A fascinating portrait of a young person struggling to balance family and freedom, "The Brothers Story" is also a frank depiction of Restoration London in its bawdy, raucous glory. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Set against the bitter English winter of 1683-1684, Sturtevant's (A True and Faithful Narrative) moving coming-of-age tale follows the adventures of teenage Kit, who impulsively flees his Essex parish and the burden imposed by his "simple" but adoring twin, Christy, to seek his livelihood in London. Finding employment as servant to a painter, Kit delights in his new freedom and the town's busy energy, while nagged by guilt over having stolen from his former mistress and abandoned his dependent brother. Although barely able to read, Kit is biblically literate and ponders scriptural applications to his own life, particularly the story of Joseph, saved by his caring brother Reuben. Kit's wrestling with situations of moral complexity leads him to question some of the era's culturally accepted religious mores, providing a subtle but enlightening exploration of class and gender roles. A budding romance illuminates the particular challenges faced by women at a time when female sexuality was blamed for many evils ("everyone knowed how lustful women was"). An era comes alive in this tale of a young man's awakening to his life's call. Ages 14-up. (Nov.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 8 Up-Engrossing historical fiction, set during the Great Frost of 1683-1684. Fifteen-year-old Kit and his "simple" twin, Christy, live in an Essex village with their mother and younger brother, Michael. Having no wood to burn, Kit's mother demands that Kit find "a little charity," in other words, go begging among the neighbors. Tragedy strikes when Michael dies; Kit and Christy go into service, where the slow boy is mercilessly beaten for his mistakes. Desperate to find a way out for them both, Kit escapes to London, where he finds work with a pious and fashionable tailor. London is teeming with excitement, danger, and temptations. Readers will quickly empathize with Kit; his conflicted feelings toward his brother, a mixture of great tenderness and shame, are sensitively drawn. He experiences the beginnings of his sexual awakening in scenes that are occasionally ribald but never gratuitous. Sturtevant invokes the cacophony of noises, smells, and sights of London, along with the sorrows and kindnesses found in daily life. The demanding conditions of apprenticeship, as well as the misfortunes that often befell the servant class, are movingly told. A satisfactory ending brings the novel to its hopeful conclusion. Sturtevant's fans will delight in another well-crafted story, while newcomers will certainly seek out her other novels.-Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

*Starred Review* Kit longs to rise in the world but to do so would mean leaving his Essex village for London Town and abandoning his twin brother, Christy, who is simple and cannot care for himself. Yet the terrible privations of the Great Frost of 1683-84, the coldest winter in England's history, may leave the increasingly desperate 15-year-old no choice. In giving us Kit's story, with its echoes of the Biblical tale of Joseph and his brothers, Sturtevant has done a breathtakingly good job of recreating not only the earthy sense of Restoration England its sights, smells, sounds, lusts and longings but its ethos, as well. Her readers discover, dramatically, not only how Kit and his colorful contemporaries feel but also how they think about themselves, their stations, their society, their moral behavior and responsibilities, and, yes, their God. There are no easy answers to the difficult questions that confront and sometimes torment Kit, nor is it an easy world in which this character can reflect, At first it was nearly a satisfaction to me to be suffering again, as the poor are born to do. Sturtevant's book is not only a stunning story but a challenging and deeply satisfying work of social conscience.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2009 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.