Caroline Starr Rose

Mavis Betterly is the youngest sister in a family of Kansas pioneers in the 1870s. The Betterly family is struggling, so May is sent to live with another family 15 long miles away to earn wages as a helper. May doesn't want to leave, but she doesn't have a choice, and thus begins her bitter adventure.

Told in free verse poetry, May's story is about overcoming powerful odds. Not only is May left to fend for herself in a leaking sod cabin in the dead of winter with hungry wolves outside her door--she is also haunted by memories of her difficult school days where she struggled to read because of a condition we would now know as dyslexia.

In very few words, author Caroline Starr Rose conveys May's inner turmoil and her struggle to find not just a way to survive but a way to believe herself worthy of survival. It's a powerful tale, indeed.

It was heavy on the bleak with nary a giggle, which isn't really my taste. I like a good sad read, but it's better seasoned with moments of levity, which this book completely lacked. So that is why I'm giving it three instead of four stars. As a Newbery contender, my personal taste aside, I'd give it four.… (mais)

Totally engaging story about the race to be the first women to travel around the world in 75 days. When Nellie Bly first proposed the challenge, she was turned down because she was a woman. She proposed that a man start at the same time, and she would still beat him. Little did Nellie know that her competitor would be Elizabeth Bisland. Nellie leaving from New Jersey and Elizabeth leaving from New York. What follows is an engaging account of their travels by sea and by land to see who could travel the globe the fastest.… (mais)