As we creep closer to
Halloween I was intrigued by the title of Jennifer Donnelly's newest YA novel, These Shallow Graves, and wanted a good
bone chilling novel to keep me awake at night. Although I enjoyed the book I am
glad to say I won't be left with nagging or reoccurring nightmares. Instead, I
am left with a sense of relief to know the innocent lives lost in the telling
of the story get their due diligence in the end.
We start the story with
three people digging up a corpse--apropos
to the title, however it isn't the literal grave that Donnelly wants her
readers to grasp, but the figure of speech. We all are subject to 'digging' our
own graves and as the plot thickens we see how narcissist people can become.
Covered in dirt and
standing with a shovel above a grave is our protagonist, Josephine Montfort. Jo
is a 17 year old girl living in 1890s amongst the upper echelon in New York
City. She is covered head to toe in dirt, but we are not told why, intead being
transported to the past unveiling why our lovely and innocent protagonist is
standing at a graveside at 2 in the morning. Jo's Father has been murdered; his
partners in his shipping company have been murdered as well and it seems the
business has been compromised by mysteriously missing shipping manifests.
Compelled to become a reporter, Jo finds herself yearning to learn the truth of
her father's untimely demise, as well as the truth to the shipping business.
Much to Jo's chagrin
this is not the time when a young lady can ask questions or go anywhere without
a chaperone. Jo is at the mercy of 1890 and has to discover how to illicit
answers without shunning her family or herself. Thanks to her intelligence, wit
and charm she manages to befriend a Newsie who has connections throughout the
city. This friendship quickly evolves into a romantic relationship which will
epically fail due to their lineage.
The historical aspect of
this novel was compelling as was the plot development and characters. I felt
like a winner because I knew who did what before Jo did, but that isn't to say
I didn't enjoy the book. It was accurate in its depiction of the time and
allowed for me to create beautiful images of the story as I read. Well, some
not so beautiful as New York has a lurking evilness to its West side with its
pick pockets and ladies of the evening--some of these settings allowed for
great characterization to develop.
Out last week: Oct. 27, 2015
ISBN:9780385737654
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