Under the Ashes

October 3, 2016
Rankin’s brisk-moving debut places a spirited heroine at the center of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Eleven-year-old narrator Littlebeth Morgan’s unladylike antics go unappreciated by her exasperated family, even after she saves her little brother from a rattlesnake (“Held my breath to true my aim, then smote that critter to kingdom come”); following the snake incident, she is sent away from her home in Paso Robles to live with her refined maiden aunt in San Francisco. Aunt Sally tries to make Littlebeth conform to the rigid propriety of the day, but she also stands out as an elegant, independent shop owner. Littlebeth quickly takes to the charming Mr. Steinberg—Sally’s neighbor and would-be suitor—and tries to encourage their frustrated romance, especially when they attend a rehearsal of Carmen at the Grand Opera House. The tone shifts dramatically when the earthquake strikes and Littlebeth becomes separated from her aunt and meets up with tenor Enrico Caruso, as well as a Chinese orphan. Littlebeth’s resilience and strong, memorable voice make this a vivid account of grace under fire. Ages 9–12.

October 15, 2016
Debut author Rankin breathes life into the story of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Nothing has been going right for white 11-year-old Elizabeth "Littlebeth" Morgan. She'd rather read dime novels than be "a proper, refined young lady." After an incident involving a rattlesnake proves to be the last straw for her parents, she is shipped off to her aunt in San Francisco, a change that they hope will "take the sass out of that lass." Shortly after narrator Littlebeth arrives, San Francisco is hit by the catastrophic earthquake of 1906, throwing the city and her life into utter chaos. Although Beth (she renames herself in San Francisco) ultimately returns home relatively unscathed, Rankin does not hesitate to show (forgoing gruesome details) that not everyone, including her protagonist's aunt, is so lucky. An intriguing cast of secondary characters--including her Presbyterian aunt's Jewish beau, the opera star Enrico Caruso, and a newly immigrated young Chinese girl--adds diversity. Each chapter header states Beth's location and the date, and readers with knowledge of the impending disaster will find an increased sense of anticipation as the day of the earthquake looms closer. The occasional blatant foreshadowing ("I'm afraid we're tossing her out of the frying pan and into the--") and the frequent lack of initial pronoun use in the narration feel self-conscious. Readers are sure to overlook craft flaws as they fall in love with spunky Beth. (Historical fiction. 9-12)

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November 15, 2016
Grades 4-7 It's 1906, and despite well-meaning intentions, plucky, outspoken, 11-year-old Elizabeth Littlebeth Morgan can't seem to avoid trouble in her hometown, Paso Robles. Hoping to improve her unruly behavior, Littlebeth's parents send her to nearby San Francisco to live with her respectable businesswoman aunt, Sally. Though the bustling city's fascinating, Littlebeth is homesick. Meeting kind neighbor Mr. Steinberg helps, and noticing his affection for Sally, which seems mutual but unrealized due to their different religions (he's Jewish; she's Presbyterian), she endeavors to bring them together. Then a massive earthquake hits, and as Littlebeth searches for her aunt and neighbor, she faces challenges and sorrows but also finds unexpected help and friendships, as with the young Chinese girl looking for her family, and new insights about what matters most. Littlebeth's first-person narration, in vernacular prose, descriptively details settings and events and incorporates historical cultural references and vivid accounts of the devastating quake and its aftermath. Though some story elements seem contrived, spirited Littlebeth's issues are sympathetically portrayed, and fans of historical fiction will find plenty to like.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)