Austin, Susan J. Drawing Outside the Lines: A Julia Morgan Novel. Spark, 10/2022. 204 [+14]pp. Fiction. GRADES 4-10. $12.95. 978-1-68463-159-9. OUTSTANDING.
Imagining the life of ground-breaking architect Julia Morgan from her childhood in Oakland through her university years in Berkeley, author Susan Austin skillfully blends actual and inferred information in a youth-appropriate and fascinating biographical novel. Details about Morgan’s neighborhood and family make the historical figure accessible and understandable, and Austin is accurate in her depictions of the societal challenges that Morgan faced as a young woman interested in a traditionally male career. An engaging and informative read, Oakland locals will be delighted with details they can still see in the city today. This book has California-specific content.
Lesley Mandros Bell—Unaffiliated