Helpful Score: 2
This has been one of the better Sunfires, and the framing of it was very effective considering one of the heroine's suitors is a newspaper reporter. Each chapter begins with the day and time, giving the reader a sense of a real-time unfolding of the tragedy of the 1889 Johnstown Flood. That might seem pretty dull, but in the chapters leading up to the dam break, this sense of people going about their business and oblivious or dismissive or cautious of the rising waters and leaking dam did much to ramp up the tension.
Jennie's been one of the more believable heroines in the series. She's not like so many others who can ride and shoot as good as any man, or is the apple of her father's eye. She's poor, her family's poor, and they've had to work hard to keep their heads above water. She's also vocal about the whole issue of class, and Miner uses this to insert facts about labor struggles of the day.
The suitors, too, were some of the better ones I've encountered so far in the series. One is a driven newspaper reporter, perhaps a bit too glad of the opportunities the tragedy has offered him in terms of advancing his career, but it's a natural sentiment for him. The other suitor is a boy who is willing to use the opportunities given him by rich, callous men in order to achieve his own place in the world to presumably do good.
There were a few minor characters, most touching of all being Jennie's friend, Millie, who ends up having to go to desperate lengths in order to keep herself honest and unbroken when she suddenly finds herself alone. There's also a cameo by Clara Barton, which is also notable for its lack of fawning. Usually these historical people that show up in Sunfires always praise the heroine and otherwise go on about pretty/accomplished she is and otherwise make the heroine into more of a Mary Sue. Barton's behavior is entirely in keeping which who she is and the matter at hand.
This one is highly recommended.
Jennie's been one of the more believable heroines in the series. She's not like so many others who can ride and shoot as good as any man, or is the apple of her father's eye. She's poor, her family's poor, and they've had to work hard to keep their heads above water. She's also vocal about the whole issue of class, and Miner uses this to insert facts about labor struggles of the day.
The suitors, too, were some of the better ones I've encountered so far in the series. One is a driven newspaper reporter, perhaps a bit too glad of the opportunities the tragedy has offered him in terms of advancing his career, but it's a natural sentiment for him. The other suitor is a boy who is willing to use the opportunities given him by rich, callous men in order to achieve his own place in the world to presumably do good.
There were a few minor characters, most touching of all being Jennie's friend, Millie, who ends up having to go to desperate lengths in order to keep herself honest and unbroken when she suddenly finds herself alone. There's also a cameo by Clara Barton, which is also notable for its lack of fawning. Usually these historical people that show up in Sunfires always praise the heroine and otherwise go on about pretty/accomplished she is and otherwise make the heroine into more of a Mary Sue. Barton's behavior is entirely in keeping which who she is and the matter at hand.
This one is highly recommended.
