Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: EgmontUSA (August 24, 2010)
Book summary: It is 1876, the year of the Centennial in Philadelphia. Katherine has lost her twin sister Anna in a tragic skating accident. One wickedly hot September day, Katherine sets out for the exhibition grounds to cut short the haunted life she no longer wants to live.
My review: I think of myself as someone who loves words and language. When I read a book by Kephart all I can do is admire her skill--she is a craftsman of prose. She truly brings to life the Philadelphia Centennial fair from 1876 with her lushly detailed passages and well researched historical points. Scenery is featured as a prominent character in Dangerous Neighbors and I found myself rereading sections to truly appreciate her creations. When surviving twin Katherine gazes upon the exhibits at the fair I could easily picture them.
What I found really interesting was how the author took a story about a teen who's so depressed over her twin sister's untimely death she wants to kill herself and made it a gorgeous ode to life, and in a sense, a lovely postcard to the Philadelphia of the early eighteenth century. Told in third person from the perspective of Katherine, the story unravels with the use of perfectly placed flashbacks placed alongside the present.
Daughters of a respected banker, the teen girls know their spouses must be approved of by their father and suffragette activist mother. But when Anna falls for the bakery shop's son, Bennett, she begins to lie so she can secretly meet him. Out of love Katherine covers for her, then regrets her decision over time as Anna spends less and less time with her.
After Anna's death, Katherine becomes a shell of the girl she was and decides to fly off the roof of a fair building. Bennett, who has been watching her and knows she suffers Anna's loss as well, stops her. The fairgrounds is one place she visits after her failed suicide attempt, becoming just another nameless face in the crowd. One day she sees a young guy rescue a pig and her curiosity at his actions is piqued. Throughout the story he is seen finding lost animals, if only he could help Katherine come back to the land of the living.
There is so much to like about this book. The story is richly written, layered with meaning, symbolism and feeling, and will make any reader an instant Kephart fan. I know I am. It is a quick read but don't peruse the pages too quickly because you'll lose the spirit of Katherine's story. Dangerous Neighbors is one of those books to experience again and again, each time discovering nuances and textures missed during the previous read. Highly recommended.
Rating: ++++1/2
Favorite excerpt: Freom pages 93-94, ARC edition.
"Anna leaned in close. "I forgive you," she said.
"For what?"
"For caring so much that it makes you mean."
"He'll ruin us both," Katherine said, but not out of anger this time.
"Look in his eyes sometime. Try and see him."
"I have, Anna. I understand. I know why you love him."
"I'll marry him."
"But Father won't allow it."
"Perhaps Mother will then. Pursuit of happiness. Constitutional and whatnot."
"You're slightly mad," Katherine said.
"Of course I am," Anna laughed. And then she turned toward Katherine and leaned in for a kiss. "Love you." she said, and Katherine thought, Remember this."
What I found really interesting was how the author took a story about a teen who's so depressed over her twin sister's untimely death she wants to kill herself and made it a gorgeous ode to life, and in a sense, a lovely postcard to the Philadelphia of the early eighteenth century. Told in third person from the perspective of Katherine, the story unravels with the use of perfectly placed flashbacks placed alongside the present.
Daughters of a respected banker, the teen girls know their spouses must be approved of by their father and suffragette activist mother. But when Anna falls for the bakery shop's son, Bennett, she begins to lie so she can secretly meet him. Out of love Katherine covers for her, then regrets her decision over time as Anna spends less and less time with her.
After Anna's death, Katherine becomes a shell of the girl she was and decides to fly off the roof of a fair building. Bennett, who has been watching her and knows she suffers Anna's loss as well, stops her. The fairgrounds is one place she visits after her failed suicide attempt, becoming just another nameless face in the crowd. One day she sees a young guy rescue a pig and her curiosity at his actions is piqued. Throughout the story he is seen finding lost animals, if only he could help Katherine come back to the land of the living.
There is so much to like about this book. The story is richly written, layered with meaning, symbolism and feeling, and will make any reader an instant Kephart fan. I know I am. It is a quick read but don't peruse the pages too quickly because you'll lose the spirit of Katherine's story. Dangerous Neighbors is one of those books to experience again and again, each time discovering nuances and textures missed during the previous read. Highly recommended.
Rating: ++++1/2
Favorite excerpt: Freom pages 93-94, ARC edition.
"Anna leaned in close. "I forgive you," she said.
"For what?"
"For caring so much that it makes you mean."
"He'll ruin us both," Katherine said, but not out of anger this time.
"Look in his eyes sometime. Try and see him."
"I have, Anna. I understand. I know why you love him."
"I'll marry him."
"But Father won't allow it."
"Perhaps Mother will then. Pursuit of happiness. Constitutional and whatnot."
"You're slightly mad," Katherine said.
"Of course I am," Anna laughed. And then she turned toward Katherine and leaned in for a kiss. "Love you." she said, and Katherine thought, Remember this."
Cover comment: Clever picture. Ties in nicely with what Katherine's father tells her at one point and I especially like the duality of the symbolism of the cracked egg inside the nest. Just like the book, this photo is layered in meaning. Don't easily dismiss it without first reading the book.
Book source: We Love YA! book tours
Reviewed by: Laurie
Goodness, I just discovered this, and I thank you. I thank you, too, for returning that scene to me, which I remember sobbing through as I wrote. Sometimes the books are really bigger than the writer, and all we can do is take notes.
ReplyDeleteWonderful review of such a powerful book! Your favorite scene was one of my favorites, too, and really pulled at my heart. Not a book that's soon forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words. That excerpt gave me goosebumps and made me teary--that's how I knew it was special!
ReplyDelete