Girl with a Camera

January 1, 2017

Gr 6 Up-Margaret Bourke-White knew from an early age that she was unlike her peers, who, in the first decades of the 20th century, dreamed mostly of marriage and lives as homemakers. But Bourke-White had something different in mind: a career as a photographer. With very little money or encouragement, she progressed toward her goal and met benevolent people along the way who believed in her abilities. Her perseverance eventually paid off; she landed the first cover of Life magazine and traveled far and wide (Russia, the Arctic Circle) for assignments. Based on the life of the pioneering photographer, this docunovel ends as Bourke-White becomes the first female war correspondent during World War II, but her story continues in an appended author's note, which highlights further professional achievements. Though the dialogue is occasionally stilted and the descriptions of Bourke-White's accomplishments are sometimes dry, Meyer has clearly done her research, and she effectively draws from the facts of Bourke-White's life to create an absorbing narrative that conveys not only a strong sense of the individual but also of the larger societal context of the times. Meyer ably conveys the photographer's grit, gumption, and resourcefulness, coupled with an unparalleled work ethic and a determination to make it in a man's world during a time when women were just gaining the right to vote. VERDICT A good choice for curricular connections as well as for personal reading, this compelling offering may inspire readers to follow their dreams.-Melissa Kazan, Horace Mann School, NY

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2017
Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) was a well-known professional photographer at a time when most other women aspired to homemaking if they were not doing menial labor.Meyer has crafted an intimate biographical novel that mostly follows the facts of Bourke-White's life but embellishes them with fictional details to flesh out the story. Bourke-White's father was a nonpracticing Jew; references to contemporaneous negative perceptions of Jews are--realistically--included, as is use of the word "Negro." The story begins with the most exciting episode, when the troopship Bourke-White was onboard in 1942 while working as a rare female war correspondent was torpedoed and sunk. Bourke-White's quiet, first-person voice sounds authentic as she relates the minutiae, sometimes mundane, of the first 38 years of her life, including her unpopularity in school, failed marriages, and the bumpy beginnings of her photography career, peppered with encounters with the condescension of a largely male workforce. A smattering of her black-and-white photographs is included. Readers steeped in the process she used to craft them may wish for more. As with Meyer's Diary of a Waitress (2015), this effort may appeal to those who have outgrown Dear America, but others may simply lose interest with the inclusion of too many minor details for engaging fiction. An insightful but sometimes (like life itself) bland story that is likely to hold appeal for a limited audience. (Historical fiction. 11-18)

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March 1, 2017
Grades 6-9 Historical novelist Meyer introduces readers to groundbreaking American photographer and photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White. The middle child of a Catholic mother and a Jewish father (her father's background was kept a secret from her until after his death), Margaret was a wallflower with high ambitions. At Barnard College, she took a photography class with Clarence H. White; from that point, her destiny was set. Noted for her fearlessness and innovation, her gender did not seem to present a huge barrier to her ambition, although a husband nearly derailed her dreams. Her work for Life, which featured one of her photographs on the cover of its very first issue, established her credentials as a storyteller with a camera. The novel spans 191642 and is written from Margaret's point of view, giving it the feel of an autobiography. An author's note provides details of Bourke-White's later life. There are photographs throughout; more would have made the book even better. This solid fictionalized biography should prompt readers to seek out Bourke-White's work.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)