YA Review: Amanda/Miranda, by Richard Peck

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I will admit to being a little mystified here. It appears that this book was originally published (in 1980) as a much longer adult novel. I had been expecting middle-grade, but at the youngest I would call this YA, given a fair number of rather adult incidents, not to mention a morally ambiguous resolution. The version I got was "updated in time for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic," a central event in the book.

 

 

Title: Amanda/Miranda
Author: Richard Peck
Publication Info: Abridged edition 1999 by Dial Books for Young Readers; Kindle edition by Speak, 2001. 176 pages.

Publisher's Blurb:
This updated edition of the popular Richard Peck novel, available in time to commemorate the anniversary of the Titanic's fateful voyage in 1912, starts with a chilling prophecy. When Miranda begins her position as maid-servant to the glamorous and selfish Amanda Whitwell, Amanda wastes no time in using Miranda to suit her own cruel purposes. Miranda becomes the lynchpin to a plot that Amanda devises to marry an American who can maintain her lavish lifestyle, but also keeps the rogue she loves close at hand. However, destiny intervenes, and they board the ill-fated Titanic. This story has all of the romance, glamour, intrigue, and tragedy of the Titanic but ends, satisfyingly, with redemption and forgiveness.

My Review:
A few weeks ago I reviewed Peck's Strays Like Us, and dinged it for lacking the humor and warmth that characterizes Peck's more popular novels. I'll make the same criticism of this one, along with a few demerits for some unlikely plotting,* and then say it: I enjoyed it a lot, even when a bit aggravated at Miranda for her blindness about what's going on. 

Would I care to read the fully adult 400-page version that was published in 1980? Probably not. From reviews of that version, much of what was removed was description and distraction. I wonder if Peck wanted to revise it, not just to make it more appropriate for his by-then established reader range, but because it needed some hard editing. As presented now, the story is pretty tight and all the important bits seem to be there (with maybe a couple of vestigial subplots that don't have quite enough left of them to stand up).

To be honest, the only part of this that felt like YA (as opposed to adult), aside from the age of the two main characters, is the fairly flat presentation of Amanda Whitwell, who appears to have few if any redeeming features. Or maybe the social-commentary parts do, too. Peck does nicely portray a lot of the less appealing aspects of life in the first decade of the 20th Century, including the sort of life-and-death power a mistress held over her maid.

*Two unrelated people who look so alike that people can't tell them apart? A nice plot device but I don't really believe in it. And they appear to be pretty interchangeable to the men in their lives, too.

My Recommendation:

Far from the best of Peck’s work, and I had a pretty good idea how it would all turn out, but it is an engaging read anyway.

 

FTC Disclosure: I checked Amanda/Miranda out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  


 

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2024
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Comments

  1. Natalie AguirreJanuary 30, 2024 at 8:58 AM

    I'm glad you sort of enjoyed this one. It doesn't sound like a first Robert Peck book for me to read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassJanuary 30, 2024 at 10:36 AM

      No, I'll continue to recommend "A Long Way from Chicago" and sequels.

      Delete
  2. Jemima PettJanuary 30, 2024 at 9:02 AM

    It sounds like you are coming across recently wirtten/published books that are listing themselves as something we would not have done when we were writing middle grade. I used to be relatively confident of MG - upper MG and YA, but it seems people these days have a different idea of what is suitable and what is not. Blurred lines is one thing, but distorting the standards for 12-16 year olds is not good. I suppose we have Hunger Games to thank for it...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca M. DouglassJanuary 30, 2024 at 10:37 AM

      This is an old book, and even the revision is old--1999. I'm actually wondering if it was really published/republished as YA, or if I just assumed that everything he wrote was MG or YA.

      Delete

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