Memories Are Made of This

May 1, 2013
Americans raised on Happy Days will find a fresh perspective on the 1950s courtesy of Francis' latest novel, which is set in her hometown of Liverpool. Still emerging from WWII and its austerity measures and privation, the British are less innocent and more tentative than their Yankee counterparts. The Walker familyfather George, teenage Jeanette, and her older half-siblings Hester and Samare haunted by the disappearance of Jeanette's mother, Grace, presumed killed in a bombing. The young adults of the household are bullied by George's aunt, Ethel, who rules with an acid tongue and cruel punishments, though she comes across as less fearsome than Francis likely intended. Danger and romance seemingly lurk around every corner, as Jeanette gets mixed up with a rough crowd and Hester is taken in by a lothario. Francis makes some questionable plot decisions, particularly involving an assault on Hester, yet signals a growing sense of hope by suitably pairing off each Walker child, and saving a whopping revelation about Jeanette's mother for the very end.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)