As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(2)
YA
Fourteen-year-old Essie longs to escape her miserable life in post-Reconstruction Savannah, Georgia, where her mother earns her living as a prostitute. After Essie leaves home, wealthy Dorcas Vashon transforms her into a socialite in Washington, DC, with an invented background. Essie, now Victoria, has an epiphany that helps her understand the tragic complexities of her mother's life. Bolden captures the period with meticulous detail in this engrossing coming-of-age story.