MrsK Books: The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

The Hired Girl

ISBN:9780763678180

Publisher's Synopsis:
Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself—because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of—a woman with a future. Inspired by her own grandmother’s journal, Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz relates Joan’s journey from the muck of the chicken coop to the comforts of a society household in Baltimore (Electricity! Carpet sweepers! Sending out the laundry!), taking readers on an exploration of feminism and housework; religion and literature; love and loyalty; cats, hats, and bunions.

MrsK's Review:

Joan is such a delightful heroine. She is spunky, intelligent, resourceful, and very loyal. She is a hard worker, someone whose dreams will guide her decisions and provide the inner strength that will be needed to escape a life shrouded in oppressive misery.

Joan's story begins on the day that Miss Chandler (her teacher) gave her a journal. One in which she was guided to "write in it with truth and refinement." It was the day that would remain planted in Joan's spirit and provide her with the strength to change her life. Her father had decided that she could no longer continue going to school and in 1911, you did what your parents told you to do especially if you are a daughter and your mother is no longer living. Life on a farm with only a dad and brothers meant that Joan was needed at home. Her life was fixed, her days were filled with chores and her free time... well reading was a joy until that fatal decision when her father burns the books that her teacher gave her.

Joan boldly leaves the farm. She is heading to Philadelphia with a hope-filled desire to be a servant in a household that will pay her. Her train ride and the young gentleman who befriends her is an eye-opening journey. Once she arrives in Philadelphia, Joan discovers that there is no place to stay and with darkness approaching she is not sure what her options are. With prayer... all things can be made bearable. A young man discovers her on the park bench and refuses to let her sleep in the park.

Once Joan is introduced to the Rosenbach family, she begins her journey into adulthood... being accepted into a Jewish family... and discovering the facets of her calling and inner strength. As in all of our lives, being young means that there will be many opportunities to learn your way along a given path. For Joan, her first lesson will be with Malka the treasured cook, nanny, and house keeper. Malka is aging and ailing, this is Joan's perfect opportunity to learn while being a blessing to Malka. That is if Malka will accept her help and the fact that she is a Catholic.

Given that Jane Eyre is one of Joan's favorite characters, the Rosenbach's sons are very intriguing to someone so young. Will Joan lose her heart to one of them or will she seek the forbidden education that was so cruelly taken from her? Befriended by Mirele, the Rosenbach's daughter, Joan soon discovers city life and shopping. Imagine buying your first outfit, shoes, gloves, and hat... now imagine the joy of purchasing your first leather book (of course this was my favorite part).

When Joan begins experiencing life with the Rosenbach family, she begins enjoying a life she could only read about. And yet, deep within her spirit is the desire to experience schooling, and being free from a life of hard work. A life of her own. Will she find it through marriage? Will she need to leave this family that has brought her in off the streets? What is the path that she must take?

Written as a diary, Joan invites us into her thoughts... her choices... her hopes and dreams for a future that is just beginning to unfold. Every character is so well defined. The setting depicts Victorian homes, cultures, cities just moving into the "care free" life style as the age of inventions is sweeping the east coast.

This novel is not just for young adults, it is an excellent historical piece and will bring great discussions to any book club.
Enjoy meeting Joan and her discoveries as young girl maturing into a young lady,
MrsK

Enjoyable reading with a delightful heroine!

Meet the Author:

I have made my living as a librarian (I took off a couple of years off, to tour with a children's theatre - it was a gloriously free, and disorganized life, but eventually, I had no money at all). I love the theatre, and wrote my first stage play for a friend, who needed a last-minute script for Beauty and the Beast. It turned out better than anyone expected, and I became a playwright - my plays have been produced in professional theatres all over the country. I love to make things; bread, marionettes, quilts, watercolors, origami animals. My hands get restless if I can't make things. For the past thirteen years, I've worked as a school librarian, and I am so grateful that I work with children - they make me laugh, and their energy reminds me to enjoy life.

As a writer, I do a lot of complaining. People often ask why I write, when I hate it so much. I answer, that I write because I am under a curse. I keep meaning to give up writing, but I haven't got around to it yet. I dread sitting down to write, and I have to resort to tricks to get myself to the paper. "One half hour, or one page," I promise myself, "then you can get up and do something you like." I go to the bathroom, take the telephone off the hook, fill my fountain pen, get myself a glass of water, and sit down. Once I sit, my rear end has to stay in place until I've written. I often say that I write with my rear end - it's the ballast that holds me steady while I fight for words.

"I received this book for free for this review."

No comments:

MrsK's Reading Bio

Reading is important! No questions asked, not even a blink of the eye from any student I grew up with. On the first day of the First grade, we were given our first books. Day two we all read aloud, round robin of course. Day three we were place in our first basal, now known as a lit circle group. Books were so important, publishers designed new curriculum so that every student was reading by the end of the first week. These early readers had images that looked like what we could see in the classroom, beyond the classroom, even on the big screen. Reading is important, throughout history every generation has believed that “Reading” opens up the world for endless possibilities.

I adore the 1950’s Dick and Jane books. Actually, most reading specialists and experienced (45+) educators believe that every student learned to read with Dick and Jane. Since these books are being re-issued, I have heard many parents, grandparents, and students claim that Dick and Jane stories of repetition does teach students to read.

Early influences from my mother influenced my desire to read. I would watch her read and we would go on “secret” excursions to the library. The library became my playground. I owned every book I could carry home, of course they needed to be taken back to their home after visiting with me for a week or two. My first book that I could pull off of the library shelf and read was, Father Bear Comes Home. I only saw my dad on Sundays for a few hours. I would pull this beginning reader off of the library shelf every week. Every week I would try to read the first chapter. Every week I got further in the story. My mom would let me check it out, only if I could read it myself (She didn’t like the illustrations therefore she didn’t want to take time to read it to me). One day, I pulled the book from the shelf and when mom came to get me from the children’s corner, I realized that I had read the whole story. I ran to the check out desk and the Librarian KERCHUNKED the checkout card. My mother, brother and neighbors read. My teachers read. We all read aloud all day long in school. The Priest read aloud every day at mass, even in Latin. Everybody in the Doctor’s office read. People on the bus read. Dad’s waiting in their cars as the Mom’s and children grocery shopped, read. In fact, once you could read and write, Sunset Magazine considered you a reader and sent you mail every day.

Reading is important; I’ve spent my life reading. I’ve traveled around the world and into space through books. My favorite genre is whichever book I have open at the time. Children’s Literature is my passion. Book clubbing is one of the best past times, especially if food is involved. In fact my friends of old are in a book club and we are about to embark on a beach trip to “read” and discuss our newest selection.

My “home-run” book story has helped every student find his or her own “home-run” reads. Every year, I have shared my, Father Bear Comes Home, and every year my students have brought in their “home-run” books. That’s the “diving board” into our Lit. Studies.

In “Growing Up Digital,” Tapscott’s insights into the new generations enthusiasm for the Net reminded me of my generation’s enthusiasm for reading, movies, TV, parties and our driving permits. The Net-Generation, as Tapscott describes, “are learning, playing, communicating, working, creating communities, and enforcing a social transformation.”
N-Geners are interactive “techies” who are always looking for a way to “work it” verses the TV Generation of “Baby Boomers” who started out looking for “how it works.” Reading development is tougher today, society moves too fast to invest their “non-working” free time into a book or even “home work.” Since I stepped into my own classroom, I have seen students being told to read, being forced to read, and threatened into reading. Homework is not any longer the vehicle for students to gain their future lifestyles or careers with. Yet, the Internet does create an enthusiasm for learning. Since I have been enrolled in these courses, I have used the computers in every subject. My students are using the newest technology in the classroom because I am giving them investigative sites to use as they learn from each other and books. I agree with Tapscott, in order to bridge the gap with this up and coming generation we must “live and learn with them.”

FTC Required Disclaimer: I receive these books from the publishers. I did not receive monetary compensation for these reviews. These reviews have been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)