CELTICLADY'S REVIEWS: Cinnamon Girl by Trish MacEnulty Blog Tour! @pmacenulty @cathiedunn @trishmac

#HistoricalYA #ComingOfAge #HistoricalFiction #YAFiction

Book Title: Cinnamon Girl

Author: Trish MacEnulty

Publication Date: September 11th, 2023

Publisher: Livingston Press

Page Length: 311

Genre: Historical YA (but boomers love it, too)

Winner of the Gold Medal in YA Fiction from The Historical Fiction Company!

When her beloved step-grandmother, a semi-retired opera singer, dies of cancer in 1970, 15-year-old Eli Burnes runs away with a draft-dodger, thinking she's on the road to adventure and romance. What she finds instead is a world of underground Weathermen, Black Power revolutionaries, snitches and shoot-first police.

Eventually Eli is rescued by her father, who turns out both more responsible and more revolutionary than she'd imagined. But when he gets in trouble with the law, she finds herself on the road again, searching for the allies who will help her learn how to save herself.

"The book is a fantastic read: fast-moving, full of smoothly woven historical detail and rich characterizations, all told in Eli's appealing voice." — Sarah Johnson, Reading the Past

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3Ldonw

Cinnamon Girl by Trish MacEnulty Excerpt

Wolfgang and I walked down past the elementary school. I thought we would take the streets because it was night but Wolfgang cut across the street toward the playground. I would never have ventured into the playground at night by myself. I raced to catch up with him. I didn’t know what to say to him but he didn’t seem to need me to say anything. We cut across the big field of grass. There were plenty of streetlights but when we passed under the trees it was dark. I took a deep breath.

“Isn’t this exhilarating?” I asked, trying out this new word that felt like marshmallow cream in my mouth.

Wolfgang grunted a short quick laugh.

When we got to the swing set, Wolfgang sat on one of the swings and lit a cigarette. He was way too tall for the swing and his skinny legs stuck out, his big shoes scraping across the dirt. He didn’t offer me a cigarette, and I didn’t question why we had stopped. Maybe he had forgotten what we were supposed to be doing. I lay down on one of the rubbery swings on my belly and held my arms out like I was flying. My shadow sailed back and forth underneath me.

I looked over at Wolfgang, and for a moment his glance fell into mine. Then he looked away. Wolfgang was not like any other boy I knew. Most older boys were mean, but Wolfgang tolerated Gretchen and me. It wasn’t that he liked us much, but he didn’t hate us either. I sat up in the swing and placed my legs on either side swinging sideways instead of back and forth.

“Wolfgang,” I said, “Gretchen’s already been kissed.”

He looked over at me with his bushy eyebrows slightly arched.

“So?”

“I’ve never kissed anyone, and I’m almost fifteen. Do you think I’m ugly?”

Wolfgang looked away, which confused me until I realized he was trying to hold in his laughter. Then he cocked his head sideways and said, “Do you want me to kiss you, Eli Burnes? Is that what you want?”

I nodded my head. I did want him to kiss me.

“You’re too short,” Wolfgang answered.

I shrugged my shoulders and made circles in the dirt with my sneakers. Wolfgang smoked his cigarette.

“Come on,” he said, standing up from the swing. “You need to get home.”

I looked up at him.

“I could stand on something,” I said.

Wolfgang placed his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes. I got off the swing and walked over to a railroad tie that bordered the jungle gym. It raised me about four inches off the ground. Wolfgang came over and stood before me.

“Boys don’t kiss you because you’re weird,” Wolfgang said.

“You’re weird, too,” I said.

“I agree,” he said.

Then he put his hands gently on my waist and closed his eyes as his face lowered toward mine.

Trish MacEnulty is the author of a historical novel series, literary novels, memoirs, a short story collection, children’s plays, and most recently, the historical coming-of-age novel, Cinnamon Girl (Livingston Press, Sept. 2023). She has a Ph.D. in English from the Florida State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Florida. She currently writes book reviews and features for the Historical Novel Society.

She lives in Florida with her husband Joe and her two tubby critters, Franco and Tumbleweed. More info at her website: trishmacenulty.com.

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