  | Many reflections of Miss Jane Deming Author: Coats, J. Anderson | |
| Price: $21.88 | ||
Summary:
Jane is excited to be part of Mr. Mercer's expedition to bring orphans and Civil War widows to Washington Territory, but life out west isn't at all what she expected.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.30 Points: 9.0 Quiz: 187747 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: 3-5 Reading Level: 5.60 Points: 14.0 Quiz: 70617 | |
Reviews:
School Library Journal (00/01/17)
Booklist (12/15/16)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 12/15/2016 Since Jane’s father’s death during the Civil War, she has lived with her stepmother, Mrs. D., and little stepbrother. Mrs. D. spends their last funds on a voyage from New York around Cape Horn to the “unspoiled and majestic” Washington Territory. There she aims to catch a husband to support them, while Jane yearns for friends and an education. After a difficult journey, they arrive in tiny Seattle and soon settle into a new life with unexpected challenges and many rewards. Coats, whose YA novel The Wicked and the Just (2012) was set in thirteenth-century Wales, shows considerable versatility in creating very different but equally vivid historical settings and characters here. Hopeful but accustomed to disappointments, Jane narrates the story as a girl who’s quick to assess people and their motives. The hostility between Jane and her young stepmother is believable, and so are the tentative steps that the girl takes toward independence when she finds the support she has needed all along. A rewarding chapter book for historical fiction fans. - Copyright 2016 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 01/01/2017 Gr 3–5—Jane is a girl determined to escape the life she and her family are leading in Lowell, MA, after her father is killed in the Civil War. Unable to attend school, she is forced to take care of her younger brother while her stepmother works in a factory to support the family. When an opportunity is presented to travel to Washington Territory, Jane is convinced that she will be able to continue her education there. The journey turns out to be an adventure in itself, and Washington Territory is not all that has been promised. Still, Jane is able to make the best of many difficult situations. Readers will enjoy the twists and turns of the young protagonist's life in this fast-paced novel. VERDICT Fans of Avi's historical fiction and graduates of Little House on the Prairie will find this a satisfying read. Recommended for school and public libraries looking for engaging historical fiction.—Kaela Cochran, Lincoln Township Public Library, Stevensville, MI - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
