Kerr, M.E. Your Eyes in Stars.KERR, M.E. Your eyes in stars. HarperCollins. 229p. 2006. 0-06-075682-9. $15.99. JS This novel has a certain similarity to Holes but, while the plot elements are disparate, they don't come together with the neat satisfaction of Sachar's work. The setting here is a 1930s small town in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of State, one still suffering the effects of the Great Depression. Jessie's father is the prison warden, and her mother is an unsuccessful social climber social climber n. One who strives for acceptance in fashionable society. social climber Noun . Jessie makes friends with another outsider, a German girl, whose father is a visiting professor at Cornell. Elisa is brilliant and cultured and her parents are courtly, old fashioned n. 1. A cocktail consisting of whiskey, bitters, and sugar, garnished with with fruit slices and often a cherry. Noun 1. old fashioned - a cocktail made of whiskey and bitters and sugar with fruit slices , and apparently reclusive re·clu·sive adj. 1. Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation. 2. Providing seclusion: a reclusive hut. . Jessie's father has one consuming passion: to train his prison band to win first place in the annual Prison Jazz Band Competition (normally a prize reserved for the New Orleans New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded prison band). The warden is particularly hopeful this year because a newly convicted young murderer named Slater Carr is a musical genius. He plays "Taps" every night in such a way that the whole town pauses to listen and admire. Meanwhile, back in Germany, Hitler is assuming power and persecuting the Jews. The girls play out their small dramas and adventures against this backdrop until Hitler's Germany becomes center stage. Themes include friendship and accepting differences, along with something of a history lesson about how blacks and Jews were regarded then by average citizens in both the US and Germany. Myrna Marler, Assoc. Prof. of English, BYU BYU Brigham Young University BYU Bayou BYU Bob's Your Uncle BYU Bayreuth, Germany - Bindlacher Berg (Airport Code) BYU Beyond Your Understanding , Provo, UT |
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