The Last Silk Dress | Literary Qualities

The Last Silk Dress Literary Qualities

In a Library Journal article, Ann Rinaldi speaks of her first published novel, saying, "I wrote [Term Paper] because the characters had been part of me for years. Most of the motivation came from my own life. Family relationships, especially the tremendous influence older siblings have over young ones, have always intrigued me.

The overall theme of the novel is love and forgiveness." In many ways, Rinaldi might well have said the same words for The Last Silk Dress. This latter novel draws equal shares of strength and weakness from the author's concern for family relationships. The emotional center of the book is Susan's bond to and growing love for her brother: Rinaldi captures this younger sister/big brother relationship well through strong dialogue. The book also is about the "forgiveness." Susan learns to feel towards her mother, a woman whom she both loves and hates. Unfortunately, there is...
(read more)