Book list Like all things in this cunningly stylized novel, the setting is left undefined; a rough guess is mid-1800s America. The characters and plot, too, are mysteries in need of unfolding, and Berry's greatest accomplishment is jumbling the time line with confidence, thereby sprinkling every page with minor (or major) revelations. These trappings gild a not-that-unusual melodrama: 18-year-old Judith pines for Lucas, who has chosen another girl. Perhaps this is because Judith is mute, her tongue having been cut off by a madman who just happened to be Lucas' father. A few frustrating misunderstandings aside, the story gracefully incorporates everything from the right to education to the horrors of war to the freedom that comes along with acquiring language. What will stick in most readers' minds, though, is the first-person prose, which ranges from the unusually insightful (We were four people: the children we'd been, and grown strangers now) to the just plain pretty (Will her china face turn bronze beside you as you labor in your fields?). A strange but satisfying and relatively singular mix.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly Two years after her kidnapping, 18-year-old Judith returns to her small hometown of Roswell Station, maimed and incapable of speaking due to her mutilated tongue. She spends the ensuing years shunned by the townspeople, but when invaders threaten Roswell Station, she must decide if her secrets can be revealed to save her neighbors. Narrator McInerney delivers a solid performance in this audio edition. The story is not told chronologically and therefore McInerney must move back and forth through time, alternating her tone appropriately for scenes set before, during, and after Judith's kidnapping. The narrator also provides distinct character voices that are varied and appropriate. However, McInerney is at her best when rendering Judith's thoughts and vocalizing the character's inner frustration. Ages 12-up. A Viking hardcover. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus Eighteen-year-old Judith Finch gradually reveals the horror of her two-year disappearance in a stunning historical murder mystery and romance. One summer four years ago, Judith Finch and her friend Lottie Pratt disappeared. After two years, only Judith returned. Lottie's naked body was found in the river, and Judith stumbled back on her own, her appearance shocking the town--not just because she had returned, but that her tongue had been cut out, and she can't tell anyone what happened to her. Illiterate, maimed, cursed, doomed to be an outsider but always and forever in love with Lucas Whiting, Judith finds a way to tell her story, saying, "I don't believe in miracles, but if the need is great, a girl might make her own miracle," and as her story unfolds, all the truth that's in her is revealed. Set in what seems to be early-18th-century North America, the story is told through the voice inside Judith's head--simple and poetic, full of hurt and yearning, and almost always directed toward Lucas in a haunting, mute second person. Every now and then, a novel comes along with such an original voice that readers slow down to savor the poetic prose. This is such a story. A tale of uncommon elegance, power and originality. (Historical thriller. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly This melancholy tale of a village outcast unfolds through the thoughts of Judith, who was kidnapped, held prisoner, and maimed by her captor. Two years later, she has returned home at age 18, but because of her severed tongue, she cannot explain her misfortunes or the crime she witnessed the night she was taken. Most of the townspeople shun her, and even her own mother acts ashamed. In some ways, Judith's silence protects her, but hiding the truth puts her and others at risk. Encouraged by an old friend, Judith is inspired to try to regain some speech. If she can find the means and courage to communicate what she knows, she and other innocent victims might find a form of salvation. Written as Judith's internal monologue directed toward Lucas, the boy she loves, Berry's (The Amaranth Enchantment) novel is suspenseful and haunting. Her poetic narrative ("There's nothing so bright as the stream by day, nothing so black on a moonless night") will draw readers in, and the gradual unveiling of secrets will keep them absorbed. Ages 12-up. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Horn Book Berry's novel is set in a claustrophobic village that seems to resemble an early American colonial settlement. Readers gradually learn "all the truth" from eighteen-year-old narrator Judith, who speaks directly (though only in her head) to her love, Lucas. Berry keeps readers on edge, tantalizing us with pieces of the puzzle right up until the gripping conclusion. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

School Library Journal Gr 8 Up-Some things are better left unsaid-or so Judith thinks. Four years ago Judith and her best friend Lottie disappeared. Judith came back two years later but altered, part of her tongue had been cut off. Now, two years after her return, she still isn't at peace; her mother holds onto resentment, her childhood love is getting married, and others in her Puritan town shun her. Trouble is on the horizon as Homelanders, a vengeful group that tried to take over the town years ago, are set to arrive and Judith must make hard choices. Can she protect the ones she loves? This story is haunting, romantic, mysterious, and well written. As the story progresses, Judith shares bits of the past, allowing the reader to slowly gather information about what happened to Judith during those two years and eventually learn who killed Lottie. Kathleen McInferney reads the story using different tones for each character. Her voice for Judith is spot-on in the way she addresses both her internal voice and her speech impediment. Reluctant readers and avid ones will be clamoring for this title with enticing cover art and an original story (Viking, 2013). This is a definite purchase for audiobook collections.-Katie Llera, Bound Brook High School, NJ (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal Berry's (The Trouble with Squids) first YA novel is both a dark mystery and a romance. Two years after Judith and her best friend Lottie were kidnapped, Judith suddenly returns alone. She is rejected by her remaining family members-her father died while she was gone-and most of the citizens of Roswell Station. Mutilated and unable to speak clearly, Judith still manages to help her childhood friend Lucas save the town from an attack, but that only initiates the true tension of the story. The author never identifies when the story takes place, but the setting is clearly a more distant past than the jacket copy reveals. Reader Kathleen McInerney masters the dual challenges of moving between Judith's damaged speaking voice and her highly developed inner thoughts and narrating a story that's written partly in fragments. The style is an often poetic rendering of young love and angst that transcends the vague time period. Verdict Highly recommended for readers age 12 and up.-Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly In the dark days of the Civil War, a girl named Teresa Carreño sat down at a badly tuned piano to play for a special audience: Abraham Lincoln and his family. This book tells the story of how a young refugee from Venezuela comforted the grieving president with her music. Music helps Carreño express her feelings and cope with her family’s emigration to the U.S.—“Without a new piano, Teresa would have felt even more lonely.... Teresa practiced... her strong hands accepting the challenges of life’s many dark and light moods.” Her reputation as a prodigy leads to an invitation at the White House. Intimidated, she tries her best—“the memory of meeting past challenges now helped her fingers dance.” López’s swirling colors, soaring birds, and scattered notes conjure music’s transportive powers amid the countries’ war-torn landscapes, complementing Engle’s text, and building “hymns... shimmered like hummingbirds.” Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

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Book list Engle and López pair up again to bring equality to the arts in this picture-book biography of pianist and composer Teresa Carreño. More detailed than their Pura Belpré Honor Book, Drum Dream Girl (2015), the lyrical, imagery-rich text alternates between prose and free verse as it describes Teresa's early childhood in Venezuela in the mid-1800s. When a revolution tears through the country, the young prodigy and her family move to New York, where she feels like an oddity and where a civil war also wreaks havoc. Concerts around the world, however, spare the newly proclaimed Piano Girl from much of this pain. An invitation from the White House to play for the grieving President Lincoln and his family almost turns disastrous due to a poorly tuned piano, but Teresa's perseverance saves the evening in the story's climax. Patterned mixed-media illustrations use color to evoke the lushness of Venezuela, the darkness of war, and the beauty of music. Concluding with a historical note, the biography's vibrant images and language form a melodious composition.--Angela Leeper Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

School Library Journal PreS-Gr 2—Teresa Carreño achieved global fame as a performer, composer, pianist, and opera singer. By the age of six, she was composing. At the age of seven, she began performing. Revolution in Venezuela forced the Carreño family to migrate to New York, an unfamiliar place where few people spoke Spanish and her family felt out of place. But war would follow them—in 1863 the United States was in the midst of the Civil War. At the age of 10, Carreño was invited to play for President Abraham Lincoln and his family at the White House. But will a poorly tuned piano diminish her performance? This is a story of overcoming fear and using one's talents to spark joy despite unforeseen obstacles. Author and illustrator are well paired in this interesting narrative. Darks and lights, whether representing world events or the colors of the piano keys, are recurring themes that Engle cleverly entwines in her at times poetic writing. López's illustrations practically leap from the page as they mirror the tone of events—bright and beautiful when the story is light; dark, drab, and gray when echoing conflict. A historical note in the back matter provides slightly more insight, but Engle's writing occasionally seems to take liberties with individual characters' thoughts and emotions with little supporting evidence. VERDICT Despite the efficacy of the author and illustrator collaboration, the historical facts remain somewhat sketchy throughout the narrative. A gentle title to add cultural insight to any collection, though possibly best for larger budgets.—Rebecca Gueorguiev, New York Public Library

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Horn Book Teresa Carreño (1853–1917) learned to play piano early in life. When she was eight, her family fled war-torn Venezuela and moved to New York, where she became a well-known child prodigy. Her status provided her with the extraordinary chance to play for President Lincoln, still grieving his young son’s death. Engle’s writing shines; López’s vivid illustrations evoke characters and historical settings with absorbing detail. Appended with a brief historical note. (c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreo performs for President Abraham Lincoln amid a raging Civil War in Engle and Lpez's portrait of an artist.Thanks to parental encouragement, Teresita learned about "all the beautiful / dark and light keys / of a piano" at an early age. By the age of 6, she composed original songs. Revolucin in Venezuela soon drove an 8-year-old Teresa and her family to sail across the stormy sea to the United States, but the Carreo family arrived only to find another violent conflict"the horrible Civil War"in their adopted country. Despite the initial alienation that comes from being in an unfamiliar country, Teresita continued to improve and play "graceful waltzes and sonatas, / booming symphonies, and lively folk songs." The Piano Girl's reputation spread far, eventually garnering the attention of Lincoln, who invited the 10-year-old to perform at the White House! Yet the Civil War festered on, tormenting Teresita, who wished to alleviate the president's burdens for at least one night. "How could music soothe / so much trouble?" Half biographical sketch, half wide-eyed tribute, Engle and Lpez's collaboration endearingly builds to Teresa's fateful meeting with Lincoln like a gravitational pull, with bursts of compassion and admiration for both artist and public servant. Engle's free verse whirls and twirls, playful and vivacious, while Lpez's vivid, colorful artwork elevates this story to heavenly heights. Like a concerto for the heart. (historical note) (Informational picture book. 4-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list Before he was Rocky Balboa or John Rambo, Sylvester Stallone was, well, pretty much nobody. He was just another kid who came to New York to be an actor and discovered that, according to various agents and so-called experts, he didn’t have a chance. His look was wrong; his speech was wrong; everything was wrong. But Stallone wasn't the kind of guy who meekly accepted defeat, and so he made his own opportunities. This memoir charts his early years, from childhood through his first small successes—a meaty acting job here, a screenplay sale there—right up to the spectacular triumph of the 1976 hit, Rocky, a film he wrote and absolutely would not sell, no matter how much money he was offered, unless he was allowed to play the lead character. This is an inspiring memoir, funny and charming and exhilarating, written with the kind of honesty and self-examination that makes us feel as though we haven’t encountered Sylvester Stallone, the movie star, but rather, the man behind the celebrity image.

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Kirkus The noted actor relates the years leading up to the film that made him a leading man. Born Tyrone Gardenzio Stallone, known as “Mike” and then “Sly,” Stallone grew up on decidedly mean streets. Things weren’t better at home, with a father quick to violence (“he broke a lot of furniture and punched a lot of walls”) and a mother “obsessed with fame.” Popular in school, a born athlete, Stallone was also driven early on to educate himself out of his tough Philadelphia neighborhood and become someone. Readers used to his often-meatheaded affect on screen may be surprised to learn of his impressive credentials as a writer—and an authority on Edgar Allan Poe, to boot. They may also be surprised at how well written his memoir is, unflinching as he reveals difficult moments (a brief spell in jail, an earlier stint in a juvenile psychiatric ward, his mother’s odd indifference to his own fame) and fittingly inspirational as he recounts the making of his breakthrough film,Rocky (1976). “I spent years being underestimated, absorbing criticism and tons of professional humiliations,” he writes. Driven by admiration for the underground classicEasy Rider (1969), he set his sights on making a personal film. And so he did, taking it through dozens of drafts, revising as he tried various approaches to relating the struggles of a “bum” trying to—well, rise above the mean streets, “a relatable metaphor for life.” That he wasn’t fired from his own film is yet another surprise. Without much of a track record as an actor, he insisted on starring in his movie, insisted on hiring the largely unknown Carl Weathers to play Apollo Creed, insisted on Talia Shire as Adrian—and insisted on rewriting the last scene to be “uplifting, life-affirming” against the studio’s demands. Guess who won? All concerned, given the mountains of money and awards the film earned. A lively memoir in which long-cherished dreams are the real star. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.