Stanley & Hazel

April 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-In the midst of the Great Depression in St. Louis, two teens from very different socioeconomic backgrounds meet by happenstance. Hazel Malloy is a debutant, a "swell." She lives on Lindell Street where the Great Depression has hardly had an effect. Hazel begins to question her grandiose lifestyle as she becomes more aware of those struggling to make ends meet. Stanley is an Irish-Catholic newsie who lives in the poor neighborhood of Dogtown. He is leader of the Knights, a gang that "robs" garbage cans on Lindell Street to feed the poor. The night the two teens meet, they stumble across the body of a murder victim. At the crime scene, they find a baseball bat and a sequence of numbers on the victim's arm. Something doesn't add up and the police seem to be covering up pieces of evidence. Hazel and Stanley decide it is up to them to solve the murder while uncovering an even bigger scandal involving the city's wealthy elite. This historical novel is a well-crafted murder mystery with strong characters and the author's uses 1920s dialogue like "bananas," "his goose was cooked," and "dollface" to take readers back in time. The story line is slightly slow paced but it still entices readers to solve the mystery alongside the main characters. VERDICT A secondary purchase recommended for larger collections.-Melissa Lambert, Trenton Public Schools, MI

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April 15, 2018
Newsie Stanley is just making do in 1934 St. Louis, Missouri, when he meets wealthy socialite Hazel at the movies and they become embroiled in a shocking murder that apparently connects their disparate worlds.The enemy is known as Legion, and he is mightier than these two can handle--but don't underestimate their grit, nor the growing attraction between the two that simply is not acceptable in their own rigid communities. To Hazel's family, Stanley's Irish Catholic background is as much anathema as is his poverty. Most characters are strictly stereotypes, including the main white duo whose chatter in the supposed slang of the day is neither fresh nor entertaining. Legion and his organization are far more intriguing. While Stanley is working several jobs, he never seems to actually do much work and always has a few spare coins to share, illustrating his heart of gold. Hazel, who begins as a spoiled rich debutante, is gradually awakened to the advantages her life of luxury has given her as she sees the sufferings of Depression-era life. It's all been done before and with more élan. There might be some connections to actual history related to the Veiled Prophet Ball, but the fictionalized account provides only speculation that the organization is similar to the Ku Klux Klan.Stock adventure out of 1930s central casting. (Historical fiction. 13-17)

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