All My Noble Dreams and Then What Happens

Set in India in the year 1921, two years after the events of Small Acts of Amazing Courage (2011), Whelan’s sequel finds British-born Rosy having returned to her beloved India, the land she considers home, after an extended stay in England. The household—now expanded to include Rosy’s maiden aunts, Ethyl and Louise—is bustling with preparations for a visit by the Prince of Wales. Rosy has promised to deliver a letter written by Mahatma Gandhi, an appeal to Great Britain to give India its freedom, and, once again, Rosy’s sympathies with native Indians lead to trouble with her stuffy father, a British officer. Using charm, wit, and intelligence, Rosy manages to draw compassion from her father and other authority figures, and she even gets the prince to recognize the poverty and unfair practices blighting India. As in the previous book, Whelan brings to life the customs, fashions, and conflicts of the era and creates a cast of vivid characters who represent multiple political views. Her writing provides great insight into a nation vibrating with changing attitudes. Ages 9–12. Agent: Liza Pulitzer-Voges, Eden Street Literary. (Apr.)