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The results are in for the October, 2006, Readers' Poll. You must be geniuses because more than 83% of you got this one right. What amazing readers! Congratulations.
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All About the Book, October, 2006
"I picked this one up because I love history and I love ghost stories, and this is both. I admit, I was also curious to see if Welsh could pull off what Katharine Weber couldn't in Triangle -- successfully combining authentic NYC history with a story that appeals to teens. I think Welsh has succeeded admirably here...Young love doomed, a horrific tragedy, and a ghost bound to earth by the terrible event. What more could you ask for? I sped through the first few chapters and then read the end. This is the ultimate test of the "goodness" of a book for me -- if I can read the end and then still want to go back and finish the rest of the book, it's a good'un. The Unresolved is a great one. Mallory is the most well-developed ghostly character I've seen in a long, long time...maybe even since my Blossom Culp days. I can't recall another story where I've felt so connected to the ghost, and I was particularly impressed with the way Welsh moved Mallory in and out of other characters and told their stories in that way. Welsh skillfully manipulates emotions and develops characters through the relatively short novel, and I found myself genuinely caring about these people...."
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NEW AND NOTEWORTHY
THE UNRESOLVED
It's almost Halloween, the perfect time for a good ghost story ... like THE UNRESOLVED.
Check out the in-depth T.K. Welsh interview @ teensreadtoo.com.
To buy your copy, click here!
READERS' POLL
The results are in for the September, 2006, Readers' Poll. With 50% of the vote, the winning response was, "A flicked cigarette." That is correct! Another reason never to smoke!
For the results of previous polls, click here
REVIEWS (Excerpted in September)
THE UNRESOLVED -- Editorial Reviews
School Library Journal -- Starred Review, September, 2006
"THE UNRESOLVED tells a remarkable story in a remarkable way. Give this engrossing novel to fans of Kathryn Reiss or Vivian Vande Velde’s Being Dead (Harcourt, 2001), and to those who like a supernatural flair with their historical fiction."
THE UNRESOLVED -- Reader Reviews
Scarlett @ www.penguin.ca
""The Unresolved" is a great book. T.K. Welsh tells the story of the General Slocum, a steamship that sank in NYC. This ghost story really grabs your attention and keeps it throughout the entire book. I would reccomend it to any young adult looking for a good ghost story."
Dee @ www.yabookscentral.com
"This book was very touching because it was based on a true story. It is about love,lies,and death ... It is a sad story, but love prevails. I recommend this book!!"
Penny @ www.reads4teens.org
"It was great ... It's both a love story and a ghost story in one. Creepy and romantic too."
SQUIRREL610 @ www.amazon.com
"(A) mesmerizing, often brilliant new historical YA novel by T.K. Welsh ... It's a story of the ultimate outsider ... What a startling, evocative and promising debut ... A must for any teenage girl, aged 13+, who likes historical fiction, who feels uncertain of her place in the world, and who has ever been in love."
For the full text of the Reviews, click here.
EVENTS
THE UNRESOLVED
Date: October 26th, 2006
Venue: BORDERS
Time: 7:00 PM
Address: 601 Nassau Park (off Route 1), Building G, Princeton, NJ 08540
Phone: (856) 985-8909
THE UNRESOLVED
Date: October 30th, 2006 (The night before Halloween!)
Venue: HEADHOUSE BOOKS
Time: 7:00 PM (Come early for a good seat)
Address: 619 South Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: (215) 923-9525
To see all upcoming Readings & Signings, click here.
THE UNRESOLVED
Date: October 26th, 2006
Venue: BORDERS
Time: 7:00 PM
Address: 601 Nassau Park (off Route 1), Building G, Princeton, NJ 08540
Phone: (856) 985-8909
THE UNRESOLVED
Date: October 30th, 2006 (The night before Halloween!)
Venue: HEADHOUSE BOOKS
Time: 7:00 PM (Come early for a good seat)
Address: 619 South Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: (215) 923-9525
The author appreciates your feedback. If you'd like to say something about a reading, click on Comments, below.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books -
Volume 60, Number 2, October, 2006
The Johns Hopkins University Press
"Of the 1300 passengers aboard the General Slocum bound for a pleasure outing off the New York shore in June of 1905, about a thousand lost their lives when the ship caught fire. Most souls have moved on in the afterlife, but fifteen-year-old Mallory Meer can’t help but linger among her family, negligent shipping company officers, and Dustin Brauer, the young man with whom she had a brief assignation below decks, and who now stands accused in the Kleindeutchland (Little Germany) neighborhood of being responsible for the blaze. As a sort of sleuthing spirit, able to inhabit and influence the minds of those she visits, Mallory learns the truth concerning culpability for the tragedy, and by inspiring the right people to ask the right questions, she eventually manipulates Dustin’s exoneration...Her search for the truth amid corporate greed, lies and cover-ups, and rampant anti-Semitism in the Kleindeutchland community is gripping...Villains and good guys are clearly delineated, details of the fire are rendered with grisly poesy, and an aura of creepiness pervades the entire novel, making this an inviting choice for teen melodrama aficionados." - Elizabeth Bush
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The results are in and, once again, 50% of you got it right. Congratulations!
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The Edge of the Forest, October, 2006
"The Unresolved, by T.K. Welsh, is one part historical novel, one part ghost story, and one part gorgeous, dark, evocative prose. It may be the most beautifully written novel I've read this year.
"A disaster is a the center of The Unresolved. On June 15, 1904, St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, located in Kleindeutschland (Little Germany), Manhattan, chartered the General Slocum for a cruise around New York City. The passengers dressed up and there was dancing and other festivities aboard the ship. Then a fire broke out and and approximately 1,000 passengers died (of 1,300 on board). The lifeboats were rusted to the ship and the lifejackets crumbled to dust or, simply, failed to float. You can read more about the General Slocum catastrophe—the worst in New York's history until 9/11—here.
"Mallory Meer died on the General Slocum just after receiving her first kiss from the gorgeous Dustin Brauer. She was on the General Slocum with her mother, sister Louisa, brother Helmuth, and infant sister, Nixie. Nixie died as well. Mallory's family was not unique: everyone in Kleindeutschland lost someone in the fire. But, Mallory, unlike the rest of the burnt and drowned passengers, does not go away. She remains behind to watch what happens after the disaster and, indeed, to effect the inquest to follow.
"Mallory's Dustin takes the hit for the fire, as a group of Kleindeutschland boys accuse him of smoking a cigarette after the kiss and flinging it into a pile of straw. There's a sinister element to this accusation: Dustin is Jewish and the other boys German. Mallory, as a ghost who can inhabit anybody and see events and feelings from their point of view, aches for her Dustin and seeks her revenge.
"When Kleindeutschland calls for an inquest, it appears as if Dustin will be found guilty. Mallory watches most of the inquest through her sister Louisa's eyes, feeling her pain as she too loves Dustin and she too has lost beloved family members. Dustin goes into hiding as his life is in danger in the community. Mallory learns how to haunt those most responsibe—the shipping company, members of government inspection committees, and the boy who knows who really threw a cigarette into the straw. Her persistence saves Dustin and, to some extent, the community. While it is true Kleindeutschland does not survive the General Slocum disaster, at least it dissolves rather than exploding from within.
"Dustin and Mallory's family survive and move from New York City. But not so, Mallory. Mallory travels:
The spirit does not grow decrepit. There are not bones to age. But thoughts grow old and feeble. They wear away like Nixie's christening gown. How could they not? Once thought, perceived, ideas and feelings do not vanish. But they fade. Even mine. They crack and crumble over time. They grind. Like stones in the streambed of memory.
I am tired now. From time to time, I visit what was once my body. There is so little left. I have become a box of bones. From time to time, I visit Dustin and Louisa; I visit Mallory, my niece. But I grow bored of simply being a witness, an insubstantial spy. And there are times I see things that I shouldn't see.
"Mallory remains behind to do one more thing. I won't tell you what that is—you'll have to read The Unresolved to find out. I promise you won't be disappointed."
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Midwest Book Review - "Children's Bookwatch", October, 2006
"Mallory Meer turns fifteen the week before she boards a steamship in 1904 on what will be her last voyage before the steamship burns and kills her and a thousand others. Yet she lingers, a ghost, unable to leave her love or family until the fire's setters are brought to justice. Turn-of-the-century Manhattan comes to life in a wonderfully different kind of ghost story."
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