Author: Jane Healey
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year: 2017
Genre(s): historical fiction, historical romance, coming-of-age
Part of a Series: No
Rating:
Summary: Set in Boston at the turn of the last century, the book follows four young immigrants as they try to realize their American dream while dealing with parents who hold onto the traditions of the Old World. Caprice wants to own her own shop and be a successful businesswoman while her father wants her to marry a nice Sicilian boy and have babies. Ada is pursuing her education, attending college while hiding it from her strict Russian Jewish father. Thea is caught between the customs of America and her family’s wish for her to use a matchmaker for marriage. And Maria watches her mother waste away as her father drinks away what little money they have, vowing to have a better life than that. Their lives all converge at the Saturday Evening Girls Club, a weekly meeting for immigrant girls to gain knowledge and experience in this Brave New World.
Review: I was so happy to see another historical fiction book in the box this time and that it appeared to be lighter than the last one (“Say Goodbye For Now”).
The summary is a bit deceiving. While it does involve all four girls mentioned, the book is written entirely in first person from Caprice’s point of view. I thought each chapter might be devoted to a particular girl but nope. Just Caprice. Which isn’t too bad but I feel like we lost some of the other girls’ struggles because we only saw them through Caprice’s eyes. Thea, in particular, seems the least developed and has the least conflict. She agrees to use the matchmaker and doesn’t seem to have any issues at all—except when her older married sister makes sex seem like an absolute nightmare and her friends realize poor Thea has never been told about sex. Ada is second to the least developed but she at least has some conflict when it comes to romance and her education.
Maria is the second most developed character after Caprice and mostly because they live in the same tenement, so Caprice has the most intimate details about her life rather than Ada and Thea who live in Jewish tenements. She also has a prominent conflict as she gets involved with an early era mobster, seeing his wealth as her only way to avoid her mother’s fate and ignoring how it would make her life so much worse even as all her friends and neighbors try to talk some sense into her. However, Maria is headstrong and determined to the point of folly. It’s both infuriating and heartbreaking.
That just leaves Caprice, our narrator. She’s determined and ready to forge her own path in the world while not wanting to alienate her family too much. With her mother’s help, she learns to walk the fine line to achieve this balance. She can get wrapped up in her own drama and is sometimes a little too judgmental of her friends’ decisions, but it always comes from a place of love. I definitely didn’t mind following her throughout the entire story, though I wished I could see more of her friends.
Romance really doesn’t drive the novel but it plays a role. All four experience it to some degree, though we once again only see Caprice’s unfold. It’s a nice slow-build with a satisfying payoff, so it’s a good read. The historical aspects are very well done and it’s clear the author did her research, even sprinkling some real people through the novel.
Bottom line: A good historical read with likeable heroines.
Sex: The girls discuss it but not in graphic detail.
Moonlight Musing
What would you do to achieve your dreams?
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