In The Firmament of Olivia Rose, written by Julia Pferdeberg and illustrated by Ruth Starke, an ordinary woman in her thirties, Olivia Rose is confronted with decisions she’s never had to make before. After the death of her husband, the woman called O’Conner finds herself single and in need of money to pay off mounting debts and support her husband’s young family. To complicate matters even more, her long-lost son from the previous marriage has come back into her life and she wants to return him to his birth country, New York. Will this be the break through that O’Conner has been looking for? Is this the opportunity that will finally catapult her into the limelight of success she has been searching for?
When you look at this book by Julia Pferdeberg and illustrator Ruth Starke, it seems that the focus of their effort is to make readers care about the plight of the main character, Olivia Rose. This is certainly true, as the book’s format is a sort of coming of age story and the tale of the main character is told through the eyes of a young woman who is facing many of the same issues of success and identity that girls her age are dealing with. This makes the book not only a bit sentimental but it also offers an idealistic view of life in general, something that most authors just aren’t prepared to deal with. This novel takes a realistic look at the obstacles that women face on their path to success, whether it be overcome with determination or luck.
The theme that runs throughout the novel is the importance of choosing one’s own identity. This is seen when the main character, nicknamed Orange, comes to terms with the fact that she is different from the other girls her age. Following the death of her husband and the creation of a new identity for herself, the question arises of just what kind of identity will truly define her? In many ways, this novel asks the same question that our own generations have been asking, and the answers have been evolving over time.