By The Book

My book club, the IWBC (the interesting women’s book club — because we are and they are 😉 ) read The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher. I found it to be an interesting look into not only a very famous American family, but of the time in which it was set. Kick Kennedy was the second daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy. She is portrayed as vivacious and a bit rebellious, especially defiant to her mother’s strict parenting tactics. Kick falls in love with England and an English lord during her father’s posting as ambassador in London. British society, the run-up to WWII, and America’s stance on the war serve as a backdrop to this star-crossed romance. In the afterword, the author states that the book was originally supposed to be YA fiction, and I can see the influences of the genre on the final product. It was entertaining and educational, but I found it dragged on. Kick’s dithering may have played a role in the slowness of the final third of the book, but I think the author could have done a better job of portraying that part of the story. Despite that criticism, I found the book a good read, especially if you are looking for a biographical novel of a little known person who was indeed very famous in her own time. A good beach read!

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

The captivating novel following the exploits of Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, the forgotten and rebellious daughter of one of America’s greatest political dynasties.

London, 1938. The effervescent “It girl” of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy moves in rarefied circles, rubbing satin-covered elbows with some of the twentieth century’s most powerful figures. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her strict mother, Rose; the antics of her older brothers, Jack and Joe; and the erratic behavior of her sister Rosemary, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire.
 
But their love is forbidden, as Kick’s devout Catholic family and Billy’s staunchly Protestant one would never approve their match. And when war breaks like a tidal wave across her world, Billy is ripped from her arms as the Kennedys are forced to return to the States. Kick finds work as a journalist and joins the Red Cross to get back to England, where she will have to decide where her true loyalties lie—with family or with love . . . .

Kerri Maher is also the author of This Is Not A Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World under the name Kerri Majors. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and founded YARN, an award-winning literary journal of short-form YA writing. For many years a professor of writing, she now writes full time and lives with her daughter in Massachusetts where apple picking and long walks in the woods are especially fine. She is a budding Instagrammer at @kerrimaherwriter, and you can also find her on Facebook at @kerrimaherwriter and on her website, http://www.kerrimaher.com

Tags: biographical fiction, historical fiction, Kerri Maher, WWII