A master plan for rescue

Format:

Book

Title:

A master plan for rescue

Author:

Newman, Janis Cooke.

ISBN:

9781594633614

Publication:

New York : Riverhead Books, 2015.

Physical Description:

322 pages ; 24 cm

Summary:

"Set in 1942 New York and Berlin, "A Master Plan for Rescue "is an enchanting novel about the life-giving powers of storytelling, and the heroism that can be inspired by love. In essence, it is two love stories. It is the story of a child who worships his parents, then loses his father to an accident and his mother to her resulting grief. And it is the story of a young man who stumbles into the romance of his life, then watches her decline, forever changing the arc of his future. Each is propelled by the belief that if he acts heroically enough, it will restore some part of what -- or whom -- he has lost."--Provided by publisher.

1942 New York. Jack worships his parents, then loses his father to an accident and his mother to her resulting grief. Jacob stumbles into the romance of his life, then watches her decline, forever changing the arc of his future. Each is propelled by the belief that if he acts heroically enough, it will restore some part of what he has lost. When they meet, their combined grief and magical thinking will allow them to dream the impossible. Sharing stories of the people they have lost, they are inspired to join forces and do something so memorable that it might actually bring their loved ones back-- even if only in spirit.

Subject(s):

Parent and child -- Fiction.

Bildungsromans.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Children -- Fiction.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Jews -- Fiction.

World War, 1939-1945 -- New York (State) -- New York -- Fiction.

Manhattan (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century -- Fiction.

New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Manhattan (New York, N.Y.) -- 20th century -- Fiction.

New York (N.Y.) -- 20th century -- Fiction.

New York (State) -- New York.

New York (State) -- New York -- Manhattan.

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Monmouth Public Library	Fic Newman, J. 2015	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Named a Best Book of 2015 by the San Francisco Chronicle

From the bestselling author of Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln , a magical novel about the surprising acts we are capable of in the name of love.

Set in 1942 New York and Berlin, A Master Plan for Rescue is an enchanting novel about the life-giving powers of storytelling, and the heroism that can be inspired by love. In essence, it is two love stories. It is the story of a child who worships his parents, then loses his father to an accident and his mother to her resulting grief. And it is the story of a young man who stumbles into the romance of his life, then watches her decline, forever changing the arc of his future. Each is propelled by the belief that if he acts heroically enough, it will restore some part of what--or whom--he has lost.

But when they meet, this boy and this man, their combined grief and magical thinking will allow them to dream the impossible. Sharing stories of the people they have lost, they are inspired to join forces and act in their memory. To do something so memorable that it might actually bring their loved ones back--even if only in spirit.

A Master Plan for Rescue is a beautiful tale, propelled by history and imagination, that suggests people's impact upon the world doesn't necessarily end with their lives, and that, to some degree, we are the sum of the stories we tell.

Author Notes

Janis Cooke Newman is the author of the novel Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln, and the memoir, The Russian Word for Snow. She is the founder of the Lit Camp writers conference.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In Newman's quaint yet sprawling historical drama, the lives of a young boy and a Jewish émigré intersect to form an unlikely partnership. Twelve-year-old Jack is suddenly stricken by near-blindness at the exact moment he hears Pearl Harbor has been attacked. When he later witnesses his father's deadly fall into an oncoming subway train, Jack's overwhelming grief compels him to create a magical parallel reality in which performing a patriotic act of valor will redeem his father's love, if not bring his father back. After hearing Nazi saboteurs have come ashore in New York, Jack follows and confronts Jakob, who emerges from beneath the subway car he's repairing to share his story of romance, loss, and eventual escape from Berlin. Within this magically conceived universe they collaborate on a "master plan" to steal the saboteurs' submarine and rescue 23 Jewish children. Featured historical events include Kristallnact (The Night of Broken Glass) and the trans-Atlantic voyage of the S.S. St. Louis (a cruise ship turned troubled refugee vessel). Newman showcases an intricate, expertly woven plot, but the persistent over-explanation of metaphorically significant moments becomes tedious. Nevertheless, a boy processing grief through a reimagining of history is an ultimately affirming tale. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

Burdened by guilt about his father's accidental death, a 12-year-old New York boy develops fantasies that will only be dispelled after he helps a refugee from Nazi Germany save a group of desperate Jewish children. First, Jack Quinlan loses his normal vision on the day the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and then he loses his father under a subway train. These events and Jack's fantastical imaginings that his father might have survived the accident drive the opening and most successful section of Newman's (Mary: Mrs A. Lincoln, 2006) second novel. Several characters have special abilities, and Jack's is to "see" the radio, i.e. to picture in extraordinary detail the worlds of the programs he listens to. But after his father dies, Jack's imaginative leaps extend to the world outside his home, and soon he's playing truant from school, looking for Nazi spies on the streets of the city. He thinks he's found one, but the man, Jakob, turns out to be a Jew from Berlin. Jakob's story of political turmoil, hopeless love for Rebeccaa fellow Jew with an incurable heart complaintand perilous escape from Germany to New York, without official papers, marks the novel's shift into more predictable, sentimental territory. But there's more. Now Jack and Jakob join forces, and the story switches gears again, into an episode of derring-do involving the rescue of some two dozen children fleeing France by submarine, assisted by Jakob's mechanical brilliance and Jack's street savvy and school pals. Overfreighted with symbolic motifssight; messages; hearts; photographsand juggling love, loss, magical gifts, and profound pain, Newman's story speeds up yet thins out in its efforts to deliver charm and resolution. An initially appealing, increasingly strenuous assault on the heart strings. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Jack is 12 years old, cripplingly nearsighted, and desperately trying to deny his father's death. He invents an elaborate scenario in which his father did not die but has gone undercover to hunt Nazis in New York City. Armed with a Captain Midnight decoder ring, Jack roams the streets of New York at night, searching for Nazis and his father. He follows Jakob, whom he believes to be a spy, only to find out that he is Jewish and trying to help get 23 children out of a refugee camp in France. Myopic Jack; his deaf friend, Rose; and Albie, with the bad heart, devise a daring plan that they must carry out on their own. A Master Plan for Rescue tells several stories: a young boy coming to terms with bullying and death; a mother's inability to deal with grief; a man haunted by the woman he left behind; and so on. And all these stories are told with insight and an almost-magical belief in possibilities.--Dickie, Elizabeth Copyright 2015 Booklist