Two Strangers

Starred review from December 1, 2014
Matthews' latest is full of the sort of charm, happiness, lucky coincidences, bravery, and positivity that curmudgeons and cynics will find saccharine, but for those who enjoy a heartwarming, brimming-with-happiness story, this rags-to-riches tale is perfect. Fourteen-year-old Victoria Keats is thrown out of her home by her father, whose desire for a son has turned him into a mean and violent man. Vicki's mother does nothing to help, and Vicki finds herself alone and penniless on the streets of London. Were it not for the kindness of two strangers, she might have starved to death. As it is, she knows finding a job to support herself will be impossible, what with all the men returning from the Great War desperate for work. So she disguises herself as a boy, finds work in a hair salon, and is adopted by two of the kindest people she's ever met. She puts her terrible past behind herexcept for her obsession with finding the two strangers whose kindness kept her from starvation and gave her hope. What happens as she searches for the strangers has unexpected but ultimately happy and gratifying results. Charming, captivating, fulfilling, and lively.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)