Historical fiction is a beautiful, sometimes painful way to learn and appreciate past eras that have shaped our country. This new book by Maureen Doyle McQuerry is perfect for young adults. It gives them a close-up look of a young girl’s life in New York, 1918 when the flu epidemic took so many. The story flashes back and forth between 1918 and 1955, when the child, Elaine is grown with a daughter of her own. Molly is consumed with the need to understand her mother’s melancholy moods. As she digs deeper into the fractured history of her mother’s life, she may not be prepared for what she learns. This is an enjoyable, realistic but not too dark reflection of the growing pains suffered by many in the evolution of a nation.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Blink for making it available.)

As someone who doesn't read a huge amount of historical fiction (though I have read quite a bit this year) so please take that into account when you read my review. I can't speak to tropes or what may be cliché or new or exciting - I can only speak to my experience reading this book - just something to keep in mind. 

I loved the way that this book had a split narrative. I've read books that follow two different timelines before (a huge trend around the same time as The Time Traveller's Wife was popular) but what I really liked about this book was that both timelines were historical fiction - the 1950s and the 1910s-20s. I liked that this gave you two historical perspectives as opposed to one historical and one modern day - which I've seen before and wasn't overly enamoured with. So not only do you get the grit, the grime and also the strange fantasy of post WW1 New York but you also get snippets of 50s America, with a trip to the newly built McDonalds and so forth. I thought this was written really well and it also made it feel so much more special with that element of dramatic irony knowing what was to come in the next few decades. Since the 1950s element is written as though it is being written (complicated but I promise it makes sense) you also get the feeling of perhaps a third generation reading the book in the modern day. Perhaps I'm reading too deep - but that's how it felt to me. 

I thought that the 'mystery' element was less mystery and more intrigue? I appreciate that doesn't make a huge amount of sense so let me explain. I managed to work out the gist of what had happened (what Molly was trying to work out) pretty early on. I don't think of that as a negative, but those looking for surprising plot twists might not appreciate that element of this story. What that meant was that reading both Molly and Elaine's narratives you get to witness a daughter learning why her mother is the way that she is. There's a strange feeling knowing more than Molly does and then a very satisfying feeling when she puts together another piece of the puzzle that, as a reader, you've already solved. So I wouldn't describe this as a mystery in the traditional sense, though there are mysterious elements. 

I thought that some parts of the story needed spotlighting a little bit more, just to get the balance right. Namely, the 'miracle' performed by Molly's Uncle Stephen. It isn't that I didn't appreciate what that subplot brought to the story, but I'm not sure that the dramatic effect it had on Molly's family's life was brought into the forefront as much as it could have been. I think it would have helped to balance the conflict within the two perspectives. Just my take though, and perhaps that was just in the way in which I read the story. 

If you like historical fiction with mystery and intrigue that explores the complex relationship between mother and daughter as well as between the past and the present then I would absolutely recommend Between Before and After. It brings together a number of great ideas and it even made me shed a tear or two. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

* 4.5 stars *

A book that managed to tie the past and present together with the undertones of a fairytale gives us a story that shows how far someone will go to protect the ones they love and just how similar mothers and daughters can be.

“Between Before and After” finds Molly digging through her mother’s drawers when she finds a mysterious envelope that makes her question what secrets lie in her past and what it can tell her about their future as a family.

I really loved the style of this book setting us up with Molly’s discovery and her quest to find answers intermixed with the past told in her mother’s point of view as she and her brother struggle to survive when the odds are stacked against them. All the while we gets hints in Molly’s sections that something happens to make her mother lose all faith and over the course of the book we see what happened and why the past doesn’t always get to stay there.

Both of their stories were so beautiful and tragic in that these two share a lot of similarities but seem to clash more often than not. It’s especially true when we see their counterparts in their respective younger brothers and that plays to the roles put on older siblings to be more responsible even if it means putting your own happiness aside. Also due to the times in which this story takes place there’s always this lingering sense of dread when it comes to Elaine’s story that very much plays into the feeling most women have in their life at some point or another and in her case her anger towards those who (and this is as best as I can say without spoiling) believe one life is more important than another.

My only real critique is that the ending didn’t feel final to me it was almost as though someone had tried to make it something that would stick with you long after you turned the page but for me it felt a lot like I was missing one which was a bit underwhelming considering how much I enjoyed the rest.

Both of these stories are told with the undercurrents of Hansel and Gretel sprinkled in between and as the reader you know that though this is a story grounded in reality, one of them must meet the witch and you hope that they survive and as it blends heavy topics like the roles of women, generational struggles and faith you follow them along on this path and make their way back home.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review!**