Ethel's Song

July 11, 2022
Krasner’s daring historical novel is a collection of fictionalized first-person poems that chronicles the life of Ethel Rosenberg (1915–1953), from her earliest years in a tenement on N.Y.C.’s Lower East Side to her final moments in Sing Sing prison, where she and her husband were executed for spying for the Soviets. As an idealistic young Jewish woman, Rosenberg dreamed of a career as an actor and singer, and fought for workers’ rights. In 1936, she met and fell in love with charismatic Julius Rosenberg (“When he talks,/ all conversations stop”), an engineering college student and eventual Communist Party member, then married him in 1939. In addition to detailing the couple’s lives as passionate Communists, culminating in their execution, this imagined account traces WWII’s development and the U.S.’s postwar anti-Communist hysteria. Krasner’s digestible poems build tension through Rosenberg’s consistently proud, defiant voice, and her confidence that she and Julius did nothing wrong: “How could helping/ the Soviet Union/ defeat Hitler/ make us the bad guys?” Family photos, interspersed throughout, lend poignancy; an epilogue and timeline provide context and additional historical background. Ages 13–17. Agent: Emelie Burl, Susan Schulman Literary.

July 1, 2022
Ethel Greenglass' story has often been told with her husband, Julius Rosenberg, at the forefront; now it's her turn. Traitor or spy frequently precedes Ethel Rosenberg's name in history books. This volume shows that there is much more to this woman who has been vilified for decades. In high school, she was a talented actress with dreams of leaving her Lower East Side tenement. She believed in workers' rights and, after heading into the workforce, participated in strikes. Ethel found someone who shared her beliefs when she met and fell in love with Julius, an engineering student who joined the Young Communist League while in college. From an early age, she worried about others and questioned inequality and oppression, so communism appealed to her sense of justice: She saw it as a way to support workers, people like her own family, who had struggled for much of their lives. This account follows Julius' 1950 arrest for espionage, soon followed by her own. It explores the impact on their young sons, the trial, and the public response. Even if readers are already aware of how the story ends, this work, which utilizes a variety of forms of poetry and is enhanced with historic photos, will read like a thriller complete with passion, politics, and family betrayal. The subject's voice, strength, intelligence, and heart ring out on every page. (timeline, source notes, bibliography, further information, picture credits) (Verse historical fiction. 13-18)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from September 1, 2022

Gr 8 Up-Ethel Rosenberg was killed by the electric chair on June 19, 1953. She was the first victim of American fascism. This is her story. She was mother to Michael and Robby, and wife to Julius-also killed by electric chair. Rosenberg was first the daughter of Jewish immigrants and grew up in 1920s New York City's Lower East Side poverty, when worker's rights were null. When the concept of Communism was brought to her and her husband's attention, it was an intriguing idea-one where communities would not live in squalor, but... "working for the brotherhood of all men." One day she signs a petition for the Communist Party's candidate for city council. Years later, this amounts to her husband being called into a loyalty hearing at work. The Rosenbergs wound up in jail. The charges: espionage against the United States. Told in verse, this is a story of persistence and resilience. Rosenberg stood up for what she believed in, called out injustices, and was committed to the fight to end poverty and bring rights to the worker. Excellently written and expertly researched, Krasner's work tells an important story not to be forgotten by time. A painful tale of familial betrayal, and yet another failure of the U.S. justice system. Includes an epilogue, a time line of events, source notes, and a selected bibliography. VERDICT A jaw-dropping true story for any YA reader interested in U.S. political history.-Gretchen Schulz

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2022
Grades 8-12 Ethel Rosenberg, convicted of spying for the Soviets and executed during the Cold War, remains a controversial historical figure and is likely unknown to young readers. Free-verse poems in varying formats introduce the woman behind the headline-making trial. Krasner starts with Ethel's early life as the daughter of Jewish immigrants in the tenements of New York City's Lower East Side and continues with her involvement with the Communist Party, her marriage to Julius Rosenberg, and their path toward espionage. The poems also emphasize the role of music in Ethel's life, from her unfulfilled dreams of being a performer to the songs she sang during workers' strikes to her blues during imprisonment. In the process, Krasner paints Ethel as a sympathetic character from a difficult home who was devoted to her husband and turned to the Communist Party to fight unfair labor practices; the author contends Ethel's innocence in an epilogue. Readers unfamiliar with her case may need additional resources to fill in the poems' gaps. Still, this well-researched novel in verse is an intriguing account of Ethel's life.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.