Author Bio:
A born and bred New Englander, Lindsey hails from the North Shore of Boston. A member of the Topsfield Historical Society and the Historical Novel Society, she forged her love for writing with her intrigue for colonial America by writing her debut novel, Muskets and Minuets. When she's not attending historical reenactments or spouting off facts about Boston, she's nursing patients back to health in the ICU.
Book Buy Link: https://amzn.to/3pfqmB7
Editorial Review:
With the recipe of love, war, and politics set in the early years of America’s birth, a young girl mirrors that same early ‘teenage’ days of struggling with identity. America teeters on the brink of war, breaking free from the ‘motherland’ of Britain; and Annalisa Howlett struggles with breaking free from the expected role of a woman in the 18th century Colonies in Boston. So, she rebels, opting to learn how to shoot a musket alongside her half-brother, George, with the intention of joining the fight for America’s independence. But everything she thought about her world and about growing into womanhood are transformed, the same as America transforms, hammered against the harsh realities and pivotal moments in American history.
This review begins with the above overall summation of the book before diving into the detailed ins and outs of this unique historical fiction novel written for the YA market. From the start you are set on this journey of discovery for Annalisa Howlett whose tomboyish ways lead her to learning how to fire a musket (and naming it), disguising herself as a man and joining the rebellion, contrasting with the time period expected roles for women of learning to dance a minuet or finding a prospective husband. At the outset she is a rebellious teenager spurning her parent’s wishes that their daughter conduct herself like a lady from a prominent family. In the midst of all of this, the rebellion against Britain is rising and the tensions between loyalists and patriots is creating deep gullies within families as people start to choose sides. All of this affects Annalisa, as well as the other main characters in the story. The story is told from three different POVs and spans 1769 – 1775 and Annalisa grows up (in more ways than one) from 13 to 19.
Annalisa is a modern girl with modern ideas when you think about the time period of corsets, fainting spells, and petticoats; and her desire to join the patriots leads her to adventures in the army. At the outset, however, the mix of POVs and the conglomeration of events took a bit of sorting out as the narrative switched between Annalisa, her half-brother, George, and George’s cousin, Jack. If you can get through this initial phase of the book, then the rest develops nicely and the relationship that develops between Jack and Annalisa grows, rounding out both of their characters in a believable way. And as far as the historical background in a Massachusetts setting, for anyone who doesn’t know anything about the American Revolutionary War, this is a good opportunity to see the perspective of some of the famous events surrounding it told in a fictional platform. Not only that but Fera’s inclusion of what is happening not only in the Colonies, (the Boston Tea Party, etc.) but what is happening at the same time with the revolution in France, as well as the new music by a young musician named Mozart, really connects the dots to the relevant history happening at the same time on the world stage.
While the language and use of time-period appropriate slang feel somewhat authentic and creates an immersive world for the reader, there are times when it felt too much one way or the other, see-sawing between stiffly formal to insulting, naughty language – but, then again, the intention for doing this by the author somehow felt intentional in retrospect, so as to set the authentic feel of the era. A minor infraction, to be sure, and something which might or might not be distracting to some. Another fluctuation occurred in the pacing, which started quick and a bit tangled, labored through the middle, and quickly wrapped up.
The narrative is quite descriptive, well-researched, and vivid in an entertaining way, enough so that you are turning the pages, and the characters have a way of noodling their way into your minds long after you finish the book. Annalisa is easy to like, in contrast to her selfish sister, Jane, who takes the role of the 18th century spoiled manipulator (and in any good historical novel, there has to be one of these, right?) In addition, you have a young girl who is different, who wants to be different, but ends up falling in love anyway despite her opposition to the standards expected of women in her era.
All in all, this is not a easy-going Young Adult read, it is quite intense (in some areas) and engaging (in some areas); not at all the story a reader might expect from just reading the blurb, not the light-hearted story about a girl who merely likes muskets over minuets. In short, this is a good book for anyone who is looking for a story mingling Colonial American before the Revolutionary War, a romance between teenagers whose characters grow and learn as the years pass... oh, and a lot of dirty slang.
“Muskets and Minuets” receives four stars from The Historical Fiction Company.
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