Sunday, October 29, 2017

New to Our Shelves! Alex & Eliza: A Love Story



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Alex & Eliza: A Love Story by Melissa de la Cruz


Love is defined as a feeling of deep affection for someone.  Alex & Eliza shows the true meaning of love and the importance of sacrifices for family.  

It's 1777.  The American Revolution battles are taking place and families are struggling to find food and make money.  Even the Schuyler family, one of the wealthiest in New York, is battling the food shortage.  They need their three eldest daughters, Eliza, Angelica and Peggy, to get married and quickly! The family decides to throw a ball and all of the eligible men in the town are invited.  On the same night as the ball they get an unexpected visitor, Colonel Hamilton.  Over two years later, Alexander comes to Eliza’s rescue when her carriage broke down.  Eliza gets a ride from Alexander on his horse all the way back to Albany, NY.  Their love story begins and history is made!  

Opening quote of Alex and Eliza that pulls the reader in immediately!
“Beloved by you I can be happy in any situation, and can struggle with every embarrassment of fortune with patience and firmness.  I cannot however forbear entre treating you to realize our union on the dark side and satisfy, without deceiving yourself, how far your affection for me can make you happy in a privation of those elegancies to which you have been accustomed.  If fortune should smile upon us, it will do us no harm to have been prepared for adversity; if she frowns upon us, by being prepared, we encounter it without the chagrin of disappointment.  Your future rank in life is a perfect lottery; you may move in an excited you may move in a very humble sphere; the last is most probable; examine well your heart.”
-Letter from Alexander Hamilton to Elizabeth Schuyler, August 1780

    If you love Hamilton the musical then you will love this book!  It tells the true details about Alexander Hamilton's relationship with Eliza Schuyler.  For example, a fact that differs from the musical is that they were not married two weeks after meeting at the ball, it was really closer to three years.  Hamilton fans will see that this book takes place in between the songs “Winter’s Ball” and “Satisfied”.  Melissa De La Cruz wrote about their relationship in so many details.  Reading this book makes me want to learn more if other facts in the Hamilton musical are untrue.  I would give this book a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. All in all, I believe that people interested in history and the Hamilton musical would love this book.

Look for the sequel Love & War: An Alex & Eliza Story due to be released April 2018!

Written by: Melissa de la Cruz
Published by: Penguin Young Readers Group
Released on: April 11, 2017
Review by: Abby H.


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