Set in 1912, the third volume of Quaver’s The Ordeals of Elly Robin series continues the rousing historical adventures of independent yet reserved 13-year-old Elly, her long-time friend Jimmy, his new bride Sara, and Sara’s physically disabled eight-year-old brother Jonah. Fleeing Colorado Springs after the previous entry’s trouble with a cruel mine owner and his henchmen, Elly drives the impromptu family in her Model T Roadster through Kansas when they happen upon a broken down car belonging to a group of thespians. Elly proves to be not only an expert mechanic but also a piano prodigy, so the actors invite her to join their theater troupe. Elly is a genius pianist who learns quickly and anticipates the actors in their comedy, drama, and ventriloquism acts. They perform at various towns, but some country folk fear the demonic of the ragtime that Elly plays, and a murder causes the four friends to flee in the Roadster again.

Quaver crafts the characters with empathy and has an ear for the language and culture of an era rife with minstrelsy and more that’s definitely not filtered through contemporary sensibilities. The divisions of the American past become even more clear once a storm in eastern Arkansas separates the friends and washes Elly down a flooding river. She’s discovered near death by a Black family who nurses her back to health. Quaver depicts the tensions between the Black and white residents as palpable, edged with danger, especially after a boy pilfers Elly’s stash of cash and suddenly makes the small town very rich.

Meanwhile, Elly’s growing feelings for Buck, the Black teenager who rescued her, are touchingly developed, though neither can forget that interracial relations can be deadly. Quaver carefully blends nostalgia with clear-eyed realism, not shying away from the past’s darkness. The story, targeted to adults but with a YA feel, is still buoyant, alive with audacious,idiosyncratic characters who remain loyal in their friendship. Readers will enjoy the camaraderie, humor, and author’s era-appropriate illustrations.

Takeaway: A spirited teen's 1910s misadventures in love, danger, and ragtime.

Comparable Titles: Audrey Couloumbis’s Maude March Misadventures series, Joyana Peters’s The Girl in the Triangle.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A