Boston Jane Series: An Adventure - Hardcover

Holm, Jennifer L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060287381 ISBN 13: 9780060287382

Publisher: HarperColl, 2001

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Jane Peck has ventured to the unknown wilds of the Northwest to wed her childhood idol, William Baldt. But her impeccable training at Miss Hepplewhite's Young Ladies Academy in Philadelphia is hardly preparation for the colorful characters and crude life that await her in Washington Territory.

Thrown upon her wits in the wild, Jane must determine for herself whether she is truly proper Miss Jane Peck of Philadelphia, faultless young lady and fiancée, or Boston Jane, as the Chinook dub her, fearless and loyal woman of the frontier.

An exciting new novel from Jennifer L. Holm, author of the Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia.

About this title

Review:

Imagine being seasick for five months, two weeks, and six days as you--a girl from Philadelphia--sail farther and farther away from everything and everyone you've ever known to the unknown wilds of the Great Pacific Northwest in 1854: "I felt certain that luck had nothing to do with anything aboard the Lady Luck, a poorly named vessel if ever there was one. I had just spent the morning of my sixteenth birthday puking into a bucket, and I had little hope that the day would improve." Meet Boston Jane, a new reluctant young lady heroine from Jennifer L. Holm, author of the Newbery Honor Book, Our Only May Amelia.

Impulsive Jane, ever on the path to leaving behind her rough-and-tumble tomboy childhood to become a proper young lady, agrees to meet her very genteel fiancé on the rugged west coast of America. Unfortunately, William is not there when she arrives. Suddenly, Boston Jane, as her new Chinook neighbors call her, must cast aside her "faultless young lady" demeanor and depend on her long-suppressed pioneer spirit to survive. Holm cleverly weaves in lessons from Jane's Philadelphia finishing school, Miss Hepplewhite's Young Ladies Academy, in dramatic and often-hilarious contrast to the trials and tribulations Jane faces at sea and in Oregon country. Readers will be charmed by teenage Jane's ironic tone and inner conflicts and will cheer her on as she sheds layer after layer of decorum. Granted, the budding romance between Jane and sailor Jehu, "hidden" beneath the surface love story of Jane and the more uppity William, is an at-least-twice-told tale; but young readers will get caught up in the excitement of it nonetheless. The intricate details of mid-19th century life on an untamed frontier--complete with carefully researched Chinook tribal history and real-life incidents of white settlers--are absolutely fascinating. A thrilling, entertaining read. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

From the Inside Flap:

Read by Jessalyn Gilsig
Approx. 5 hours
4 cassettes

Fresh from Miss Hepplewhite's Young Ladies' Academy, sixteen-year-old Jane Peck has come to the unknown wilds of the Northwest to be wedded to her true love, William Baldt, her idol from childhood. But her socially correct upbringing in straitlaced Philadelphia is hardly preparation for the colorful characters and crude life that await her in Shoal Water Bay in the Washington Territory. Thrown upon her wits in the wild, Jane learns not only to cope, but to thrive-and to discover for herself whether she is truly proper Miss Jane Peck of Philadelphia, faultless young lady and fiancée, or Boston Jane, as the Chinook dub her, fearless and loyal woman of the frontier.

Drawn from historical material of the region, Boston Jane is a rich potpourri of adventure, humor, romance, and suspense, featuring a dashing new heroine who will win readers' hearts as she discovers the true desires of her own.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperColl
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0060287381
• ISBN 13: 9780060287382
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288