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Book Review: Awakening Anne
Thank you, Kaitlyn Applewhite and Publishers Weekly’s grab-a-galley for the free ebook galley of Awakening Anne.
I noticed in the first paragraph that the writing style is like something written in the Victorian or Edwardian era. Very atmospheric.
I enjoyed the Spiritualism stuff (including the ASPR) and can see the author did plenty of research on the topic. And of course, I also enjoy the suffragist stuff. Spiritualism and suffragists — two of my favorite topics!
The novel could use another round of mild editing. For instance, in the first paragraph of Chapter 10, the first “she” should instead be “Maggie,” since it’s the first time she’s mentioned in this chapter. Chapter 15 has the word “rather” two sentences in a row.
Chapter 16 (which isn’t numbered) has a confusing lack of transition from one scene to the next. That is, suddenly they’re no longer on the street and are instead in jail. There should at least be a break.
The illustrations are a pleasant surprise, although Maggie’s fashions look more circa 1910 than 1916. Costumers and anyone knowledgeable about early 20th century costume will notice. Women’s fashion was changing quickly during that time.
Page 145: I realize it’s set in 1916, but… I’d replace “though she was colored” with “though she was Black….”