Told through diary entries, Laura Amy Schlitz provides young readers with an engaging, historically accurate view of the life of a young girl in her newest book, “The Hired Girl”.

When 14 year-old Joan’s mother dies, her stark life on a meager Pennsylvania farm becomes even more inhospitable. Although she’s a promising student, her father insists she quit school and work on the farm. While her brothers earn a small amount of money for their contributions to the farm operations, Joan’s father denies her any income. When Joan’s former teacher visits and brings books for her to borrow, Joan’s father orders the teacher off the property and forbids her from visiting again. When he burns the three books Joan owns (including her favorite, Jane Eyre) Joan decides to leave home and look for work as a hired girl in a city far from the family farm.

Joan pretends she is 18 and is immediately hired by a well-to-do Jewish family in Baltimore. Here her naivete is on display in full force. While she’s no stranger to hard work, she has many lessons to learn about religion, tolerance, love, the servant/employer relationship and more.

I enjoyed “The Hired Girl”. Joan is an utterly believable 14 year old (whether it’s 1911 or 2015 somethings are constant – one day is “the best day ever”, the next day “the worst”, and the following day “so good, I wish it would never end”). The text incorporates fantastic vocabulary words – I was happy to be reading on my e-reader so that I could easily look them up! This is partially due to the era and partially due to Joan’s character, who loved classic literature and tried to incorporate the words she read into her diary entries.

There’s much for today’s tweens/early teens to learn from reading “The Hired Girl”. The historical setting is interesting, while the messages about tolerance, education, equal opportunities, and “puppy love” are timeless. I do wonder though whether the length and pacing of this book would hold the attention of this age group (which I believe is the intended audience). Sadly, I sense they might think it too boring.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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favorite quote "I think I would rather have a cat than a sweetheart, after all. They are less trouble..." ( )

A well-written coming of age story.
Joan lives on a farm with her father and brothers. Her two most important influences are her mother, now dead, and her teacher, both of whom plant in her the idea that she can make something of herself. She adores reading and soaks up knowledge like a sponge. As it becomes clear to her that her emotionally abusive father is not going to soften and that her life has no hope of changing if she stays where she is, she takes a bold step and a bid for a better future.

This is a bit long for a YA book, but it held my interest throughout. It had a unexpected amount of religion in the plot, as Joan is Catholic and the family she gets acquainted with is Jewish, so there are themes of religious persecution and tolerance discussed.
Mostly what I like in Joan is her thrill in reading and learning, and her determination to hold on to some kind of self-respect even when outward circumstances seem to take her dignity from her. ( )

The premise of a Catholic farm girl who ends up as a house maid for a Jewish family made this book an intriguing bit of YA fiction that provides a different perspective from other books. However, the main character, Joan, was a bit too precocious and self-consciously virtuous for my taste. She had flaws, but they were generally of the "naive attempt to do good goes wrong" variety. Also, without spoiling, I'll say that I was not a fan of the plot elements that drove the climax. This isn't to say that the book was bad — I enjoyed reading it for the most part. However, I don't think this will be one that sticks with me. ( )

The wonderful memoir-style story of a stubborn, intelligent girl making her way in 1911. The story is full of thoughtful moments -- about religion, self-determination, confidence, meddling (and consequences), love, education and hard, hard work. Inspiring and excellent in pacing, characters and a beautifully immersive setting. One cannot help but admire Joan's spirit, even as we cringe at her mistakes, innocent and honest though they may be. Hard to put down.

Also, Joan's commentary on why a cat is better than a sweetheart is hilarious -- ultimately there is a lack of fur that just can't be got around. :) ( )