An energetic and bold tale of one of history’s most enterprising journalists.
Indomitable investigative journalist Nellie Bly spends 10 days in a notorious asylum in Rodale’s historical novel.
It’s 1887, and after four months spent knocking on doors on Newspaper Row, aspiring journalist Nellie Bly has yet to take New York City by storm. The ever determined 23-year-old is especially good at asking questions and believing in herself, but so far all her tenacity has gotten her is a recommendation to write for the ladies’ papers. It doesn’t help that every prominent male editor in the city has the same belief—women are too delicate, too emotional, too inaccurate to efficiently report the news. So when Nellie stumbles upon an underground women’s group called the Ladies’ Ordinary, she's thrilled to discover a secret weapon that will help her prove her worth. There, Nellie meets a crew of women journalists who introduce her to the world of stunt reporting: “Nothing sells like a crusade and a girl in danger.” With her friends’ help, Nellie meets with Col. John Cockerill, the World's editor, and convinces him to hire her as a stuntwoman reporter who will infiltrate the infamous Blackwell’s Island insane asylum for women. Easily enough, Nellie finds herself en route to the island, but what awaits her in the middle of the East River is more dreadful than she dared prepare for. When one week turns into 10 days, and with the Sun's Sam Colton hot on her story’s tail, Nellie wonders if she’ll be able to survive her dire circumstances long enough to relay her exposé to the world. While Rodale takes some liberties—for example, Blackwell’s darkly humorous “Prayer Girl” is based on one line of the real Nellie Bly’s “Ten Days in a Mad-House” (1887)—all her main characters are inspired by real historical figures. Rodale’s affinity for writing about powerful women is clear, and she aptly records the lengths they would go to in order to overcome their societal boundaries: “There were all kinds of madness, she supposes, and hers was daring to dream.”
An energetic and bold tale of one of history’s most enterprising journalists.Pub Date: April 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-43675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A boarding-school fantasia, with Hilderbrand’s signature upgrades to the cuisine and decor. Sign us up for next term.
A year in the life of the No. 2 boarding school in America—up from No. 19 last year!
Rumors of Hilderbrand’s retirement were greatly exaggerated, it turns out, since not only has she not gone out to pasture, she’s started over in high school, with her daughter Shelby Cunningham as co-author. As their delicious new book opens, it’s Move-In Day at Tiffin Academy, and Head of School Audre Robinson is warmly welcoming the returning and new students to the New England campus, the latter group including a rare midstream addition to the junior class. Brainiac Charley Hicks is transferring from public school in Maryland to a spot that opened up when one of the school’s most beloved students died by suicide the preceding year. She will be joining a large, diverse cast of adult and teenage characters—queen bees, jealous second-stringers, boozehounds young and old, secret lesbians, people chasing the wrong people chasing other wrong people—all of them royally screwed when an app called Zip Zap appears and starts blasting everyone’s secrets all over campus. How the heck…? Meanwhile, it seems so unlikely that Tiffin has jumped up to the No. 2 spot in the boarding-school rankings that a high-profile magazine launches an investigation, and even the head is worried that there may have been payola involved. The school has a reputation for being more social than academic, and this quality gets an exciting new exclamation point when the resident millionaire bad boy opens a high-style secret speakeasy for select juniors in a forgotten basement. It’s called Priorities. Exactly. One problem: Cinnamon Peters’ mysterious suicide hangs over the book in an odd way, especially since the note she left for her closest male friend is not to be opened for another year—and isn’t. This is surely a setup for a sequel, but it’s a bit frustrating here, and bobs sort of shallowly along amid the general high spirits.
A boarding-school fantasia, with Hilderbrand’s signature upgrades to the cuisine and decor. Sign us up for next term.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9780316567855
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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