THE MOVEMENT OF STARS

In April 1845, in Nantucket, 24-year-old Hannah Price, member of a Quaker community, is obsessed with the night sky. She hopes to see "something new flickering among the celestial bodies." Carla Mercer-Meyer's narration captures quiet, reserved Hannah. Isaac Martin, a seaman from the Azores, becomes Hannah's student and learns how to use his ship's chronometer. But as Hannah and Isaac grow closer, Hannah's reputation is jeopardized. Mercer-Meyer misses Hannah's nervous intensity, remaining too genteel and soft-spoken. Her accent and tonal shift for Isaac are strong although her other male voices lack conviction. Amy Brill's wonderful historical fiction, inspired by Maria Mitchell, the first woman astronomer to receive the King of Denmark's prize, combines a gentle love story with a woman's sincere quest for knowledge of the heavens. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2013]