Melanie Crowder

This book won the inaugural Arnold Adoff Poetry Award (the "Rudini") for New Voices in 2016, and it was well-deserved. Set in 1903-1909, it is based on the life story of Clara Lemlich, a Russian Jewish immigrant to New York City who ended up organizing the female shirtwaist factory workers of the city to strike together, in the "Uprising of 20,000" to demand fair labor practices. The book fictionalizes her story, but all of the major events and people are there, and it eloquently expresses show more her strength and determination. The story goes from her shtetl life in Russia where she taught herself to read Russian in secret (her strict father believed only boys and men should read, and certainly not the oppressors' language, only Hebrew), to her difficult life in the tenements of New York, learning English, working long hours in horrible conditions with very little pay and nasty bosses. She has a dream to become a doctor, but that dream is put on hold as she tries to support her family--she and her mother worked to support her brothers and father, who only studied and worshipped-- and then to improve the lives of all of her fellow factory girls, including those at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. The poems are in free verse, emotional, spare, and beautiful. The afterword is illuminating, giving more historical facts, photos of Clara, and includes an interview with Clara's daughter, daughter-in-law and her four grandchildren. I was so impressed to learn of Clara's later life: she kept right on organizing and helping others, marching during the Great Depression, protesting fascism and the Korean War, and even helping her nursing home orderlies to organize! Wonderful book, and a good one to pair with Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This book does not deal with the Triangle Factory fire, but is very connected to that incident and those young women. show less

Well. I'll admit that if this work of young adult historical fiction hadn't been a novel-in-verse (or a book similar in length to this), I might not have been able to read it. It likely would have been too heavy for me to get all the way through. Part of the beauty of novels-in-verse is that even when they're raw, tackling such difficult subjects, they can cover a lot but with an economy of just the right words.

And there certainly is much beauty in the telling of this painful, angering show more story. Angering for me because I find it such a shame how long and how hard people must too often struggle and protest just to be treated fairly. To be treated as human beings.

No, Clara's journey isn't at all an easy one. But her determination in the midst of opposition and seemingly insurmountable odds kept me reading. Reinforcing to me that even when the struggle for human rights is hard, humanity is worth it. show less

In a small river village where the water is cursed, a girl’s bravery—and the existence of magic—could mean the difference between life and death in this elegant, luminous tale from the author of Parched and Audacity.

Along a lively river, in a village raised on stilts, lives a girl named Luna. All her life she has heard tales of the time before the dam appeared, when sprites danced in the currents and no one got the mysterious wasting illness from a mouthful of river water. These are show more just stories, though—no sensible person would believe in such things.

Beneath the waves is someone who might disagree. Perdita is a young water sprite, delighting in the wet splash and sparkle, and sad about the day her people will finally finish building their door to another world, in search of a place that humans have not yet discovered.

But when Luna’s little sister falls ill with the river sickness, everyone knows she has only three weeks to live. Luna is determined to find a cure for her beloved sister, no matter what it takes. Even if that means believing in magic. . . .

This book came out in September, 2015

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been on such a kick lately for middle-grade reads about sisters. Why? I don’t know, I don’t have one… lol. Maybe, it's the wanting of one most my life, or, maybe it's the fact that I suffered through three brothers growing up lol. :) Who knows...

The cover on this book is WOWZA!

The relationship between the sisters in this book is excellently written and very sweet! The book itself is about family relationships, family values and being true to oneself. It’s about love between sisters, self-sacrifice and acceptance.

The author didn’t waste a single word writing this book. She had something to say and said it. No filler. Not only was she precise and pointed with her thoughts, she was graceful and lyrical in her voice and style. Plot flowed from one event to the next seamlessly and effortlessly. There were no huge surprises in this book, but it wasn’t about that, it was about the writing and the girl’s relationship.

There is no guessing what emotion was being felt or expressed, as the author’s style is rich with meaning and characterization, and reads easily. You read about grief, and community life, about relationships and how to be strong when facing horrific odds.

There’s a supernatural element to the story about the swamp where the community believes it is cursed and a creature of evil lurks below its surface. Luna, doesn’t believe this and is determined to find a way to save her sister.

Rumor is that the swamp is cursed and a creature lives below the waters, but Luna doesn’t believe it. Luna prefers to side with science to heal Willow, but this doesn’t work. She then turns to dealing with the swamp itself by attempting to drain it of the putrid water, and she fails. As she slowly accepts that magic may be involved after all, becomes a believer, then she succeeds. Gotta love fantasy stories! It is not the end results that is the important factor, but the journey to self-discovery that eventually leads to peace. This is not just for Luna but for her entire family.

The alternating between two perspectives, each building the story, developing character growth and enabling resolution at the end, is all done with brilliant insight.

With the theme being sisterly bonds, Luna and Willow’s bond grows almost parallel to Perdy and Gia’s. You see the hurt through Luna’s and Perdy’s eyes and what losing a sister does to each. Each girl is driven by guilt.

There are so many aspects to this story to enjoy: fairies, well-fleshed out characters, self-discovery, personal growth and understanding consequences. Love is the main factor, and what people will do for it.

I really enjoyed the way the author meshed the two stories together and how the backstories of the two sets of sisters are all mixed up together mirroring their hope for the future.

I absolutely loved this story! show less

I could use many words to describe this book, but the one that stands out amongst all others is empowerment. Clara was a hero during her time. She immigrated with big dreams, but quickly dropped them for a greater good. She experienced the brutal workforce first-hand and made it her priority to stop it. She fought for fair wages, safe workplaces, freedom from harrassment, and so much more. She put all she had into creating a women's union. She was belittled, beaten, laughed at, locked away, show more and shamed; and yet she never gave up. Her fierce bravery and strong will led her to one of America's greatest historic successes. It wasn't an easy battle, but she used her voice to empower others to use theirs.

Audacity was a book that I will never forget. It had a way of pulling me so deep into the pages that the lines between fiction and reality blurred. Each movement Clara made I felt as if I were making the movement myself. Every laugh directed at her, every punch thrown... I felt it. The words had a way of wrapping themselves around me and pulling me under. It's as if I slowly drowned in a pool of historic tragedy and was resucitated to a new world. Clara made sure that the brutality stopped. She pushed for equal rights and without her, who knows what America would be like today.

I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages. It's a story of ultimate sacrifice and I think all who read it will gain a broader appreciation for those who helped mold our world into what it is today. show less