The Moment of Truth

April 24, 2017
Set in post–World War II Texas and Mexico, this second novel by McNicholl (A Son Called Gabriel) is inspired by the life of Patricia McCormick, the first professional female bullfighter in North America. Kathleen Boyd is a just a girl with a drawl from Texas, studying graphic art in a town a tram ride away from the bullring in Los Pinos, Mexico. She has dreamed of becoming a bullfighter since childhood. One morning, after she crosses the border and jumps into a bullring down in Garza to prove her talent, she decides to become the apprentice of the older matador Fermin Guzman, in the process leaving her fiancé and disapproving mother in the States. Rising through the ranks, but suffering the slings and arrows of being a woman in what was still very much a man’s world, Kathleen slowly comes into her own in Mexico, both as a bullfighter and as a woman. Nicknamed La Diosa Tejana, the Texas Goddess, by her fans, she falls in love with the doomed young matador El Cabrito, who teaches her to question the demands of her older mentor. The best parts of this book are the pages in which we are in the bullring. McNicholl vividly brings to life the bulls and the brute physicality of the art of bullfighting. It is less successful, based on the ultimate choices Kathleen makes, as a boundary-pushing treatise on the liberation of women in the 1950s.

April 1, 2017
A young woman in 1950s America tries to pursue her dream.Inspired by the life of American matadora Patricia McCormick, McNicholl's (A Son Called Gabriel, 2004) novel offers a fresh perspective on sex discrimination in the workplace. Nineteen-year-old Kathleen Boyd is studying at an art school in Rowansville, Texas, not far from Mexico. But her true love is bullfighting. The book opens with an exciting set piece about Kathleen sneaking into a ring in Garza, Mexico, to take on a bull that's "three-quarters the length of a new 1950 Cadillac." She performs some admirable cape work but then her hat falls off. She's a woman. She loses her cool, is nearly gored, and runs for the protective barrier and then keeps running. Businessman Vincente Barros tracks her down and offers her lessons, with an eye to profiting off her once she makes it. She accepts, preferring the art "made in an open theater." First, she must convince her fiance and her mother, who are both against it. They both lose. So it's off to Los Pinos, where Barros has secured a teacher for her, Fermin Guzman, an accomplished, retired matador. She moves into a women's dormitory and begins the grueling lessons that will teach her all that Guzman knows. It won't be easy, of course, and then there's the discrimination a woman in the '50s must deal with (it's worse in Mexico) and then there's her rape and then there's Julio, a handsome young matador who takes her under his wing. The material about bullfighting--its history, language (veronica, rebolera, farole) and the beautiful outfits--is fascinating but the story itself lacks sparkle. The subject matter is certainly important and the setting fresh, but the overall presentation is lackluster.

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March 15, 2017

Set in the 1950s world of Mexican corridas, McNicholl's second novel (after A Son Called Gabriel) follows 19-year-old Kathleen Boyd, a Texan with a passion for bullfighting. When she jumps into the ring in Los Pinos, Mexico, a common practice for aspiring matadors, she demonstrates courage but also inexperience, as she is nearly gored and trampled. After fleeing the arena, she's tracked down by a businessman who places her with a retired matador. Despite the restrictive mores of the time, he agrees to train Kathleen, with the intention of profiting from her novelty, and quickly dominates every aspect of her life. Facing bulls will be only the first of her challenges. This novel brims with authenticity--so much so that some readers may flinch at the bloodier moments. The obstacles in Kathleen's path are such that one can't help but root for her. Inspired by the first professional female bullfighter in North America, McNicholl not only creates a convincing character, he dramatizes through her ordeals the intricate art of bullfighting. VERDICT An enjoyable read for those interested in the life of a woman determined to succeed in a man's world.--Ron Terpening, formerly of Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2018

In the 1950s, white middle-class American women were usually expected to stay home, raise children, and look after their husbands. Nineteen-year-old Kathleen Boyd wants those things someday, but today she wants to become a matador. As a child she watched a bullfight with her beloved father and was entranced, spending all her days thereafter pretending to fight bulls with her best friend, Sally. After her father dies, Kathleen continues to dream of bullfighting even as her mother plans her life for her, including marriage to the ever-respectable Charles. But Kathleen heads to Mexico to jump into the ring. Barely escaping with her life, she catches the eye of Maestro Fermin, who agrees to be her manager. Fermin works her hard, and with Kathleen's determination and talent, he guides her into the bullring. When she captivates the young matador Julio (aka El Cabrito), he shows her that there are many paths to be followed in the bullring, . Kathleen soon discovers that Fermin's management is not in her best interest, and she must draw on her own strength as she moves forward. VERDICT Give this fast-paced, action-packed book to teens interested in rodeos, horses, and bullfighting, as well as fans of works about resilient protagonists willing to fight in order to follow their dreams.-Connie Williams, Petaluma Public Library, CA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.