Jeanette IngoldRecensioni

FROM PUBLISHER: In 1933, fifteen-year-old Beatty hangs around a small Texas airport waiting for visits from her pilot-father from whom she longs to learn about her deceased mother.

FROM AMAZON: In the early days of aviation, Beatty and Moss hang out around the airport Beatty's uncle manages. Beatty is hoping to see her father when he flies in--and quickly out again--on a mail flight. And Moss is hoping his mechanical skills will help him to support himself. Neither anticipates their crucial roles in the airfield's survival--or in saving Beatty's father's life.

Moss Trelawney’s dad has given up. The U.S. is deep in the Depression, and he’s become a drunk who left his family to fend for themselves. So Moss decides to be as different as he can be – he joins the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, a group that will forever change the face of America. The CCC runs like the Army, but it builds dams, plants trees, changes the flows of creeks and rivers – all to fight the deadly Dust Bowl and prevent mass starvation. But it’s really hard work, and the Depression brings out the mean in people. Can Moss make it in the CCC? Or will he be kicked out and become a drunken, shiftless bum like his dad? Easy read, fast moving historical fiction, 267 pp.

A girl, blinded by the auto accident that killed her mother, comes to terms with her disability--and her new life. “This is a sensitive and well-told story, inhabited by appealing and believable characters, and given a twist by the unexpected element of the supernatural.

Asia McKinna comes of age in a rural Texas town during World War I. She struggles to understand the frailty of her grandmother, the strain of the war, her intensifying feelings for her friend Nick Grissom, and the uneasiness caused by the mysterious fires plaguing her town. Through her growing passion for photography, she hopes eventually to gain perspective on the times--and on her place in the world.

[The Big Burn] by [Jeanette Ingold] is an excellently written historical fiction that deals with an interesting topic. The plot is focused around three young people: Elizabeth, a homesteader with her sister, Jarret, a fire fighter, and Seth, and African American soldier. The even that brings them all together is the forest fires of 1910 in Idaho and Montana know as the Big Burn.

[Ingold] tells a fast moving tale through the various perspectives of those involved. The fact that she chose very different characters but remained historically accurate says a lot about the skill of the author. This book is a welcome addition to any classroom library, especially for those reluctant readers.

Nice blend of using research to find ancestry. A good story line.

RGG: Wonderful story about a seventeen-year-old boy's joining of the Civilian Conservation Corps. References to the Dust Bowl and conservation efforts, train hopping, and a father abandoning his family and succombing to alcoholism.

Learned much of the Civilian Conservation Corps started during the Great Depression. When Moss Trawnley is left jobless and homeless, he joins the CCC and is sent to the State of Montana to plant trees, build water reservoirs and dams. He learns the value of hard work, caring for others and taking responsibility for his future. He comes upon a couple very nasty bosses but through it all, he accepts it and is well loved by all in his barracks.

Maggie Chen is a high school intern at the local news station, following in the footsteps of her father, who was recently killed in a car accident. when she stumbles upon some of her father's notes and a local politically motivated murder is uncovered, Maggie starts to piece together the coincidences into a big question about who her father really was.

Fai-yi and Sucheng Li, a brother and sister, fled to America in the midst of the Chinese Exclusion Act, when the U.S. began restricting Chinese immigration into the country in the post-gold rush era. they are considered paper children, illegally claimed as the children of Chinese Americans for a fee, allowing them to enter the country. as the two stories are told in alternating chapters, the story begins to unfold and Maggie finally begins to understand who her father was, and who she is.

the writing is clean and simple and the storyline is engaging, making for a quick read. although i didn't find the unfolding of events overly compelling in their presentation, the slight hints of mystery and family saga were enough to keep me reading. the characters were a little on the shallow side, but altogether believable. i think Paper Daughter was good, but not great, though the potential was definitely there. with the family history unfolding in front of this budding journalist, and with loads of cultural and historical significance, this could have been an amazing read. but, instead, it was just good.

in the end, i'm glad i read it, but wish that Ingold had been able to pull it all together into the stunning novel that this could have been. i'd still recommend it to anyone that has an interest in Chinese-American culture.

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Her father would be so proud; at least that's what Maggie Chen hopes. He was a great newspaper reporter, and now Maggie has a coveted intern position at a local newspaper.

It hasn't been a year since Maggie's father, Steven Chen, was killed by a hit and run driver. The story is that he was lost and attempting to find his way home from a reporting assignment. Now, Maggie has a chance to move on and focus on something productive and at the same time follow in her father's reporter footsteps.

Her mother, busy teaching at the local university, thinks Maggie should relax this summer and have fun. She doesn't seem to want to listen as Maggie tells her how much this internship means, and besides, her friends are all off having their own summer experiences and aren't available to hang out. As she heads off for her first day, she hopes this summer will open new doors and help her feel even closer to her father.

The first day on the job doesn't go well, but Maggie is determined to prove herself. Her hard work pays off when she is sent on assignment with another reporter. Together they begin to unravel a mystery at city hall involving the planning commission and a contractor who may have connections to an unsolved murder. The catch is Maggie's father seems to be connected, too.

Author of PAPER DAUGHTER, Jeanette Ingold, creates a story-within-a-story. Maggie Chen is excited to prove herself as a future news reporter, and at the same time readers learn about her father's possible secret past. As the current scandal in city government is uncovered, another mystery makes itself known.

In the summer before her senior year, Maggie Chen decides to take advantage of her opportunity at an internship with the Seattle Herald. Her father, a journalist, has been recently killed by a hit-and-run driver, and Maggie knows how proud he was that she was selected for the internship. She is fortunate enough after only a few days on the job to be involved in a potentially huge story about corruption at city hall involving a local builder.
In addition to her summer job, Maggie is doing her best to help her mother, an English professor, with duties around the house. While cleaning out her father’s office, she finds mysterious notes which, along with clues from his past, lead her to believe that her father may not have been who he said. The mystery of her father and the corruption at city hall seem to be related. Could he have been involved in illegal activities? Did that cause his death?
A secondary story about Fai-yi Li and his sister begins slowly, with their illegal immigration to America, but builds as he begins to become part of the new culture and falls in love. The reader is left to puzzle about how his tale relates to the main story of Maggie. All of the pieces come together nicely, however, in the end.
Maggie is a well-developed character and many teens will relate to her search for her own identity. Fascinating details about Chinese culture also enliven the story. This book will be a hit for readers who enjoy a good mystery.

Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold is a story of family. It follows Maggie Chen, an average high school girl, living an average life until one day, while going through her father's last effects she uncovers a piece of information which sets her world spinning.Coupled with this information is the possibility that her father may have been involved with some shady business. Oh, and did I mention Maggie is interning at the local newspaper? She's totally in for a crazy summer.

I devoured Paper Daughter. It had a slight air of mystery, intermingling with flashbacks from the past, the Chinese Exclusion Act. Pieces of information were dangled in small bits, and I found them to be rather tantalizing. I suppose it was compelling in the way that a scandal is compelling, you just want to know, because of the DRAMZ. (I'm pretty big on dramz, dontcha know)

I wanted to know Maggie's story. I wanted to know where she came from and what the deal with her father was. Maggie, I felt, was courageous, intelligent, and a strong character. Plus, I like seeing YA characters with cars not being shuttled around by the parents. Overall, the cast of characters were well fleshed out. One of the other interns, Jillian, is wicked annoying, but we do find out just why she's so grating, and we see that she's got layers, like an onion, or a ogre. The flashback characters were very intriguing. I loved that subplot, as that is where the pacing was the fastest, plus I'm a bit of a history nerd.

Paper Daughter by Jeanette Ingold is a short read and perfect if you want to lounge around with a contemporary book on a slow afternoon.½

Ingold, J. (1998). Pictures, 1918. New York: Puffin Books.

Grade Levels: 8-10
Category: Historical Fiction
Read-Alouds: pp. 1-18 (The fire and the kiss); 56-66 (The first day at Mr. Riley’s shop); 103-125 (The camping trip and Boy’s drama).

Summary: Asia and her family’s barn was set on fire by an unidentifiable arson and this is the event that sparks Asia wanting a camera to capture all her hopes, dreams, and items she wants to cherish forever. Nick is her next door neighbor and possible boyfriend as he kisses her next to a snake skin. Her sister May and brother Homer torment her and keep her on her toes. May falls in love with Nick’s cousin Boy which leads to trouble. In all this drama their Grandmama has trouble remembering events and her whereabouts.

Themes: The major theme of this text is self exploration. The need to buy a camera and become independent from her family is Asia’s mission to capture her memories in time. Another theme would be teen relationships. The way that Nick and Asia react to each other and how they sort out their problems definitely present themselves a problem when their communication levels are not adequate. Any historical or cultural text could be related to this book and used as an adaptation in the classroom.

Discussion Questions:
What do you think of the character of Grandmama?
How did you react to the fire at the beginning of the text?
What is your reaction to Boy Blackwell?

Reader Response: I have admired this book from afar for awhile and am excited that I finally was able to read this text. This is just a simple quant little book that sets up a different environment for readers and allows readers to be within a different setting and culture. There is a lot of cultural tension within the text in regards to Germans, the war, and the draft. These are several issues that you and your students can discuss with other multicultural and historical novels set in the same time period.

Mandy's life changed in an instant. A car crash took from her, her mother and her sight. Now she is sent to live with great aunts and uncles she had no idea even existed.

This book starts out very promising as the reader struggles with Mandy and her new handicap but quickly becomes a let down despite a very unique twist with Mandy's past. The author seemed very despirate to get to the end and the book feels rushed with half developed plots and flat characters. The book leaves the reader asking more questions then were answered.

"The Window" by Jeanette Ingold is about a young girl named Mandy who loses her sight after being in a car crash. The crash also killed her mother, and now Mandy goes to live with elderly relatives who she never knew existed. How will Mandy deal with her blindness?

Being able to see is always something that I took for granted until I read this book. Jeanette Ingold's descriptions of Mandy trying to do simple things, such as pick out clothing or find a classroom, really suck you in. I'm also glad how the author included scenes where Mandy faced people who acted like she was beneath them. I think this book not only reminds us what we take for granted, but also that people who have such handicaps are just normal people trying to get through the day like the rest of us. I recommend it to all.

An excellent historical fiction book describing the Idaho wildfires of 1910 from several points of view: an African American soldier, a firefighter, and a homesteader.

A young girl in Texas buys a camera during the turbulent year of 1918, shortly before the influenza epidemic.

Let's you know what it would have been like to grow up during The Depression.