Book-It 'o14! Book #27
The Fifty Books Challenge, year five! ( 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013) This was a library request.
Title: Rebecca to the Rescue by Jacqueline Dembar Greene with illustrations by Robert Hunt
Details: Copyright 2009, American Girl Publishing Inc
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Rebecca can't wait to try the games and rides at Coney Island. After a dip in the sea, she and cousin Ana set off, full of giggles and excitement. The one thing dampening the fun is Rebecca's big brother, Victor-- if only he would stop being so bossy! Fuming, Rebecca resolves to show Victor that girls can do anything boys can do. When Victor and Ana's brothers laugh at her, she and Ana decide to go off on their own. But now Ana is missing, and Rebecca hears fire alarm bells clanging. If anything has happened to Ana, Rebecca will never forgive herself."
Why I Wanted to Read It: Remember my remembrances of the American Girl franchise? And my reviews of the the character Kit's six-book series? And my review of the first book about Rebecca? Then the second? Then the third? Fourth? Okay then.
How I Liked It: The bar was set pretty low after the nosedive that was the previous book in this series, so pretty much anything was going to be an improvement.
The plot is steady and not as predictable as you might guess, and the setting paints a vivid picture of Coney Island in the 'teens including attractions that have largely been lost to historic memory. The ending is a tad on the treacly side (which is more or less predictable) and a little clumsy, but fairly solid.
The illustrations occasionally take on a stage-y quality, but are in terms of backgrounds and fashions historically accurate for the most part and at times even surprisingly realistic.
The "Looking Back" section offers detailed information on Coney Island, especially on why it would appeal to a family like Rebecca's (the democratizing factor of everyone riding the same rides, playing the same games, et cetera) and is peppered with historic illustrations and photographs to help the reader visualize events in the story. There's a small snag, but we'll get to that.
Notable: In attempting to outline the difference in recreational summer activities between 1914 and "now", the book makes a claim that's inaccurate:
“In 1914, most people couldn't travel to exotic places, and movies with special effects didn't exist, so sights like [the attractions at Coney Island] were astonishing to behold. ” (pg 68)
It's true that "special effects" in film like we'd come to expect now (or in 2009) obviously didn't exist in 1914. CGI and 3D for example would take decades. But "special effects" have existed as long as film itself. Trick photography, animation, and stop motion to name but a few were all in film before 1914.
This is the kind of lazy writing that an editor should have easily caught. What I'm fairly sure the author meant is that the idea of the summer blockbuster (usually laden with the latest technology in special effects) as we have now come to know it didn't exist in 1914.
Title: Rebecca to the Rescue by Jacqueline Dembar Greene with illustrations by Robert Hunt
Details: Copyright 2009, American Girl Publishing Inc
Synopsis (By Way of Back Cover): "Rebecca can't wait to try the games and rides at Coney Island. After a dip in the sea, she and cousin Ana set off, full of giggles and excitement. The one thing dampening the fun is Rebecca's big brother, Victor-- if only he would stop being so bossy! Fuming, Rebecca resolves to show Victor that girls can do anything boys can do. When Victor and Ana's brothers laugh at her, she and Ana decide to go off on their own. But now Ana is missing, and Rebecca hears fire alarm bells clanging. If anything has happened to Ana, Rebecca will never forgive herself."
Why I Wanted to Read It: Remember my remembrances of the American Girl franchise? And my reviews of the the character Kit's six-book series? And my review of the first book about Rebecca? Then the second? Then the third? Fourth? Okay then.
How I Liked It: The bar was set pretty low after the nosedive that was the previous book in this series, so pretty much anything was going to be an improvement.
The plot is steady and not as predictable as you might guess, and the setting paints a vivid picture of Coney Island in the 'teens including attractions that have largely been lost to historic memory. The ending is a tad on the treacly side (which is more or less predictable) and a little clumsy, but fairly solid.
The illustrations occasionally take on a stage-y quality, but are in terms of backgrounds and fashions historically accurate for the most part and at times even surprisingly realistic.
The "Looking Back" section offers detailed information on Coney Island, especially on why it would appeal to a family like Rebecca's (the democratizing factor of everyone riding the same rides, playing the same games, et cetera) and is peppered with historic illustrations and photographs to help the reader visualize events in the story. There's a small snag, but we'll get to that.
Notable: In attempting to outline the difference in recreational summer activities between 1914 and "now", the book makes a claim that's inaccurate:
“In 1914, most people couldn't travel to exotic places, and movies with special effects didn't exist, so sights like [the attractions at Coney Island] were astonishing to behold. ” (pg 68)
It's true that "special effects" in film like we'd come to expect now (or in 2009) obviously didn't exist in 1914. CGI and 3D for example would take decades. But "special effects" have existed as long as film itself. Trick photography, animation, and stop motion to name but a few were all in film before 1914.
This is the kind of lazy writing that an editor should have easily caught. What I'm fairly sure the author meant is that the idea of the summer blockbuster (usually laden with the latest technology in special effects) as we have now come to know it didn't exist in 1914.