American Dreams by John Jakes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes I don’t write a review immediately after finishing a book because I didn’t like the book or because it had some deep messages I was still working through or because I’m not sure what to make of the book. But, none of those apply to this book. I’ve just been so busy the past couple weeks that I haven’t had time to write up my review. I really loved reading this one. I had not read anything from Mr. Jakes before, so this was a real surprise and a treat. I got the book (along with several others) from my grandma about 4 years ago and put it in my to read pile. Grandma and I don’t exactly have the same tastes in literature, but I have liked some of the books she gave me. And this one surpassed all of them. In fact, I have several other books by Mr. Jakes in my to read pile and all of them seem to magically moved up towards the top!

This is a work of historical fiction, but the history mainly forms the backdrop as setting and providing some characters. It is mainly a story about a young lady who wants to be an actress (on Broadway) in the time period right before world war one.

Fritzi is a charming protagonist through most of the book (I did get a little fed up with her attitude toward her career and herself toward the end of the book, but that doesn’t mean she is unrealistic (in fact, this character flaw helps make her feel more real).

I look forward to reading more from this author.

View all my reviews