Strong characterization and a solid plot, bonus marks for the extensive author's note about historical context. I would absolutely read more by Schrempp. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-7

Plot Summary: After the death of Gloria’s baby brother from the horrible dust storms, Gloria is enraged that her dad is being so kind to the bank man who is taking away their home and farm. Angry, Gloria throws a baseball and hits the bank man’s window. In the car heading west, in search of jobs, money, and a home, her dad is furious with her. At the peach orchard, Gloria gets even more upset about all the things that seem unfair, like picking peaches but not being able to eat them, being forced to buy things from the farms expensive store, and not being able to play baseball with the boys. Will Gloria get what she really wants—a chance to play baseball?

Setting:

Characters:
Gloria Mae Willard -
Jess - Gloria’s older sister, has a crush on a boy
Quentin - leader of the baseball team

Recurring Themes: organizing, protest, strike, Great Depression, boys va girls, baseball, secrets

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: Curious to know if the kids will like it but a well-written historical fiction that tugs at your heart strings and teaches about protests and strikes.

Genre: historical fiction (Great Depression)

Pacing:
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

Gloria's family heads west to pick crops in California after her father loses the family farm and home to the bank. They join up at a peach orchard where living and working conditions are worse than back home, and the bosses threaten violent police action on any "radicals" trying to "organize." Gloria isn't interested in organizing peaches--she just wants to join the boys' baseball team and show she can pitch. This is zesty historical fiction that puts readers in the dusty orchards and primitive shacks while they root for the dogged and determined Gloria. ( )

Author is a Hampshire alum!

Gloria Mae Willard travels west from Oklahoma to California with her older sister Jess and their parents, leaving behind their farm and house - taken by the bank - and their baby brother's grave. They find work in a peach orchard, but there's talk of a strike when hourly wages drop from twenty to sixteen cents. Glo is alert to the unfairness of the system, but her primary concern is getting in on the local baseball game, which means proving herself to the boys. Glo is a determined, scrappy firecracker kid, unlike her sweet and gentle older sister (though Jess has a hidden rebellious streak as well). Glo's ferocious but inelegant ways lead to some painful blunders, but she has honest talks with her pa, ma, and sister, and even Terrance, the pitcher who tried to keep her off his team. In the end, Gloria Mae leads her peach team to victory against the apricot boys, but the strike is foiled and the family must move on. An author's note addresses what is real and what's invented, and includes a list of additional sources and other novels set during the Dust Bowl/Great Depression.

See also: The Peach Rebellion (YA)

Quotes

Ma'd buttoned up her sorrow like a Sunday dress. (7)

And mile after mile, Oklahoma slipped out from underneath us. (28)

I was just feeling...like the whole world was waiting to see me stop hoping. Waiting to see me give up. (39)

Didn't matter how good you were. They'd find a way to keep you back and call it fair. (80)

"Keep 'em fighting each other, never see it's the same man keeping 'em down." (99)

"It ain't right!"
"Maybe not, Glo, but it's just the way it is."
That was her answer for everything that was unfair. Everything she didn't have an answer to. (133)

Meanness is funny like that. The bigger you get the smaller they have to make you feel. (208)

"Pride makes you do foolish things you regret later....Honor...well, it's got more to do with doing the right thing, even when it's hard." (225)

"Being scared makes it hard to do the right thing." (226)

"When you don't fight for what you deserve, the world just digs its heel into you a little bit more. If you don't speak up for yourself, probably no one else will. But...speaking up is different than tearing down." (228) ( )