LAST DANCE ON HOLLADAY STREET
2005, Knopf
The year is 1878, and 13-year-old Eva has lost all the family she’s ever known. Eva feels like an orphan - but she’s not. Sadie Lewis, the woman who gave her up at birth, is alive and well in Denver. And Eva sets out to find her, carrying only an address on a slip of paper.
But Denver holds more surprises than Eva can bear. When she reaches 518 Holladay Street, she discovers Sadie Lewis’s shocking secret - a secret that lands Eva in a house of ill repute, forced to dance with strangers for her keep. But Eva knows in her bones that she’s free - and that she’s got to escape.
In a novel that pulses with the sights, sounds, and wild dangers of the frontier West, Elisa Carbone explores the many faces that family, and freedom, can take.
Review Excerpts:
“A strong coming-of-age narrative . . . Eva's story of resilience, resourcefulness, and entrepreneurial spirit takes the American girl into a whole new territory."
- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"The author recreates both the town in 1878, and its male-dominated society, with vivid realism."
- Kirkus Reviews
"Last Dance On Holladay Street is a tremendously affecting read with a strong moral center, a story about doing what's right and finding resources within yourself. A tender, thoughtful story of perseverance and loyalty. Highly recommended."
- Cynthia Leitich Smith editor, Children's/YA Literature Resources
"More than the perilous adventure, what drives the story is the authentic view of women in the old west. There's no detail about the sex in the brothel, just a strong sense of community among the desperate workers, and the triumph of a brave young woman who escapes to find real work and a home."
- Hazel Rochman, Booklist
"Carbone truly has a gift for historical fiction as previous works have shown and this one affirms."
- Detroit Free Press
Awards and Honors:
New York Public Library Best book for the Teen Age
Chicago Public Schools Mayor Daley Book Clubs Battle of the Books
*Starred review Kliatt