Boy, were they lucky with Nicholas. He really is a great guy and treats Bizou like his younger sister. She's also lucky to remember a couple of key details, as Tranquility never told her anything about her past. I would like to think Tranquility is an excellent judge of character, but I think she was really reckless and got very lucky.
It's interesting that (as far as I know) this is the only Norma Klein book featuring black main characters. Tranquility went to Paris and raised her daughter there, as she found the treatment of blacks in Europe much better than in America (I do hope Bizou will find things have changed). These characters also have the least traditional family - it's just mother and daughter, no siblings, no father, and while they don't seem to have lived a very wild life in Paris, it likely has been somewhat unsteady with work as a model, plus Tranquility would have had to travel a lot. Bizou is both innocent and experienced at the same time. She's very innocent of American ways and racism and she's very trusting of complete strangers, but at the same time she has a sophistication that is unusual in a young teen.

This review is a part of Kid Konnection, hosted by Booking Mama, a collection of children's book-related posts over the weekend.
1 comment:
I really need to read one of Klein's books. I think this one has the potential for an interesting book club discussion!
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