Book-It 'o14! Book #23
Aug. 13th, 2014 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alivemagdoleneThe Fifty Books Challenge, year five! (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013) This was a library request.
Title: Meet Rebecca by Jacqueline Dembar Greene with illustrations by Robert Hunt
Details: Copyright 2009, American Girl Publishing Inc
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Rebecca Rubin longs to be the center of attention, but that's not easy in a family of five children! When cousin Max, the actor, tells her the secret to pleasing an audience, Rebecca can't wait to try it out. Then she learns that her cousin Ana and her family are in danger-- they must escape Russia and come to New York. Rebecca decides to raise money for their passage by putting on a show-- until her disapproving grandmother steps in. Unexpectedly, Rebecca finds another way to earn money. But for her plan to work, she'll have to keep it a secret."
Why I Wanted to Read It: Remember my remembrances of the American Girl franchise? And my reviews of the the character Kit's six-book series? Okay, then.
How I Liked It: I was actually more excited for this character than for Kit although Kit ended up proving far more endearing than I thought. Judging by the other characters, Rebecca seemed more of an area they hadn't explored (and she remains the only Jewish American Girl).
However, Rebecca is written by a rookie in the American Girl series, although not a rookie author in general. "Meet" books are tricky things even for experienced authors and with a rookie you have a perfect recipe to stumble.
Too often Rebecca's characters feel like stereotypes rather than characters: the disapproving elders, the traditionalist grandparents, the bratty older sisters, a sickly relative in the volatile old country, the name-changing and thus "black sheep" relation. In an establishing book, it's difficult to relate to people that are little more than cardboard backdrops.
Rebecca herself isn't fleshed out much, either. She's fairly defined by her somewhat inexplicable need to be an actress, despite never having seen a moving picture and the suggestion that the plays her family has attended have been few and far between. Put to work in her father's shoe store, she discovers a way to make money for her extended family's passage into America that feels deus ex machina even for an American Girl story, and the complete support and lack of conflict she encounters from her family for her efforts feels like sloppy and rushed writing.
The illustrations are a little clumsy and it's clear that the illustrator is still getting the hang of the clothing and hairstyles of the period.
The "Looking Back" section offers a decent amount of information into the great immigration at the turn of the last century, specifically of Jews from Eastern Europe (like Rebecca's family). It goes into a fair amount of detail regarding moving pictures, vaudeville, and why Rebecca's family would disapprove of her association with them. Also offered are some basic information into the Jewish faith, particularly clashing traditions in a new, predominantly Christian country.
Title: Meet Rebecca by Jacqueline Dembar Greene with illustrations by Robert Hunt
Details: Copyright 2009, American Girl Publishing Inc
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Rebecca Rubin longs to be the center of attention, but that's not easy in a family of five children! When cousin Max, the actor, tells her the secret to pleasing an audience, Rebecca can't wait to try it out. Then she learns that her cousin Ana and her family are in danger-- they must escape Russia and come to New York. Rebecca decides to raise money for their passage by putting on a show-- until her disapproving grandmother steps in. Unexpectedly, Rebecca finds another way to earn money. But for her plan to work, she'll have to keep it a secret."
Why I Wanted to Read It: Remember my remembrances of the American Girl franchise? And my reviews of the the character Kit's six-book series? Okay, then.
How I Liked It: I was actually more excited for this character than for Kit although Kit ended up proving far more endearing than I thought. Judging by the other characters, Rebecca seemed more of an area they hadn't explored (and she remains the only Jewish American Girl).
However, Rebecca is written by a rookie in the American Girl series, although not a rookie author in general. "Meet" books are tricky things even for experienced authors and with a rookie you have a perfect recipe to stumble.
Too often Rebecca's characters feel like stereotypes rather than characters: the disapproving elders, the traditionalist grandparents, the bratty older sisters, a sickly relative in the volatile old country, the name-changing and thus "black sheep" relation. In an establishing book, it's difficult to relate to people that are little more than cardboard backdrops.
Rebecca herself isn't fleshed out much, either. She's fairly defined by her somewhat inexplicable need to be an actress, despite never having seen a moving picture and the suggestion that the plays her family has attended have been few and far between. Put to work in her father's shoe store, she discovers a way to make money for her extended family's passage into America that feels deus ex machina even for an American Girl story, and the complete support and lack of conflict she encounters from her family for her efforts feels like sloppy and rushed writing.
The illustrations are a little clumsy and it's clear that the illustrator is still getting the hang of the clothing and hairstyles of the period.
The "Looking Back" section offers a decent amount of information into the great immigration at the turn of the last century, specifically of Jews from Eastern Europe (like Rebecca's family). It goes into a fair amount of detail regarding moving pictures, vaudeville, and why Rebecca's family would disapprove of her association with them. Also offered are some basic information into the Jewish faith, particularly clashing traditions in a new, predominantly Christian country.
