Forgiven

September 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-In this companion novel to Faithful (Penguin, 2010), Kula Baker is a strong-willed yet naive young woman, determined to save her father from hanging for a murder he didn't commit. Nat Baker sends his daughter to San Francisco to find a box that contains the only thing that will set him free. With little money and even less information on where to start searching, Kula turns up on the doorstep of Phillipa Everts, an aging spinster who somehow holds the key to her success. However, she has her own agenda, and has no qualms about using Kula to achieve it. She thrusts her into society, with the promise that, "It will all come out right." Kula soon finds herself torn between two men; handsome and rich Will, who can raise her above her station if he marries her, and David Wong, with whom she falls in love. With juggling the two, searching for the box, trying to avoid the evil Wilkie, and discovering the underworld dealings of child enslavement, there's an awful lot going on in this novel. However, Fox manages to weave the many strings of the plot together nicely, with everything reaching a climax during the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake that leveled the city. Kula's story comes to a heartbreaking, bittersweet conclusion that will leave readers satisfied.-Wendy Scalfaro, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2011
Grades 7-10 Kula Baker, who had a small role in Fox's engaging Faithful (2010), takes center stage as she journeys from Yellowstone to San Francisco at her father's behest, in a desperate effort to clear his name and save their lives. Kula is pursued by a menacing figure intent on snuffing out the family because of what they know about San Francisco crime, particularly as it involves the trafficking of young Chinese girls. Slowly and at great peril, she uncovers secrets of the past. The San Francisco earthquake and acute class consciousness of Kula's Native American roots feature hugely in this gripping tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)