Promise the Night in Mock Printz 2026

Dec 27, 2011 Christina Getrost rated it really liked it

Shelves: realisticfiction, biography, earlyreviewers

An excellent historical fiction novel based on the life of a real person, Beryl Markham, the first woman to fly solo west to east across the Atlantic Ocean, in 1936 (Amelia Earhart's flight was east to west). The novel takes place in 1912, during her childhood in British East Africa (now Kenya), when she was 11 and quite a tomboy. Since her mother had left years ago, unable to live in such primitive conditions (huts with dirt floors), Beryl had been able to run wild. Her father is busy running a An excellent historical fiction novel based on the life of a real person, Beryl Markham, the first woman to fly solo west to east across the Atlantic Ocean, in 1936 (Amelia Earhart's flight was east to west). The novel takes place in 1912, during her childhood in British East Africa (now Kenya), when she was 11 and quite a tomboy. Since her mother had left years ago, unable to live in such primitive conditions (huts with dirt floors), Beryl had been able to run wild. Her father is busy running a farm and a horse racing stable and doesn't know how to control her, so she runs and plays barefoot with her best friend, Nandi tribal boy Kibii. Despite her father's attempts to "civilize" her (a governess brought in only results in stubborn battles and Beryl running away; her father's married live-in companion, Emma, does not immediately bond with Beryl), Beryl loves the wild countryside and going on hunts with the Nandi and learning the ways of a warrior, which goes against the Nandi tradition of only teaching boys to become warriors. The childhood story is interspersed with pages from the grown-up Beryl's diary, as she makes her recordsetting flight, a technique I had just read in Amelia Lost, a biography of Amelia Earhart, which uses it much more extensively, so I was a little disappointed to see the same thing here. But it adds an interesting twist to the childhood story; you know she grows up to do this thrilling flight, and you want to know how both stories end.

I enjoyed this book a lot; I had not known anything about Beryl Markham's life (in fact I got her mixed up with Isak Dinesen, of the movie Out of Africa!), so it was interesting to learn more about her. She's a spunky character as written here, an independent free spirit whose love of Africa is abundant. I also enjoyed learning more about the ways of the Nandi people. And there is exciting action--a lion hunt, a jaguar attack, and tribal rivalries. I was cheering for Beryl all the way! As an adult reader I want to know more about the rest of her life, as she became a very successful racehorse trainer and also pilot; I think kids reading this will also be intrigued enough to look for more information on her. ...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Barbara rated it really liked it

Shelves: new-addition, strong-women, nbgs2012

Beryl Markham grew up training race horses for her father in British East Africa, an experience that marked her for life and likely formed the independent, determined side of her personality. Sometimes she took risks and made mistakes that ended badly, but that risk-taking and independence will stand her in good stead once she takes to the skies and becomes the first person to fly alone from England to North America. The book begins in 1912 when Beryl is ten, allowed to do whatever she wishes, w ...more

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