Reviewed by Melissa Tanaka for Readers' Favorite

The Candle Star by Michelle Isenhoff is the first book in the Divided Decade Collection and an incredibly engaging read. The pre-Civil War novel focuses on a teenage girl named Emily Preston, who has been sent to live with her uncle in the North. Upon arriving, she discovers a world entirely unlike the one she is used to in everything from the ideas of the general population to the lack of luxury that the South had provided her. Emily hatches a plan to act so rude and ungrateful that her uncle has no choice but to send her home— thus proving that teenage rebellion is a situation that spans decades.

Readers cannot help but root for Emily’s character development throughout the story, as she transforms from a spoiled and ignorant Southern belle to a more humble and compassionate person. Initially, she supported slave catchers, likening slaves to animals and expressing sympathy for those who lost their “property;” however, her time in the North allows her to gain a new perspective and she finds herself assisting a pair of runaway slaves to freedom. Emily discovers a new sense of self and a growing awareness of the injustices around her.

Isenhoff’s use of dialect allows for readers to seamlessly immerse themselves in the era, while rich descriptions of places and people juxtapose that of modern life and remind readers of the impact that these events had on our developing nation. The novel is charged with characters’ firsthand accounts of slave auctions, a speech by legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and clashing opinions on race, all of which add a sense of historical legitimacy to the text, as well as tying into current ideas and climates.