Reviews

The New York City mobster scene during the 1950s is vibrantly brought to life in this saga of a poor dancer who pays a high price for the breaks she gets. When the story opens, 17-year-old Kit Corrigan has left her Providence, R.I., family for the lights of Broadway and still has mixed feelings about her hotheaded ex-boyfriend, Billy, who has since joined the army. Then Kit receives an offer she can't refuse: become a snoop for Billy's gangster father in exchange for a much-needed Manhattan apartment and a nightclub gig. Kit almost immediately regrets her decision but is unable to prevent a future tainted by heartache, deception, and murder. Past tragedies suffered by Kit and her Irish-American family are artfully woven into the plot; if the book is a little slow-moving at first, National Book Award-winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied) successfully constructs a complex web of intrigue that connects characters in unexpected ways. History and theater buffs will especially appreciate her attention to detail-Blundell again demonstrates she can turn out first-rate historical fiction. Ages 13-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 7 Up-It's 1950 and 17-year-old dancer Kit Corrigan has recently fled Providence, RI, and her former boyfriend, Billy, arriving in New York City with big dreams. In a lucky break, she scores a small part in a Broadway production, but she knows luck doesn't last. When Billy's estranged father, "dapper gangster Nate the Nose Benedict," a lawyer for the mob, shows up unexpectedly requesting her help to make things right, he convinces her that they both want the same thing-Billy's happiness. In return, he promises to help her, with no strings attached. However, Kit soon learns that there's no such thing as a free lunch, job, apartment, or fancy clothes. When a gangster Nate asked her to spy on is found dead, Kit becomes terrified and begins searching for the truth, only to discover that often life is a sticky web of lies woven one string at a time. Judy Blundell has written an intriguingly dark page-turning novel (Scholastic 2011) built on the shattered innocence of youth and filled with secrets, deceit, murder, and tangled relationships. Occasional chapter flashbacks to Kit's complicated past weave a history that reflects her actions in the present. Narrator Imma Gaivin's range of accents from New York to Irish is superb. A must have!-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.