So this book was kinda meh, and I might have given it two stars, but I thought it was pretty cool that Ann Rinaldi wrote a book starring her grandparents set in what she knew of her family history.

Getting married and pregnant at 15 - ugh! What a life women had back then! ( )

Read by Jodine, Spring 2006:
"I chose the book because it looked pleasant and interesting. I found it in the youth room in the basement of Willard Library, so I could be confident that it really is "youth literature." The reading level is actually easier than I expected, so I would place it anywhere from 7th through 9th grade. Although the story deals with a semi-arranged marriage and the couple's wedding night, the language used is very appropriate and discreet. I would be comfortable letting my daughters read this book when they are in 7th or 8th grade. "

A girl from South Carolina marries a wealthy man from New York and moves there; she must learn how to run a house and get used to such a different place. ( )

I listened to this as an audio book. The reader did a fairly good job, except for the male voices which all sounded gruff and slightly superior.
I found it disturbing that the women in the book were depicted as firmly pinned down by the conventions of the turn of the century. For example, the protagonist, Rose, gets married at age 15, following in her mother's footsteps. She marries a man 15 years her senior, not for love, but because she thought his wealth would save her family's failing southern plantation. Even so, the author clearly intended Rose to be an iconoclast for her time, but looking at Rose through 21st century eyes, she doesn't seem that daring.

What I most enjoyed about the book were the historical details of life at the turn of the century. For example, the use of street cars that took them out to the sand dunes in Brooklyn, New York! Also interesting were the role expectations placed upon wealthy women of that time i.e. managing a household of servants so as not to "bother" the husband with those details as he had important business to attend to.

This isn't the best juvenile historical fiction I've ever read and I was bothered by the treacly deference the "gutsy" protagonist displayed to all of the male characters. The fact that the author reveals at the end of the story that this is a fictional reconstruction of her grandmother's life makes me soften my critical instincts a bit. I couldn't honestly recommend this book wholeheartedly, though it is not completely without merit. ( )