Only the Beautiful

Starred review from January 1, 2023

Meissner (The Last Year of the War) returns with another World War II--era story rich with historical detail. After 16-year-old Rosanne is orphaned by an accident, she must navigate a new life with the Calvert family, owners of a California vineyard where her parents previously lived and worked. Treated as a new member of the household staff instead of as an honorary family member, she hides her grief and her synesthesia, specifically an ability to see colors in words. When a pregnancy is revealed, she's sent to a home for the "unwanted," people with mental illness and disabilities. Rosanne's journey continues at a heartbreaking pace until the narration switches mid-novel to the voice of Helen Calvert, the vineyard owner's sister. Helen's career as a nanny in Europe evolves after she agrees to save children from the Nazis, despite risk to herself. As she concludes that chapter of her life, she returns to the family vineyard, where her and Rosanne's stories dovetail, allowing readers to compare and contrast the U.S. and European experiments in eugenics. VERDICT Meissner delivers a nuanced and heartbreaking tale; expect to read through tear-filled eyes as the story concludes.--Tina Panik

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2023
When Rosie Maras' parents die in 1938, she is taken in by Truman and Celine Calvert, the owners of the California vineyard where her family worked. That is, until one fateful and confusing night that leaves Rosie pregnant. Because she hasn't done enough to hid her synesthesia (she sees colors when she hears sounds), she ends up in a home for the mentally ill, where her baby, whom she names Amaryllis, is taken from her; then, she is sterilized. In 1947, Helen Calvert is returning to California after years in Europe, the last few spent in Switzerland during WWII. Her brother, Truman, is now dead; Celine is less than welcoming, and Helen finds out about Rosie's fate and the existence of Amaryllis. Her experiences nannying for a child with special needs in Nazi-occupied Vienna have scarred her, so she is even more determined to make her family whole. Meissner (The Nature of Fragile Things, 2021) explores eugenics at home and abroad in her thought-provoking latest. Richly drawn characters and heartbreaking, historically accurate situations combine to make a powerful reading experience.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from February 6, 2023
Meissner (The Last Year of the War) unfurls an emotionally rich narrative involving a young woman in 1930s California and a nanny in WWII Austria. Rosie Maras is orphaned at 16 when her parents and younger brother die in car accident. Her family had been living and working on a California vineyard owned by Truman and Celine Calvert, who become her temporary guardians. Celine is cold and distant, while Truman takes advantage of Rosie’s vulnerability, seducing her and getting her pregnant. Celine discovers the pregnancy and banishes her to a state infirmary, where she faces forced sterilization. Meanwhile, in Vienna, Truman’s sister Helen, who met Rosie, cares for a disabled child named Brigitta Maier. When Brigitta is taken from her home by the German government for their T4 euthanasia program, the Maiers and Helen are devastated. After the war, Helen returns to California and a widowed Celine bitterly reveals Truman’s infidelity, prompting Helen to set out to find Rosie and her niece, the only family she has left. Meissner seamlessly unites the two narratives, drawing striking parallels between Germany’s forced euthanasia of disabled people and eugenics in the U.S. Readers will be riveted. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Book Group.