The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
Since publication The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), By Laura Amy Schlitz has great advantages to check out, lots of individuals now increase to have reading behavior. Assisted by the developed technology, nowadays, it is uncomplicated to get guide The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), By Laura Amy Schlitz Also the e-book is not alreadied existing yet in the marketplace, you to browse for in this website. As exactly what you could locate of this The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), By Laura Amy Schlitz It will actually alleviate you to be the very first one reading this e-book The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), By Laura Amy Schlitz and get the advantages.
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
Ebook Download : The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
Winner of the 2016 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical FictionA 2016 Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award WinnerWinner of the 2016 National Jewish Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult LiteratureNewbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz brings her delicious wit and keen eye to early twentieth-century America in a moving yet comedic tour de force.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. 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.
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz - Amazon Sales Rank: #6763 in Books
- Brand: Schlitz, Laura Amy
- Published on: 2015-09-08
- Released on: 2015-09-08
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.81" h x 1.25" w x 6.31" l, 1.25 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 400 pages
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz From School Library Journal Gr 6–9—Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs is a reluctant drudge on her family's farm, and no one appreciates her. She pours her thoughts and emotions into her diary, which is the lens through which readers experience her life. And life on her family's 1911 hardscrabble Pennsylvania farm grinds on endlessly. She loves to read and longs for more education, but is trapped by her circumstances. Her boorish father pushes Joan too far the day he burns her best friends—her books. Soon afterward, she escapes and makes her way to Baltimore. She is taken in by a wealthy Jewish family as a hired girl. They are like no family she has ever met; their affection, religion, and education bind them into a warm unit totally foreign to Joan. She grows to love the family and is surprised and hurt to learn of anti-Semitism. She learns—sometimes through near disaster—about keeping kosher, navigating social classes, and first love. Her world expands as she encounters art, music, and literature. Joan is a well-defined character who makes impetuous, sometimes humorous, mistakes like any teenager. Her diary is written with the emotions and thoughts of a teen, but with the literary structure of one trying to affect an older and more educated sensibility. Readers are treated to a domestic education as Joan describes the incredible amount of work required to keep house in the early 20th century. Coming-of-age drama and deeper questions of faith, belonging, and womanhood are balanced with just the right blend of humor. VERDICT A wonderful look into the life of strong girl who learns that she needs the love of others to truly grow up.—Lisa Crandall, formerly at the Capital Area District Library, Holt, MI
Review The beauty of this novel is that it dares to go beyond the school-is-cruel and paranormal-dystopian-romance conventions and lets its adolescent heroine think on the page about what makes a human being whole: art, love, faith, education, family, friendship.—The New York Times Book ReviewWritten as a diary, the first-person narrative brings immediacy to Joan’s story and intimacy to her confessions and revelations. The distinctive household setting and the many secondary characters are well developed, while Joan comes alive on the page as a vulnerable, good-hearted, and sometimes painfully self-aware character struggling to find her place in the world. A memorable novel from a captivating storyteller.—Booklist (starred review)The diary format allows Joan's romantic tendencies full rein, as well as narrative latitude for a few highly improbable scenarios and wildly silly passion. Tons of period details, especially about clothing, round out a highly satisfying and smart breast-clutcher from this Newbery-winning author.—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Joan is reminiscent of heroines like Anne Shirley, Jo March, Cassandra Mortmain, and her own favorite character, Jane Eyre...Her overactive imagination, passions, and impulsive disregard for propriety often get Joan into trouble, but these same qualities will endear her to readers everywhere.—Publishers Weekly (starred review)Coming-of-age drama and deeper questions of faith, belonging, and womanhood are balanced with just the right blend of humor. A wonderful look into the life of strong girl who learns that she needs the love of others to truly grow up.—School Library Journal (starred review)The book is framed as Joan’s diary, and her weaknesses, foibles, and naiveté come through as clearly—and as frequently—as her hopes, dreams, and aspirations...by the end readers feel as if they’ve witnessed the real, authentic growth of a memorable young woman.—The Horn Book (starred review)Fans of Little Women, rejoice. Janet's impassioned diary, inspired by Schlitz's own grandmother's journals, explores themes of faith and feminism, love and literature, culture and class in early 20th-century America, all the while charming readers with a vivid cast of characters.—Shelf Awareness (starred review)What a heroine, not just for the early 20th century, which Ms. Schlitz skillfully evokes through Janet’s impressions, but also for our own time. An unsophisticated girl who thirsts for education, an impulsive idealist who, when she errs, passionately seeks to put things right: Janet Lovelace is an utterly endearing young woman on whom not a second of youth, it seems, will be wasted. Brava to Laura Amy Schlitz, whose enchanting writing has brought such a spectacular character to young people’s literature.—The Wall Street JournalAn enlightening portrayal of a young girl’s struggle to assert herself at a time when women’s rights were just beginning to be established...Joan’s strength and determination, despite the expectations of a young woman’s attitude and behavior at the time, are inspiring to young readers. Readers of all ages will find her an appealing heroine.—VOYA...fans, who appreciate historical fiction as intelligent as it is entertaining, will be well pleased.—Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksJoan is a true heroine with whom readers are sure to sympathize, and her exciting and humorous adventures will keep readers engaged. Written in diary form with the Voctorian eloquence reflecting Joan's love of Jane Eyre, this novel is sure to inspire girls of any background and lead to greater understanding of Jews and Judaism.—Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter[Joan's] determined earnestness will lead readers to root for her...—Star Tribune"The Hired Girl" is a tender, utterly captivating story about a girl grasping onto small kindnesses and trying to better herself—a classic American story.—San Antonio Express-News
About the Author Laura Amy Schlitz is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, the Newbery Honor Book and New York Times bestseller Splendors and Glooms, and several other books for young readers. A teacher as well as a writer, Laura Amy Schlitz lives in Maryland.
Where to Download The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. A new direction and masterpiece from Laura Amy Schlitz By T. Brown Laura Amy Schlitz’ new book, The Hired Girl, once again is a different story and voice than her previous work. She seems able to reinvent herself, with each new book adopting categorically different elements. Readers expecting the magic or fantastical elements present in some earlier works will not find them here. What they will find instead is a gratifying mix of romantic fantasies, earnest questions about faith and religious truth, and the development of a young, determined personality to create her future, assisted by help and love from unexpected sources.Schlitz creates a wholly human character in Joan Skrags, a 14 year old girl in 1911 thirsting for the learning, culture and knowledge to which she had only brief exposure through her mother and an insightful teacher, but which is cut short by her harsh and intimidating father after her mother’s untimely death. As a “big, ugly ox of a girl”, she is condemned to a life of drudgery on a hard scrabble farm, unappreciated by her father and 3 brothers. It is a telling sign about Joan that it is the burning of her 3 romantic novels, Jane Eyre, Ivanhoe and Dombey and Son that give Joan the resolve to flee her family and seek a new life.Joan ends up in Baltimore at night, lost with no place to stay after fleeing a man who tried to take liberties with her. By lucky chance she is taken in by the Rosenbachs, a prosperous Jewish family, and the real story of Joan’s education and personal growth begins.This is a delightful story, narrated by Joan through her diary in which she can put down her most intimate thoughts, confusions, and fantasies. To gain work as a hired girl in the Rosenbach household, Joan pretends to be 18, forcing her to behave as she imagines an 18 year old would. Her physical development makes this somewhat believable but she still possesses a more childish mind and personality, albeit a very quick one capable of learning and insight. Joan considers herself an earnest Catholic, the faith of her mother to whose memory Joan is very loyal. While she comes to respect, and even love, the Rosenbachs she is also trying fervently to deepen her Catholic faith with the help of a local priest. The conflict and resolution this engenders is an important lesson for Joan, as for us all.Joan also creates a number of conflicts of her own within the Rosenbach family through her well-intentioned naïve efforts to help them. Despite the near term humiliations and embarrassments she experiences as a result, the ultimate results are happy ones and Joan learns from each event.It is not easy to show the growth of a character like Joan, but Schlitz’ own experience as a librarian/teacher has shown her the truth of such things and she develops Joan in a very believable manner. Furthermore, all the other characters are also well developed and believable. I felt I knew and understood them all by the end of the book. The lessons Joan learns are those that all young persons should learn, and even many adults.This book is another masterpiece from Schlitz. I can’t wait to see in what new direction she’ll head next!
19 of 23 people found the following review helpful. Interesting Themes; But Turns Too Predictable For Too Long By Zachary Koenig “The Hired Girl” is a book filled with interesting themes: feminism, religion, class distinctions, romance, and family. While reading, I often was prompted to think about one of those topics in a different way, while the characters were interesting enough to keep me invested. Unfortunately, the end result is that all those themes get muddled together amongst each other and the novel isn’t nearly as clear in concept at the end as it is in the beginning.For a basic plot summary, “The Hired Girl” tells the story of 14-year old Joan Skraggs. Living on a poor Pennsylvania farm, her father is a crude workman who has no respect for her or pretty much all of womankind. With Joan’s mother deceased (“worked to death by Pa”, explains Joan), he is able to rule the roost with an iron fist. All Joan wants to do is get away from farm life to become a teacher, and when Pa pulls her out of classes and insults the schoolmarm in the process, she decides to run away. She ends up as a “hired girl” (servant/worker) for a well-to-do Jewish family in Baltimore, where she begins to question her religious (Catholic) upbringing, her social status, and her blossoming (and of course forbidden) relationship with a young man within the household she serves.Author Laura Amy Schlitz does a marvelous job of making Joan a sympathetic character right from the get-go. Her Pa is a truly terrible person that creates a sort of purgatory for the hard-working, yet creative/inquisitive child. While she plots to run away, readers will be completely swept up in her quest. Even when Joan finds her new occupation in Baltimore, she still manages to be an interesting figure as she meets all of the diverse characters within the household and integrates into the daily comings-and-goings.Unfortunately, it is at this point where “The Hired Girl” starts to splinter (and not necessarily in a good way). The first half of the book sets up a strong, inspiring female character. The second half turns into a pretty standard “forbidden romance” tale. All that great character development and exploration of themes in the early chapters seems to melt away in favor of sappy romance and much more religious exploration than one would expect. I kept waiting for the text to circle back and pick up on those threads from the beginning, but it never does.Overall, I was very intrigued by the setup of “The Hired Girl”, but after the conditions/characters of the story are established, I felt like it turned far too much into a traditional romantic tale (considering the more lofty goals it seems to initially aspire to). As such, I can’t give it more than 3-stars. It was a good read, and stirred a lot of interesting themes, but that stirring didn’t seem lead to much of a finished product.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Timeless Themes; Nice Antidote to Dystopian Novels By Amazon Customer Told through diary entries, Laura Amy Schlitz provides young readers with an engaging, historically accurate view of the life of a young girl in her newest book, “The Hired Girl”.When 14 year-old Joan’s mother dies, her stark life on a meager Pennsylvania farm becomes even more inhospitable. Although she’s a promising student, her father insists she quit school and work on the farm. While her brothers earn a small amount of money for their contributions to the farm operations, Joan’s father denies her any income. When Joan’s former teacher visits and brings books for her to borrow, Joan’s father orders the teacher off the property and forbids her from visiting again. When he burns the three books Joan owns (including her favorite, Jane Eyre) Joan decides to leave home and look for work as a hired girl in a city far from the family farm.Joan pretends she is 18 and is immediately hired by a well-to-do Jewish family in Baltimore. Here her naivete is on display in full force. While she’s no stranger to hard work, she has many lessons to learn about religion, tolerance, love, the servant/employer relationship and more.I enjoyed “The Hired Girl”. Joan is an utterly believable 14 year old (whether it’s 1911 or 2015 somethings are constant – one day is “the best day ever”, the next day “the worst”, and the following day “so good, I wish it would never end”). The text incorporates fantastic vocabulary words – I was happy to be reading on my e-reader so that I could easily look them up! This is partially due to the era and partially due to Joan’s character, who loved classic literature and tried to incorporate the words she read into her diary entries.There’s much for today’s tweens/early teens to learn from reading “The Hired Girl”. The historical setting is interesting, while the messages about tolerance, education, equal opportunities, and “puppy love” are timeless. I do wonder though whether the length and pacing of this book would hold the attention of this age group (which I believe is the intended audience). Sadly, I sense they might think it too boring.3.5 starsThank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
See all 101 customer reviews...
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz PDF
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz iBooks
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz ePub
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz rtf
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz AZW
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz Kindle
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Hired Girl (Ala Notable Children's Books. Older Readers), by Laura Amy Schlitz
