Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is the first book I have read by author, Sarah Bird. I was excited to read this book as it takes place during the Great Depression during Hoover’s administration; a time period in which I have little knowledge. The story focuses on Avie, a young lady with a horrific past whose goal is to become a nurse. After three years of studying to achieve this goal, Avie is denied her registered nurse’s pin. While searching for a new future, she is introduced to the world of dance marathons.

Although I did enjoy the plot of this book, I found it to be a little slow and monotonous. It did pick up for me at the end. I was hoping for a little more action, but overall, I rate it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Herbert Hoover was the President, stamps were three cents and the depression was depleting American lives. Evie Grace just wanted to be a nurse. Being the daughter of a famous Vaudevillian dancer, she found her way into the world of Marathon Dancing. She becomes friends with the other dancers on the circuit, and one in particular, Zave. This is an interesting read, about when the times were desperate in America after the Depression in the early 1930's. There is lots more going on, but you'll have to read it! Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ePub.

I was really excited to read a book set in Galveston since it’s very near my home, and I know it well. I’m sorry to say that this one did not quite hit the mark for me.

It was really difficult for me to connect with the characters, particularly Evie. Her decisions were just outrageous and difficult to swallow for this reader. In addition, there just seemed to be too much going on and too many characters coming and going throughout the narrative.

With that said, this is simply one reader’s opinion. You may love the book, and I encourage you to give it a try for yourself.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Evie comes from the wrong side of the tracks. She does 3 years of nursing training only to be denied her pin due to a spiteful director. Undeterred, she goes back to the world,she knows and vows to persevere.
I liked the backdrop of the Great Depression. The grimness of the era is offset by the tenacity of the characters to succeed. I liked Evie’s girt and determination. I also liked how she slayed her dragons.
It’s a decent read.

Evie hopes that attending nursing school in Galveston will turn her life around and point her in the right direction. But when that dream falls through, and she has nowhere else to go, she gets caught up in the world of dance marathons, where she finds herself once again in the spotlight.

I've never read a book by this author before, but several of my reading friends rave about her books, so I decided to read this book to see what all the fuss is about. The book was slow to get started, until you start to learn more about Evie's past life, but as she dealt with situations by making bad decision after bad decision, I found that I didn't really care about what happened to her. Add to that the multitude of characters and too many things going on, and it became a chore to pick up this book to continue reading.

The Depression-era setting was described well, as was the long-arm reach of powerful families. As a proud supporter of Penn State's annual THON (an annual 46-hour dance marathon that raises money for childhood cancer), I'm familiar with them, but not as a way to make a living, so I enjoyed learning about that aspect of dance marathons. While others may enjoy books by this author, I don't think I'll look for more of her work any time soon.

I had not read any of Sarah Bird's previous books, but I had heard she was an excellent writer so I picked this one up to see for myself. And yes, Bird is a very gifted writer and I was captivated by this novel set in the Great Depression. The writing gave me a feeling like I was there, especially the detailed descriptions of the long dance marathons that went on for extended numbers of days and the dancers slept on their feet. The descriptions of the hopelessness of the people, the political rivalry between Hoover and FDR, and the Dust Bowl captured the climate of the times. Yet the story is about hope and resilience, and the main character, Evie Grace Devlin exhibits these qualities in spades. She's faced some very tough times and yet looks to a better future and capitalizes on what she can do with what she has available to her.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on April 12, 2022.

Nurse Gravy

An amazing story set during the great depression. A young girl exploited into vaudeville by her mother, wins a scholarship to nursing school. All she wants is to be a nurse and take care of sick people. When graduation comes the director refuses to give her certification because someone sent her the vaudeville pictures of Evie.

Evie is devastated and goes to her Uncle Jake for help. He finds her a job as a nurse at a dance marathon even though she does not have her certification. She meets Zave one of the dancers and finds that he danced with her father. In the dance marathon and with the dancers and Zave she finds the family she never had. Her best friend Sofie from nursing school is also in Galveston and helps her all she can.

As she is carried farther into the world of the dance marathon she makes an error in judgment that may well have caused her friend to take his own life. Can she right this mistake and will she ever earn her certification as a nurse?

This is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story of those just trying to survive the depression any way they can. It's a story of dance marathons, moonshine, dust storms and the election of FDR.
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Sarah Bird for writing such a wonderful story, to Saint Martin's press for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me to read and review. All words are my own.

Some parts of history are learned best through books of fiction with a lot of truth. It’s 1929. The Depression. People are desperate to work for a bite to eat and place to sleep. “A person with any pride will starve to death before they’ll admit they’re too poor to buy food.”

High spirited Sophie had the good life in Galveston. Her family controlled the island – bootleggers who started as barbers for 25 cents a head but quickly rerouted their path. “Don’t ever cross that family…unless you want to end up in the Gulf of Mexico.” Sophie could walk into a restaurant and get the best service.

Evie came from a very poor family. Her father died when she was young. She had to work two jobs to care for her abusive mother. She bathed using a pot of water warmed on a hot plate. She shared an outhouse in the alley with four families. Her meal was a cup of coffee and donut. Her dream was to become a nurse and separate herself from her mother.

Evie managed to apply for a scholarship at the St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Galveston and was accepted. Sophie raced to meet her at the door when she arrived and somehow the two girls became best friends. Three years later, they were ready to graduate. But the Director was informed about Evie’s shady background and wouldn’t allow her to get her nursing pin. Evie wasn’t Catholic and she was told by the Director “you are not suitable.” Evie noted that “the world is never fair or right, unless you have the money or power.” She had to pick herself up and find other jobs. She managed to hook up with someone that learned to dance from her dad’s school. Zave became her good friend who helped her get a job as a nurse for the dance marathons.

The story takes you into this historical time with headline news: the funeral of Charles Lindberg’s baby, Capone’s sentence in Chicago for tax evasion and the Nazis assault on journalism. In addition to other things, it was a time when there was prejudice with the poor people, religion, race and sexual disorientation. But between the deep hardships with so many, there was gratitude, forgiveness and love in all forms. The characters became real in my mind. I could imagine a man pulling out teeth for 50 cents a pop using toothache drops with morphine. Was everything accurate? In my mind it was.

My thanks to Sarah Bird, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy with the expected release date of April 12, 2022.

This is the story of surviving in the Great Depression, a time of bread lines and bootlegging, and this is Evie Grace Devlin’s story, and we walk in her shoes!
Our young woman has great stamina, not the best upbringing, and you will meet her mother and know why! She puts her own into nursing school and I was horrified at what happens to her, injustice, yes!
This is the time of marathon dancing, I can’t imagine, how did these people go on living?
Come and immerse yourself in this page turner historical read, and follow the life of Ms. Evie!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin’s Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

Centering on the dance marathons that took place during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Last Dance on the Starlight Pier takes place primarily in Galveston, Texas. We follow the story of Evie, a young woman who studies to become a nurse but is denied her RN pin. She goes to Houston to be with her uncle, a former dancer in vaudeville, where she learns that his dance studio is now the site of a dance marathon. Evie gets to know the men who run the dance marathon, as well as many of the dancers. She treats the dancers' medical issues and subsequently follows the troupe to Chicago and later to Galveston. I enjoyed reading about the interpersonal relationships among the dancers and about their back stories, but at times the narrative jumped around too much and was rather slow moving. This was a topic that I wasn’t very familiar with and I found it well-researched and informative. Overall, an enjoyable read that was a bit too drawn out.

Excellent historical fiction about the Great Depression. I’ve read other books on the subject, but none have centered on dance marathons. It was really interesting to go behind the scenes. I had no idea that they could go on for months!
Evie Grace is the main character. You can’t help but love and root for her. She had a very tough childhood, but is determined to make something of herself through a career in nursing. There are many setbacks for Evie throughout the story, but she never gives up. The story doesn’t end with everything tied up in a neat bow, though it does end on a positive note.

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier features an extraordinary heroine—Evie Grace Devlin. Evie grew up on the vaudeville circuit, and despite all odds earns herself a scholarship at a nursing school, graduates top of her class, but ends up in the seedy world of dance marathons and mobsters. I was enthralled by Evie and her story from the start, always cheering for her to rise above her hardscrabble life. The backdrop of the Depression, the Dust Bowl, and marathons add a sense of desperation, but there is always a spark of hope that life will get better, not just for Evie, but for everyone.

I had good intentions requesting this book, but I found myself just not grabbed by it as I was reading it. I finished it and did find it was a good book, it just wasn't really my cup of tea. I know that some of my readers who love a historical read will really enjoy this one. Thank you netgalley for this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A story of struggle and love set against a peculiar period of US history. The 1930’s – a time of the Stock market crash, the Great Depression, the dying days of vaudeville and dance marathons, the Prohibition and the Mob. I had never heard of dance marathons, a concept which is at the forefront of the story. Evie and Zave both come from a tradition of dance and vaudeville entertainment and fall in love in such turbulent times. Evie’s dream of a nursing career is another persistent thread in the novel. I do not want to give out more details because I don’t want to do any spoilers. Very different from what I have read lately, an interesting story of an interesting time period for sure.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC

Evie’s story of her life in Galveston, Texas during the Depression era tells of her unfair struggles to become a registered nurse. Coming from a tragic and a bit scandalous past, she tries to put it all behind her to have a more productive life. She is befriended by Sophie, a fellow nursing student who from a powerful, notorious family of Galveston’.

I especially enjoyed all of the Galveston references, having lived here for the past 10 years. I could easily decode the actual Starlight Pier, the “family” and many other Galveston Island locations and facts. It’s still a major medical education source, there’s still the trolley on Seawall Blvd, Murdochs Bath House still stands - rebuilt many times and now a major souvenir and beach shop. People here still refer to themselves as BOI, born on the island.

This is a good piece of historical fiction with sound research. I found it to be a little long for my liking, and parts were troubling, but truthful.

The storyline centers on dance marathons that took place during the Great Depression and on into the beginning of World War II, and I found it to be very informative and seemingly well researched. It provided me with information about that time period that I had not really know about before. The main character, Evie, who was in vaudeville as a child and has taken up nursing, is a part of these dance marathons. Although she is an interesting character, for whatever reason I found it hard to connect with her — and with most of the other characters (some of whom just seem to pop up and then disappear abruptly). All in all, this was a good read, but not a great one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this depression era book. The story centers around the protagonist Evie Devlin. She was raised in a Vaudeville environment. Her beloved father dies early and she is left to be raised by a narcissist mother and numerous so called uncles. Evie dreams of a better life as a nurse and sets out to capture her dream. Blended into the story is filled with gangsters, raids, FDR running for President, language and sexuality. Does Evie get her nursing pin? No spoilers here. The story is beautiful. The narration is done well.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MacMillanAudio, #St.MartinPress, #SarahBird and #CassandraCampbell for the advance copy

3.5 stars

Remembrances of the movie, They Shoot Horses flicked through my mind listening to this one. It is a story of a young girl named Evie Grace Devlin trying to fend for herself in a most difficult world during the Depression. Evie did try to better herself to become something, to become a nurse, but after an even is revealed about her past, that dream goes crashing to the ground. To make a living she gets involved in the world of dance marathons., where much to her amazement she is thrust into a spotlight where she least want to be.

Along with her personal story, we are witness to the underworld of Galveston, Texas. As if the way in which she was raised by a cruel and malicious mother was not bad enough, Evie finds the evil in the world of the marathons that are controlled by the the underworld. Unfortunately, with her spirits low and seemingly depressed and deserted, she returns to her mother whom she left at seventeen. She doesn't find her mother but is able to find work as a nurse in the dance marathons in Houston, sometimes even substituting as a dancer. She makes some decisions that had me scratching her head and although I kept rooting for Evie, I had to question why she chose to do the things she did.

The interesting things I learned about the past in this story set in 1932, made this a tale that was intriguing. However, there was too much to it, and after awhile it became an exhausting listen. It was a good story but it needed to be shorter and more concise. I was amazed by what people were forced to do to earn a nickel to say alive. Sad but true, we needed a war to end this tragedy.

Thank you to Sarah Bird, Cassandra Bird, and NetGalley for the ability to listen to this story before publication which is on April 12, 2022.

I haven't read much that is set in the Great Depression and the few that I have, have usually been set in the midwest. Last Dance on the Starlight Pier was a heart-wrenching and beautiful story set in Galveston, TX, where the Depression hadn't had too much effect on, along with stops in Houston and Chicago.

The story of Evie, the daughter of a famous vaudeville performer and one-time vaudeville performer herself, enrolls in nursing school. At the end of her three years, a series of events (and people) prevent Evie from receiving her RN pin. She is forced to head home to Houston and figure out her next steps. She then discovers the world of dance marathons and her world is forever changed.

It's such an incredibly moving story and I loved how developed the characters were. Each one was so distinct, easy to envision, and made the story as powerful as it is.

If you're looking for a historical fiction read in a period where there doesn't seem to be too much, check out Last Dance on the Starlight Pier. It's wonderful!

4/5 stars
Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to an ARC of this book.
I originally asked Netgalley for a print copy. I tried a number of times to read it and couldn't get into it. So I asked for an audio version. I was unable to put it down. Listening to an audiobook is listening to a performance and somehow, this book is written for performance.
This book is described as a 'sweeping story.' And so it is. Gone With The Wind for the depression era. It has everything even the dust bowls though no one gets caught in one. It is the depression told from a point of view that isn't told nearly as much as the stories about surviving in the drought and the dust and the migration out to California. This is about the dances that had no end. The people who danced till it killed them, the fat cats who came to watch them and gawk as if at a cock fight, the money makers who put these things together. And the young woman who tells us her story as she tries, heart and soul, to rise out of poverty, an abusive childhood, falls in love and blames so much of what goes wrong in her life on herself..

As the personal story evolves, we also get history. Will FDR be the Democrat running for president? Who suffers and who doesn't suffer from the effects of the depression? I knew nothing about Galveston, Texas - not even that it is an island.

I loved this book. Having it read to me was heavenly. I recommend it. Not all the reader's voices are great but I didn't care. This is a treat of a story. If you can't get the audiobook, read it in print.