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Queen of Hearts: Coming of Age in a Hospital Bed
Coming of age in a hospital bed—a deeply affecting portrait of a teen's journey through a TB sanatorium in the 1940s.
On the prairies of Canada during World War II, a girl and her two young siblings begin a war of their own. Stricken with tuberculosis, they are admitted to a nearby sanatorium. Teenager Marie Claire is headstrong, angry, and full of stubborn pride. In a new strange land of TB exiles she must "chase the cure," seek privacy where there is none, and witness the slow wasting decline of others. But in this moving novel about fighting a way back to normal life, it is the thing that sets back Marie Claire the most—the demise of her little brother—that also connects her with the person who will be instrumental in helping her recover.
On the prairies of Canada during World War II, a girl and her two young siblings begin a war of their own. Stricken with tuberculosis, they are admitted to a nearby sanatorium. Teenager Marie Claire is headstrong, angry, and full of stubborn pride. In a new strange land of TB exiles she must "chase the cure," seek privacy where there is none, and witness the slow wasting decline of others. But in this moving novel about fighting a way back to normal life, it is the thing that sets back Marie Claire the most—the demise of her little brother—that also connects her with the person who will be instrumental in helping her recover.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published July 19, 2010
16 people are currently reading
1510 people want to read
About the author
Martha Brooks
28 books51 followersMartha Brooks is an award-winning novelist, playwright and jazz singer whose books have been published in Spain, Italy, Japan, Denmark, England, Germany and Australia, as well as in Canada and the United States. She is a three-time winner of the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year, as well as the Ruth Schwartz Award, the Mr. Christie’s Book Award, the Governor General’s Award, and the Vicky Metcalf Award for her body of work. Letters to Brian is her first book for adult readers. She lives in Winnipeg.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
April 5, 2014
This is excellent historical fiction that will appeal to fans of the genre. Since the language is straightforward and it's fairly short, it's also a great choice for readers looking for more accessible historical fiction.
Marie Clare is a headstrong fifteen-year-old living in Canada during World War II. Although it's wartime, she lives a pretty typical teenage life with a loving family, until her beloved uncle comes to stay. Soon they find out that he has tuberculosis, and Marie Clare, her brother and sister all contract TB from him and are sent to live in a local sanatorium. Marie Clare is devastated, and things only get worse when her brother’s health quickly declines. Although she tries to resist finding happiness in the sanatorium, she begins to realize that everyone there is trying to make their lives as normal and happy as they can. Mary Clare is an honest, refreshing character that doesn't get mushy when she's learning life lessons and dealing with this difficult disease. The author grew up on the grounds of a TB sanatorium, where her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse, so this story is authentic in addition to resonating.
Marie Clare is a headstrong fifteen-year-old living in Canada during World War II. Although it's wartime, she lives a pretty typical teenage life with a loving family, until her beloved uncle comes to stay. Soon they find out that he has tuberculosis, and Marie Clare, her brother and sister all contract TB from him and are sent to live in a local sanatorium. Marie Clare is devastated, and things only get worse when her brother’s health quickly declines. Although she tries to resist finding happiness in the sanatorium, she begins to realize that everyone there is trying to make their lives as normal and happy as they can. Mary Clare is an honest, refreshing character that doesn't get mushy when she's learning life lessons and dealing with this difficult disease. The author grew up on the grounds of a TB sanatorium, where her father was a doctor and her mother a nurse, so this story is authentic in addition to resonating.
March 31, 2012
grades 7-10. Clean. Recommmendable to those who don't need much action and have an interest in historic fiction and TB sanitoriums! Nice maturation of character from selfish to caring. A little romance and some sass thrown in for good measure.
October 18, 2011
Queen of Hearts is an engaging YA novel set, for the most part, inside a tuberculosis sanatorium in Manitoba, Canada during the years 1940-1941.
Marie-Claire Côté, 15, lives on a small farm across a valley from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium. The close proximity of the San makes everyone in the community very aware of this highly contagious disease. But so far, the Côté family have all been lucky enough not to have had TB touch their world.
Their luck changes, however, one cold spring evening in 1940 when Oncle Gérard returns to the farm. Gérard, only 25, has been riding the railroads for years, a happy go lucky vagabond. Then, in the fall of 1940, Gérard is diagnosed with TB. At first, he remains at home, but when a place opens at the San, he is taken there, where he dies in February, 1941.
But it doesn’t take long for symptoms of TB to start appear in the Côté children. First, in 11 year old Luc, then in Marie-Claire and finally in the youngest, Josée, 5. In December 1941, all three of the children are diagnosed and immediately admitted to the San. Angry and resentful, Marie-Claire doesn’t adjust well to San life – the food, the routines, even the constant cheerful friendliness of her very sick roommate, Signy.
Though not a willing patient, Marie-Claire does begin to adjust to the idea that she must change her attitude in order to help herself. This attitude change is bolster by the loss of her brother and the recovery of little Josée. After a while, she even begins to slowly accept Signy’s offer of friendship and manages finds a boyfriend in the San.
The relationship between Marie-Claire and Signy is always strained and through it Brooks brings out an interesting phenomenon that often occurs when someone is faced with the possibility of a friend’s illness being terminal – avoiding them despite their genuinely good intentions. This happens a couple times in Queen of Hearts. Signy’s former roommate, Louise, is a good example. Louise had been moved to a cottage as she improved, but with promises of coming back to visit. The visit doesn’t happen until the day the now healthy Louise is leaving that San: “I always meant to come back and see you. It’s hard, you know to…see people. I mean, after you’re getting better and they’re…” (pg 104) Who knows why this happens – survivor guilt? Fear of getting sick again? Fear of death? It could be anything. It is just not something that is addressed in YA novels about illness very often, but maybe it should be.
I was very interested in this book, since my dear friend and neighbor, George Cassa, who passed away suddenly this spring, once told me about his own personal experience as a teenage TB patient in an upstate New York sanatorium, also during World War II. His experience mirrors much of was is described in Queen of Hearts, adding to the realistic feeling in the novel.
Brooks, who grew up living in a Canadian sanatorium where her father was the medical superintendent, is very familiar with the confined, often boring, lonely life of a TB patient. Her descriptions of the tedious daily routines that Marie-Claire experiences as she “chases the cure,” a rather ironic image given that TB patients are confined to a bed for a good part of their treatment, imparts a true sense of authenticity in the novel.
Queen of Hearts is a poignant, compelling coming of age story which will captivate the reader from beginning to end as Marie-Claire wages her own personal life and death war against TB in the isolated world of the San, far from the battlefields of WW II.
This book is recommended for readers age 12 and up.
This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL
Marie-Claire Côté, 15, lives on a small farm across a valley from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium. The close proximity of the San makes everyone in the community very aware of this highly contagious disease. But so far, the Côté family have all been lucky enough not to have had TB touch their world.
Their luck changes, however, one cold spring evening in 1940 when Oncle Gérard returns to the farm. Gérard, only 25, has been riding the railroads for years, a happy go lucky vagabond. Then, in the fall of 1940, Gérard is diagnosed with TB. At first, he remains at home, but when a place opens at the San, he is taken there, where he dies in February, 1941.
But it doesn’t take long for symptoms of TB to start appear in the Côté children. First, in 11 year old Luc, then in Marie-Claire and finally in the youngest, Josée, 5. In December 1941, all three of the children are diagnosed and immediately admitted to the San. Angry and resentful, Marie-Claire doesn’t adjust well to San life – the food, the routines, even the constant cheerful friendliness of her very sick roommate, Signy.
Though not a willing patient, Marie-Claire does begin to adjust to the idea that she must change her attitude in order to help herself. This attitude change is bolster by the loss of her brother and the recovery of little Josée. After a while, she even begins to slowly accept Signy’s offer of friendship and manages finds a boyfriend in the San.
The relationship between Marie-Claire and Signy is always strained and through it Brooks brings out an interesting phenomenon that often occurs when someone is faced with the possibility of a friend’s illness being terminal – avoiding them despite their genuinely good intentions. This happens a couple times in Queen of Hearts. Signy’s former roommate, Louise, is a good example. Louise had been moved to a cottage as she improved, but with promises of coming back to visit. The visit doesn’t happen until the day the now healthy Louise is leaving that San: “I always meant to come back and see you. It’s hard, you know to…see people. I mean, after you’re getting better and they’re…” (pg 104) Who knows why this happens – survivor guilt? Fear of getting sick again? Fear of death? It could be anything. It is just not something that is addressed in YA novels about illness very often, but maybe it should be.
I was very interested in this book, since my dear friend and neighbor, George Cassa, who passed away suddenly this spring, once told me about his own personal experience as a teenage TB patient in an upstate New York sanatorium, also during World War II. His experience mirrors much of was is described in Queen of Hearts, adding to the realistic feeling in the novel.
Brooks, who grew up living in a Canadian sanatorium where her father was the medical superintendent, is very familiar with the confined, often boring, lonely life of a TB patient. Her descriptions of the tedious daily routines that Marie-Claire experiences as she “chases the cure,” a rather ironic image given that TB patients are confined to a bed for a good part of their treatment, imparts a true sense of authenticity in the novel.
Queen of Hearts is a poignant, compelling coming of age story which will captivate the reader from beginning to end as Marie-Claire wages her own personal life and death war against TB in the isolated world of the San, far from the battlefields of WW II.
This book is recommended for readers age 12 and up.
This book was borrowed from the Webster Branch of the NYPL
May 14, 2012
Surely movie previews are one of the most heinous inventions ever. Book reviews in a newspaper, magazine, or online are better because they appear in print; and one has control over print. I can read the first bit and the last bit to get a sense of what the reviewer thinks about it. But I like to experience the film or book as it was constructed by the maker, not have bits presented that someone else selects for me.
I mention (p)reviews because I just finished reading Martha Brooks’ Queen of Hearts and had completed reading R. J. Palacio’s Wonder as my immediately previous children’s/YA literature novel. Of course, you have to be brain-dead/reclusive not to know beforehand what topic you’re in for with Wonder, but I had no clue prior to Marie-Claire’s being hospitalized in Queen of Hearts that this would be another kid-with-megaproblem book, so imagine my surprise as I realized I was reading two such books back-to-back. And the more I read of QoH, the more I was struck by the differences in which the two approached their characters’ situations.
When I finished Wonder, I was asked what I thought of it. Okay; pretty good; topic was certainly interesting/can’t find it anywhere else in children’s literature. Now how many Goodreads stars should I give it? Settled on 4. I was informed (since I was unaware) that it was getting rave reviews all over the place. Hmm. Maybe I missed something. Even got a Goodreads comment asking, “You didn’t find it successful? Do tell!”
Now that I have finished QoH—and have talked to the brain trust in the family who really knows children’s literature and just finished Wonder herself—I think I understand more clearly why Wonder didn’t much grab me. Too much messaging that ended up making it come across as too didactic for my taste. I had a very different experience with QoH. A protagonist who is more conflicted—and doesn’t always do the right thing, and isn’t always kind or thinking of others. A not-neatly-tied-up ending (which someone on Goodreads suggested is an excuse for a sequel—but I think not [and hope not!]). That’s not to say that QoH is a great novel. But in the end I found it more satisfying than Wonder and had to ponder why, given the praise for Wonder. Guess I better reconsider the latter as 3 stars.
I mention (p)reviews because I just finished reading Martha Brooks’ Queen of Hearts and had completed reading R. J. Palacio’s Wonder as my immediately previous children’s/YA literature novel. Of course, you have to be brain-dead/reclusive not to know beforehand what topic you’re in for with Wonder, but I had no clue prior to Marie-Claire’s being hospitalized in Queen of Hearts that this would be another kid-with-megaproblem book, so imagine my surprise as I realized I was reading two such books back-to-back. And the more I read of QoH, the more I was struck by the differences in which the two approached their characters’ situations.
When I finished Wonder, I was asked what I thought of it. Okay; pretty good; topic was certainly interesting/can’t find it anywhere else in children’s literature. Now how many Goodreads stars should I give it? Settled on 4. I was informed (since I was unaware) that it was getting rave reviews all over the place. Hmm. Maybe I missed something. Even got a Goodreads comment asking, “You didn’t find it successful? Do tell!”
Now that I have finished QoH—and have talked to the brain trust in the family who really knows children’s literature and just finished Wonder herself—I think I understand more clearly why Wonder didn’t much grab me. Too much messaging that ended up making it come across as too didactic for my taste. I had a very different experience with QoH. A protagonist who is more conflicted—and doesn’t always do the right thing, and isn’t always kind or thinking of others. A not-neatly-tied-up ending (which someone on Goodreads suggested is an excuse for a sequel—but I think not [and hope not!]). That’s not to say that QoH is a great novel. But in the end I found it more satisfying than Wonder and had to ponder why, given the praise for Wonder. Guess I better reconsider the latter as 3 stars.
December 20, 2011
Fifteen-year-old Marie-Claire Cote and her two siblings watch in horror as their beloved vagabond uncle contracts and then dies from tuberculosis. Then all three children in the Manitoba farm also are diagnosed with TB and moved to a nearby sanitorium where they are expected to rest and recover. The author describes vividly the uncertainty associated with the disease and its sufferers as well as the various treatments used to help the patients regain their health. The passages detailing how they were pulled onto the balconies outside their rooms, wrapped up warmly, and then left to sleep outside in the icy air made me shiver. Since the book begins during the Summer of 1940 and concludes during the Christmas of 1942, the backdrop of the events of WWII and the deaths of several young neighbors who had enlisted adds to the uncertainty. While the road to recovery is long and tedious, it isn't certain that everyone who suffers from TB will get well. The author provides a romantic interest for Marie-Claire in the form of the musically talented Jack and a friend in the form of Signy whose parents shower her with gifts but their own presence. I especially appreciated the author's efforts to show the division between economic classes and Marie-Claire's internal battles with her own best nature vs. her selfishness and need to distance herself from those who might die from the disease. The Author's Note at the beginning of the book describing her own experiences growing up in Manitoba and the fact that two million individuals die each year from TB added to my appreciation for this book.
Read
November 14, 2011Marie-Claire Cote, 15, grows up on a property not far from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Manitoba, Canada, in the 1940s. Being in close proximity to the TB facility makes everyone in the community very aware of this highly contagious disease. When Oncle Gerard returns to the Cote farm and is diagnosed with TB, the family is able to recognize the first symptoms of tuberculosis as they begin to present in the Cote children.
Eleven-year-old Luc is the first to become ill, then Marie-Claire, and finally Josee, age five. All three children are immediately consigned to the Sanatorium. An unwilling patient, Marie-Claire resists life in the “San.” When Luc dies and Josee recovers, Marie-Claire realizes she must change her attitude in order to help fight her way back to a normal life. She grudgingly accepts her roommate Signy’s overtures of friendship and even manages to find a boyfriend.
This coming of age story is memorable for its emotional honesty and lack of sentimentality.
Brooks writes convincingly of the confined, tedious routine of a TB patient. Brooks grew up in a sanatorium; her father was the medical superintendent. She doesn’t shy away from discussing “survivor’s guilt,” or the themes of death, dying, and the meaning of friendship.
Eleven-year-old Luc is the first to become ill, then Marie-Claire, and finally Josee, age five. All three children are immediately consigned to the Sanatorium. An unwilling patient, Marie-Claire resists life in the “San.” When Luc dies and Josee recovers, Marie-Claire realizes she must change her attitude in order to help fight her way back to a normal life. She grudgingly accepts her roommate Signy’s overtures of friendship and even manages to find a boyfriend.
This coming of age story is memorable for its emotional honesty and lack of sentimentality.
Brooks writes convincingly of the confined, tedious routine of a TB patient. Brooks grew up in a sanatorium; her father was the medical superintendent. She doesn’t shy away from discussing “survivor’s guilt,” or the themes of death, dying, and the meaning of friendship.
May 2, 2012
I picked up this Young Adult novel because right now I'm interested in tuberculosis sanatoriums. These buildings -- often huge, creepy, isolated structures with large wrought iron balconies -- still dot the landscape. Less than one hundred years ago, many people spent months to years of their lives in these isolated communities, "chasing the cure" since no medicine had yet been discovered (until end of WWII). Tuberculosis patients were separated from their families and forced to rest until (hopefully) the lesions in their lungs, diagnosed by x-ray, disappeared.
The author of this book grew up on the grounds of a sanatorium in Winnipeg, Canada, and (obviously) turned that experience into this novel. The writing wasn't notable, neither particularly good or particularly bad. I wasn't crazy about the main character, though at least she and her relationship to roommate Signy are interesting. However, I enjoyed the novel for its novelty (ha!): it's interesting to hear about the sanatorium culture and to consider what it would be like to be a teenager there, dealing with regular teen relationship issues (parents, siblings, friends, romance) alongside a bizarre life-and-death fight fought lying still.
I didn't understand the ending.
The author of this book grew up on the grounds of a sanatorium in Winnipeg, Canada, and (obviously) turned that experience into this novel. The writing wasn't notable, neither particularly good or particularly bad. I wasn't crazy about the main character, though at least she and her relationship to roommate Signy are interesting. However, I enjoyed the novel for its novelty (ha!): it's interesting to hear about the sanatorium culture and to consider what it would be like to be a teenager there, dealing with regular teen relationship issues (parents, siblings, friends, romance) alongside a bizarre life-and-death fight fought lying still.
I didn't understand the ending.
July 30, 2011
I received this book from Good Reads First Reads---- thank you.
Although I believe this coming of age story about a young girl confined to a tb sanitarium is written as a YA novel, it would certainly appeal to adults as well. Marie-Claire and her two siblings all test positive for tb after prolonged exposure to her infected uncle, and in the early World War II years, that meant confinement in an institution. Treatment ranged from keeping the patients outside on the balcony overnite, even in cold weather, to purposefully collapsing a lung, to rest it in hopes of recovery. Her roomate pulls her through the worst of her experiences, but must eventually be left behind as Marie-Claire begins to recover. A story of loss, teenage angst and the meaning of friendship, told from a very interesting perspective.
Although I believe this coming of age story about a young girl confined to a tb sanitarium is written as a YA novel, it would certainly appeal to adults as well. Marie-Claire and her two siblings all test positive for tb after prolonged exposure to her infected uncle, and in the early World War II years, that meant confinement in an institution. Treatment ranged from keeping the patients outside on the balcony overnite, even in cold weather, to purposefully collapsing a lung, to rest it in hopes of recovery. Her roomate pulls her through the worst of her experiences, but must eventually be left behind as Marie-Claire begins to recover. A story of loss, teenage angst and the meaning of friendship, told from a very interesting perspective.
January 11, 2013
I think that this book was pretty good. The main character was a 16 year old girl named Marie Claire. This book is set in 1940s during WWII. She was very selfish and didn't care about the consequences. The lesson that she learned throuhout the was that she needed to care more about others and less about herself. Also, that she needed to take more responsibility for her actions. Finallly, at the end of the book she learns that lesson the hard way. She has to go through a lot of pain to realized that she has to change."It's the second week of December, 1941, and my world as a normal person has just ended." This qoute shows her transition from average teenage girl to a mature adult.
March 17, 2013
I found this book very touching. This is a story of a girl and her family loving during WWII in Canada. The main character (Marie-Claire) gets tuberculosis along with her two siblings. I wouldn't recommend this to people who cry very easily because ot os a very sad book. I really enjoyed how Marie-Claire went from being really stubborn and powerful to being caring and sympathetic. I really liked how she learned that friendship is very important.
December 9, 2013
This book was pretty boring. It wasn't just boring but it was also a little confusing. It was about a girl who suffered from TB. I felt like there was way to much going on where the reader couldn't follow at all. The book was short and went by really fast but when someone dies, the author makes it not seem real. Unlike in other books I've read when people die, I usually cry. In this one, I felt no emotions whatsoever.
February 26, 2012
It seems as if everyone liked this book more than I did. I never really connected with the main character, Marie Claire, who was boring bitter jerk for most of the book. Because of this, I didn't emotionally share in her losses and gains. The setting was somewhat interesting as I've never read about a TB hospital before. I was just expecting more, all around.
December 9, 2013
I didnt like the ending to this book it was a little confusing. Otheerwise I relly liked this book.
November 5, 2011
30 October 2011 QUEEN OF HEARTS by Martha Brooks, Farrar Straus and Giroux, August 2011, 214p., ISBN: 978-0-374-34985-1
"Sister Therese, walking by my desk with her yardstick, pokes me awake on several occasions throughout the fall and early winter. One December day she keeps me after school. She stretches her long legs in front of her, her cracked black shoes showing below her long black skirts. Sister Therese and I love and hate each other in equal measures.
"Today I love her. I wasn't looking forward to walking home through the snow and then going directly to the barn, so I'm happy for this delay. My hands, like her shoes, are cracked--and red. My nose drips.
"Because we're alone she can let down her guard. She has an orange in her pocket, which she pulls out and slowly peels. She offers me half. I haven't seen an orange since last Christmas. Every winter the nuns are sent a crate of them from somewhere.
"I quietly eat my half of the orange while she eats hers.
"'You used to be a gifted student, Marie-Claire,' she says at last. She uses words like that when we are alone, too.
"I shrug.
"What's wrong with you this year? Why are you always sleeping in class?'
"'I don't know.'
"'You don't sleep at night?'
"The smell of orange fills the dusty classroom.
"'Perhaps you are missing Yvette,' she says, with the tiniest sniff of disapproval.
"Yvette LaBossiere, who got pregnant just as Maman predicted, was sent to live with her aunt in Winnipeg in the early fall. One day she was here, the next she was gone. She could at least have said goodbye to me, but she didn't. So much for our friendship.
"I shrug again. I have another cold, and these days I never feel well. This, more than anything, makes me sorry for myself. What can I tell her? It would only sound like complaining, and I'm too proud to complain."
QUEEN OF HEARTS is the coming-of-age story of Marie-Claire Cote who, at the dawn of WWII, is an adolescent growing up on her family's farm outside of the village of St. Felix, Manitoba. The farm is across the valley from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium.
QUEEN OF HEARTS begins late in the spring of 1940, with Marie-Claire's charming paternal uncle unexpectedly showing up at the farm for an extended visit. Oncle Gerard has been off, in the waning days of the Great Depression, living a rough hobo life. By early fall Gerard has fallen seriously ill and has been diagnosed with TB. Due to overcrowding at the sanatorium, he continues to live with Marie-Claire's family until a bed eventually becomes available.
After entering the sanatorium, Gerard succumbs to the disease and, by the end of the following autumn, Marie-Claire, her brother Luc, and her little sister Josee, are all diagnosed with TB and brought to live at the sanatorium. It is there that Marie-Claire will find first love and learn about true friendship.
"It was not until 1946 with the development of the antibiotic streptomycin that effective treatment and cure became possible. Prior to the introduction of this drug, the only treatment besides sanatoria were surgical interventions, including the pneumothorax technique -- collapsing an infected lung to 'rest' it and allow lesions to heal -- a technique that was of little benefit and was largely discontinued by the early 1950s."
-- from the Wikipedia article on Tuberculosis
What a difference a decade and a drug can make! Thanks to streptomycin, there was a world of difference between author Martha Brooks's childhood (She was born in '44.) and mine (I was born in '55.). Ms. Brooks grew up on the grounds of a tuberculosis sanatorium in Manitoba, where her father was a thoracic surgeon, her mother was a nurse, and people young and old quite often died from TB. For me, "consumption" was something I learned about from reading Dickens; as far as I know, I've never in my life even crossed paths with a person with an active case of tuberculosis.
"Patients trapped in their beds. Pulled out of their warm rooms and onto a long frozen balcony. As for me, I can't turn onto my stomach like I'm used to doing. I'm stuck on my back, afraid to move, afraid of bringing frost inside the covers.
"I miss having my warm little sister in bed beside me. I miss her soft breathing. Where is she tonight? What happens if she has to pee? What if she wets her bed? Who will hear and help her if she's crying and afraid?"
Now, after a morning of reading QUEEN OF HEARTS, I've experienced life in a 1940s TB sanatorium. Martha Brooks, through her attention to detail, transports readers to a faraway past, giving us a keen sense of the era and the region in which the story is set. She also gives us a real feel for her characters.
As we learn from Marie-Claire's young roommate Signy, those who in previous decades suffered from tuberculosis include Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Robert Louis Stevenson, and John Keates. Unfortunately, tuberculosis is an infectious disease that continues to affect millions worldwide, with drug-resistant strains challenging scientists to keep up. The Wikipedia article refers to almost 10 million new cases of tuberculosis and nearly 2 million related deaths in a recent year, mostly in developing countries. While rare here, TB is a disease that can still be contracted in America. After reading this memorable sweet-sixteen-in-a-sanatorium story, I readily see why each time I've begun a job that involved working with children, one of the pre-employment legal requirements has been a TB screening test.
Richie Partington, MLIS
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"Sister Therese, walking by my desk with her yardstick, pokes me awake on several occasions throughout the fall and early winter. One December day she keeps me after school. She stretches her long legs in front of her, her cracked black shoes showing below her long black skirts. Sister Therese and I love and hate each other in equal measures.
"Today I love her. I wasn't looking forward to walking home through the snow and then going directly to the barn, so I'm happy for this delay. My hands, like her shoes, are cracked--and red. My nose drips.
"Because we're alone she can let down her guard. She has an orange in her pocket, which she pulls out and slowly peels. She offers me half. I haven't seen an orange since last Christmas. Every winter the nuns are sent a crate of them from somewhere.
"I quietly eat my half of the orange while she eats hers.
"'You used to be a gifted student, Marie-Claire,' she says at last. She uses words like that when we are alone, too.
"I shrug.
"What's wrong with you this year? Why are you always sleeping in class?'
"'I don't know.'
"'You don't sleep at night?'
"The smell of orange fills the dusty classroom.
"'Perhaps you are missing Yvette,' she says, with the tiniest sniff of disapproval.
"Yvette LaBossiere, who got pregnant just as Maman predicted, was sent to live with her aunt in Winnipeg in the early fall. One day she was here, the next she was gone. She could at least have said goodbye to me, but she didn't. So much for our friendship.
"I shrug again. I have another cold, and these days I never feel well. This, more than anything, makes me sorry for myself. What can I tell her? It would only sound like complaining, and I'm too proud to complain."
QUEEN OF HEARTS is the coming-of-age story of Marie-Claire Cote who, at the dawn of WWII, is an adolescent growing up on her family's farm outside of the village of St. Felix, Manitoba. The farm is across the valley from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium.
QUEEN OF HEARTS begins late in the spring of 1940, with Marie-Claire's charming paternal uncle unexpectedly showing up at the farm for an extended visit. Oncle Gerard has been off, in the waning days of the Great Depression, living a rough hobo life. By early fall Gerard has fallen seriously ill and has been diagnosed with TB. Due to overcrowding at the sanatorium, he continues to live with Marie-Claire's family until a bed eventually becomes available.
After entering the sanatorium, Gerard succumbs to the disease and, by the end of the following autumn, Marie-Claire, her brother Luc, and her little sister Josee, are all diagnosed with TB and brought to live at the sanatorium. It is there that Marie-Claire will find first love and learn about true friendship.
"It was not until 1946 with the development of the antibiotic streptomycin that effective treatment and cure became possible. Prior to the introduction of this drug, the only treatment besides sanatoria were surgical interventions, including the pneumothorax technique -- collapsing an infected lung to 'rest' it and allow lesions to heal -- a technique that was of little benefit and was largely discontinued by the early 1950s."
-- from the Wikipedia article on Tuberculosis
What a difference a decade and a drug can make! Thanks to streptomycin, there was a world of difference between author Martha Brooks's childhood (She was born in '44.) and mine (I was born in '55.). Ms. Brooks grew up on the grounds of a tuberculosis sanatorium in Manitoba, where her father was a thoracic surgeon, her mother was a nurse, and people young and old quite often died from TB. For me, "consumption" was something I learned about from reading Dickens; as far as I know, I've never in my life even crossed paths with a person with an active case of tuberculosis.
"Patients trapped in their beds. Pulled out of their warm rooms and onto a long frozen balcony. As for me, I can't turn onto my stomach like I'm used to doing. I'm stuck on my back, afraid to move, afraid of bringing frost inside the covers.
"I miss having my warm little sister in bed beside me. I miss her soft breathing. Where is she tonight? What happens if she has to pee? What if she wets her bed? Who will hear and help her if she's crying and afraid?"
Now, after a morning of reading QUEEN OF HEARTS, I've experienced life in a 1940s TB sanatorium. Martha Brooks, through her attention to detail, transports readers to a faraway past, giving us a keen sense of the era and the region in which the story is set. She also gives us a real feel for her characters.
As we learn from Marie-Claire's young roommate Signy, those who in previous decades suffered from tuberculosis include Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Robert Louis Stevenson, and John Keates. Unfortunately, tuberculosis is an infectious disease that continues to affect millions worldwide, with drug-resistant strains challenging scientists to keep up. The Wikipedia article refers to almost 10 million new cases of tuberculosis and nearly 2 million related deaths in a recent year, mostly in developing countries. While rare here, TB is a disease that can still be contracted in America. After reading this memorable sweet-sixteen-in-a-sanatorium story, I readily see why each time I've begun a job that involved working with children, one of the pre-employment legal requirements has been a TB screening test.
Richie Partington, MLIS
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March 2, 2018
I thought this was an interesting book. I have never read a book about TB and the effects it had on people during and around WWII. I loved how it was set in Canda. I don't read too many books set around Canda. I thought Marie was a good character sometimes. She did get a bit annoying from time to time, but I liked how she slowly developed. I like the little romance that happens towards the middle. I thought it was a very fast-paced book, but I did not like the ending. I thought it did not end well. It was very sudden with no real conclusion.
October 13, 2011
In the summer of 1940, Marie-Claire’s life changes forever when her Oncle Gerard comes to live with her family. He entertains his nieces and nephew with stories of the shadow man, despite the fact that he is getting sick. When her uncle is diagnosed with tuberculosis, he is sent to a near by sanatorium where he lives throughout his final days. After his death, Marie-Claire goes on with life as normally as she can, filling her time working on the family farm and even going to a dance with a soldier. When Marie-Claire and her younger brother and sister are diagnosed with TB, they are all sent to the sanatorium where their uncle died a year earlier. Marie-Claire is angry with her parents, with God and even with her cheerful roommate, Signy. As Marie-Claire “chases the cure,” she wonders if she will ever be able to live a normal life again. As she grows up while fighting TB in a sanatorium, Marie-Claire learns about love, loss and friendship.
I was interested in this book because my Great-Grandfather died of TB in a sanatorium in Ontario, Canada in the early 1920s. In Queen of Hearts, Marie-Claire and her family are sent to a sanatorium in Manitoba, Canada. Since I knew fairly little about the treatment of TB, I thought I’d give this book a try. At first, I thought the writing was a bit coarse and hard to get used to. There was little build up to Oncle Gerard, and then Marie-Claire, contracting TB, and I wish we had seen more of Marie-Claire’s life before she was sent to the sanatorium. Things picked up when we are introduced to Signy, Marie-Claire’s roommate in the hospital. In many ways, the two girls are opposites. Marie-Claire is a hardworking farm girl, and Signy is an upper class city girl. While Marie-Claire is openly angry about her situation, Signy does her best to put on a cheerful face. Signy was a great character and my heart really went out to her. While sometimes I was frustrated with Marie-Claire, but I liked how she was headstrong and how she dealt with her losses much better than I ever would have. I think this book’s strongest asset was its emotional effect. Although it was sad, I was still able to enjoy it and feel like there was hope in the end. As a piece of historical fiction, I think Brooks did a very good job of showing life in the sanatoriums and how not only the poor were touched by TB. Set during World War II, I liked how the novel showed a girl going through a different kind of war at home. It was a short and fairly simple novel, but it managed to portray a realistic and poignant story about a part of history that is some times overlooked.
Overall, Queen of Hearts provided an in-depth look into a part of Canadian history that I knew fairly little about. It was definitely worth reading, and although there were some flaws, it was a memorable coming of age story set in a tuberculosis sanatorium.
3.5/5
I was interested in this book because my Great-Grandfather died of TB in a sanatorium in Ontario, Canada in the early 1920s. In Queen of Hearts, Marie-Claire and her family are sent to a sanatorium in Manitoba, Canada. Since I knew fairly little about the treatment of TB, I thought I’d give this book a try. At first, I thought the writing was a bit coarse and hard to get used to. There was little build up to Oncle Gerard, and then Marie-Claire, contracting TB, and I wish we had seen more of Marie-Claire’s life before she was sent to the sanatorium. Things picked up when we are introduced to Signy, Marie-Claire’s roommate in the hospital. In many ways, the two girls are opposites. Marie-Claire is a hardworking farm girl, and Signy is an upper class city girl. While Marie-Claire is openly angry about her situation, Signy does her best to put on a cheerful face. Signy was a great character and my heart really went out to her. While sometimes I was frustrated with Marie-Claire, but I liked how she was headstrong and how she dealt with her losses much better than I ever would have. I think this book’s strongest asset was its emotional effect. Although it was sad, I was still able to enjoy it and feel like there was hope in the end. As a piece of historical fiction, I think Brooks did a very good job of showing life in the sanatoriums and how not only the poor were touched by TB. Set during World War II, I liked how the novel showed a girl going through a different kind of war at home. It was a short and fairly simple novel, but it managed to portray a realistic and poignant story about a part of history that is some times overlooked.
Overall, Queen of Hearts provided an in-depth look into a part of Canadian history that I knew fairly little about. It was definitely worth reading, and although there were some flaws, it was a memorable coming of age story set in a tuberculosis sanatorium.
3.5/5
July 7, 2014
RATING- 1.5 STARS
I gave up on this book.
I usually try my best not to do just that-- I will cry and take breaks and do push-ups if I have to, but once I start a book, I will finish the goddamn book.
Not this time.
I actually learnt of this book through Goodreads itself, and the premise seemed fascinating-- fascinating enough for me to put it on hold at the library and then wait for a week until it was in my hands. I started QoH with high expectations--expectations that were quickly diminished after the first chapter. Yet still, I struggled on until the introduction of Jack Hawkings as a love interest--I couldn't take it anymore after that.
Here are some reasons why I disliked this book-
a.) Marie-Claire is a right lil bitch. Throughout the book she's bitter, prideful and has such an awful sense of entitlement-- and I wouldn't mind this if it was treated as a flaw. It wasn't. Despite Marie-Claire's bitchiness, she's still regarded as perfect. Sure, she did some foolish things, but her remorse doesn't seem genuine, and she just keeps on feeling bitter and sorry for herself and also very sassy and sarcastic. There is no introspection done at all in the book--No self-evaluation, not even any legitimate recognization of her own flaws and traits. I always feel like a good trait of any main character is the ability to look within themselves. Marie-Claire does nothing but bitch on everyone, and when she's not doing that, she's crying about her little brother. This is the only genuine thing that comes from her, but despite this, I didn't feel an ounce of remorse.
b.) I'm really sick of unnecessary YA romance thrown in just for the heck of it. Deliberate, well thought out romance, I love. Take Eleanor and Park, for example-- that book remains one of my favorites and tore my heart to shreds. However, there is nothing likeable about Marie-Claire, and nothing genuine or relatable about her and Jacks relationship. It feels like their whole relationship was tossed in just to keep the story going. Or because it seems like YA protocol that every novel in the genre must have some half-baked romance in it-- with some exceptions, of course.
c.) The writing was mediocre at best, asinine at worst. It felt like I was muddling through a report. 'Show, don't tell' is something this author needs to work on.
d.) What is the meaning/relevance of the phrase 'queen of hearts'? I feel like I'm missing something here. Why does her uncle call her that? What significance does it have? If it's explained later in the book, please forgive me and ignore this point completely.
Okay, now moving on to the things I did like:
-It's set in Canada, which is cool.
-MC's mom's name is Sylvie, which is my French name. Hell yeah.
I gave up on this book.
I usually try my best not to do just that-- I will cry and take breaks and do push-ups if I have to, but once I start a book, I will finish the goddamn book.
Not this time.
I actually learnt of this book through Goodreads itself, and the premise seemed fascinating-- fascinating enough for me to put it on hold at the library and then wait for a week until it was in my hands. I started QoH with high expectations--expectations that were quickly diminished after the first chapter. Yet still, I struggled on until the introduction of Jack Hawkings as a love interest--I couldn't take it anymore after that.
Here are some reasons why I disliked this book-
a.) Marie-Claire is a right lil bitch. Throughout the book she's bitter, prideful and has such an awful sense of entitlement-- and I wouldn't mind this if it was treated as a flaw. It wasn't. Despite Marie-Claire's bitchiness, she's still regarded as perfect. Sure, she did some foolish things, but her remorse doesn't seem genuine, and she just keeps on feeling bitter and sorry for herself and also very sassy and sarcastic. There is no introspection done at all in the book--No self-evaluation, not even any legitimate recognization of her own flaws and traits. I always feel like a good trait of any main character is the ability to look within themselves. Marie-Claire does nothing but bitch on everyone, and when she's not doing that, she's crying about her little brother. This is the only genuine thing that comes from her, but despite this, I didn't feel an ounce of remorse.
b.) I'm really sick of unnecessary YA romance thrown in just for the heck of it. Deliberate, well thought out romance, I love. Take Eleanor and Park, for example-- that book remains one of my favorites and tore my heart to shreds. However, there is nothing likeable about Marie-Claire, and nothing genuine or relatable about her and Jacks relationship. It feels like their whole relationship was tossed in just to keep the story going. Or because it seems like YA protocol that every novel in the genre must have some half-baked romance in it-- with some exceptions, of course.
c.) The writing was mediocre at best, asinine at worst. It felt like I was muddling through a report. 'Show, don't tell' is something this author needs to work on.
d.) What is the meaning/relevance of the phrase 'queen of hearts'? I feel like I'm missing something here. Why does her uncle call her that? What significance does it have? If it's explained later in the book, please forgive me and ignore this point completely.
Okay, now moving on to the things I did like:
-It's set in Canada, which is cool.
-MC's mom's name is Sylvie, which is my French name. Hell yeah.
February 7, 2012
Reviewed by Brenda Halliday
It is always a pleasure to review a new work by Martha Brooks. Like her earlier novels, Queen of Hearts is lovingly based in Manitoba, but here the author has created the intimate emotional and medical landscape of a TB sanatorium.
Fourteen-year-old Marie-Claire can see the San across the valley from her family’s farmhouse. As the book begins, Marie-Claire welcomes the reappearance of her favourite uncle, Gérard. But Gérard brings the family not only his captivating stories, but tuberculosis, “a hungry wolf that nobody saw coming” — a wolf that will not only kill him, but attack all of the children. Gérard, Marie-Claire, her beloved brother Luc and little sister Josée are sent to the Sanatorium to “chase the cure.” Only two will come home.
The first-person voice of Marie-Claire is that of a not very patient patient. Her grief, her anger at God, her frustration with the rest required for recovery, her courage are vivid. She wants nothing to do with new words like pneumothorax and thoracoplasty. With difficulty, she arrives at a fuller understanding of her family and her complicated friendship with her roommate, Signy. World War II is going on in the outside world; the girls listen to Tommy Dorsey and write to soldiers overseas, but the battle in the Sanatorium is for their own lives.
Although Brooks acknowledges valuable primary sources used in her research, it is her own experience growing up as the daughter of the medical superintendent at the Manitoba Sanatorium that gives her creation of this world such immediacy and poignancy. One feels fully the longing of the patients on the screened balconies, watching life unfold on the lawn below. The San is a unique, contained world of the TB patients and the community who care for them. It is a world in which flying a kite or simply holding a friend’s hand can be as life-giving — and charged — as a kiss from a young musician. The modern teen reader will understand the universal truths: the need to grow, the need to love and be loved.
This novel is a gift that rewards further reading with even greater riches.
Canadian Children's Book News (Fall 2010, Vol. 33, No. 4)
It is always a pleasure to review a new work by Martha Brooks. Like her earlier novels, Queen of Hearts is lovingly based in Manitoba, but here the author has created the intimate emotional and medical landscape of a TB sanatorium.
Fourteen-year-old Marie-Claire can see the San across the valley from her family’s farmhouse. As the book begins, Marie-Claire welcomes the reappearance of her favourite uncle, Gérard. But Gérard brings the family not only his captivating stories, but tuberculosis, “a hungry wolf that nobody saw coming” — a wolf that will not only kill him, but attack all of the children. Gérard, Marie-Claire, her beloved brother Luc and little sister Josée are sent to the Sanatorium to “chase the cure.” Only two will come home.
The first-person voice of Marie-Claire is that of a not very patient patient. Her grief, her anger at God, her frustration with the rest required for recovery, her courage are vivid. She wants nothing to do with new words like pneumothorax and thoracoplasty. With difficulty, she arrives at a fuller understanding of her family and her complicated friendship with her roommate, Signy. World War II is going on in the outside world; the girls listen to Tommy Dorsey and write to soldiers overseas, but the battle in the Sanatorium is for their own lives.
Although Brooks acknowledges valuable primary sources used in her research, it is her own experience growing up as the daughter of the medical superintendent at the Manitoba Sanatorium that gives her creation of this world such immediacy and poignancy. One feels fully the longing of the patients on the screened balconies, watching life unfold on the lawn below. The San is a unique, contained world of the TB patients and the community who care for them. It is a world in which flying a kite or simply holding a friend’s hand can be as life-giving — and charged — as a kiss from a young musician. The modern teen reader will understand the universal truths: the need to grow, the need to love and be loved.
This novel is a gift that rewards further reading with even greater riches.
Canadian Children's Book News (Fall 2010, Vol. 33, No. 4)
February 11, 2012
"In my heart of hearts, I've always wanted a sixteenth birthday party. Yet even though it falls on an apparently special day, winter solstice, I'm not holding my breath - no pun intended.
Sunday again. Six days after me pneumothorax, the great day has at last arrived, finding Signy, the rick city girl, and me, the poor country girl, sitting, as usual, on bedpans.
TB, I'm beginning to discover, is a democratic kind of disease. The only requirement seems to be that you have lungs."
Marie-Claire Cote, 15, lives with her family in Manitoba, Canada - not far from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium. World War II is beginning to intensify, and while Marie-Claie's family is not in any danger from soldiers, TB is a real and present danger. At the beginning of the novel, an uncle arrives at the family's door, gaunt and tired from years on the road. It turns out he is in the final stages of TB, and after his death, Marie-Claire and her two younger siblings also contract the disease. All are admitted to Pembina, and Marie-Claire narrates her story as she worries over her brother and sister, and tries to come to terms with her new life inside the sanatorium's walls. She, her fellow patients and their doctors "chase the cure," and readers learn about a host of treatments that were attempted on TB patients. Marie-Claire is an entirely unsentimental patient, and feels bitter resentment at having her youth cut short by this sick twist of fate. Her story is presented with emotional honesty, and Marie-Claire finds her own definitions of family and friendship.
This novel was reminiscent, for me, of the author's TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A HEARTLESS GIRL, in the way Brooks presents a female character who is not afraid to speak her mind, and clash with those in authority. But in this case, there's very little Marie-Claire can do to change her situation. She's sick, and needs to go through the treatments if she has any hope of leaving the sanatorium. The way Brooks presents her anger and eventual acceptance of her family's reaction to the disease is moving, as is the way Marie-Claire finds her way to friendship, even when that's the last thing she's looking for. A very strong, moving and emotional novel.
Sunday again. Six days after me pneumothorax, the great day has at last arrived, finding Signy, the rick city girl, and me, the poor country girl, sitting, as usual, on bedpans.
TB, I'm beginning to discover, is a democratic kind of disease. The only requirement seems to be that you have lungs."
Marie-Claire Cote, 15, lives with her family in Manitoba, Canada - not far from the Pembina Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium. World War II is beginning to intensify, and while Marie-Claie's family is not in any danger from soldiers, TB is a real and present danger. At the beginning of the novel, an uncle arrives at the family's door, gaunt and tired from years on the road. It turns out he is in the final stages of TB, and after his death, Marie-Claire and her two younger siblings also contract the disease. All are admitted to Pembina, and Marie-Claire narrates her story as she worries over her brother and sister, and tries to come to terms with her new life inside the sanatorium's walls. She, her fellow patients and their doctors "chase the cure," and readers learn about a host of treatments that were attempted on TB patients. Marie-Claire is an entirely unsentimental patient, and feels bitter resentment at having her youth cut short by this sick twist of fate. Her story is presented with emotional honesty, and Marie-Claire finds her own definitions of family and friendship.
This novel was reminiscent, for me, of the author's TRUE CONFESSIONS OF A HEARTLESS GIRL, in the way Brooks presents a female character who is not afraid to speak her mind, and clash with those in authority. But in this case, there's very little Marie-Claire can do to change her situation. She's sick, and needs to go through the treatments if she has any hope of leaving the sanatorium. The way Brooks presents her anger and eventual acceptance of her family's reaction to the disease is moving, as is the way Marie-Claire finds her way to friendship, even when that's the last thing she's looking for. A very strong, moving and emotional novel.
January 25, 2012
While browsing through my library's shelves, I came across this book. I love the title but wasn't completely sold on the idea of WWII happening while the main character lingers in a tuberculosis sanitarium-could that be interesting? It sounded very static. But it is also short, which is sometimes a deciding factor for me.
Actually the sanitarium was rather interesting and where the book picked up for me. Before that it was meandering with Marie-Claire's difficult life. Her family isn't well-off and she works very hard to contribute to their farm along with her brother and sister. Her itinerant uncle comes back to town and soon all three children are infected with tuberculosis; they join their uncle at the local sanitarium, separated by age and gender.
Although Marie-Claire is separated from her family, the sanitarium begins her journey in making a new one of TB survivors including her roommate Signy. Signy has been in the sanitarium for a while without making much progress and is not Marie-Claire's ideal roommate, being rather perky and coming from a wealthy background. However they do have their disease in common and as they spend most of their time in the same room, they are able to bond. Although this part is better, it still didn't have much depth. I wanted more insight in to the characters, richer world-building, and more action.
Although the story is set during WWII, that doesn't play much of a role. The sanitarium is so remote and difficult to access that the news does not impact their lives nor do they hear much about the outside world. The biggest connection is the letters that both girls exchange with soldier boyfriends and even that tapers off as the boys find girls who don't have TB.
Inspired by the author's real-life experience with sanitariums, this is an interesting concept. However I didn't feel much forward progress and I didn't fall in love with any of the characters. This keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending the book unless you are a sucker for medical stories and think the tuberculosis angle sounds intriguing.
Actually the sanitarium was rather interesting and where the book picked up for me. Before that it was meandering with Marie-Claire's difficult life. Her family isn't well-off and she works very hard to contribute to their farm along with her brother and sister. Her itinerant uncle comes back to town and soon all three children are infected with tuberculosis; they join their uncle at the local sanitarium, separated by age and gender.
Although Marie-Claire is separated from her family, the sanitarium begins her journey in making a new one of TB survivors including her roommate Signy. Signy has been in the sanitarium for a while without making much progress and is not Marie-Claire's ideal roommate, being rather perky and coming from a wealthy background. However they do have their disease in common and as they spend most of their time in the same room, they are able to bond. Although this part is better, it still didn't have much depth. I wanted more insight in to the characters, richer world-building, and more action.
Although the story is set during WWII, that doesn't play much of a role. The sanitarium is so remote and difficult to access that the news does not impact their lives nor do they hear much about the outside world. The biggest connection is the letters that both girls exchange with soldier boyfriends and even that tapers off as the boys find girls who don't have TB.
Inspired by the author's real-life experience with sanitariums, this is an interesting concept. However I didn't feel much forward progress and I didn't fall in love with any of the characters. This keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending the book unless you are a sucker for medical stories and think the tuberculosis angle sounds intriguing.
August 13, 2012
I read this book because it has been chosen as a Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher finalist for 2012-2013. It is an historical fiction piece about a young teen-aged girl who is placed in a tuberculosis sanitorium along with her younger brother and sister. I was fascinated by the treatments that occurred, even stopping to look up facts on the Internet, especially that they would have the patients sleep outside, even in the cold. In fact, while reading the book I talked to an old friend who had an uncle who had been sent to a TB sanitorium, and when released he often had to sleep in a cold room with the windows open, even in the winter.
Anyway- I give a lot of credit to Martha Brooks for her research of this book and for portraying what life must have been like in the sanitoriums. My problem with the book, however, was that I grew to dislike Marie-Claire, and at one point toward the middle, found myself not caring whether she lived or died. I hated her attitude and constant complaining and anger, even when others around her sometimes had it worse. I loved Signy, and so wanted to see her make it and wished that her positive outlook would shame Marie-Claire.
I was especially puzzled about her family. Yes, I could see that she was upset that they didn't visit as often as they could, but all she had to do was look at Signy who rarely received visitors, and that should have shut her up. Plus, I just hated the way Marie-Claire was more caring about her brother than her little sister. I admit, I cried when the little sister was brought in at Christmas, but I felt like Marie Claire didn't deserve it. I so wanted someone to just put her in her place and tell her to stop acting like a spoiled brat.
I was glad when finally there was a transformation, but quite frankly, it was too little, too late. I'm giving this book 3 stars because of the research that it must have taken, but really, there is a lot about it that makes me want to make it 2 stars.
Anyway- I give a lot of credit to Martha Brooks for her research of this book and for portraying what life must have been like in the sanitoriums. My problem with the book, however, was that I grew to dislike Marie-Claire, and at one point toward the middle, found myself not caring whether she lived or died. I hated her attitude and constant complaining and anger, even when others around her sometimes had it worse. I loved Signy, and so wanted to see her make it and wished that her positive outlook would shame Marie-Claire.
I was especially puzzled about her family. Yes, I could see that she was upset that they didn't visit as often as they could, but all she had to do was look at Signy who rarely received visitors, and that should have shut her up. Plus, I just hated the way Marie-Claire was more caring about her brother than her little sister. I admit, I cried when the little sister was brought in at Christmas, but I felt like Marie Claire didn't deserve it. I so wanted someone to just put her in her place and tell her to stop acting like a spoiled brat.
I was glad when finally there was a transformation, but quite frankly, it was too little, too late. I'm giving this book 3 stars because of the research that it must have taken, but really, there is a lot about it that makes me want to make it 2 stars.
September 1, 2012
I got this as an ARC at the last ALA convention, midsummer 2012. There was some excellent writing in this but also many poor points too. The ending isn't so clear. Is she still resentful of her father's fear and anger towards her as she sees it? Or is she going back to spend the day with her former lonely roommate whose parents rarely bother to come see her, even though they have the means to do so? This is set during the early days of WWII and the Depression is still in full force in Canada. Marie-Claire has never known anything but privation in her 15 years. But the farm family always had each other and were fiercely close to each other. Her rarely seen uncle comes to visit then eventually contracts TB and is admitted to the local asylum. Marie-Claire and her brother ride the rails to see him shortly before he dies. Several months later all three siblings have TB. The author notes that she grew up on the grounds of a sanitarium and the TB accounts are powerful and seem authoritative. The human side of the story isn't handled as well. Marie-Claire seems to hate the whole world except her family. She blames herself for the kids catching TB and doesn't seem to feel any better when the local chaplain reminds her that he works with TB everyday and hasn't contacted it, pointing out that it is malnourished bodies that are most susceptible to it. The author has lots of potential but needs more practice at her craft I think. My Canadian aunt had TB as a child and survived into her late 90s but never was in robust health. This did give me some idea of what she may have gone through as a child.
Read
November 29, 2011I don’t know when the last time I read a book set in Canada. Honestly, the only thing that comes to mind is Anne of Green Gables. So when these book called to me from the shelf I gladly picked it up.
I felt that the book started a little slowly and that there seemed to be some superfluous information, but it really picked up after a few chapters. I’m really glad that I stuck with it. I didn’t really like Marie-Claire as a protagonist intially; her character kind of confused me. But as her illness progesses and she gets angrier about it, the more I liked her. (Which is a very odd sentence to write.)
I really adored the character Signy. She was my favorite, even though when you first meet her character, she comes off as a little annoying and eager to please. I just loved her, and thought that her character was a great juxaposition to Marie-Claire’s.
The love story was really great too. I loved that it grew and evolved. Ultimately, this book wasn’t so much about an illness, or “chasing the cure” it was about hope and the importance of having people who care for you in your life.
It was a short book, and it was easy for me to get through in an afternoon. It was a great book to start with coming off my reading hiatus.
My only real complaint, is an odd one. I wasn’t crazy about the cover. It’s cute, and goes well with the title, but I didn’t really make a connection with the book itself until near the end. It’s very scene specific. I greatly prefer to paperback edition’s cover
I felt that the book started a little slowly and that there seemed to be some superfluous information, but it really picked up after a few chapters. I’m really glad that I stuck with it. I didn’t really like Marie-Claire as a protagonist intially; her character kind of confused me. But as her illness progesses and she gets angrier about it, the more I liked her. (Which is a very odd sentence to write.)
I really adored the character Signy. She was my favorite, even though when you first meet her character, she comes off as a little annoying and eager to please. I just loved her, and thought that her character was a great juxaposition to Marie-Claire’s.
The love story was really great too. I loved that it grew and evolved. Ultimately, this book wasn’t so much about an illness, or “chasing the cure” it was about hope and the importance of having people who care for you in your life.
It was a short book, and it was easy for me to get through in an afternoon. It was a great book to start with coming off my reading hiatus.
My only real complaint, is an odd one. I wasn’t crazy about the cover. It’s cute, and goes well with the title, but I didn’t really make a connection with the book itself until near the end. It’s very scene specific. I greatly prefer to paperback edition’s cover
July 27, 2011
I truly wanted to love this book -- historical fiction and young adult novels about illness are two of my weaknesses -- but I simply couldn't.
Martha Brooks seems to have forgotten what we all learned in our English classes: show, don't tell. Far too much of this novel reads like a laundry list of events, as if it's meant to speed through every scene with as little description as possible. It was impossible to care about anything that was going on because so much of it was barely touched upon in the interest of keeping things to a paragraph or two. That's true of the characters, too; every one speaks similarly and we never learn much about any besides Marie-Claire beyond straightforward dialog and actions.
It was also disappointing that despite the novel being set in the 1940s, I constantly forgot that it had a time period in mind at all. I don't doubt that it's historically accurate, but the time period has almost no impact on the story and is rarely even alluded to. This may not bother many readers, but for people like me who enjoy historical fiction in part to see the differences in the story's world, it's off-putting.
There are a few glimmers of enjoyment in this novel, though: the emphasis on family relationships and how hardship can challenge them is a lovely theme, and the heroine, while not particularly unique, is quite likable. Unfortunately, they don't make up for the overly blunt and dull writing at all.
Martha Brooks seems to have forgotten what we all learned in our English classes: show, don't tell. Far too much of this novel reads like a laundry list of events, as if it's meant to speed through every scene with as little description as possible. It was impossible to care about anything that was going on because so much of it was barely touched upon in the interest of keeping things to a paragraph or two. That's true of the characters, too; every one speaks similarly and we never learn much about any besides Marie-Claire beyond straightforward dialog and actions.
It was also disappointing that despite the novel being set in the 1940s, I constantly forgot that it had a time period in mind at all. I don't doubt that it's historically accurate, but the time period has almost no impact on the story and is rarely even alluded to. This may not bother many readers, but for people like me who enjoy historical fiction in part to see the differences in the story's world, it's off-putting.
There are a few glimmers of enjoyment in this novel, though: the emphasis on family relationships and how hardship can challenge them is a lovely theme, and the heroine, while not particularly unique, is quite likable. Unfortunately, they don't make up for the overly blunt and dull writing at all.
February 15, 2016
Wow. Just... wow.
So very deserving of five stars. I read the majority of this book in one sitting, which I don't have much occasion to do these days. This book is so worth every minute spent reading it. So much of what I love about this book contains copious amounts of spoilers, but I will attempt to restrain myself.
I was drawn to Marie-Claire from the first page. Her quest early on in the book to visit her sick uncle is just the first omen of the sadness to come. After his death, Marie-Claire herself is admitted to the sanatorium for an indefinite amount of time. While she's there, the world keeps on turning. Her family continues on with their lives, the war progresses onward, and other young people kiss and fall in love. She is stuck in a Tuberculosis bubble from which there (at the time) is no escaping. Only bed rest, a collapsed lung, and copious amounts of milk (no jokes) could help her "chase the cure".
I found myself cheering Marie-Claire on through all the hardship and longing and love and loss, as if by sheer wishing I could cure her and all her friends of TB. I fell in love with every single character in this book. And I honestly hated having to put it down when I was done. I wish it was longer. I mean, come on, who only spends 211 pages on a story this compelling? Please, please, please give this book a chance, because I know you'll love it too.
So very deserving of five stars. I read the majority of this book in one sitting, which I don't have much occasion to do these days. This book is so worth every minute spent reading it. So much of what I love about this book contains copious amounts of spoilers, but I will attempt to restrain myself.
I was drawn to Marie-Claire from the first page. Her quest early on in the book to visit her sick uncle is just the first omen of the sadness to come. After his death, Marie-Claire herself is admitted to the sanatorium for an indefinite amount of time. While she's there, the world keeps on turning. Her family continues on with their lives, the war progresses onward, and other young people kiss and fall in love. She is stuck in a Tuberculosis bubble from which there (at the time) is no escaping. Only bed rest, a collapsed lung, and copious amounts of milk (no jokes) could help her "chase the cure".
I found myself cheering Marie-Claire on through all the hardship and longing and love and loss, as if by sheer wishing I could cure her and all her friends of TB. I fell in love with every single character in this book. And I honestly hated having to put it down when I was done. I wish it was longer. I mean, come on, who only spends 211 pages on a story this compelling? Please, please, please give this book a chance, because I know you'll love it too.
August 7, 2011
Martha Brooks, the author of Queen of Hearts, grew up on the grounds of a tuberculosis sanatorium in Manitoba, Canada. Her father was a surgeon and her mother a nurse. As a child she would ride her bikes past the patients' balcony and they would call out to her, asking for a chat. She was lonely and they missed their families, so this was the perfect arrangement.
This description that you will find in the author's note as well as the fact that disease still kills more than two million people annually drew me to read this book. I loved the detailed description of life in a tuberculosis sanatorium.
The time frame for the story is during World War II. So, in addition to facing tuberculosis, many patients are losing friends and loved ones overseas. A theme is that people die for no good reason and that bad things happen and will keep happening. But the message is that the sadness and madness of the world doesn't diminish moments of kindness, fun, and beauty but instead makes these even more precious.
The ending felt a bit abrupt. Is this a set up to a sequel? Some of the dialogue, in my opinion, needed development. Still, the characters were captivating, Both adult and young adult lovers of historical fiction will enjoy this book.
This description that you will find in the author's note as well as the fact that disease still kills more than two million people annually drew me to read this book. I loved the detailed description of life in a tuberculosis sanatorium.
The time frame for the story is during World War II. So, in addition to facing tuberculosis, many patients are losing friends and loved ones overseas. A theme is that people die for no good reason and that bad things happen and will keep happening. But the message is that the sadness and madness of the world doesn't diminish moments of kindness, fun, and beauty but instead makes these even more precious.
The ending felt a bit abrupt. Is this a set up to a sequel? Some of the dialogue, in my opinion, needed development. Still, the characters were captivating, Both adult and young adult lovers of historical fiction will enjoy this book.
January 27, 2016
Marie-Claire, living on the prarie in Canada at the beginning of World War II, doesn't expect live to be easy. She works hard at her chores around the farm, she knows boys are going off to war. Even at 15, she is aware that life will exact a price from you. She never could've imagined, though, how high that price would be. When she contracts tuberculosis, Marie-Claire has move into a sanatorium for TB patients. Her life shudders to a crawl as she painfully works through the disease as well as her own anger and frustration at this card that life has dealt to her.
I REALLY liked this book. I liked Marie-Claire - she felt painfully real and I shared her misery and her glimpses of happiness. The setting itself was so unique, I'm embarrassed to admit that I had no idea that such sanatoriums existed - where before antibiotics were available to treat TB, people would spend YEARS of their life in seclusion, trying to overcome this horrible disease. I actually even cried tears at one point in this story, it's that carefully and beautifully written. The love story felt believable and realistic. I'm giving it five stars mostly because it took me by the hand into a place I've never been and gave me a realistic and interesting journey.
I REALLY liked this book. I liked Marie-Claire - she felt painfully real and I shared her misery and her glimpses of happiness. The setting itself was so unique, I'm embarrassed to admit that I had no idea that such sanatoriums existed - where before antibiotics were available to treat TB, people would spend YEARS of their life in seclusion, trying to overcome this horrible disease. I actually even cried tears at one point in this story, it's that carefully and beautifully written. The love story felt believable and realistic. I'm giving it five stars mostly because it took me by the hand into a place I've never been and gave me a realistic and interesting journey.
November 18, 2011
A very, very interesting book. Just before her sixteenth birthday in the 1940s, Marie-Claire of Manitoba, Canada, and her younger sister and brother are all diagnosed with TB (contracted from a sick uncle who lived with them) and put in a sanitorium. For the next year, with WWII raging in the outside world, Marie-Claire comes of age from her hospital bed as she "chases the cure" while struggling with questions of life, faith, romance, and her fear that it's her fault that her little brother and sister got ill. Descriptions of TB treatments are pretty fascinating, from purposely collapsing one lung at a time to allow it to "rest" to the practice of putting all but the sickest patients outside to sleep and take the air, even in the coldest nights of the Canadian winter. And there's a reason they called it "chasing the cure"--before antibiotics, it took FOREVER!!! The book follows Marie-Claire for one year from her admission to the "san," but she meets people who've been there for five, ten, even twenty years. A good choice for historical fiction fans and science lovers with all the medical stuff.
January 29, 2012
Marie-Claire faces danger during World War II in Canada, not from soldiers, but from tuberculosis. Her wild uncle, gaunt and tired of the road, comes to live with his brother’s family, sleeping with her little brother Luc, and spending lots of time with the three children. It becomes apparent that he is suffering from TB, and in its final stages. All the children are casually diagnosed with respiratory problems, but that diagnosis changes is wrong. Luc is the worse. Rather than supporting and visiting their children at the nearby sanatorium, her parents seldom come, and their father cannot even enter. But he does come when Luc is dying. Marie-Claire, a little mother hen, worries so much about her siblings that the staff have to work hard with her to submit to rest and treatment. The most interesting treatment was bundling the patients and putting them on cold sleeping balconies in the night air. Marie-Claire’s emotional journey through TB is the diamond of this story. Her understanding of her family, particularly her father, and her lack of resentment for catching the disease from her uncle make elevating reading. This is truly a work of art.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2011
new book by martha brooks takes place in a TB sanatorium!! i've been fascinated with these places since reading "the world below" by sue miller. also my favorite book by brooks, two moons in august, takes place near a TB san in manitoba that's no longer used as much. queen of hearts flashes back to world war II, when TB sanatoriums had wait lists to get in.
marie-claire, her younger brother luc, and her younger sister josée all catch tuberculosis from their oncle gerard, who stayed with him when he didn't realize he was carrying the disease. the three are sent to a sanatorium to rest and "chase the cure" which involves, for marie-claire, having a collapsed lung. marie-claire develops an odd but ultimately genuine friendship with her roommate, signy, and even begins a romance with a fellow patient. but it's a long tedious process, getting well, and not everyone does.
this is a slow-paced beautifully written book with a rich historical setting. recommended for people who like that sort of thing.
marie-claire, her younger brother luc, and her younger sister josée all catch tuberculosis from their oncle gerard, who stayed with him when he didn't realize he was carrying the disease. the three are sent to a sanatorium to rest and "chase the cure" which involves, for marie-claire, having a collapsed lung. marie-claire develops an odd but ultimately genuine friendship with her roommate, signy, and even begins a romance with a fellow patient. but it's a long tedious process, getting well, and not everyone does.
this is a slow-paced beautifully written book with a rich historical setting. recommended for people who like that sort of thing.
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