Book Reviews
“The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit is a fascinating and magical work of art about a fascinating and magical work of art.”
-Annie Barrows, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and an ALA Notable Children’s Book Award Wining author of Ivy and Bean
“A well-written and absorbing blend of fantasy, art history, and an exploration of the type of photographic pedophilia of which Lewis Carroll was suspect. The copy of the Daughters painting on the cover is a mystery all by itself.”
-Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Newbery Award winning author
“A debut novel sees a teenage girl step inside a famous painting and confront the sexual predation that lies hidden beneath its composition. . . Victoria is both likable and believable as a teenager of the early ’60s. Hillary and the Boit girls are similarly convincing, while the author’s adult characters ground the portrayal with quiet realism. The story itself moves along at a good pace. Loyster treats a delicate subject with care and . . . allows neither fact nor fiction to dominate. Readers unfamiliar with Sargent’s painting will think the backdrop richly imaginative. Those who know the artist will find the plot skillfully woven around what can be pieced together of the historical record. An absorbing, sensitive meld of fiction and history.”
-Kirkus Book Reviews
"Far from living in the past, John Singer Sargent's compelling portrait of four sisters continues to spark the imagination, inspiring stories of past and present secrets in Loyster's inventive fiction. It isn't just art that can transcend time, but also acts of courage.”
-Dr. Erica E. Hirshler, author of Sargent’s Daughters; the Biography of a Painting and Croll Senior Curator of Painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
“In Sara Loyster’s spellbinding novel, fourteen year-old Victoria finds herself falling into a museum painting and time traveling to 1882 Paris. There she begins a relationship with Edward Boit’s younger daughters and confronts painful issues of predation and abuse. In the process she learns tools that allow her to better navigate dilemmas that have confronted young women through the ages. Literary and beautifully imagined, this book is a treasure for adults and young adults alike.”
-Charlie Price, Edgar Award-Winning Young Adult Author
“In this novel of amazing breadth, the eternal magic of time travel joins the stories of a young girl in Boston in the 1960s and a family in Paris in the late 1800s. Catapulting the reader inside one of the most famous portraits of all time, Sara Loyster skillfully manages to weave issues relevant to teens then and now into a story that both unburies ancient family secrets and solves the portrait’s many intriguing mysteries. This compelling tale fairly bursts with originality and imagination.”
-Laurel Davis Huber, author of the Velveteen Daughter, Winner of In the Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction
“Part historical fiction, part time-travel fantasy, part psychological suspense story, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit is a highly original coming-of-age novel whose themes include friendship, sexual identity, disability and activism. This retro #MeToo novel - or rather, #NotOnMyWatch novel-follows fifteen year-old Victoria Hubbard as she straddles two eras, the turmoil of the 1960s and the art world of the the 1880s.”
-Kate Brubeck, writer and editor
"Inventive, suspenseful and satisfying, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit is a delightful read."
- Lisa Braver Moss, author of the award-winning novel Shrug
“Like Victoria, the heroine of this graceful coming-of-age novel, I have always been drawn to John Singer Sargent’s famous portrait, but unlike her, I was never able to cross the mystical boundary into the world of the painting. Shy, sheltered and encumbered by a back brace, Victoria’s life begins to change when she befriends the Boit sisters and attempts to save them from the predations of a dangerous man.”
-Mari Coates, author of The Pelton Papers, winner of an IPPY Award in Historical Fiction
“… the characters would prove a great discussion starter for an English, Art or History classroom. … VERDICT: A good choice for collections where historical fiction is popular.”
-School Library Journal, the premiere publication for librarians who work with children and teens.