MARCH 2022 - AudioFile
The Scottish accents of narrators Tim Campbell and Mhairi Morrison introduce YA listeners to this historical romance/mystery set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh. Campbell sounds authoritarian as he delivers bits of a medical tome that reflects the male-dominated surgical world of this novel. Morrison portrays the intelligence, warmth, and pluck of 17-year-old Hazel Sinnet, who rebels against the stolid mores of her time and bests egotistical doctors to pursue her study of anatomy. Morrison tracks Hazel’s unconventional path through plot twists and surprising character reveals as she pursues a case involving missing persons. At the same time, Hazel charts the romantic development of her own heart in an unlikely alliance with a man named Jack, who first brings her cadavers, then introduces her to love. S.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
12/20/2021
With an elegantly macabre touch, Schwartz (And We’re Off) stitches a haunting romance with the gritty realities of corpse-related medical practices in 19th-century Edinburgh. Thanks to her absent father, a lord and navy captain, and preoccupied mother, 17-year-old Hazel Sinnet is left alone in the castle with two servants; she’s also allowed free rein of her father’s library, including the scientific and surgical tomes dear to her heart. As the specter of plague threatens—the illness that claimed her older brother—Hazel hatches a daring ploy to offer more help than society will strictly allow, wearing traditionally male clothes to take classes in surgery. Joining her quest is an unlikely companion, stagehand and “resurrection man” Jack, whose ability to procure bodies through less-than-legal means meshes with Hazel’s desire to practice surgery. Though Hazel is all but engaged to her viscount cousin, her unlikely, secret friendship with Jack blossoms as delicately curated details decorate an intricately woven, unsettling plot that is occasionally overwhelmed by Hammer-like atmospherics. Characters read as white. Ages 13–up. Agent: Dan Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
*INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
*INSTANT #1 INDIE BESTSELLER*
*INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER*
*A REESE'S YA BOOK CLUB PICK*
"Irreverent, intelligent and smart, Dana Schwartz is one of the brightest of the next generation of young writers." —Neil Gaiman, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Schwartz's magical novel is at once gripping and tender, and the intricate plot is engrossing as the reader tries to solve the mystery. She doesn't miss a beat in either the characterization or action, scattering clues with a delicate, precise hand. This is, in the end, the story of the anatomy of the human heart." - Booklist (starred review)
"...an intimate look at how society decides who is worth healing and who is worth exploiting in the name of science. " - Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books
"A fast-paced, utterly engrossing tale of mystery, romance, and cadavers. Dana Schwartz deftly blends the historical with the supernatural, racing from macabre graveyards to Scottish castles with two compelling young heroes I dare you not to root for. I grinned, I gasped, I cried and ended this book breathless and craving more.” —Alwyn Hamilton, New York Times bestselling author of the Rebel of the Sands series
“Diabolically delightful. A love story, a murder mystery, and a horror novel bound up together in ghoulish stitches." —Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Truly Devious trilogy
"Lionhearted heroine you’ll root for from page one? Check. Dark academia vibes? Check. Cheeky romantic banter that will make you blush? Check, check and CHECK. Read this gripping, ridiculously clever tale only if you’re fully prepared to be haunted by its revelations about life and death while also swooning at the idea of flirting with someone in an open grave." —Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of You Have a Match and Tweet Cute
"[R]eaders will eagerly turn pages... A suspenseful, intricately plotted gothic romance, perfect for fans of macabre historical fiction. Recommend to readers who enjoy Kenneth Oppel’s 'The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein' series or Megan Shepherd’s 'Madman’s Daughter' trilogy." - School Library Journal (starred review)
Praise for And We're Off:
A Seventeen Magazine Best Book of the Year
“A winsome, hilarious tale about losing the map and finding a better way to a happy ending. I loved it!” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner
“And We’re Off is sure to steal your heart and inspire some serious wanderlust.”—HelloGiggles
“Fun, poignant, and funny. I want to travel with Dana, and after reading this, so will you.” —New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Maureen Johnson
"[Schwartz] deftly mixes humor and tenderness....This funny, whimsical tome isn't easy to put down once you start." —Rolling Stone
Praise for Choose Your Own Disaster:
"This long-form personality quiz manages to combine humor with unflinching honesty as one young woman tries to find herself amid the many, many choices that your twenties have to offer." —Bustle
"Equal parts amusing and cringe-worthy, these stories will have millennial readers relating and older ones nodding, 'Yes. I've made similar mistakes."—Library Journal
"The snappy direct address gives the feel of a playful internet bit, is sure to please Schwartz's loyal fans." —Booklist
"What do millennials love more than a quiz? NOTHING (except for killing off the diamond and napkin industries). That's part of what makes Dana Schwartz's unflinching, hilarious, and feminist memoir, Choose Your Own Disaster, such a fun ride." —PopSugar
"Choose Your Own Disaster is a salted caramel of a memoir. Her travails as an early 20-something aspiring writer/rom-com character are the perfect mixture of salty and sweet." —The Washington Post
School Library Journal
★ 03/01/2022
Gr 10 Up—In 1817 Edinburgh, Hazel Sinnett and Jack Currer would ordinarily never cross paths. After all, she's a lady who will eventually be a viscountess, and he's a Resurrection Man, providing recently deceased bodies to the Edinburgh Anatomist's Society for training. However, 17-year-old Hazel doesn't care about being a lady or marrying a viscount. She wants to be a surgeon, so she decides to train in secret and pass her examinations. All Hazel needs is cadavers for practice, so she hires Jack. However, Jack and Hazel are soon caught up in a mystery when they discover that some of the cadavers, people who supposedly died of Roman plague, are missing vital organs. They suspect someone is killing Edinburgh's poor for nefarious reasons. Schwartz creates an exquisitely intricate world that is both romantic and macabre; the setting of 1817 Edinburgh is detailed without being overwhelming. The central mystery is intriguing and horrifying; readers will eagerly turn pages, though this is not a book for squeamish readers, as it contains graphic, though not gratuitous, descriptions of human anatomy. VERDICT A suspenseful, intricately plotted gothic romance, perfect for fans of macabre historical fiction. Recommend to readers who enjoy Kenneth Oppel's "The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein" series or Megan Shepherd's "Madman's Daughter" trilogy.—Kaetlyn Phillips
MARCH 2022 - AudioFile
The Scottish accents of narrators Tim Campbell and Mhairi Morrison introduce YA listeners to this historical romance/mystery set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh. Campbell sounds authoritarian as he delivers bits of a medical tome that reflects the male-dominated surgical world of this novel. Morrison portrays the intelligence, warmth, and pluck of 17-year-old Hazel Sinnet, who rebels against the stolid mores of her time and bests egotistical doctors to pursue her study of anatomy. Morrison tracks Hazel’s unconventional path through plot twists and surprising character reveals as she pursues a case involving missing persons. At the same time, Hazel charts the romantic development of her own heart in an unlikely alliance with a man named Jack, who first brings her cadavers, then introduces her to love. S.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2021-10-26
In a quasi-historical version of Georgian-era Edinburgh, wealthy 17-year-old Hazel Sinnett would rather dress in her dead brother George’s clothes to attend anatomy classes than attend balls.
Fortunately, her father is on St. Helena with the Royal Navy, and her distracted mother, Lady Sinnett, is in London with her younger brother, Percy, leaving Hazel in Hawthornden Castle with just two servants for supervision. This enables Hazel to pursue her dreams of becoming a surgeon, until a sexist doctor sees through her disguise. Hazel then sets up shop at home in the dungeon and hires a young, attractive resurrection man to bring her bodies for dissection, which in turn allows her to stumble very slowly into the gothic aspect of the story: medical experiments born out of hubris and destined to end badly. The novel contains elements of mystery, horror, romance, and feminist historical fiction but unfortunately does not quite succeed at any. The science is only as accurate as the story requires. Hazel’s romance with her body-stealing companion is complicated by her long-standing betrothal to her boring cousin, Bernard, son of Lord and Lady Almont, who plays a minor villain role. Hazel treats the poor from her dungeon surgery and plans a takedown of medical patriarchy, which slows the unfolding of a mystery that is signaled in the prologue. The enjoyably creepy elements and grandstanding main villain are largely relegated to the final chapters. Characters default to White.
Unlikely to steal readers’ hearts. (Historical thriller. 12-17)
