Praise for
Strings Attached
By Judy Blundell
Blue Ribbon Award
Best Books of 2011
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Best Teen Books of 2011
Kirkus Reviews
“Blundell is a master of the literary slow build, and her emotive yet sober style is reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s in ‘The Great Gatsby’…‘Strings Attached’ may take place in a time long before its intended readers were born, but Kit’s predicament is compelling and her choices relevant and easily transposed to the modern day.”
— Los Angeles Times
“Blundell is a master of the literary slow build, and her emotive yet sober style is reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s in ‘The Great Gatsby’…‘Strings Attached’ may take place in a time long before its intended readers were born, but Kit’s predicament is compelling and her choices relevant and easily transposed to the modern day.”
— Los Angeles Times
“From the first pages of this sophisticated novel for young adults, we are immersed in the scrappy, wisecracking, hard-edged world of 1950s Manhattan.”
— The Wall Street Journal
“Blundell smartly explicates the dark side of male-female relationships.”
— New York Times Book Review
“[A]n intense young-adult mystery… Stylish prose creates a sense of time and place…”
— The Washington Post
“National Book Award–winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied) successfully constructs a complex web of intrigue that connects characters in unexpected ways. History and theater buffs will especially appreciate her attention to detail–Blundell again demonstrates she can turn out first-rate historical fiction.”
— Publishers Weekly, ★ starred review
“National Book Award–winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied, 2008) delivers a brilliantly conceived novel set against the backdrop of the 1950 Kefauver mob hearings and the Red Scare with a story of redemption and truth at its core.”
— Kirkus Reviews, ★ starred review
“Vintage geeks and budding noirettes will love the historical detail threaded lightly through Blundell’s second trip to the late 1940s/early ‘50s. Readers will love Kit as she navigates New York City, incipient adulthood and her feelings for a volatile but achingly handsome boyfriend. And the story’s climax will blow your mind.”
— RT Magazine
“Blundell weaves a complex story. Readers will get a generous dose of history here, but it’s the glamour and mystery, along with concern for Kit and her family, that will keep them hooked. Strings Attached is a winner.”
— BookPage
“Kit, older and more worldly than Evie in Blundell’s What I Saw and How I Lied, reprises that character’s headlong plummet into a corrupt adult world, with the discovery of their elders’ hypocrisy at least as shocking to the girls as their actual misdeeds. Fans of What I Saw and Christine Fletcher’s Ten Cents a Dance, prepare to be enthralled.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, ★ starred review
“From the first pages of this sophisticated novel for young adults, we are immersed in the scrappy, wisecracking, hard-edged world of 1950s Manhattan.”
— The Wall Street Journal
“Blundell smartly explicates the dark side of male-female relationships.”
— New York Times Book Review
“[A]n intense young-adult mystery… Stylish prose creates
a sense of time and place…”
— The Washington Post
“National Book Award–winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied) successfully constructs a complex web of intrigue that connects characters in unexpected ways. History and theater buffs will especially appreciate her attention to detail–Blundell again demonstrates she can turn out first-rate historical fiction.”
— Publishers Weekly, ★ starred review
“National Book Award–winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied, 2008) delivers a brilliantly conceived novel set against the backdrop of the 1950 Kefauver mob hearings and the Red Scare with a story of redemption and truth at its core.”
— Kirkus Reviews, ★ starred review
“Vintage geeks and budding noirettes will love the historical detail threaded lightly through Blundell’s second trip to the late 1940s/early ‘50s. Readers will love Kit as she navigates New York City, incipient adulthood and her feelings for a volatile but achingly handsome boyfriend. And the story’s climax will blow your mind.”
— RT Magazine
“Blundell weaves a complex story. Readers will get a generous dose of history here, but it’s the glamour and mystery, along with concern for Kit and her family, that will keep them hooked. Strings Attached is a winner.”
— BookPage
“Kit, older and more worldly than Evie in Blundell’s What I Saw and How I Lied, reprises that character’s headlong plummet into a corrupt adult world, with the discovery of their elders’ hypocrisy at least as shocking to the girls as their actual misdeeds. Fans of What I Saw and Christine Fletcher’s Ten Cents a Dance, prepare to be enthralled.”
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, ★ starred review