  | Secret sisters Author: Avi | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
In the fall of 1925, fourteen-year-old Ida enters a small-town high school after years of attending a rural one-room schoolhouse, but the enthusiasm she and her new friends have for the modern world and modern ways pits them against the school's old-fashioned principal.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (06/15/23)
Booklist (06/15/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 06/01/2023 This sequel to The Secret School (2001) continues the story of 14-year-old Ida, who leaves her home on a Colorado farm in 1925 to attend high school in Steamboat Springs. Ida boards with Trudy, a woman mourning for her fiancé, who fought in the Great War and died during the 1918 pandemic. Besides encouraging Ida to work hard and avoid annoying the principal, Trudy expresses concern that Ida is influenced too much by her “secret sisters” (a small group of new classmates), particularly lively, rebellious Lulu. When stressful situations arise, Ida handles them with support from those around her and with increasing confidence in herself and her values. While Avi focuses primarily on Ida’s excitement, worries, and growth as her world expands, certain elements place the story firmly within its historical context. These include the increasing support of women’s rights, the widespread adoption of innovations such as radio, electric lights, and telephones, and Lulu's use of flapper slang, which is translated within the text and the appended glossary. An enjoyable historical novel with a likable heroine. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
Booklist - 06/15/2023 This sequel to The Secret School (2001) continues the story of 14-year-old Ida, who leaves her home on a Colorado farm in 1925 to attend high school in Steamboat Springs. Ida boards with Trudy, a woman mourning for her fiancé, who fought in the Great War and died during the 1918 pandemic. Besides encouraging Ida to work hard and avoid annoying the principal, Trudy expresses concern that Ida is influenced too much by her “secret sisters” (a small group of new classmates), particularly lively, rebellious Lulu. When stressful situations arise, Ida handles them with support from those around her and with increasing confidence in herself and her values. While Avi focuses primarily on Ida’s excitement, worries, and growth as her world expands, certain elements place the story firmly within its historical context. These include the increasing support of women’s rights, the widespread adoption of innovations such as radio, electric lights, and telephones, and Lulu's use of flapper slang, which is translated within the text and the appended glossary. An enjoyable historical novel with a likable heroine. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
