Schlitz, Laura Amy. The Hired Girl. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2015. ISBN: 076367818X
Summary: A story of a courageous fourteen year-old young lady struggling to become an educated free woman in search of a better life, independence, and love around the turn of the century, a time when the women were supposed to stay at home, work the farm along with the men, and not seek an education. The reader gets the insight of women living in a "man's world."
Analysis: Laura Amy Schlitz does an excellent job bringing the reader back to 1911 through the strong voice of Joan. She brings Joan's voice to life in diary form where we hear her daily thoughts and struggles. Written so as to give the reader insight into Joan's conscience mind, giving the reader a window into her thinking processes, hearing her voice of reason as well as her voice of doubt. Enter into the life of women in the early 1900s, their struggles, their loses, and their triumphs. The setting opens up to a hot summer in rural Pennsylvania on a farm where Joan works her fingers raw to appease her angry, ungrateful, and unforgiving father along with her three brothers. Women were to work the homestead seeking only a limited education. You see a division between the rich and the poor through through the eyes of a servant. "I sometimes wonder if every living thing doesn't need kind words as much as sunshine and water."
The plot is captivating as Joan struggles to make her place after losing her mother, the only one that understood what was to come for her daughter. She wanted something better for Joan and instilled a passion for learning in her at an early age. "She must have known that one day I would need to escape from him. Even after her death, she provided for me." The characterization is so well done you wish you had this novel at fourteen so you could see how courage truly can get you far. This is a story of hope and brevity. "I'm going to fight my way forward, though I don't know how and I don't know where I'll end up." This quote shows Joan's optimism, that she is a fighter, one who strives for better things in a time when women were put in their place by the men.
Schlitz shows us how women were treated, how divided people were due to their social status and/or religious views and what it meant to be devout and virtuous. The readers get a taste of the clash between Catholic views/laws and Jewish views/laws.The times are terrifically portrayed by the descriptions of their clothing, their values and morals, their language, and the setting around them. The theme of transformation within Joan is apparent as the setting changes to a more metropolitan society in Baltimore. We first experience this when Joan's views the art sculpture of The Spirit of Transportation at the train station, a metaphor for her transformation. The change from horses to automobiles, the clothing changing from rugged to stylish, the rights of women even seem different in the city. the novel is divided into parts, each depicting a piece of art. The art seems to introduce the stages in Joan's life representing a new transformation based on her life experiences throughout the story.
Schlitz's voice brought me to the 1900s. The language has such a flow that the words and phrases wrap around you. You feel Joan's courage to reach her goals while also feeling the apprehensiveness of a fourteen year old young lady struggling to find her place in the world. The reader experiences Joan feeling as if she was not fitting in with society due to not having the right clothing. Girls today will relate with this... "I felt very plain when I got to church and saw all the well-dressed people getting out of their carriages and automobiles I had to remind myself that the church was God's house and He would want me to come to Mass; He wouldn't mind that Ma's old hat is a disgrace."
I love the mosaic of characters we meet throughout the novel. All seem true to the time and place from the servant to the artist, the scholar to the housewife, the entrepreneur to the priest... all so well developed. At the back of the book, Schlitz provides Art Acknowledgements giving the reader information about each art piece. Then you find the Author's Note explaining her use of language and how it was true to the time.
All young ladies should read this novel! "When I behold the ocean, I know that the world isn't just the grind of small tasks and small thoughts. The world is wide and wild and grand. Someday I will sail my little bark into the great ocean of life, braving the winds and the tide. And while the waves may dwarf me, they will not belittle me, because I will be the master of my fate and the captain of my soul."
Accolades/Scholarly Reviews: National Jewish Book Awards Winner; Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; Association of Jewish Libraries; Sydney Taylor Book Award for Teen Readers; Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee for High School; ALA Notable Books; CATS Awards; Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books-Recommended Titles; Horn Book/Boston Globe Book Awards, and much more.
From Publisher's Weekly 07/15/2015: "Schlitz (Splendors & Glooms) has crafted another exquisite literary gem, one told entirely via Joan’s vivid, humorous, and emotionally resonant diary entries over a year and a half. Through Joan’s naïve perspective, Schlitz frankly discusses class, religion, women’s education, art, literature, and romance."
From Booklist 07/01/2015: "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."
Connections: Have the students do a character study of Joan, then read the children's picture book Joan of Arc by Josephine Poole and then compare the two heroines. Also, if students like this read and want to learn about the early 1900s, they will love Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson, about another courageous young girl. Students could also read the books that Joan cherishes or they could research them and read the synopsis'. These could become books they add to their to-read list.
Analysis: Laura Amy Schlitz does an excellent job bringing the reader back to 1911 through the strong voice of Joan. She brings Joan's voice to life in diary form where we hear her daily thoughts and struggles. Written so as to give the reader insight into Joan's conscience mind, giving the reader a window into her thinking processes, hearing her voice of reason as well as her voice of doubt. Enter into the life of women in the early 1900s, their struggles, their loses, and their triumphs. The setting opens up to a hot summer in rural Pennsylvania on a farm where Joan works her fingers raw to appease her angry, ungrateful, and unforgiving father along with her three brothers. Women were to work the homestead seeking only a limited education. You see a division between the rich and the poor through through the eyes of a servant. "I sometimes wonder if every living thing doesn't need kind words as much as sunshine and water."
The plot is captivating as Joan struggles to make her place after losing her mother, the only one that understood what was to come for her daughter. She wanted something better for Joan and instilled a passion for learning in her at an early age. "She must have known that one day I would need to escape from him. Even after her death, she provided for me." The characterization is so well done you wish you had this novel at fourteen so you could see how courage truly can get you far. This is a story of hope and brevity. "I'm going to fight my way forward, though I don't know how and I don't know where I'll end up." This quote shows Joan's optimism, that she is a fighter, one who strives for better things in a time when women were put in their place by the men.
Schlitz shows us how women were treated, how divided people were due to their social status and/or religious views and what it meant to be devout and virtuous. The readers get a taste of the clash between Catholic views/laws and Jewish views/laws.The times are terrifically portrayed by the descriptions of their clothing, their values and morals, their language, and the setting around them. The theme of transformation within Joan is apparent as the setting changes to a more metropolitan society in Baltimore. We first experience this when Joan's views the art sculpture of The Spirit of Transportation at the train station, a metaphor for her transformation. The change from horses to automobiles, the clothing changing from rugged to stylish, the rights of women even seem different in the city. the novel is divided into parts, each depicting a piece of art. The art seems to introduce the stages in Joan's life representing a new transformation based on her life experiences throughout the story.
Schlitz's voice brought me to the 1900s. The language has such a flow that the words and phrases wrap around you. You feel Joan's courage to reach her goals while also feeling the apprehensiveness of a fourteen year old young lady struggling to find her place in the world. The reader experiences Joan feeling as if she was not fitting in with society due to not having the right clothing. Girls today will relate with this... "I felt very plain when I got to church and saw all the well-dressed people getting out of their carriages and automobiles I had to remind myself that the church was God's house and He would want me to come to Mass; He wouldn't mind that Ma's old hat is a disgrace."
I love the mosaic of characters we meet throughout the novel. All seem true to the time and place from the servant to the artist, the scholar to the housewife, the entrepreneur to the priest... all so well developed. At the back of the book, Schlitz provides Art Acknowledgements giving the reader information about each art piece. Then you find the Author's Note explaining her use of language and how it was true to the time.
All young ladies should read this novel! "When I behold the ocean, I know that the world isn't just the grind of small tasks and small thoughts. The world is wide and wild and grand. Someday I will sail my little bark into the great ocean of life, braving the winds and the tide. And while the waves may dwarf me, they will not belittle me, because I will be the master of my fate and the captain of my soul."
Accolades/Scholarly Reviews: National Jewish Book Awards Winner; Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; Association of Jewish Libraries; Sydney Taylor Book Award for Teen Readers; Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee for High School; ALA Notable Books; CATS Awards; Bulletin Of The Center For Children's Books-Recommended Titles; Horn Book/Boston Globe Book Awards, and much more.
From Publisher's Weekly 07/15/2015: "Schlitz (Splendors & Glooms) has crafted another exquisite literary gem, one told entirely via Joan’s vivid, humorous, and emotionally resonant diary entries over a year and a half. Through Joan’s naïve perspective, Schlitz frankly discusses class, religion, women’s education, art, literature, and romance."
From Booklist 07/01/2015: "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."
Connections: Have the students do a character study of Joan, then read the children's picture book Joan of Arc by Josephine Poole and then compare the two heroines. Also, if students like this read and want to learn about the early 1900s, they will love Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson, about another courageous young girl. Students could also read the books that Joan cherishes or they could research them and read the synopsis'. These could become books they add to their to-read list.
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