Juliet: A Dream Takes Flight (Girlhood Journeys, 1) - Softcover

Kirwan, Anna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0689811373 ISBN 13: 9780689811371

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1996

Synopsis

When Juliet learns that her friend, Marguerite, has been engaged to be married against her will to a stranger who recently came to town, she devises a courageous plan to set things right and save a her friend from a tragic event.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

The Girlhood Journeys Collection makes a lukewarm debut with these slim novels, set, respectively, in medieval England and Victorian San Francisco; two other novels, one set in Nigeria in 1440 and the other in 1775 Paris, are due for simultaneous release. While the series premise is derivative, the adolescent heroines, if not rendered with particular flair, are credible enough, and plots are suitably dramatic. Juliet retrieves an escaped falcon and discovers why a mysterious horseman has stolen the handkerchief of her best friend; Shannon rescues a Hong Kong orphan from a miserable existence as a slave to a Chinatown merchant. The girls' adventures are slated to continue-unfortunately, each of these two tales reads as a slice of a larger saga rather than a satisfying novel in itself, leaving the reader neither satiated nor, curiously, really hungry for more. The overall flavor is of an American Girls Collection wannabe, with an international reach added; the final page of each volume advertises tie-in dolls from Ertl Collectibles "available where quality toys are sold." However, the books' plots are significantly less compelling and the factual background skimpier than in the Pleasant Company's historical fiction. Ages 7-11.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6?These titles offer glimpses of a period in history through a young girl's eyes. Juliet's story, set in England, illustrates the limited number of choices available to a girl in 1339. Juliet exhibits unheard-of bravery and courage, especially when she rescues a trained peregrine accidentally set free by her younger brother. She envies her best friend, who comes from an upper-class family, but soon discovers that even wealth cannot insure happiness?Marguerite's father betroths her to an unknown man. Shannon's story, set in San Francisco in 1880, begins with her family's move to America from Ireland. Deeply homesick, Shannon must recognize that America is now her home. While accompanying her father on a trip to a Chinese-owned pet shop, she observes a crying young girl who mysteriously disappears before Shannon can help her. Exhibiting courage and willfulness, Shannon enlists some of her newfound American friends to come to the girl's rescue. Yes, the plots are fairly predictable, but the books do have suspense, likable characters, and, without a doubt, a ready-made audience in readers of the "American Girls" series (Pleasant).?Julie Shatterly, York County Public Library, Rock Hill, SC
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0689811373
• ISBN 13: 9780689811371
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 72