The Hired Girl
Joan Skraggs has lived on a Pennsylvania farm in 1911. Forced to give up her education to work full-time on the farm, Joan loves to dream and read. However, she is forced to spend her days at the farm cleaning, cooking, and doing the laundry until one day, her father burns her books.
Deciding she has had enough, with nothing but the diary in which the story is told, the clothes on her back, and twenty-nine dollars sewn into the skirt of her doll, Belinda, Joan runs away to Baltimore.
There, she is hired by the Rosenbachs. There is Mrs. Rosenbach, Mr. Rosenbach, who is often away at work, their sons, David Rosenbach and Solomon Rosenbach, and their 12-year-old daughter, Miriam Roscenbach, nicknamed Mimi. There, Joan has harbored a shaky relationship with the family’s original servant, an old, grumpy lady named Malka, developed a bond with the family cat, Thomsakey, and navigate a complicated relationship with David.
Perhaps I’m a little biased in saying this is one of the best novels I may have ever read, because I’ve always enjoyed epistolaries more than others, but this was truly a delightful book. Picture this: it’s a warm afternoon, and you’re all curled up in an armchair with a cup of tea or chocolate, perhaps with a cat purring in your lap. (I highly recommend British longhairs, they’re just so cuddly!) The Hired Girl would be the perfect read. Joan is an amazing character. Throughout the book, she often describes herself as “clumsy as an ox” because of her time working on the farm, but her strength helps her more often than she knows. She is an honest and kind individual, who is just looking to fulfill the life her mother had planned for her: to be a schoolteacher. While she faces hardships along the way, she faces them, always ready with a joke to crack and with a persistence most people wouldn’t have.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a cozy read. The Hired Girl is an example of how persistence and dedication can bring you a far way.
Longbow Girl
Fifteen year old Merry Owen, otherwise known as the Longbow Girl, is the first female heir of a 700 year old vow to protect the Crown with the skill of the longbow. Her family lives on land given to them years ago from the Earl de Courcy. The de Courceys themselves live right next to the Owens, in a giant palace named the “Black Castle.” While they are a sort of “enemies,” Merry is best friends with the de Courceys’ son, James. But the Owens’ farm is being threatened financially, with costs they can’t afford to pay. One day, Merry is out on a walk in the forest when she comes across a strange box. She brings it home, and there is a book inside. To try to find out the costs, Merry brings it to the Black Castle after James tells her that someone named Professor Parks is coming, and he might be able to help.
Once she reaches the castle, Merry is uncomfortable with the amount of attention that the book is getting from the de Courceys. Parks reveals that the book may be the lost tale of the Mabinogion, which may save her family’s farm. After a few days of deciding, Merry hastily gives the book over, making a public announcement that she was donating it to a museum and trying to raise money for it—money that may save her family.
The book, after being translated, referred to another land and treasures, and also mentions “a warrior bold, who comes from far away.” Merry follows the translation’s riddles and clues to a cave and a waterfall, which leads to the world when it was ruled by King Henry VIII. There, Merry must save her ancestors in the past, as well as her family in the present. Will her archery powers be enough to save her family? I recommend this book because of how serious it is. With its twisting surprise, engaging mysterious, and suspenseful air, it will surely be captivating to readers.
