The Hired Girl

Publishing Details

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Description

Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz brings her delicious wit and keen eye to early twentieth-century America in a moving yet comedic tour de force.

A humorous coming-of-age story that will appeal to fans of Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, 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 remote 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 Joans 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.

Reviews

The Hired Girl is a modern classic about making your own way in the world when you cant cope with the hand thats been dealt you, and finding a new kind of family in the most unlikely of places. * 100% Rock Magazine *
Schlitz wrote some very colourful and entertaining characters * My Life in Books *
Joan is a wonderful heroine: feisty, tactless, thoughtful, romantic, determined and very young and idealistic. * Reading Time *
Ah, such a breath of fresh air! I loved this book, and so needed this kind of read! 'The Hired Girl' is so layered and sweet and sad and often funny. So many feels! This is one for the Austen/Alcott/Downton fans. * The Golden Adventures of a Very Dark Horse *
This is a fantastic book about strength, and the power of believing you can. With one of the best covers Ive seen in ages, this story by the Newbery Medal winner for Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, makes me want to sing with pleasure. Its emotive and perfectly crafted storyline will stay with you long after the book is read. * Buzzwords *
The Hired Girl is a delightful piece of YA historical fiction; a story of one girl's quest for a better life outside the confines of her prior existence, and learning more about herself and others along the way. * Genie in a Book *

Author Bio

Laura Amy Schlitz, author of Fire Spell, A Drowned Maiden's Hair and the Newbery Medal-winner Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village has spent most of her life working as a librarian and professional storyteller. She has also written plays for young people that have been performed in professional theatres all over the US. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.