RUMORS

Author: Anna Godbersen ISBN: 9780061345692 6/2008 HISTORICAL/YOUNG ADULT Publisher: WILLIAM MORROW
Time Period: 1899 Manhattan

After bidding good-bye to New York's brightest star, Elizabeth Holland, rumors continue to fly about her untimely demise. All eyes are on those closest to the dearly departed: her mischievous sister, Diana, now the family's only hope for redemption; New York's most notorious cad, Henry Schoon-maker, the flame Elizabeth never extinguished; the seductive Penelope Hayes, poised to claim all that her best friend left behind—including Henry; even Elizabeth's scheming former maid, Lina Broud, who discovers that while money matters and breeding counts, gossip is the new currency. As old friends become rivals, Manhattan's most dazzling socialites find their futures threatened by whispers from the past. In this delicious sequel to The Luxe, nothing is more dangerous than a scandal . . . or more precious than a secret.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

RUMORS is the sequel to THE LUXE, which was last winter's runaway hit among the fifteen-and-over set. It's sometimes difficult for an adult to understand the intrigue of certain books for teens, but that isn't so in this case. If THE LUXE is even half as good as its sequel, it is a fantastic story. RUMORS is gripping in its intensity, and even though I'm well outside the target audience, I loved it.

Apparently many of the characters in this second book are ones who made their appearances in the first volume. The story continues with lavish settings, rivalry that spans classes and crosses well-bred family lines, and shows that even in the best of circumstances there is bound to be a black heart—or two—lurking. While some of the situations feel contrived there is a sense of fluidity to this story that pulls the reader right along on every excursion, into each confidence and beneath all floorboards.

I was completely overwhelmed by the way Ms. Godberson makes these characters seem so real. Despite the century-old setting, beneath their ruffles and flounces these characters are teenage girls who, had they been stripped bare, could easily pass for teens of this era. She shows that the normal teenage angst, as well as its hopes and dreams, knows no time constraints. I was especially taken with the way one character, Diana, deals with her mother. Their relationship is achingly real, with Diana avoiding her mother, running away, when she cannot face doing what she knows needs to be done. She cannot give reassurances she doesn't have, and the emotional weight of her shortfall is something that jumps right off the page and into the reader's heart.

RUMORS is a poignant, vivid account of life, love and the trials of being young. I enjoyed it so much I intend to read THE LUXE next, just to catch up on what came before for Diana, Lina, Penelope and the rest of Anna Godberson's delightful cast of characters. I'm looking forward to reading ENVY, the next installment in this series.

Wonderfully well done!

Kay James