ARC Review: A Moment Comes

A Moment Comes by Jennifer Bradbury
4/5 stars
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2013
278 pages
YA Historical
Scheduled to release June 25

Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

After taking some classes on Indian history, I discovered that I have a deep fascination for the country and its history that is not often sated in YA fiction, which so often focuses on American or fantastical worlds. Luckily we have books like this, a more serious offering from the author of Wrapped, the historical MG/YA.

What first caught me about this book is its setting during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, a situation whose repercussions are still felt today in seemingly unending conflict between the two bodies. I knew vague factoids about the situation but this story places you on the ground with Sikhs and Muslims battling over territory but also thankfully highlights the good of people stepping up to do the bit of good that they can do. This is demonstrated in the form of our three narrators: Muslim Tariq, craving to study at Oxford; Sikh Anupreet, a beautiful girl confined to her home to protect her from the violent angry men around her; and Margaret, the British daughter of a cartographer come to divide India who meets the previous two when they are hired as servants in her family's household.

I did not read the summary very closely as it clearly states that these three would be followed so I was surprised to meet the three as narrators. Each chapter lists the narrator so it is easy to keep track that way although the personalities, wants, and desires of all three are so different that it would be simple to do even without (it is appreciated still.)

Probably what I liked most about this was how everything kept building. The circumstances became darker and more violent, everyone became a bit more desperate until the great climax of these ordinary people stepping up to do what they could despite the odds. In the author's note, Bradbury writes a little about this and I loved how she brought that theme out.

I do think there could have been a bit more depth into the religious, racial, and gender issues of the time, especially for people who are not familiar with the period. Still there are a few books to reference mentioned in the author's note that I think it would behoove me to check out so as to further enlighten myself.

Overall: A very well-done historical novel about a time not very well-known to modern American audiences.

Wrapped

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011
309 pages
YA; Historical
4/5 stars

Source: Received a free e-galley via Simon & Schuster's GalleyGrab in exchange for an honest review.

Agnes Wilkins is surprised to find a jackal brooch when she participates in a mummy-unwrapping party at Lord Showalter, her prospective husband and the most eligible bachelor in London.  As she seeks to uncover the message within, with the assistance of the surprisingly dashing Caedmon at the British Museum, she realizes that it might have more modern repercussions than just ancient Egypt.  For there is a spy who is working so that Napoleon just might receive supernatural benefits during his return from Elba. (I worked hard on this summary because the Goodreads summary for the kindle edition has a major spoiler in it!)

What a cute book! Just about all I knew going in to this book was that the cover was gorgeous and it hooked me right away as the main character Agnes Wilkins adores Jane Austen's writing.  That is my kind of heroine!  Besides her appreciation for "A Lady's" writing, Agnes is also learned in ten languages with varying degrees of fluency and possessed with a strong sense of adventure and a keen intellect.  Her partnership with Caedmon begins uneasily but they quickly form a rapport as they seek out threats to England.  Although most of the supporting characters do not play a big role, I was able to create images of them in my head to complement Agnes and Caedmon's story.

The pacing of the story is pretty good although I felt there wasn't much suspense over who the spy might be.  There was a good mix between Agnes attempting to be a proper debutante but also puzzling out the mystery with Caedmon.  I believed in their relationship and rooted for them to be together.  The writing is fine; there were a few funny moments and the language seemed formal enough for the time period.

A point of interest is that issues of gender and class pepper the book.  Agnes is piqued when her father consigns her to the ladies area at one point and makes the decision to NOT tell him about the message despite the fact that she had said she would.  She bristles at being looked down on by men although in general her father is a man committed to gender equality.  She also laments her position in life that prepares her only to be the wife of some lord without being able to travel and study as she'd liked to do.  Caedmon is a lowly duster for the British Museum who wants to be so much more, especially in the heart of Agnes, but finds structures stacked against him.

Overall: A fun mystery with dollops of history and romance!

Cover: Beautiful-this is what originally intrigued me.