THE HIRED GIRL

Bibliography:  

Schlitz, Laura. 2017. THE HIRED GIRL. Candlewick. ISBN: 0763694509 

 

Plot Summary: 

A 14-year-old girl is in the hopes of becoming just like the women in her beloved books. She hopes she can have a real life and find true love instead of just being a farm girl. In the summer of 1911, she took a job cleaning and cooking for 6 dollars a week. Throughout this journey, she pours her heart and hopes into her journal. Will she ever become a woman with a future?  

 

Critical Analysis: 

Who would have thought I would enjoy a book about a teenager in 1911, it truly was a captivating tale. I liked this book largely because it was real- other books from this period are often slow and sometimes boring.  

 

Throughout this tale, you see how it is the story of a normal girl in the summer of 1911. Our main character Joan is a naïve but very empowered young woman. She journals her adventure to being a woman with a future in a journal her favorite teacher gave her. Throughout the time she experiences many hiccups along the way. I feel through the writing you felt what she was feeling and what it felt like to live in 1911. 

 

I found it interesting that the life she shares with us matches what we are still experiencing today. Religious differences as well as her stations in life. The eloquent and comical writing pulls you through so many stressful events, and yet you read and hope for Joan as she grows and pushes past the boundaries of sexism and religious tensions. This book encompasses many life experiences that I feel we all can relate to in one way or another.  

 

Review Awards and Excerpt(s): 

Winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction 
An Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award Winner 
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature 

 

The beauty of this novel is that it dares to go beyond the school-is-cruel and paranormal-dystopian-romance conventions and lets its adolescent heroine think on the page about what makes a human being whole: art, love, faith, education, family, friendship. 
—The New York Times Book Review 
 
Written as a diary, the first-person narrative brings immediacy to Joan’s story and intimacy to her confessions and revelations. The distinctive household setting and the many secondary characters are well-developed, while Joan comes alive on the page as a vulnerable, good-hearted, and sometimes painfully self-aware character struggling to find her place in the world. A memorable novel from a captivating storyteller. 
—Booklist (starred review) 
 
The diary format allows Joan's romantic tendencies full rein, as well as narrative latitude for a few highly improbable scenarios and wildly silly passion. Tons of period details, especially about clothing, round out a highly satisfying and smart breast-clutcher from this Newbery-winning author. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 

 

Connections: 

You could use this book to start your students writing journals to help them express themselves. I would also use this book to lead my students into creating a journal as if they are characters from another book they may have read or enjoyed in the past. 

This book also could lead teens to compare experiences in life now back to 1911.  

You could also tie this to learning about WW1 and WW2 religious issues, and dive deeper into this period.  This is a great book to also lead students into reading other similar books.