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Between Before and After, by award-winning author Maureen McQuerry, explores the impact of the Spanish Influenza pandemic on a young woman and her family already rocked by secrets, as seen through the eyes of two young adults told in dual narratives between 1918 New York City and 1955 San Jose, California.
About the author
Maureen McQuerry is an award-winning novelist, teacher, and sometime poet. Her novels include, The Peculiars (ALA Best Book for Young Adult Readers 2013, and winner of the Westchester Award), the MG Time Out of Time duet: Beyond the Door and The Telling Stone (Booklist top Ten Fantasy/SciFi for Youth) that combines, Celtic myth, shapeshifters and a secret code in a coming of age story, and the YA historical, Between Before and After (Blink/HarperCollins 2/5/2019). She lives with her husband in WA State and spends her time between the Columbia River and the Puget Sound and traveling to where ever life's next real life mystery make take her.
Summary
A mother being dragged ever deeper into the icy waters of depression. A daughter who finds a devastating secret about a shadowy past buried in her mom’s dresser. And the key to unlocking a long-hidden family mystery that could save or destroy much more than their two lives.
Fourteen-year-old Molly worries about school, friends, and her parents’ failed marriage, but mostly about her mother Elaine’s growing depression. Molly knows her mother, who shuts herself off from human connections and instead buries herself in the lives and deaths of the strangers she writes about, is nursing her own carefully-kept secret. But in Elaine’s raw and fragile state, Molly knows not to pry too deeply.
Until her Uncle Stephen is thrust into the limelight because of his miracle cure of a young man and her mother can no longer hide behind other people’s stories. As Molly digs into her mother’s past, she finds a secret hidden in her mother’s dresser that may be the key to unlocking a family mystery dating to 1918 New York—a secret that could save or destroy their future.
Between Before and After is:
- A riveting YA story told in dual narratives during the flu epidemic in 1918 New York City and 1955 San Jose, California
- An historical coming-of-age novel about the complex bonds between mothers and daughters.
- Written by award-winning poet, novelist, and teacher Maureen McQuerry
- Perfect for fans of Ruta Sepetys and Laurie Halse Anderson
Additional text
Elaine (Lainey) and Molly each have a story to tell in this dual perspective historical novel. One was orphaned in the years following World War I. The other is her daughter years later, who wants her mother to pay more attention to her and seeks to uncover her mother's secrets. In the middle of those two narratives is the story of Uncle Stephen, a Catholic school teacher, who prays for a boy with a tumor and it disappears--is Uncle Stephen a miracle worker? Lainey's tale begins in 1919, and Molly's perspective starts in 1955. McQuerry interweaves the folktale of 'Hansel and Gretel' throughout the plot. The identity of Uncle Stephen, and the nature of his 'miracle,' eventually paves the way for a surprise ending. While Catholicism has a major place in the story, it is not preachy or pushing for conversion. Chapter headings indicate who is narrating, which helps readers keep read track of the time period of each section. Teens will easily be engrossed in the lives and challenges of the protagonists as the novel progresses. The well-researched historical details help set the context of the tale. VERDICT A well-told story about family relationships and the importance of trust and truth-telling. A good choice for medium to large collections.--Jane Mouttet, Mesilla Valley Christian School, Las Cruces, NM
