Reviews from Bookshelf historical-fiction

This historical novel is about the theory of maternal impression and one scientist willing to do anything to achieve greatness. There is real evil here, but we experience the narrator's attempts to resist it and celebrate when she achieves any measure of autonomy from male control.

I listened to this on audio book a couple of years ago, but it is still vividly present to me. I liked the dark twists in the plot, and I'm a sucker for a conspiracy plot. Readers who like this book might also like The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark.

This was an interesting way to learn more about the Scopes Trial and how it was the brainchild of local businessmen who wanted to put their town on the map. The narrator, however, was too ingenuous for me. Frances seemed like a very, very young fifteen; I wish Kidd had given her voice to a twelve-year-old instead. In fact, the freedom of movement Frances enjoys seems more appropriate for a kid than a young woman of the period.

Recommended on audio.

I simple story about war and its effects on family.