Customer Reviews

Alice Rose and Sam

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A while ago, I was faced with a decision: to read Alice Rose and Sam or another book for a book review. I decided, not really caring, to read Alice Rose and Sam. Now I am so happy that I did so I could tell other people about this great book. You just can't put it down! You learn about Alice Rose's time, too, so this is a simply marvelous book to read.

This novel is great fun. Alice Rose - never simply Alice - is a dynamic lead character who treads a narrow path between defying her era's gender roles and wanting nothing more than to go to Boston and be like her refined, petticoated cousins. Sam Clemens plays a supporting part, but does so memorably; his outrageous stories first land him a job on the paper, and then drive him out of town. Through the character of a Chinese immigrant, Lasky shows the reader the virulent racism of the time. Some readers may be put off by the novel's attitudes toward religion. Both Alice Rose and Sam rail against quotation-mark Christians, the sort who wear the name but do not live by the principles they espouse. However, both, also speak favorably of people they have known who have lived up to the name. The books only real flaw is a climax that may leave readers wondering for a moment just what has happened. The confusion is cleared up quickly, however. An author's note at the end describes the historical elements of the book and explains which are fact-based and which are totally fictional. All in all, an appealling heroine, the irrepressible Sam Clemens, and an exciting plot make this an excellent choice.

I loved the main character, Alice Rose. Her adventures with Sam Clemens were both fun and educational. I learned quite a bit about the time period -- Lasky should be commended for her thorough research!

ALICE ROSE AND SAM IS HIGHLY ENTERTAINING AND A MYSTERY FOR YOUNG ADULTS. THIS IS THE BEST LASKY BOOK THAT I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME. SAM IS THE ALIAS FOR MARK TWAIN WHO ALWAYS HAS THOUGHT PROVOKING THINGS TO SAY. IT IS A GREAT FIND AND WOULD BE ENJOYED BY EITHER CHILD OR ADULT.

I picked this novel to read aloud with my 11-year-old daughter because of the realistic and well-researched scenes and situations of life on the western frontier -- the tough-and-tender dime-a-dance girls at the saloons, the rough-and-tumble mine claims lawyering, the segregated lives of Chinese immigrants. She loved the plucky main character, especially her entrepreneurial dress-making. Just like Project Runway! I learned facts I did not know about that period (and I studied American history in grad school) and I found some of the author's themes very meaningful: friendship, loss, and fear of death. Altogether a very positive experience in our family.

This book captures the essence of Sam Clemons (Mark Twain) in a manner perfect for the juvenile reader. Alice Rose is the young daughter of a newspaper man in Virginia City, Nevada in the early years of the civil war. Her mother and newborn sister have just died and Alice Rose is busy developing her hate list. Her first task is to place large stones on the graves of her mother and sister in order to prevent the coyotes from digging up their bones. She is busy struggling with the rocks when Hop Sing, a Chinese man with a great deal of knowledge about moving heavy things arrives and assists her. This is the beginning of a friendship that lasts until his death.
The second major friendship occurs when Samuel Clemons arrives and starts sharing some of his philosophy of life with her. It is an interesting one, Clemons claims that since people are only allowed to tell so much truth in their lives it is better to lie now. That way you are saving it up for when you get to heaven, where it is better spent.
The people of Virginia City are split between sympathy for the Union and the Confederacy. There is a strong group of Confederate sympathizers called the Copperheads that are acting as vigilantes under the cover of being a bible study group. The goal of the Copperheads is to gain control of the valuable Comstock Lode for the Confederacy. They will stop at nothing; they have employed a hired killer, resort to bribery and even cut the nose off of a pretty "hurdy-gurdy" girl.
Alice Rose and Sam continue their investigation, risking their lives to search out the truth. While they have allies, their opponents are powerful and they kill Hop Sing and nearly kill Alice Rose. In the end, Alice Rose and Sam are successful, although Sam has to dress up as a woman and leave town in order to avoid being killed in a duel. The story closes with the elderly Alice Rose, now the owner of the local paper, hearing of the death of Mark Twain and sitting down to write his epitaph.
This book is entertaining while being historically accurate. Lasky quite correctly describes how the Chinese immigrants were treated during this historical period. They had no rights to property and many times were killed with impunity. It was clear why this book was a finalist for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Juvenile Fiction.

Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. Alice Rose is a twelve year old girl living in the rough silver mining town of Virginia City, Nevada, during the Civil War. Alice Rose, with the help of Samuel Clemens, a reporter on her father's newspaper, uncover a band of Confederate vigilantes doing evil deeds in town. The vigilantes are out to get silver for the Confederacy, and Alice Rose and Sam are determined to stop them.