Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Willamina Public Library | YA THE | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Bonnie Shaster, fourteen and recently orphaned, arrives at her cousin Audra's Seattle boarding house in 1918 and struggles to find her place among a disorderly group of progressive ladies and outspoken gentlemen boarders, among them a handsome but embittered young man blinded in the Great War.
Author Notes
Jean Thesman is the author of more than a dozen books for young readers. She makes her home with her husband in Bothell, Washington.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-5A teacher narrator lovingly recalls the fate of Roxanne, a talented young girl from a mountain village who is best known for raising a bear cub and bringing notoriety and wealth to her gruff grandfather. When a film crew comes to town to put together its own music video version of the Pied Piper using Roxanne and the bear, the appeal of fame and seeing the world lures the girl away. The next day the bear dies. The storyteller says, "There's a lesson to be learned, if one just listens to my tale." This tightly constructed short story has a gentle tone, but is likely to appeal more to adults, who will relate to the elderly narrator and his style, than to children. Charcoal illustrations are soft and blurred, spare and yet suggestive enough to assist readers in visualizing additional details in order to keep the story in mind.Kathy East, Wood County District Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Graduates of the American Girls series who are looking for a slightly more sophisticated read may find what they seek in this period novel about a recently orphaned 14-year-old. There are plenty of surprises in store for Bonnie when, in the year 1918, she moves into her elderly cousins' boardinghouse in Seattle. The clashing personalities of roomers plus numerous household crises-cooks quitting on the spur of the moment, estranged spouses popping up unexpectedly, debts accruing at an alarming rate-create a series of conflicts nobly endured by gracious Cousin Audra and feminist Cousin Winnie, who are both frustratingly helpless at running a business. Although themes remain somewhat unfocused, the backdrop of labor strikes and flu epidemics offer a dramatic portrayal of American life just after WWI. Bonnie's personal dilemmas tend to get lost in the flurry of activity around her, yet the events that she witnesses provide some food for thought. Ages 10-14. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Fiction: O In Seattle in 1918, orphaned Bonnie moves in with her cousins, who operate a boarding house and are in the forefront of feminist activities, campaigning for suffragist causes and advocating family planning. The diverse inhabitants of the household become integral parts of Bonnie's life and allow her opportunity to mature. The underlying issues are substantial, but the presentation is laced with humor, warmth, and historical references that evoke the period. Horn Rating: Superior, well above average. Reviewed by: mmb (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An orphan's life takes a sharp turn for the better when she becomes a member of her freethinking cousin's household. Newly orphaned Bonnie, 14, doesn't know what to expect of her relatives, but cousins Audra and Winnie, and Audra's grown daughter Sally, make her ``more welcome than good luck and Christmas both.'' Having fallen on hard times, the women have recently begun taking in boarders, struggling to keep their guests comfortable and fed. As in Thesman's Molly Donnelly (1993), the daily bustle and dinner table conversations of an extended family tie several plot threads together: the 1918 influenza epidemic; the return of Sally's bullying husband; the rehabilitation of a young, blind war veteran. On a lighter note, there is an unending parade of unpleasant cooks and minor domestic crises, and although Bonnie admires her relatives to pieces, the irony of women who pass out suffragist and birth control literature but can't cook their own meals is not lost on her. For her large cast Thesman relies on suggestion and nuance to develop her characters, but sensitive readers will be surprised at how familiar many of the people seem by the bittersweet but satisfying conclusion. A rich, multilayered novel anchored by a loving, unconventional family. Must the story end here? (Fiction. 11-14)
Booklist Review
Gr. 7^-10. Like much of Thesman's fiction, this is about a community of strong women across generations. In 1914 in Seattle, 14-year-old orphan Bonnie moves to the boardinghouse of her independent-minded female relatives and becomes involved with the people who live and work there. The panorama is broad, with lots of people coming and going. The focus is on the events of the times, including the end of World War I, the flu epidemic, the labor riots, the start of Prohibition, and, above all, the struggle for women's rights. Bonnie's great-aunts are well educated and progressive; there's no doubt that Bonnie also will go on to college. Thesman has a lot of fun in showing that these "independent" ladies can't even light the stove. She also dramatizes the sadness of class differences. Some of the men are caricatures, but Bonnie's most poignant relationship is with a sarcastic, clever young lodger, blinded in the war, whose love pushes Bonnie to study further and leave him. --Hazel Rochman