This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Divine Zape for Readers' Favorite
The Queen of New York by Michael Freed-Thall delivers a sweeping, emotionally engaging story about intergenerational strength that left me spellbound, politically awakened, and painfully aware of the cost of standing against injustice. Seventeen-year-old Esther Garry is an aspiring journalist who moves in with her eighty-six-year-old great-aunt, Sera Garry, in Greenwich Village in 1958. She makes an unusual request of her aunt: to write her life story. Sera agrees, but she has a condition: Esther must also write her own journey. What follows is a mesmerizing dialogue across decades, one that bridges two extraordinary lives shaped by rebellion and grit. The streets of Horodno, Russia, are dangerous, and it is here that young Jewish artist Sera joins the resistance against General Borishenko. Her story traces her path to Philadelphia in the 1940s, where she experiences tragedy and her father’s remarriage while the Jim Crow laws take hold.
This is a well-written novel that feels like history and gripping fiction at the same time. The author brought to life two characters separated by time and geography, yet bound by their courage. It is the story of two women who defy the norms of their time to claim their authentic lives. Michael Freed-Thall resurrects a historical era, and his novel transported me to Russia and to the US. The vivid descriptions of the political and cultural upheavals happening in these periods were skillfully revealed. The Queen of New York will not only appeal to fans of historical fiction but also to readers who enjoy compelling female characters. The writing was excellent, the characters were well developed, and the setting was immersive.
