Wildthorn

Last updated
Wildthorn
Wildthorn by Jane Eagland book cover.jpg
Front cover
AuthorJane Eagland
Language English
Genre
Publisher Houghton Mifflin
Publication date
September 1, 2010
Publication place United Kingdom
Pages352
Awards Lambda Literary Award
ISBN 9-780-54757736-4

Wildthorn is a novel for young adults written by Jane Eagland and published by Houghton Mifflin in 2010. Set in the Victorian era United Kingdom, it tells the story of Louisa Cosgrove as she spends her time locked in a mental asylum for women, where she falls in love for Eliza, one of the attendants.

Reception

The School Library Journal praised Eagland for her skill with filling the main character's backstory, as well as for her "job of depicting the 'real' Louisa in the end". The review concluded by noting "[t]eens will identify with her frustration at not being believed". [1] Kirkus Reviews said that "[d]espite a too-pat ending, Louisa and Eliza provide a window into a shameful history of mental health care and women's incarceration that only ended in living memory." [2]

A review published by Publishers Weekly calls the book an "unusual romance" and mentions the author's ability to convey "the atrocities and filth of the asylum with shocking vividness". The reviewer also commends the romance between the main character and the attendant, saying it was built "tenderly and expertly" by Eagland. [3]

Wildthorn received a Lambda Literary Award in the Children's/Young Adult category. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Slow River</i> 1995 novel by Nicola Griffith

Slow River is a science fiction novel by British writer Nicola Griffith, first published in 1995. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Lambda Literary Award. The novel received critical praise for its writing and setting, while its use of multiple narrative modes was criticised.

<i>Keeping You a Secret</i> 2003 young adult novel by Julie Anne Peters

Keeping You a Secret is a young adult novel by Julie Anne Peters. It was first published in hardback in 2003, and later in paperback in 2005.

Ellen Wittlinger was an American author of young adults novels, including the Printz Honor book Hard Love.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. S. King</span> American writer (born 1970)

Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction. She is the recipient of the 2022 Margaret Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". She is also the only two-time recipient of the Michael L. Printz Award for Young Adult Literature for Dig (2019) and as editor and contributor to The Collectors: Stories (2023).

<i>Beautiful Music for Ugly Children</i> 2012 young adult novel by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children is a young adult novel by Kirstin Cronn-Mills, published October 8, 2012, by North Star Editions. The book tells the story of Gabe, a transgender high school student. It received various awards and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malinda Lo</span> American writer

Malinda Lo is an American writer of young adult novels including Ash, Huntress, Adaptation, Inheritance,A Line in the Dark, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club. She also does research on diversity in young adult literature and publishing.

Ashley Little is a Canadian author of both adult and young adult literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Russo</span> 21st-century American author

Meredith Russo is an American young adult author from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Anna-Marie McLemore is a Mexican-American author of young adult fiction magical realism, best known for their Stonewall Honor-winning novel When the Moon Was Ours, Wild Beauty, and The Weight of Feathers.

Rebecca Podos is an American author of young adult fiction and a literary agent, best known for her Lambda Literary Award-winning novel Like Water.

C. B. Lee is an American author of young adult literature based in Los Angeles, California. They are best known for their Sidekick Squad series, which follows a quartet of teenagers in a near future world of superheroes and supervillains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kacen Callender</span> Saint Thomian author (born 1989)

Kacen Callender is a Saint Thomian author of children's fiction and fantasy, best known for their Stonewall Book Award and Lambda Literary Award—winning middle grade debut Hurricane Child (2018). Their fantasy novel, Queen of the Conquered, is the 2020 winner of the World Fantasy Award, and King and the Dragonflies won the 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature.

Rebekah Weatherspoon is an American author and romance novelist. Her books often feature heroines who are Black, plus-size, disabled, and/or LGBTQ. She founded the website WOC in Romance. Weatherspoon received a 2017 Lambda Literary Award for her novel Soul to Keep and was an honoree at the inaugural Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romance Fiction for Xeni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TJ Klune</span> Queer romantic fiction and fantasy writer (born 1982)

Travis John Klune is an American author of fantasy and romantic fiction featuring gay and LGBTQ+ characters. His fantasy novel The House in the Cerulean Sea is a New York Times best seller and winner of the 2021 Alex and Mythopoeic Awards. Klune has spoken about how his asexuality influences his writing. His novel Into This River I Drown won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance in 2014.

<i>Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy</i> 2011 novel by Bil Wright

Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy is a 2011 young adult novel written by Bil Wright and published by Simon and Schuster. The book tells the story of Carlos Duarte, a gay teenager who dreams of becoming a famous makeup artist.

<i>Sasha Masha</i> 2020 debut novel by Agnes Borinsky

Sasha Masha is a coming of age young adult novel by Agnes Borinsky, published November 10, 2020 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It tells the story of a teenager Jewish girl who, with the help of members the queer community, tries to figure out who her true self is.

<i>All the Things We Do in the Dark</i> 2019 young adult novel by Saundra Mitchell

All the Things We Do in the Dark is a young adult psychological thriller novel by Saundra Mitchell, published October 29, 2019 by HarperTeen. The book was shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature.

Nina LaCour is an American author, primarily known for writing young adult literature with queer, romantic story lines. Her novel We Are Okay won the Printz Award in 2017.

<i>From Archie to Zack</i> 2020 childrens picture book by Vincent Kirsch

From Archie to Zack is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Vincent X. Kirsch. It tells the story of two boys who have a crush on each other but don't have the courage to admit it. The book was published on December 29, 2020, by Abrams Books and received positive reviews, but some of its aspects were criticized. From Archie to Zack was a finalist on the 2021 Lambda Literary Award, in the Children's and Young Adult category.

<i>Love, Violet</i> 2021 picture book by Charlotte Sullivan Wild

Love, Violet is a children's picture book written by Charlotte Sullivan Wild and illustrated by Charlene Chua. It tells the love story of a girl named Violet, who is too shy to say how she feels to her classmate, Mira. The book was published on November 16, 2021, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

References

  1. Scalfaro, Wendy. "Wildthorn". School Library Journal. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  2. "WILDTHORN". Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  3. "Children's Book Review: Wildthorn by Jane Eagland". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  4. Burns, Elizabeth (June 8, 2011). "Lambda Literary Awards - Wildthorn". A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy. Retrieved September 21, 2021.