Schlitz, Laura Amy The Hired Girl, 387 pages.
Candlewick, 2015. $18. Language: G; Violence: G; Mature
Content: PG.
Joan Skraggs, 14, has had enough of her enslavement in her
father’s household on their rural farm in 1911. When she finds a cache of
money that is her legacy from her dead mother, she takes the chance to escape
to Baltimore, where she is taken in by a Jewish family and hired as their
Sabbath Goy (a non-Jewish person who does the work on the Sabboth that Jews are
forbidden) and house girl. She fancies herself in love with one of the
sons in the household and is also determined to convert the family to
Christianity. Instead, she keeps making a mess of things and the
Rosenbach’s keep forgiving her.
I don’t know how much a big city Baltimore was in 1911, but
Joan’s story and her lucky breaks are just too coincidental for me. While
I admire Joan for her courage to leave her terrible family situation, I am
unconvinced by the constant breaks the Rosenbach’s give her as she continually
messes with their lives. If you need a lot of historical fiction at your school
then maybe you should consider this one.
MS, HS - OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library teacher
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment