The Language of Fire

April 1, 2019
Hemphill (Fatal Throne, 2018, etc.), known for her verse biographies of young women, returns with the story of 15th-century Saint Joan of Arc. Jehanne, as the otherwise illiterate peasant girl spelled her name, was 13 years old when she first heard voices telling her she was to save France. It was 1425, and England and France were well into the fight for domination known as the Hundred Years' War. At 16, Jehanne convinced the captain of the French dauphin to take her to him. After showing Charles a vision of a golden crown, she rode as a soldier at the head of his army, raised the siege of Orléans, and saw him crowned Charles VII at Rheims. The next spring, however, she was captured by English factions, put on trial, and burned at the stake. In blank verse from Jehanne's point of view, Hemphill goes into extraordinary detail regarding the battles she fought and the men who did or did not support her--helped by the transcripts from Joan's actual trial, among the most detailed medieval records still extant. The decision described in her author's note to condense the holy voices Jehanne heard minimizes the elements of faith and piety; Jehanne is reduced to a protofeminist for modern readers. Also, the story slogs: It could have been half the length with twice the impact. Pick up David Elliott's Voices (2019) instead. (foreword, list of monarchs, author's note, further reading) (Historical fiction. 12-18)

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May 13, 2019
Free verse poems written in the first person tell the familiar tale of the medieval teenage peasant prophesied to liberate France from England. Hemphill (Hideous Love) refers to Joan as Jehanne—as the book’s subject herself signed it—and covers her young life, beginning at age 13; her interactions with France’s leaders; her subsequent military victories; her capture by the English; and her trial for heresy and subsequent burning at the stake at age 19. The heroine’s early years are imagined filled with angst and frustration (“It’s not as if I ask to be/ the girl on the margins”), while her later adolescence brims with certainty about her call and mission as she travels among the soldiers she leads, braves repeated threats, and suffers battle wounds. An author’s note explores liberties taken with the historical record, such as condensing the three voices that Jehanne reported hearing into one. Extensive historical detail will prove fatiguing for most readers even as Hemphill’s interpretation of known events, including Jehanne’s argument that she be released from an arranged marriage and vivid renderings of her long imprisonment, bring a sense of frail humanity to this outsize historical figure. Ages 13–up.

June 1, 2019

Gr 7 Up-The Hundred Years' War consumes France as monarchs fight over the coveted throne. In a small French village, 13-year-old Jehanne hears a call from God to leave home and embark on a mission to ensure Charles VII is crowned King of France. With just a few years to complete her task, Jehanne builds an army, wins campaigns, and shocks the nation with her pursuits. However, her story is not as cut-and-dried as it seems, and her faith leads to unintended consequences at the hands of her countrymen. A clear passion project, Hemphill's rousing novel in verse breathes life into the tale of Joan of Arc, or Jehanne la Pucelle. While the book has a heavy start, the foreword of historical notes aids in clarifying Jehanne's time line and bookends nicely with the detailed bibliography at the closure. The use of traditional French names and spellings within the poems adds a sense of intimacy to Jehanne's struggles with gender, war, and faith. The free verse structure lends well to humanizing Jehanne beyond her known sainthood. Though a few moments feel choppy near the end, they are easily overlooked in favor of the empowering message to stay strong in one's beliefs, undeterred in fighting to be heard. VERDICT Those intrigued by Joan of Arc will enjoy this well-researched, if lengthy, tale of Jehanne la Pucelle.-Emily Walker, Lisle Library District, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2019
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* There are many books that chronicle the story of Joan of Arc, but this extraordinary first-person novel in verse brings readers into the young woman's heart and soul. In short chapters and using an almost clipped narrative, this moves with alacrity through Joan's life, from her days as an illiterate farm girl to her visionary mission?making sure Charles, the dauphin, is crowned king of France?through the fighting that accomplishes the goal, and finally, to her imprisonment and horrifying death by fire. Throughout, readers experience Joan's puzzlement, determination, and reverence as she faces impossible odds to follow God's directive. Using extensive research (and fortunately there are primary sources to draw on), Hemphill both gives a personal account and explains the political situation between the French and English that roiled the two countries, all of which is bolstered by an author's end note that goes into the history of the 100 Years War. It's not easy to both tell a story and explain history, but Hemphill does both beautifully. The writing is often poetic with images that linger, especially once readers get inside Joan's head: that's when the story soars, and her commitment as well as her fears and doubts become clear. This is also a story of female empowerment, and there are important meditations on the expectations and perils girls and women face, then and always. A moving and in many ways motivating experience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)