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A review by petermcdade
The Magnetic Girl by Jessica Handler
5.0
I love history, which may be why so much historical fiction fails to work for me. I get caught up in some small detail that feels off, and get pulled away from the world of the novel. That didn't happen once in _The Magnetic Girl_; the time period feels so right that I was instantly immersed in 1880s Georgia, and never drifted away.
And that meant my attention could be devoted to the characters, which is the reason I read fiction. Lulu is a fully realized character, as are her family, friends, rivals, and "marks." Best of all, this story about very specific people doing very specific things offers universal insights; it turns out there have always been people desperate to believe things they must know cannot be true.
And that meant my attention could be devoted to the characters, which is the reason I read fiction. Lulu is a fully realized character, as are her family, friends, rivals, and "marks." Best of all, this story about very specific people doing very specific things offers universal insights; it turns out there have always been people desperate to believe things they must know cannot be true.