Queens of All the Earth [Paperback]

Hannah Sternberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2011

As her freshman classmates move into dorms at Cornell University, Olivia Somerset suffers a nervous breakdown. When months of coaxing and analyzing fail to rouse Olivia from her stupor, big sister Miranda decides the sisters should fly off to Barcelona for some ''vacation therapy.''

When a mistake at their Barcelona hostel leaves the Somersets in a large co-ed dorm room, Olivia and Miranda are saved by kindly Mr. Brown and his son Greg, who happily volunteer to surrender their private room. But while Olivia feels an instant connection with brooding Greg Brown, Miranda sides with fellow guest and cocky American travel writer Lenny:

The Browns are just plain weird, and must be avoided at all costs.

In the midst of urbane Peruvian priests-in-training and Scottish soccer fans, from the shops of La Rambla to the waters of the Mediterranean to the soaring heights of Montjuic, Miranda works to protect her still-fragile sister while Olivia struggles to understand her burgeoning adulthood, her feelings for Greg, and the fear that makes the next step in her life so impossible to take.

Inspired by E. M. Forster's classic novel A Room with a View, debut author Hannah Sternberg's Queens of All the Earth is a poetic journey of young love and self-awakening set against the beauty of Catalonia. Teenagers and adults alike will be riveted and moved by this coming-of-age novel about the conflicting hearts and minds of two very different sisters.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sternberg takes a charming and still-popular classic and retells it with grit and soul, making it not only relevant but compelling for today's young readers. --Susanne Dunlap, author of the YA novel The Musician's Daughter, a Bank Street Children's Book of the Year

Lyric-like in the writing style, Hannah Sternberg's Queens of All Earth was completely addicting. Perfect for the YA audience, the story of Olivia, a girl battling what she doesn't like to refer to as depression, will relate to many teens and adults alike, myself included . . . The story has a new ring to it that I have yet to see in the YA genre. (And I read many a book...) Set in Barcelona, the adventure of sisters Olivia and Miranda is an unforgettable one. Throw in a cute boy, Greg; his calm father Emory; and you've got a story to read again and again. --Book Heist

There was a wonderful languid pace to this book that drew me right in, willing Olivia and Greg to be able to enjoy their holiday romance, and getting totally lost in Hannah Sternberg's wonderful depiction of Barcelona. It's a bit of a cliche to say: ''It really feels like you are there, smelling the smells, feeling the breeze in your hair, and watching the hills drift past your coach window.'' But that is exactly what it's like. And the slower pace of the storytelling suits the atmosphere just perfectly. I really liked this one. It'd be the perfect read for a late-spring/early-summer Sunday afternoon in the garden. --Bart's Bookshelf

About the Author

Though only 22, Hannah Sternberg has had extensive experience writing both fiction and nonfiction. In 2009, she received a B.A. in Film and Media Studies and Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University, which she attended on a full scholarship. She's been published in the Hopkins student literary magazine, the student newspaper, and the JHU Film Society's annual journal. She had an article published in The Weekly Standard magazine, and several of her articles on film adaptations of books have appeared in The Historical Novels Review. Before college, she won honorable mention in a national playwriting contest. Born in Baltimore and raised between there, Rutland, VT, and Lancaster, PA, Hannah currently lives and works in Washington, D.C. Queens of all the Earth is her first published novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Bancroft Press; First edition (October 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1610880323
• ISBN-13: 978-1610880329
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,586,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hannah Sternberg lives and works in Washington, DC. In 2009, she graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a major in Film and Media Studies and a minor in Writing Seminars, feeling like the most unemployable girl in the world. In addition to writing, she spends her spare time cooking, gardening, editing manuscripts for Istoria Books, blogging about politics and culture, and trying to mix the perfect martini.

Queens of All the Earth, Hannah Sternberg's first novel, was released by Bancroft Press in October 2011. Early reviews have called it "exquisite" and "completely addicting."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A little gem of a story November 28, 2011

By Leslie

Format:Paperback

If you want a beautifully written novel, try this one by first-time author Hannah Sternberg. It begins with a light, slightly out-of-focus texture that matches perfectly the inner confusion of the heroine, and then becomes more concrete as she emerges from the fog of a mental breakdown. Sternberg sketches the other characters deftly as she recreates the ties that develop among strangers during a short vacation in Barcelona. But perhaps best of all is her depiction of the relationship between the heroine and her older sister. She captures perfectly - and with kindness - its mixture of love, irritation, misunderstandings, hurt feelings and loyalty.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done! January 5, 2012

By J. Chatfield

Format:Paperback

For anyone with a sister and the bug to travel, this novel is a must-read. I'll admit, it took a few pages to get into it, for me because the writing is so lovely and poetic, and the pacing so even and smooth. The books I've been reading lately are really quick reads, pure entertainment, so I'm used to scanning quickly for the good parts. Getting to know the sisters though, and all of the travelers in their hostel, was completely enjoyable and realistic. Combined with the atmosphere and description of Barcelona, I felt like I was right there with them.

I love both Miranda and Olivia. Their relationship is so real, so strained, I felt like I could totally relate, being an older sister. And though the characters are all flawed, some more so than others, Sternberg allows us to know them anyway, without forcing any prejudices or preconceived notions. The relationship between Olivia and Greg is so sweet, so odd, and so innocent. I think Sternberg does a great job letting us see inside Olivia's head and understand why and how she sits on the outskirts of normal society.

By far my favorite thing about the novel is the way the eight distinct characters at the hostel bump into one another and leave lasting impacts. I think it's a fantastic portrayal of real life and evidence of Sternberg's strong skills as a character writer. Highly recommended! Can't wait to read more from her.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The wordsmithing alone makes this well worth reading! November 21, 2011

By Tina Korbe

Format:Hardcover

Hannah Sternberg is a vivid and imaginative storyteller. Her relatable characters occupy a world that is fleshed out with memorable imagery and detailed precision. But, best of all, that world is not a fictional one; it is a detailed depiction of Barcelona, with which the author must have some intimacy because she manages to write of the city with warmth and attachment even as she narrates the story with calm, unruffled impartiality. In that sense, "Queens of All the Earth" has an element of travel journalism to it that makes it relevant even to readers who might not be as acutely interested in the subtle machinations of young emotion as lovers of "A Room With a View" seem to be.

As someone who had never read that classic before I read this novel, I also have to say I really appreciated that Sternberg clearly trusts her readers to follow her threads to come to their own conclusions about her characters. Because I loved the story, "Queens" functioned for me as an elegant invitation to read the classic on which it was based -- something a lesser modern adaptation would not have done.

Highly recommend this!