Edith Shay - Hardcover

LaFaye, A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670875988 ISBN 13: 9780670875986

Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 1998

Synopsis

Katherine Lunden, determined to make a life for herself, leaves the woods of Wisconsin for New York City, where the phantom owner of the abandoned suitcase she brought with her becomes a symbol of the woman Katherine wants to be.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-8-Katherine Lunden has always longed to go to faraway places. In 1865 when she is 16, she leaves her Wisconsin home, makes her way to Chicago, and finds a lost suitcase bearing the name of Edith Shay. In the big city, Katherine takes a job as a seamstress, and on a whim, assumes the name on the suitcase as her own. She becomes homesick very quickly, but her parents write that their home is now closed to her because she has betrayed them by leaving. Too proud to return home, she decides to go to Richmond, VA, to return Edith's suitcase. On the way she is robbed and learns that not everyone can be trusted. Still, she then takes a job with an unscrupulous Scrooge-like man. Throughout her travels, Katherine is told that she needs a husband and family. She discovers, however, that she can be self-sufficient despite the conventional wisdom of the day. Although this story is set as the Civil War is ending, it is more of a character study than a historical novel. There are a number of period details, especially about the role of women; the clothing of the day; and of Chicago, Washington, and Richmond as they looked then. Largely, though, this is the story of a young woman who goes against the customs of her time. Readers learn of her hopes and dreams, her insecurities and her strengths. And while Katherine does travel far and have many adventures, there is more introspection than action. The book's main appeal will be to readers who can identify with her independent spirit.
Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

The intricate descriptions and leisurely pace that served LaFaye well in her remarkable debut, The Year of the Sawdust Man, prove a stumbling block in this coming-of-age story set in 1865 Chicago. High-spirited and impulsive by nature, 16-year-old Katherine feels stifled growing up in the woods of Wisconsin. Reading provides her only stimulation, and her parents' urgings to marry "some country boy" and stick close to home make her feel like a misfit. Her wish "to marry a city gentleman who would treat me like a lady and take me to the far reaches of the country" leads Katherine on a difficult road of hard labor and self-doubt, first as a night cook in Chicago and then in a printer's shop in Philadelphia. In the process she takes on a new name (Edith Shay), discovers how little her previous life has prepared her for fending for herself and develops a strong faith in the kindness of strangers and her own resilience. As in her first novel, LaFaye offers a multidimensional portrait of a young woman in transition, one capable of seeing her flaws and rising above them, revealed in poetic and poignant language. While the theme of adventure is somewhat derailed by the time it takes for the plot to unravel, readers inclined toward self-reflection will be hooked by Katherine's commitment to figuring out who she is, how she feels about her family and what she envisions for her future. Ages 11-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Juvenile
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0670875988
• ISBN 13: 9780670875986
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160