Ethel's Song by Barbara Kasner is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the enduring power of music. Kasner's evocative prose beautifully captures the essence of human connections, weaving a tale that resonates long after the final note. A lyrical and moving literary composition.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I found this an interesting take on an interesting tale. I knew the basics of the Rosenbergs, but that was about it. Having it told in verse was also interesting. It kept the story flowing. Will recommend.

When I read this book, I was concerned about how the narrative would be formed. Would the text be cruel to Ethel, or would it wholesale erase who she was and what she believed in? Instead, the book was honest, lovely, and devastating. For the last thirty pages of the book, I sobbed, but at the end, in the notes, there's hope: the things that her children have done to heal.

The perfect read for Women's History Month, or a companion text to the study of WW2 in middle grades, Ethel's Song does a nice job of painting the full picture of the story behind the woman. It is important to know that Ethel is not considered a hero in many people's eyes and the verse in this book does a great job showing all sides of her life -- pre-accusation; trial life; life in prison.
I enjoyed reading about Ethel's life, although some of the poetry was confusing in the e-edition. I would recommend the full published version to show how stanzas/poems are broken down.
For interested readers -- I would pair this book with Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin.

These poems were both educating and touching. I'd known the basics of Ethel Rosenberg's life but this poetry collection put them in a new and very personal light. These are beautifully written but generally accessible poems and this book was very well done.

In continuing my unplanned reading series about the life and times of mid-century erroneously vilified women (see yesterday’s review of the new graphic novel about Tokyo Rose), this poetry book about the life of Ethel Rosenberg was very enlightening. While she was not completely “innocent“ of the crime she was accused of, as she was an active member of the Communist party, that should never have been a crime to begin with. Also, She was not guilty of the crime she was executed for, as she never sold secrets to the Russians.

The red scare has never made sense to me historically, because I feel like there were bigger fish to fry in the 40s and 50s. Thousands of young men died fighting an ideology that, for the most part, is completely harmless. If anything it’s less harmful or equally harmful to the damages of capitalism. All of the time spent in fear of communism and we never thought to stop people doing actual harm.

I feel like this book captures her history and her life as well as the harm that can be done with loose words and a lack of consideration. That being said, the poems were not very good. This almost could’ve been a slim nonfiction book for kids.