Skip to main content

Before the Alamo by Florence Byham Weinberg: A Book Review

 
Before the Alamo
Author: Florence Byham Weinberg
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Maywood House
Release Date: 2021
Pages: 299
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Emilia Altamirano, Tejana, half Native American, half Spanish, is the daughter of a Royalist officer who fought against Mexico's independence in the Battle of the Medina River. Growing up in Bexar de San Antonio, she becomes literate, is adopted as a ward of José Antonio Navarro, and acts as a page in the Ayuntamiento (City Council). She serves as a nurse in the Battle of the Alamo but survives to face an uncertain future. 

   

     My Review: Before the Alamo chronicles the events prior to the Battle of the Alamo from a tejana’s perspective, a Texan woman of Spanish descent. Emilia is the daughter of a wealthy Spaniard and a Native American slave. She becomes a ward to Jose Antonio Navarro, a Texas war hero. Jose teaches Emilia to read and write. Under his tutelage, she becomes a page for the City Council. She becomes a nurse during the cholera pandemic and later the Battle of Alamo. After the Battle of the Alamo, Emilia wonders about her future as the fate of Texas hangs in the balance.


     Emilia is a likable character. Even though she was born into slavery and is illegitimate, she doesn’t let her circumstances define her. She is very hard-working and persistent. It is through her determination that she is able to win the admiration of those around her. Emilia is also a very intelligent character. She is well educated and puts her education to good use. She is also a strong and tenacious character. She goes through many hardships and is able to overcome them. Therefore, Emilia was a character I rooted for throughout the novel as I wanted her to find her own sense of belonging during tumultuous times.


     Overall, this novel is about belonging, injustice, and war. All of the characters are very realistic. I really like Emilia’s mother and Jose Antonio Navarro. The novel does suffer from telling rather than showing. It also suffers from being told in a passive voice. Nevertheless, Before the Alamo is very well-written and meticulously researched. I like how it showed the conflicts and troubles that the inhabitants of Texas faced during that era. Before the Alamo is a moving and emotional novel of one girl’s fight for survival and justice! I recommend this for fans of The River Girl’s Song, News of the World, and True Women!


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guest Post: The Ladies-in-Waiting: Lady Isabel Baynton by Alexandra Walsh

    Today's guest writer is Alexandra Walsh. She is the author of The Catherine Howard Conspiracy , which is a historical thriller surrounding the infamous Tudor queen. In this guest post, Mrs. Walsh discusses the life of Catherine's lady-in-waiting, Isabel Baynton. This post will be sure to fascinate fans of Tudor era. If you enjoy her post, please pick up a copy of The Catherine Howard Conspiracy ! Thank you, Mrs. Walsh! The Ladies-in-Waiting – Lady Isabel Baynton by Alexandra Walsh     One of the most enjoyable things about writing an historical novel is discovering the tiny details that make the period real on the page. While I was researching The Catherine Howard Conspiracy , I spent a great deal of time hunting out the life stories of the women who surrounded the young queen in order to create a group of realistic friends and confidants.       There are some well-known names linked with Catherine and her downfall: Lady Jane Boleyn,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint (Women in Antiquity) by David Potter: A Book Review

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint (Women in Antiquity) Author: David Potter Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, History Publisher: Oxford University Press Release Date: November 4, 2015 Pages: 288 Source: Publisher/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Two of the most famous mosaics from the ancient world, in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, depict the sixth-century emperor Justinian and, on the wall facing him, his wife, Theodora (497-548). This majestic portrait gives no inkling of Theodora's very humble beginnings or her improbable rise to fame and power. Raised in a family of circus performers near Constantinople's Hippodrome, she abandoned a successful acting career in her late teens to follow a lover whom she was legally forbidden to marry. When he left her, she was a single mother who built a new life for herself as a secret agent, in which role she met the heir to the throne. To the shock of the ruling elite, the two were married, and when Justinian...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thief of Corinth by Tessa Afshar: A Book Review

Thief of Corinth Author: Tessa Afshar Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Release Date: 2018 Pages: 400 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : First-century Corinth is a city teeming with commerce and charm. It’s also filled with danger and corruption―the perfect setting for Ariadne’s greatest adventure.     After years spent living with her mother and oppressive grandfather in Athens, Ariadne runs away to her father’s home in Corinth, only to discover the perilous secret that destroyed his marriage: though a Greek of high birth, Galenos is the infamous thief who has been robbing the city’s corrupt of their ill-gotten gains.      Desperate to keep him safe, Ariadne risks her good name, her freedom, and the love of the man she adores to become her father’s apprentice. As her unusual athletic ability leads her into dangerous exploits, Ariadne discovers that...
Post a Comment
Read more