Downeyoshun is historical coming-of-age fiction.

The story traverses the 1950s, 60s and 70s and is set around a young girl as she grows up. The tale takes place in two main settings: Baltimore and Ocean City.

During the school year, Sally lives with her parents; her loving father is a master carpenter, while her mother’s strict and cold nature causes difficulties for Sally. As soon as school finishes each year, Sally goes to spend the summer with her aunt in Ocean City.

The reader soon discovers that Sally is a child genius and a quick learner, both with academic matters and physical abilities. She learns to swim and dreams of taking part in the Olympics, while also setting her heart on teaching mathematics.

Sally’s best friend in Baltimore is Marie, who lives next door and whose family make up for any hardships that Sally suffers at home. Marie is also very clever and the girls become so close that they are often referred to as sisters.

Sally’s story is set to a background of world historical events which are highlighted through Sally’s school projects, her swimming accomplishments and her relationships with other characters.

The story is a long one and sets a relentless pace across the years. While there is much to admire in the content and the story premise, the writing style relied heavily on ‘telling’ rather than ‘showing’, which made it rather a slog at times. Some of the scenarios didn’t always seem feasible—I was unable to suspend my disbelief in them which took away some of the enjoyment of the tale. Fiction has to seem as if it could possibly happen in real life.

Overall, this story does have some interesting parts and it feels in some way like a memoir or a nod to an era which was dear to the author’s heart.

This was a beautifully done historical fiction novel, it had that element that I was looking for and was engaged with the story going through this. It had characters that worked in this time-period and was hooked from the first paragraph. A. Young wrote this in a way that worked and was written well.