Customer Reviews

Nicole (Sunfire)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was a surprisingly weak Sunfire, mainly because the romance angle was resolved VERY early on and the only tension was if Nicole's chosen man survived the sinking of the Titanic. The character arc of Nicole's mother was too sudden to be believable, and Nicole's own behavior during the sinking was disjointed and almost absurd when the alpha and omega of her existence (Karl the immigrant) is suddenly remembered after hours have passed.

I think if the characters had been better drawn, the romance not so "love at first sight" & Karl's dialogue not so cliched and risible, it would have been a better book. Huge, sudden disasters have been done well in the shorter Sunfire format (i.e., Darcy, Jennie) so the Titanic could have been done as effectively. But for Candice Ransom's style, I think a longer book would have fared better.

I read this book when it was first published, which was soon after Bob Ballard had discovered the Titanic's resting place. "Nicole" sparked a fascination with the Titanic that I still have today (don't get me started on the movie). I was a big fan of the Sunfire series (I guess I still am :D), and I felt Candice Ransom's books were usually the best of the bunch. However, I think "Nicole" was the only book where I so completely disagreed with the heroine's final choice of beaus! Not that there was anything wrong with Karl, but...Price was witty, insightful, charming, intelligent, cute, wealthy; he had a brave, adventurous spirit (a baronet running away from home!) - who could resist that?! (Not I, which is why I gave this only 4 stars!)

I hope Scholastic (or whoever now owns the Sunfire rights) reprints these titles. These books are what sparked my love of American history. I hope they do the same for millions of young women.

Series review:

The Sunfire Romances are an interesting specimen of books, especially if read from a feminist point of view. There are several rules in place for the construction of a Sunfire book: the protagonist is a young woman, who celebrates her sixteenth birthday during the course of the story. She lives in a turbulent period of time in American history (examples include the World Wars, the American Civil War, the Salem Witch Hunts, etc) and during the course of the story is approached by two handsome and appealing suitors, forming complicated love-triangles. At the end of the story she has reached maturity and found happiness in the arms of the man best suited to her.

These books sound older than they actually are; they were in fact published for the first time in the 1980's, well after the feminist revolution. Therefore it is refreshing to find that these young girls' stories are not solely defined by their quest to find `true love'; often the social conditions and hardships of life take centre stage as the protagonist struggles against moral decisions and the backdrop of the historical crisis going on around her. And although the stories *do* usually end with a kiss, it is always the young heroine's decision as to which beau she will eventually spend her life with. As such, the Sunfire romances are a delicate blend of feminism and femininity: the girls are all domesticated and beautiful; and yet are never reduced to mere prizes to be won by the most worthy suitor.

Book review:

I suppose it was inevitable that one of the Sunfire Romances would have to take place on the Titanic - although, to be fair, it was published several years before the release of James Cameron's tale of star-crossed lovers in Titanic. In fact, when reading the book, I found myself wondering if the director had run across this little paperback before making his own epic, as there are several amusing similarities: a beautiful debutant traveling with her widowed mother is torn between two men of different classes on board the most luxurious ship known to man - only to find her life in danger when the Titanic hits an iceberg and begins to sink...

Nicole is a nice enough protagonist, sensitive and practical, and with an interesting relationship with her mother Evangeline, who is more of the child of the two. Evangeline has planned their voyage on board the Titanic as a chance to find herself a new rich husband (having squandered her inheritance) and has insisted that mother and daughter travel as sisters so not to diminish her chances at finding a suitor. Nicole is mildly embarrassed by all this, but is soon distracted by the lavish interior of the ship, and two young men: a third-class passenger whom she spots boarding the ship with his family, and a first-class gentleman who seems very interested in Nicole. The wealthy Price immediately catches her mother's eye, who insists that Nicole enter an engagement with him before they arrive in New York, whilst Nicole herself is more attracted to Karl, a handsome immigrant whose sister is not at all impressed with Nicole's attentions to her brother. And then of course, the inevitable happens - the Titanic hits an iceberg, and Nicole is one of the first to realize that the ship is not so "unsinkable" after all. With a hysterical mother to care for, and the knowledge that there are not enough lifeboats to hold everyone, Nicole is frantic over the fact that the two men she cares for are somewhere on board.

The main romance, unfortunately, is completely unconvincing, based on love-at-first-sight and therefore not even remotely plausible. There is no time for these two characters to even get to know each other before they're declaring their undying love for each other, and it weakens the drama of the sinking ship as a result. Likewise, there is not much of a love triangle between the three of them either - Nicole states the truth to one of her suitors, who not only graciously accepts her decision, but *helps* her meet with her true love. This of course, makes him a worthy character, but it's always nice to have a juicy rivalry in any melodramatic love story. Those looking for a complex love triangle here, may find themselves a little disappointed.

However, Candice Ransom does portray the actual tragedy of the Titanic well, and when the inevitable sinking of the ship begins, I found my heart beating faster. She also finds time to include certain legends about the various historical characters on board, including Mrs Straus's refusal to leave her husband, the ship's orchestra playing as she sinks, and the cowardly actions of Mr Ismay (who seems to be portrayed in an unfavourable light no matter what adaptation he's in). It is, however, Evangeline who ends up playing the part of Molly Brown, when she takes charge in the lifeboats to secure everyone's survival.

All in all, this is a typical Sunfire Romance, and - so long as you know what to expect - no reason not to enjoy it.

i think this book was great i read it as a kid and when i saw a the previews for the movie titanic i said james cameron must have read this too. its eerily almost identical think he should spread the dredit around some more. its obvious this book was a tool for the movie...me thinks james and copycat go hand in hand

When Nicole's father died, she & her mother moved to Europe to escape their unhappiness. Now, having "run through" their inheritance, her mother has spent the last of their money on 2 first class tickets on the Titanic. Once aboard, Nicole finds herself torn between Price, a rich young man in first class, and Karl, a young immigrant traveling in third class. Her mother wants her to marry Price so the family will have no further financial worries, but Nicole's heart is drawn to Karl. What kind of life & death choices will Nicole, Price, & Karl be faced with once the ocean liner strikes the iceberg?

Nicole is angry at her widowed mother for spending the last of their money on first class tickets on the Titanic. What awaits the previously privilaged Nicole in New York other than a life of poverty, anyhow, with all their money spent on a fancy first class stateroom when they could settle for a smaller first class cabin or even one of the larger of the second class cabins? To Nicole, the voyage is a foolish waste of money. But when the Titanic hits an iceberg, Nicole must fight for her life.

I liked it a lot, I think I liked it so much because it was about the Titanic. I love SUNFIRE books, don't get me wrong, but this one was special. I also liked Amanda because it was based on a real thing. This book is about a girl whos mother is a snob and pretends that she's Nicoles sister and wants her to marry a rich guy but Nicole fell in love with Karl the handsome immigrant who has a bratty sister who hates Nicole, but later on Nicole and her become friends. Then the Titanic is sinking! What will happen? Read it and see!

I read all the books in the series when I was a kid and I remember enjoying them. I never really thought about them after that until I saw the Titanic movie. When my mom asked me what I thought, I said "I've read that book!" No one believed me and of course the public library didn't have them anymore. It was driving me nuts that I couldn't remember the title or the name of the series. I finally found them! I'm going to buy a copy so I can prove that I'm not crazy. It's very similar to the movie.

i read so many of these books when i was in elementry school and even asked for them to be held for me because i had wanted to read them all. i recently found this one in hard cover and because it was my namesake and one the the best, i have since found out all over again why these books are so great. i'd also recomment emily and cassandra, but really these spark a girls interest in history and love at just the right age and with just the right things. i hope to collect the best so that when i have girls and they get to that age of 9-12 they can enjoy them as much as i did.

This is the first one I read, back in 1990. Not one of the better ones, and not at all by Candice F. Ransom's standards, (She also whote Emily, Katheleen, and Amanda, among others) and I think the subject matter, to someone reading it post-December 1997, is a bit old. Titantic? Karl may not be Leo, and Nicole not Kate, but it's still not a bad book...