Those Jordan Girls

VOYA

Those Jordan girls represent four generations of independent women who live together in a small Minnesota town. Matriarch Iris "Gummie" Jordan is the unconventional editor of a left-wing newspaper and a determined social activist. Her daughter, Hester, spends her life attempting to be both her mother's spiritual heir and her own person. Hester's quiet, determined daughter, Jane, shares her mother's strength and her grandmother's disregard for the dictates of society. Jane's child, Maddie, is the recipient of all the love and wisdom of three generations of women and is, quite possibly, their crowning achievement. Maddie, who is ten years old at the start of the book, tells their story. Her frank and matter-of-fact voice repeats the conversations and family stories of these free-thinking women and reveals both startling truths about them and about American culture and society in the twentieth century. This intriguing novel is really the story of social activism in modern America, from the agrarian and labor movements of the turn of the century through socialism and communism to the civil rights movement and the antiwar demonstrations of the turbulent sixties, told in a very personal voice. Delightful characters, wry humor, and some breathtaking vignettes, notably the account of the Jordan participation in the Selma march, make a book to be savored and remembered. Older teens will enjoy Maddie's journey through the history of her unusual family and of modern America. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2000, Spinster's Ink, 304p, $12 Trade pb. Ages 16 toAdult. Reviewer: Jamie S. Hansen

SOURCE: VOYA, October 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 4)

Library Journal

Maddie, the fourth generation of indomitable Jordans, narrates this heartfelt memoir of growing up in a multigenerational household of fiercely activist women. An oral historian, she passes down the stories she has always been told by great-grandmother Gummie, grandmother Hester, and mother Jane. Together, these generations are living witnesses to a range of historically significant events, from women's suffrage, temperance, and populism to agrarian reform, labor unrest, the Great Depression and the New Deal, the witch hunts of the 1950s, and any number of strikes, boycotts, and marches. As the beneficiary of this rich legacy, Maddie, who is ten when the book opens, cajoles ever more information from her mothers (as she calls the three women), carefully comparing their accounts. In some instances, the tone veers into the didactic, and, occasionally, the book becomes overly sentimental. Yet these minor flaws take nothing away from the powerful, eloquent voices of this narrative of most of the pivotal American reform and protest movements. The editor and publisher of Spinsters Ink, Drury (Silent Words; Closed in Silence) has written an inspiring book, particularly for adolescent girls.--Lisa Nussbaum, Euclid P.L., OH Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\