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There are currently 19 member reviews
for The Roaring Days of Zora Lily
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Elizabeth @Silver's Reviews
Elizabeth @Silver's Reviews - FANTASTIC - DON'T MISS IT
Who is Zora Lily Hough?
She is a character you will fall in love with as you follow her through her days helping her family cope with poverty and tragedy and as she works as a day nanny for the Harringtons as she waits for her dreams to come true.
Zora and her friend, Rose, take us through speakeasies and their lives as young women in the 1920's.
We follow them through heartbreaks and Zora's wish to become a fashion designer and to own her own boutique. I loved hearing about her sewing skills and fashion ideas.
You will be pulled in immediately with Ms. Salazar's marvelous, detailed writing and story line.
I didn't want the book to end because of Zora. She is a character who made you want all good things happen to.
Do not miss this gem.
It is such a beautiful read, I was actually crying. Not sad tears, but just overwhelmed at the beauty of the story.
Thank you to the publisher and BookBrowse for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
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Carol P. (Leland, NC)
Roaring Twenties
Zora was truly a hardworking and ambitious young woman and I loved her character. I loved seeing Zora take her sewing skills to her highest levels designing movie set costumes during the 20's and see her resilience following a major set back. I find characters like Zora who has motivation and drive such great examples for every reader but especially women readers. The double time line present and past was an added value as we discover Zora Lily.
Zora's love interest Harley was a true gentlemen and the love to Zora was so honorable. The book did not sugar coat family and romantic relationships. The author truly had each character suffer adversity and it she drew you in to see who would overcome!
I would recommend this book to teen readers and book clubs for a story filled with history, rich vs. poor, and strong characters who all dealt with adversity. The author also provided a glimpse of the 1920's with the extreme poverty, wealth, racial tensions and competition in many areas in life to get ahead.
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Barbara T. (Houston, TX)
The Roaring Days of Zora Lily
This is the story of a young Zora who sews from childhood with her mother to make ends meet to help support her large family. She always dreamt of owning her own dress shop with her beautiful creations. During her journey, she has the opportunity to go to Hollywood and make gowns for Greta Garbo. She took over at the last minute for their original designer and made gowns that far exceeded the styles and beauty of the original designer. However, problems ensued as is the way of Hollywood and she lost all confidence in herself. Thank goodness that was temporary and she continued to strive for her goals.
This book also tells the fairy tale romance Zora has with a prosperous handsome Brit - Harley, who remained ever supportive.
I am a seamstress and costume designer and viewed this story from that perspective. Personally I would have liked the author to have given more detailed descriptions of Zora's creations to make them come alive. Also the Cinderella romance was sweet but kind of typical.
I think this story could be in the young adult as well as adult category as it is a story of never giving up on your dreams.
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Irene H. (Saugerties, NY)
The Roaring Days of Zora Lily
I wish I loved The Roaring Days of Zora Lily. Noelle Salazar, the author, addressed many of the elements present during the so-called "roaring twenties." She showed us the extreme poverty which lurked beneath the wealth of American society and integrated the working conditions of the lower classes into her dialogue. Zora's social life is a microcosm of the underground clubs where the poor forgot their poverty and the rich squandered their money. The longing to better herself through her dream of a dress shop of her own, is Zora, dreaming for every immigrant who came to this country in the mass migration between the late eighteen hundreds and the early years of the next century. And, in the time switch to the modern day with its character of a Smithsonian Institute conservator and her discovery while mounting a retrospective of costumes of the era, gives us a picture of the influence of Hollywood on culture and design of the twenties. All these historic events provide fodder for a richly realized story full of complex characters created by their place in society and economic status.
Instead, Salazar has written a book which, to me, is a step above a "cozy" in the way the lives of its characters evolve and in the short shrift given important events in American history. I wanted to like Zora. Instead, I found her ordinary and familiar with little depth and a lot of cliché. Sorry, I'd skip this one.
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Diana C. (Boca Raton, FL)
Interesting premise, but...
This book started with an interesting twist: a modern day Smithsonian curator coming across a 1920s Hollywood costume designer mystery, at which time the book takes us back to 1924 where the story unravels and the mystery is eventually solved. While that story line sounds intriguing making the reader want to delve further, I found the writing style simplistic and adolescent, more appropriate for YA audiences. While the story introduces us to a host of different characters, none are deeply examined including the main character, Zora. The story reads like an early 20th century fairy tale, complete with one dimensional characters.
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