Overview
"The simple first-person narrative captures Hattie's rustic innocence, the thrilling rafting adventure, and the heartfelt struggle of a tough girl who feels useful to her father only in the role of a boy." — BOOKLIST (starred review)
Pa used to call Ma and me his girls. Now, he just says, 'girl,' orders me around with curse words like I'm nothing. I'm not nothing, though, 'cause I feel too mean inside to be that.
The year is 1883, Hattie's ma has died, and it seems that she took with her the sugar that kept Hattie and Pa sweet. Just when Hattie thinks things can't get any worse, Pa stops calling her 'girl' altogether and wants her to dress as a boy and help him on his next river-rafting trip. Soon eleven-year-old Hattie finds herself alongside Pa and two other Hill Hawks, shipping logs down the dangerous Delaware. On the angry river, Hattie's pluck is sorely tested as she fields Pa's criticism, plunges over waterfalls, and tries to keep the rowdy river men from discovering her secret.
Gritty and full of heart, Clara Gillow Clark's historical novel will leave readers breathless as it surges along the complex, emotional journey of a father and daughter. It's a powerful story of how death can undo a family — and how, against all likelihood, it can bind them together.
Angry and lonely after her mother dies, eleven-year-old Hattie pretends to be a boy and joins her father on an adventure-filled rafting trip down the Delaware River in the late 1800s to transport logs from New York to Philadelphia.
Synopsis
"The simple first-person narrative captures Hattie's rustic innocence, the thrilling rafting adventure, and the heartfelt struggle of a tough girl who feels useful to her father only in the role of a boy." — BOOKLIST (starred review)
Pa used to call Ma and me his girls. Now, he just says, 'girl,' orders me around with curse words like I'm nothing. I'm not nothing, though, 'cause I feel too mean inside to be that.
The year is 1883, Hattie's ma has died, and it seems that she took with her the sugar that kept Hattie and Pa sweet. Just when Hattie thinks things can't get any worse, Pa stops calling her 'girl' altogether and wants her to dress as a boy and help him on his next river-rafting trip. Soon eleven-year-old Hattie finds herself alongside Pa and two other Hill Hawks, shipping logs down the dangerous Delaware. On the angry river, Hattie's pluck is sorely tested as she fields Pa's criticism, plunges over waterfalls, and tries to keep the rowdy river men from discovering her secret.
Gritty and full of heart, Clara Gillow Clark's historical novel will leave readers breathless as it surges along the complex, emotional journey of a father and daughter. It's a powerful story of how death can undo a family — and how, against all likelihood, it can bind them together.
Cyndi Gueswel - VOYA
Life is grim for eleven-year-old Hattie Basket. Her mother has just died, and she is isolated in every way possible. As an only child living with her grieving, detached father, Hattie spends her days on remote Hawk's Hill, doing chores and cooking without much success. Pa spends long days logging down by the Delaware River, preparing to raft timber from New York down to Philadelphia when the ice breaks. When he is home, he is often drunk, withdrawn, or full of criticism for Hattie. As spring approaches, though, Pa realizes he needs Hattie's help to finish the rafts and navigate the river. In the late 1800s, it is unthinkable for a girl to assist her father in such dangerous, physical labor. Knowing this fact, Pa disguises Hattie as a boy, furthering her anger, isolation, and confusion. Ultimately, rafting the river allows Hattie to see herself, her father, and the world with new appreciation. This historical fiction novel is simultaneously informative and moving. Neither the drama nor the emotion is overwrought, and Hattie emerges as a refreshingly honest, vibrant, complex character. Particularly engaging are the descriptions of running the river and Hattie's struggles with androgyny. The ending is realistic, and the scope of the story seems just right for young readers. Clark's novel will appeal to a wide audience of both male and female readers seeking adventure and history. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2003, Candlewick, 163p,
Editorials
Children's Literature
This is a heartwarming historical novel about an 11-year-old girl growing up without a mother and with a father who she thinks wishes she were a boy. After Hattie's mother dies, her father loses his gentle, kind ways and becomes gruff and rarely smiles. Impatient because she thinks she isn't soft or feminine-looking or filling out fast enough, Hattie cuts her hair and wears boys clothes in order to please her father. While working alongside him in the logging business, she meets two others from Hill Hawk and makes a new friend named Jasper. The one possession she treasures is her mother's diary, which she reads and rereads on a daily basis and finds comfort in continuing to write in the diary about her own experiences. As she journeys on a rafting trip, Hattie learns much about her father and life. This is such a great book for adolescent girls, and those who read it will certainly be able to identify with many of the emotional feelings Hattie experiences. 2003, Candlewick Press,— Kathie Josephs
VOYA
Life is grim for eleven-year-old Hattie Basket. Her mother has just died, and she is isolated in every way possible. As an only child living with her grieving, detached father, Hattie spends her days on remote Hawk's Hill, doing chores and cooking without much success. Pa spends long days logging down by the Delaware River, preparing to raft timber from New York down to Philadelphia when the ice breaks. When he is home, he is often drunk, withdrawn, or full of criticism for Hattie. As spring approaches, though, Pa realizes he needs Hattie's help to finish the rafts and navigate the river. In the late 1800s, it is unthinkable for a girl to assist her father in such dangerous, physical labor. Knowing this fact, Pa disguises Hattie as a boy, furthering her anger, isolation, and confusion. Ultimately, rafting the river allows Hattie to see herself, her father, and the world with new appreciation. This historical fiction novel is simultaneously informative and moving. Neither the drama nor the emotion is overwrought, and Hattie emerges as a refreshingly honest, vibrant, complex character. Particularly engaging are the descriptions of running the river and Hattie's struggles with androgyny. The ending is realistic, and the scope of the story seems just right for young readers. Clark's novel will appeal to a wide audience of both male and female readers seeking adventure and history. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2003, Candlewick, 163p,— Cyndi Gueswel