Love that Positive Feedback!

One tricky bit about being an author is that you are constantly in the cross hairs of readers/reviewers/critics who can easily broadcast negative reactions to your books far and wide. Ouch!

That is why it is especially gratifying when someone, especially someone who knows about books, writes something positive. Hooray!

In any event, here is something very gratifying that just came in. It is the Critic's Report for the Booklife Prize in Fiction for which I entered A Buss from Lafayette.  Whew!

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Title: A Buss from Lafayette

Author: Dorothea Jensen

Genre: Fiction/General Fiction (including literary and historical)

Audience: Middle-Grade

Word Count: 46,911

Assessment:

Fifty years after American independence, General Lafayette is visiting all 24 of the new nation's states and everyone is eager to catch a glimpse of the honored guest, even 14-year old Clara Hargaves. Jensen effortlessly weaves history together with the daily trials of a girl resenting her stepmother’s reminders to behave like a lady. Most schoolchildren know Lafayette’s role in the Revolutionary War only superficially, and Jensen makes him come alive in a way they will remember. Historical accuracy, character development, and engaging dialogue enliven this narrative and make it an enjoyable read.

Score:

Plot/Idea: 8
Originality: 8
Prose: 9
Character/Execution: 9
Overall: 8.50