected to be domestic caretakers. She is fun, witty, and has the power of photographic memory. I love her fellow spies, all of whom have unique traits, and Jake adds a sweet romantic element to the story, though their love seems to blossom out of the blue.

Historical fiction lovers will love the Civil War setting. If you're an avid YA reader, however, there isn't sufficient plot development, and the story ends before it feels like the story is over. show less