Genre: Historical Fiction
4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁
Plot: Joan is the only girl in her family. Her father is verbally insulting and burns her few books. Joan runs away from her farm in Pennsylvania. She finds herself being taken in as the hired girl by a kind Jewish family, the Rosenbach family.
She is also the “Shabbos goy” or goy shel shabat (גוי של שבת) that performs tasks
that are not allowed for Jewish people on the Sabbath. Joan involves herself in
the eldest Rosenbach son’s love life, she tries to convert the grandson to
Catholicism, finds herself less than endeared to the lady of the house, and
then decides she is in love with the Rosenbachs’ younger son. In spite of all
of these growing pains, Joan manages to become a strong independent young lady.
Setting: A farm in Pennsylvania during 1911 and Baltimore in a
Jewish household.
Theme: This work reflects the morals of the times and
explores the topics of beliefs, religions, social classes, feminism, and young
love.
“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.” ~~ School Library Journal
Style: This is a coming-of-age drama written in diary format. There were many positive references
to art, literature, and the need for education. There were 5 illustrations at
the beginning of each of the different parts of the book; that was a nice touch.
Additional Criteria: There are plenty of period details. The
author included the idea of Jewish persecution, and the main character had to
learn about the running of a Jewish household. For example, how to store meats
and dairy foods separately, kosher laws, and religious holidays. These are very
accurate depictions of this time period and the cultural differences the main character
might have encountered.
“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
"An unusual novel, brilliantly executed, this book is well worth the reader's time and will not be easily forgotten."
~~ Jewish Book Council
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