This was a well-written, thought provoking account of the spiritualist movement and, in particular, the Fox sisters, who were celebrities in their own right in the mid- to late-1800s. I loved the way this was laid out, with a chronological account of the Fox sisters’ rise to prominence and the resulting adulation from their believers and the revelations of their trickery in the end. This was easy to follow and written in a way that gets you swept up in the same hype their believers were and the extensive research was evident in this account. Highly recommended!

American Spirits tells the story of two girls who garnered attention by claiming to communicate with spirits. Rosenstock does a great job of guiding us through the girls' rise and fall - it all began with the girls saying that they thought their house was haunted. They claimed to hear noises and attracted attention from neighbors - even after they moved to another home, they were still allegedly haunted.

This book was well researched and expertly melds history, biography and the mystery of what happens when we die? It engages the readers from the first line and the mix of text and images keeps you flipping the pages. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, interesting read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Calkins Creek for the electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn’t heard of the Fox sisters so I was intrigued when I saw the book description. This was an easy read though a bit lengthy for teens. It isn’t just the story of the Fox sisters but what was going on in America at the time. always enjoy learning and this held my interest.

Thank you to the author, Calkins Creek, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

** “Though we can learn much about the Fox sisters’ actions from their believers and detractors, we have little direct evidence for what Maggie or Kate truly thought or felt about their lives. They are historical ghosts, glimpsed only in the mirror of others’ opinions.” **

Barb Rosenstock reveals the lives of the infamous Fox Sisters and the craze they created in “American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad That Haunted a Nation.”

When young Maggie and Kate Fox, led by their much older sister Leah, claimed to be able to interpret rapping heard in their home, a craze hit mid-1800s America like never seen before. They claimed to be communicating with a man who had been killed in their cottage. Friends and neighbors were astounded when these raps were able to answer their own questions too, answers the sisters should not be able to know.

Rosenstock takes the reader through the beginning of their journey, their meteoric rise in fame, their struggles, their relationships, and their eventual downfall. She presents theories that still haunt people today — were their talents faked or legitimate? But no matter where you fall in your belief, as she points out this intriguing story “included pretty young women, a mysterious murder, and the possibility of scandal.”

She ends the book with several bibliographic listings, as well as excerpts of the supposed confession of Maggie Fox.

Having researched the book for five years, “American Spirits” is definitely a thorough look not only into the sisters’ lives, but the factors happening to them, as well as to America — alcoholism and addiction; slavery versus abolition; the growth of Spiritualism; new tools used by mediums, like automatic and mirror writing; diseases; global exploration; and the rise of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.

The book, which is due out April 15, features many photographs, artwork and clippings to add to the story.

Fans of the paranormal, Spiritualism, and the rise of women in an era where they had very little power will enjoy this book.

Five stars out of five.

Calkins Creek provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

American Spirits is a look at the Fox family and their experiences with becoming professional spirit mediums. I had previously been familiar with the Fox Sisters and their story, so this book was a nice refresher. Visually it was very pretty and interesting with photographs throughout. Barb Rosenstock wrote a book that I wish I had as a teenager when I was first exploring my interest in the supernatural. It was a balanced approach and read like a novel, which will make it engaging for the young adult reader. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the spiritualism movement or the Fox sisters themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC copy of this book.

"CAN THE DEAD TALK TO THE LIVING? Discover the astonishingly true story of Maggie, Kate, and Leah Fox - the Civil War-era sisters and teen mediums who created the American séance.

A real-life ghost story for young adult readers interested in the supernatural, American history, and women's rights!

Rap. Rap. Rap. The eerie sound was first heard in March of 1848 at the home of the Fox family in Hydesville, New York. The family's two daughters, Kate and Maggie, soon discovered that they could communicate with the spirit that was making these uncanny noises; he told them he had been a traveling peddler who had been murdered. This strange incident, and the ones that followed, generated a media frenzy beyond anything the Fox sisters could have imagined. Kate and Maggie, managed (or perhaps manipulated) by their elder sister Leah, became famous spirit mediums, giving public exhibitions, and advising other celebrities of their day.

But were the Fox sisters legitimate? In the years that followed their rise, the Civil War killed roughly 1 in 4 soldiers, increasing the demand for contacting the dead. However, media campaigns against the sisters gathered steam as well...

This thrilling and mysterious true story from veteran author Barb Rosenstock (Caldecott Honor winner) will spark teens' interest in American history, encourage media literacy, and reveal insights into the Civil War era, fake news, and women's rights."

Um, a family can't have two daughters and then a third elder sister... The family has three daughters. The number is three.

The synopsis was very interesting and this is a case I am vaguely familiar with. Unfortunately I was unable to read beyond page four because the PDF format does not translate to e-readers, either kobo or kindle. I have declined to set this to 'unable to give feedback' as netgalley are unable to provide a format that will work with kobo, which is what I use and so there is no point in reporting this to tech support because the issue is no longer fixable via NG. I downloaded this before NG changed file formats without warning.
If I was able to get an epub version of this, or if it makes it to my local library then I will be delighted to read it and update my review.
I am able to continue to read epubs but not PDFs.

While non-fiction is not my usual choice, I wanted to know more about Spiritualism and its start in the mid-1800s. I had not heard of the Fox sisters before reading this book and it was interesting reading about what happened to them. While I did finish the book, it was honestly a little repetitive, ok a lot repetitive, in describing their travels back and forth between locations. Maybe some of that could have been streamlined. If you are interested in Spiritualism and the beginnings of seances you will enjoy this, but know that it is dry and reads like a history book.

It's always a curious thing when books with similar topics come out around the same time-- did something happen to spark all of these authors' imaginations? Was it timing? Publishers? The fact that this book and Gail Jarrow's book about spiritualism for teens came out around the same time is a testament.

This is concentrated though, on the Fox sisters and their brand that ushered in spiritualism. What I enjoyed specifically is the connections to New York (as a New Yorker) and it's connection to speaking to the dead. There are plenty of people to meet, stories to hear, and historical context to understand that Rosenstock excellently lays out in the chapters with images and pictures to break up the text and bring readers back to a different way of thinking.

I really enjoyed this - this the exact kind of nonfiction book I would have loved as a teenager, and as a historian, I tend to want ALL the details about a subject I am interested in. The book really shone in it's images and readability. I also greatly appreciated the depth of the historical context Rosenstock included, as it really emphasized the impact these women had on the broader American story.

That being said, the first half of the book was essentially a circular story of the Fox sisters being believed and disbelieved and I don't know that every experience and quote included was really necessary and it felt a little repetitive. Once the girls began to be more independent from Leah, it became a lot more exciting and easier to become invested.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this to any teenager I knew who loved the supernatural, history, or both. The average teenager may find this too long - but my kindred American spirits would find this worth the read.

Review would be higher but ebook formatting was terrible and made it extremely difficult to read
the story of the fox sisters and the effect they left on america
starting in march of 1848, they have an supernatural experience leading them to believe they are able to communicate with spirits beyond us
they become prominent in the media by becoming famous mediums doing public exhibitions and celebrity seances
after the civil war, solider deaths are 1/4 people and the sisters are contacted by desperate families
the media starts to question whether they are fake feeding off the hurt people or if its the female stigma of living in a mans world (SHES A WITCH BURN HER)

I really didn't know anything about the Fox sisters expect for a feel things but was glad I was able to read this and learn more about them. Barb Rosenstock has a strong writing style and could see the research element that I was looking for.

I really enjoyed this. Pretty creepy to be honest. Def in itself would be interested in reading more by this author. Amazing 10/10.