Wheels of Change by Darlene Beck Jacobson

Published: September 23^rd 2014 by Creston Books

Racial intolerance, social change, and sweeping progress make 1908 Washington, D.C., a turbulent place to grow up in for 12-year-old Emily Soper. For Emily, life in Papa’s carriage barn is magic, and she’s more at home hearing the symphony of the blacksmith’s hammer than trying to conform to the proper expectations of young ladies. When Papa’s livelihood is threatened by racist neighbors and horsepower of a different sort, Emily faces changes she’d never imagined. Finding courage and resolve she didn’t know she had, Emily strives to save Papa’s business, even if it means going all the way to the White House.

 This book was a thought-provoking journey into the past. In 1908 the world was a completely different place. It is absolutely mind-blowing the changes the world has seen in the last hundred years. I have often pondered, what would it be like to live in a different era? A time where communication was face-to-face, a time where the little things weren’t taken for granted.

Washington, DC during 1908 is a place I can’t fathom visiting. The author crafted this story with such vivid details of the time and historical accuracy.

The story follows protagonist, Emily, whom is the daughter of a carriage maker. Emily is everything a reader could want in a protagonist—gutsy, quirky and fast thinking. She is living in a world where everything is constantly changing. The Industrial Revolution has started; the presence of automobiles is growing rapidly. Everything is changing.

Emily lives in a world where racial intolerance looms at every corner. Everything she has known in her short life is changing. I can’t even imagine…the world today is one where landscapes change daily, but to live in such a time of revolution? I can’t even fathom the emotions society must have endured.

Beck-Jacobsen really captures the readers by their heart. This journey into the past is filled with sorrow, suspense, love and a constant cycle of change.

Beck-Jacobsen is a unique and strong literary voice that I look forward to reading more from. I thoroughly enjoyed this colourful journey into the past.