{"id":31917,"date":"2018-09-10T23:11:13","date_gmt":"2018-09-11T03:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=31917"},"modified":"2018-09-10T23:11:13","modified_gmt":"2018-09-11T03:11:13","slug":"review-of-the-steep-and-thorny-way-by-cat-winters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=31917","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Steep and Thorny Way, by Cat Winters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Steep and Thorny Way<\/em><\/p>\n

by Cat Winters<\/p>\n

Amulet Books, 2016. 335 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written November 2016<\/p>\n

The Steep and Thorny Way<\/em> is a reimagining of Hamlet<\/em> in 1920s Oregon.<\/p>\n

Hanalee Denny has white mother and an African American father, so she\u2019s not very welcome in their town, where it\u2019s illegal even for her parents to be married. But her father died two years ago, hit by a teenage drunk driver, and her mother has remarried to the doctor who comforted her after her husband\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Now Joe, the teen who hit her father, is out of jail for good behavior, but he\u2019s hiding out, because some people are after him. But Hanalee talks to him. He tells her that her father only had a broken leg after being hit by the car, and the doctor who\u2019s now her stepfather must have killed him. What\u2019s more, Hanalee learns that her father\u2019s ghost has been seen on the highway at the crossroads where he was hit. Perhaps she can talk to his spirit and find out what really happened.<\/p>\n

Okay, so far I thought we were going to get a straight retelling of Hamlet, so I thought I knew what was going to happen. But there are many twists and turns in this story. Things get sinister when we learn that the Ku Klux Klan is active in their town. They\u2019re recruiting young people, and even Hanalee\u2019s childhood friend is turning against her. And they have reasons for wanting Joe out of the picture as well.<\/p>\n

So you\u2019ve got a mystery \u2013 how did her father actually die? You\u2019ve also got peril unfolding as Hanalee tries to get to the bottom of the mystery. And there are plenty of historical details about Oregon in that time period.<\/p>\n

Reading about someone who\u2019s made to feel \u201cother\u201d is a good antidote to bigotry. I hope this book isn\u2019t as timely as it seems.<\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/steep_and_thorny_way.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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