Reliance, Illinois is set in 1874, a rather tumultuous time in American history. Thousands of displaced persons wander through a country still reeling from the aftermath of a civil war. Maddy and her mother are two such displaced persons, and Maddy has watched her mother do whatever she can in order for them to survive. At a young age, she's already learned that life can be very ugly, and that if you have nothing you shouldn't expect any more from life than that.
Everyone has secrets in Reliance, Illinois, and readers can vie with Maddy to see who is better at uncovering them. Political overtones in 1874 are uncannily similar to today's, and it was interesting to watch the two suffragettes, Miss Rose and Mrs. French, fight for their causes there in town.
Madelyn Branch has a unique voice that quickly captured my attention and carried me through the book, and that voice did much to help me overlook the uneven parts. Perhaps there was just too much going on in one book. Perhaps there were just too many colorful characters. Perhaps the jump from Maddy the child to Maddy the adult in the epilogue left out too much, but this story of a young disadvantaged girl growing into her true self never quite gelled into a story I could wholeheartedly recommend. But the one thing that I will recommend is Madelyn Branch herself. As a character, Maddy may not always be admirable, but she certainly is memorable.
Everyone has secrets in Reliance, Illinois, and readers can vie with Maddy to see who is better at uncovering them. Political overtones in 1874 are uncannily similar to today's, and it was interesting to watch the two suffragettes, Miss Rose and Mrs. French, fight for their causes there in town.
Madelyn Branch has a unique voice that quickly captured my attention and carried me through the book, and that voice did much to help me overlook the uneven parts. Perhaps there was just too much going on in one book. Perhaps there were just too many colorful characters. Perhaps the jump from Maddy the child to Maddy the adult in the epilogue left out too much, but this story of a young disadvantaged girl growing into her true self never quite gelled into a story I could wholeheartedly recommend. But the one thing that I will recommend is Madelyn Branch herself. As a character, Maddy may not always be admirable, but she certainly is memorable.
