Quill and Quire

BOOK REVIEWS

A History of Mistresses

By Elizabeth Abbott

If motherhood is the second-oldest profession, mistressdom followed soon after. It is an evocative word, “mistress,” suggesting sensual sophistication and luxury. Elizabeth Abbott’s A History of Mistresses sets out to determine whether the reality matches ... Read More »

November 26, 2003 | Filed under: History

★ No Small Thing

By Natale Ghent

What makes a child disadvantaged? This question underlies a new novel, set in 1977, by Natale Ghent, a journalist and the author of Piper. Twelve-year-old Nathaniel, the narrator, and his two sisters have been economically ... Read More »

November 26, 2003

The Man in the Moonstone

By Melanie Jackson

In the second book of the Dinah Galloway mystery series, the 11-year-old sleuth gets a part in a musical stage adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone, the first Victorian detective novel. On stage, Dinah plays ... Read More »

November 26, 2003

Becoming Ruby

By Kathy Stinson

Unless you’re paying close attention, you might miss the fact that this perceptive coming-of-age novel takes place more than 35 years ago. One tip-off is that most moms today (in kids’ books, anyway) don’t chain-smoke, ... Read More »

November 26, 2003

And in the Morning

By John Wilson

Fifteen-year-old Jim Hay starts his diary on Aug. 4, 1914, the day Britain enters the Great War. Thrilled his father is going to fight, he wishes he was older and could join up too. He ... Read More »

November 26, 2003

Shadows of Disaster

By Cathy Beveridge

Twelve-year-old Jolene is a straight-A student who flies under the radar most of the time, afraid to take chances. Her twin brother, on the other hand, takes calculated risks in life and reaps the rewards, ... Read More »

November 26, 2003 | Filed under: Book news