The Hired Girl

Fourteen-year-old Joan Scraggs lives the life of a drudge on her father's farm cleaning up after her dad and four brothers, all of whom seem to hate her. She longs for education and to become a teacher, but her father seems set to work her to death the way he did her mother. She might even settle for some love. The last straw comes when her father burns her only three "friends," her beloved books. Finding out from a newspaper that she can get paid work in the city for the same labor she performs for free daily on the farm, Joan runs away to the city of Baltimore using money her mother hid in her doll and is rescued by Solomon Rosenbach, a young Jewish man. She tells his family her name is Janet Lovelace and that she is an eighteen-year-old looking for a job. The family hires her and so begins "Janet's" real education—in city life, in the life of a faith different from her own, in believing in herself.

I really enjoyed this book, which Schlitz based on the diary of her grandmother. Janet/Joan is a real teenager; her moods go up and down depending on what is going on in her life, but despite her almost animalistic upbringing—you will tear up when Joan finally confronts her father and finds out why he acts the way he does—she is good at heart and makes a difference to the people in the Rosenbach household. Her crush on Solomon's handsome brother goes on a bit long, but is typical of a girl her age, and there are some funny, and not-so-funny, hijinks in the process. I really appreciated that although Janet/Joan was a devout Catholic that she did not allow the prejudices of certain church members to change her opinions of the Rosenbach family, really loved her relationship with Mimi Rosenbach, and was glad that she came to love Malka, the elderly housekeeper who initially bedevils her.

In addition, Joan's description of her housework duties, both on the farm and in the city, will make your doubly glad you don't live in 1911!

Summary: 14-year-old Joan Skraggs lives on her father’s farm with her three older brothers, and records daily life in 1911 in a journal. Since her mother’s death a few years previously, Joan has been doing all the housework on the farm. Her father is a brute; the last straw for Joan is when he burns her three beloved books given to her by her teacher before she was forced to leave school. She makes up her mind to run away, and in a well-thought-out escape, makes her way to Baltimore. Her plans end there, and she is sitting on a bench with night falling, when she is rescued by Solomon Rosenthal, a young Jewish man whose wealthy family runs a department store. She is taken on as the Rosenthals’ hired girl, and finds a home filled with love, beauty, and books. Pretending to be 18, she falls in love with younger son David, and finds innumerable ways to get in trouble with every member of the family. Joan’s loving heart triumphs in the end, though, and with the help of the Rosenthals, she is well on the way to making a better life for herself as she reaches the final pages of her journal. 392 pages; ages 11-15.

Pros: Readers will cheer for Joan (who wisely changes her name to Janet when she leaves home), a strong but impetuous girl whose roller-coaster emotions will be familiar to 21st-century teenagers. The historical details are interesting, too; running a household, not to mention a kosher Jewish one, in 1911 was not for the faint of heart.

Cons: The story bogs down just a tad once Joan is settled in Baltimore and writes in great details about her longing for David Rosenthal and her religious struggles.

One of the highest compliments you can give an author is to finish their book and want to read it all over again. In the case of The Hired Girl, by award-winning author Laura Amy Schlitz, that's exactly what I did; happily spending hours on a recent car trip reliving the world of Janet Lovelace, hired girl.

Pour yourself your favorite beverage and take a few minutes for this review. I'll try hard not to include too many spoilers.

Fourteen-year-old Janet, who changes her name from Joan Skraggs when she arrives in Baltimore in July, 1911, is a character female readers of all ages will enjoy. Raised on a Pennsylvania farm, there is little she cannot do-- pluck chickens, beat rugs, or put up food for the winter. But her insatiable desire to become educated, "noble and courageous" irritates her father. When he burns her books because he believes reading takes up too much of her time, Janet receives the catalyst she needs to leave home.

Janet's beloved school teacher's end-of-the-year gift is a journal. This diary becomes Schlitz's vehicle to tell Janet's story. Although some readers might find this contrived, I loved it. I was totally immersed in her deep POV. Janet's longing for her dead mother; frustration over her father and brothers' rejection; desire to be a "proper young lady" who frequents the opera, museums, and fashionable department stores; her head-over-heels infatuation for a most unsuitable love interest; her melodramatic observations about herself and other characters; plus her plucky and hopeful attitude, create a totally authentic and often humorous young woman.

She comes to Baltimore to find employment as a hired girl. She arrives too late to find a room in a boarding home and resigns herself to having to spend the night on a park bench. Fortunately for her, she meets a young gentleman, Solomon Rosenbach, who brings her back to his home with the hopes that his mother will allow her to stay. One of my favorite lines is when Janet waits outside their home and she hears Mrs. Rosenbach say to her son, "Oh Solly, it used to be cats and dogs." That gentle, motherly reproof tells the reader a lot about Solomon and his mother; and is in fact, something which haunts Janet later.

The Rosenbach's elderly housekeeper, Malka, is most loved by the family but can no longer do heavy housework. Although Janet is Catholic and Solly's parents are concerned she might "have anti-semitism" (despite the fact that Janet has no idea what the word means but is willing to learn it if that would make her a more desirable worker) she is hired to help Malka. Mrs. Rosenbach warns her that she'll need to be tactful so Malka (who Janet initially thinks of as a "black fly of a woman") doesn't feel old and unwanted; Janet admits that tactfulness might not be one of her strengths.

Alas, this is true. Janet's lack of tact (sprinkled with a healthy dose of hired girl eavesdropping) gets her into trouble.

She finds an ardent supporter in Mr. Rosenbach to whom she pleads, "I want to better myself." He admires her drive and supports her by giving her access to his library. "Edifying" books "take her into another world" where she imagines seeing the cities, monuments, and architecture pictured in The Picturesque World.

Janet battles with the fact that she is seen only as the hired girl and her own desire to be more than that. Recounting a scene where she attempts to intercept Solly so she can thank him for rescuing her she says, "I tried to express my gratitude in elegant phrases so he would see that even though I am a hired girl, I am not just a hired girl." She adds, "I could tell he wanted me to stop talking." Later in the book she observes, "I don't think of myself as a hired girl. After all, I'm not going to be a servant all my life. I plan to be a teacher someday."

I loved Janet's evaluation of her world: "The best thing about my servitude is that people are pleased with me...So different than life on the farm where no one was pleased and things never stayed clean."

And I appreciated her observations of the people around her. This is her description of Mimi, the Rosenbach's youngest daughter:
How can that child look pretty when she is not? It's partly the way she moves, I guess. She's so light on her feet. She's like a bit of bright paper being blown over the grass. I wish I were like that.
As a young Catholic who has never met a Jew ("except for Rebecca in Ivanhoe," as she tells the Rosenbachs), she is introduced to the world of a different religion. Since I am a Jewish Christian, I thought readers would get an interesting window into a religious Jewish household--complete with a young Catholic's perspective on the High Holidays, keeping kosher, and yiddish idioms (shiksa, anyone?). Although I am not Catholic, it appears that Schlitz did her homework in portraying that part of Janet's background and practices accurately.

I could go on and tell you about how Janet's love for romance leads to her "eternal embarrassment" and "mortification" or how the reader glimpses the fulfillment of Janet's desire to become an educated woman. But, I don't want to spoil the book for you. Let me just say that despite Malka's grim and at times sullen exterior, she is the secondary character whose love for Janet brings me to tears, even now as I write this review.

Homeschool educators and teachers would find this an interesting book for studying the time period, comparative religions, as well as for analyzing the author's world view.

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I'd challenge anyone to make it through this story without loving the main character and wanting the very best for her.

It takes the form of a diary written over the course of one year in 1911. Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs tells her own tale of how she escapes an intolerable home situation to work as housemaid for the Rosenbach family of Baltimore. Sometimes the style gets melodramatic, which suits Joan's personality, circumstances and the time period in which she lives.

It's easy to feel her desperation from the start. Joan's mother has passed away, her three elder brothers are boorish, and their father might surely be one of the most horrible paternal figures to be found in literature. Trapped in an emotionally abusive household, working hard every waking hour with no gratitude or pay, and no resources to satisfy her hunger for culture and knowledge, it's clear she has to find a way out.

The story highlights the difficulty of people who long to educate themselves with no means. For many hired girls in her position, books were only to be dusted, and certainly never touched. It's evident to those from modern times what a shame it is for people in this position to be then looked down on by others, for their lack of education when it isn't their fault. However, Joan is fortunate to end up in the home of Mr Rosenbach, who is depicted as the opposite of Joan's own father.

The story shows that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. Joan has accepted her father's cruel assessment of her personal attributes, and comes to see that other characters, such as Mimi and David, regard her in a completely different way.

I love Joan's initiative, which always has the potential to go either way for her. The same attribute that spurs her to leave home leads to trouble on other occasions. How easy it would have been for her to stay put and assume that was her only option, as so many others must have done. This book is a strong call to readers not to 'settle'.

The section of the book in which she first falls in love has moments which are both touching and comical. Daydreaming about that boy takes Joan's attention away from all the fresh, new experiences she greatly appreciated until her feelings for him overshadow everything. Although it's fun to read, it also holds quite a bit of wisdom. All those other good parts of life are still just as appealing in the background, waiting for her to come back down to earth.

I love Joan's tendency to 'call a spade a spade', so to speak. She isn't used to genteel manners and assuming behaviour for show. If something doesn't strike her as genuine and true, she'll say so. This helps her to think hard as she gets involved in dogmatism with the Catholic priest, Father Horst, when he tries to convince her not to work for the Jewish Rosenbachs. It also helps her to make the sorts of honest observations people may often feel, but not say, such as how resentful she gets when she has put forward her best effort and people still find fault with her, or when people criticise her for seemingly superficial reasons, or how embarrassed she feels when she doesn't 'get' the right social cues and feels she ought to.

Overall, it's great to see a new book for young adults set in this time period. Joan has many similarities to girls of her age through many generations, but the main difference may be her strong work ethic, which she accepts as part of life. How many fourteen-year-old girls who decide to make a chicken pie would include wringing the necks and plucking the chickens as an inevitable part of the job? By the end, I believe she's succeeded in making household chores come across as a noble art which not just anybody can carry off well. And that may be a challenge for teenage readers.

1911 - Pennsylvania

Joan Skaggs is just 14-years-old and her father has informed her that she will not be allowed to attend school anymore and, thus, she will not be able to see her beloved teacher, Miss Chandler, from whom she has learned so much. Joan’s mother has passed away from consumption and hard work. Her mother was a very strict Catholic and married a man who was not. He does not believe in religion and Joan’s three brothers all follow her father. But Joan loves the Catholic faith and looks forward to being confirmed one day. Her day is full of cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, gardening, and many other chores. Her mother was allowed to keep the egg money, but her father refuses to give her a penny for her hard work. He has always been a mean man and when he burns the few books that were treasures she had received from Miss Chandler, she is livid. By chance, she finds some money that her mother had hidden away for her and she makes up her mind to leave home and seek a job for which she will be paid, save her money and hopefully be able to attend school again.

By serendipitous luck, she finds a position in the home of a wealthy Jewish family. Joan never cared for her name so she tells the family that her name is Janet Lovelace and that she s 18-years-old. Janet sounds like such a pretty name and she wants to appear older. She is pleased with her little bedroom in the attic and strives diligently to work hard. Her biggest problem is understanding how things are done in a kosher Jewish household with different sets of dishes to be washed in different sinks. She old housekeeper whom Joan assists is a grumpy woman who never seems to be pleased with whatever Joan does. The father of the family, Mr. Rosenbach, owns and runs a department store and the home has a wonderful library which amazes Joan. Mrs. Rosenbach is very strict with Joan, but the two older brothers and a younger sister are kind. She is allowed to borrow a book from the library to read which thrills Joan. Mr. Rosenbach realizes that she is a very intelligent young woman who has been introduced to good reading material by her teacher, Miss Chandler. So, he challenges her by suggesting she read various books. Mr. Rosenbach hopes to build a school someday to allow less fortunate children to become educated.

Joan’s time with the Rosenbach family is filled with different types of adventures. Her own faith in the Catholic church versus the Jewish religion causes some friction at times but things get sorted out. In addition, her relationship with each of the family members has its ups and downs but everyone learns a lot.

This is a novel that tells a wonderful story of the time period, the differences between the classes, new household inventions and a young girl who finds herself in a wonderful new world and adventure. I loved this book and hope readers will enjoy it as much as I did.

When your mom dies suddenly and you're twelve and living on a hardscrabble Pennsylvania farm with your perpetually angry and demeaning father, what happens? You're verbally abused, no longer allowed to attend school and have to assume all the work your deceased mother was doing. This is the reality in 1911 for smart, but impetuous Joan Skraggs. When her father tears up and burns her only three books, now fourteen year old Joan takes the money her late mom sewed into an apron and runs off, hoping to find work and a new future in Baltimore. Arriving at night and frightened when a man tries to take advantage of her, She's rescued by a young Jewish man who takes her to his home. His parents, the wealthy Rosenbachs, give her shelter and then employment as a hired girl. Her job is to do whatever the elderly Malka, who has been with the family since Mr. Rosenbach was a boy, cannot or will not. She changes her name to Janet and tells the family members that she is eighteen.
There's a steep learning curve because of her impetuosity and complete ignorance of Jewish customs and religious practices, not to mention her infatuation with David, the older son, as well as her determination to become a confirmed Catholic. Told through the entries in her diary and dialogue with others, this is an excellent historical novel for curious and smart juvenile and teen readers. They will cringe when Joan rushes into numerous situations with the best of intentions, only to be like a bull in a china shop and they will cheer as she survives and even thrives as she learns from her mistakes and is treated ever so kindly by the caring and understanding people who have employed her. It is a perfect addition to any library interested in adding a worthwhile title to their historical fiction collection.

Tough-minded and pragmatic Joan Skraggs makes entries in her 1911 journal, detailing her work-filled (and thankless) life on her family's just-barely-scraping by farm in Pennsylvania. When her father pulls her from school and burns her very few books it is the last straw, and Joan decides to make it on her own as a hired girl in the city. She finds a place with a Jewish family (a group she is completely unfamiliar with), made up of an interesting mix of artist, business man, spoiled daughter and forward thinking mom. Schlitz keeps things lively as no one is anywhere near perfect - Joan (who has re-made herself as Janet) can be thoughtless. The nice father is at times narrow minded, the forward thinking mother can be swayed by what the neighbors think and the spoiled daughter at times treats Jane as a true friend.

The story goes on a bit too long, and the last few pages didn't sit as well with me as then preceding 375, but so it goes. I don't regret a moment I spent reading this book. If you loved Kirby Larsen's HATTIE BIG SKY, and Mary Hooper's wonderful novels NEWES OF THE DEAD and FALEN GRACE, I predict this is a book you will love.

About me: I'm a middle school/high school librarian
How I got this book: checked it out from the library

The book for review is “The Hired Girl” by Laura Amy Schlitz

Meet our main character Joan Skraggs who is 14 years old. She lives and works on a farm with her father and three brothers. Normally she would be in school but since her mom has died she is needed at the farm something her father is adamant about. Joan misses her mom, misses school and especially her teacher who loans her books to read repeatedly. She does have three books to her name thou. The year is 1911.

But Joan wants more. The long hours, thankless job and abuse fills her every waking moment. There has to be more for her, something her mom told her, to do more and get educated.

Reading over some scraps of newspaper she reads in the classified for girls to be hired to do a number of things. It motivates her to leave, without letting her family know, and to make her way to Baltimore and find a family to take care off. But this time she will get paid for it. Not having much to call her own she packs her things and takes off and plans on never to return.

Getting to Baltimore she finds a home of a traditional Jewish family who follows the rules of their religion. They consist of a father, mother and four children, two boys and two girls. And a maid who has raised the father since he was a little boy. She is an institution. They are not getting rid of her. Instead Joan who now takes the name of Janet is hired to help ease the workload. Telling them she is 18 she is hired.

It is not as easy as simply working for a living for pay. Joan falls in love with one of the sons, narks on another and gets the last one in trouble with his girlfriend. She is on a roll all while trying to stay low-key and just do her job and earn her six dollars a week.

I really liked this book. There were a few twists at the end that wrapped up the book nicely. The pace was good, the characters nicely developed.

Beautifully written, Yes, I know it says written for "young adult" but who is to say that it is a book for only a certain kind of reader? Who am I to say? It’s a book I’d hand to a young me, so I don’t think I can necessarily judge who else would enjoy it. It’s beautiful and original and old and classic. It makes you feel good when you read it. It’s thick but it flies by. Full of life as seen through a child making her way through all by herself. This novel is wholly original, one-of-a-kind. Unlike anything you’ve read that’s been published in the last fifty years at least, and that is the highest kind of praise I can give. I know I am too old for this book, but hey I really enjoyed it anyways, so there all you judges of who should read what and when and why. BRAVO, Great read!!

This historical novel is about an impoverished Irish-American farm girl whose life is one of gloom and hard work. Her mother is dead and her father is distant and not supportive of her desire to achieve an education. She travels to the big city; experiences an attempted assault and then comes across a Jewish family who hires her to be part of their house hold staff. She accepts the position in hopes of earning money to get an education. She sees the hardships and challenged her new employers face. This includes Anti-Semitism and discrimination Jewish people were experiencing in the early 20th century before World War On began. Both parties learn a great deal about life and pursuing their goals despite bigotry and obstacles.

I'm an American Indian who also has non-Indian ethnic heritages. I saw some persons object to views or perceptions which are in this story that are not "politically correct" by 21st century standards. I and other American Indians and Persons of Color who have read this book are not offended by this. This novel is set in 1911. The main character is an impoverished. rural Irish-American girl. She lacks education and interaction with people different from her. As she makes her way in the world she unlearns things and challenges herself when encountering various characters. The other characters; including the Jewish family.... also, learn from meeting other people. Yes, not everyone in the early 20th century were embracing bigotry.... but it did exist. Much of this in the story is more ignorance than anything else. The characters evolve as people and hopefully, learn more about people around them.

I would ignore the PC complainers. This book has won many awards and it is well deserved.

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz is another amazing book that one just wants to go back and read over. It's in a diary format and I can only wish to write so beautifully in mine! Yes, I found myself jealous of a fictional character -- Joan. LOL. She's based upon the author's grandmother. I loved that she had the gumption to run away from home (her father is a mean man who burns her three treasures) and go after the dream. And does she ever! She providentially ends up working in a good Jewish home. And since she knows not a whit about Jewish people other than the Bible and Ivanhoe, it is interesting to see her learning about Jewish customs from a Catholic viewpoint. I liked that being religious was simply a part of who she was. The relationships with the various members of the family were richly drawn, and I especially loved the relationship between the older orthodox Jewish servant and Joan. And Joan, only 14 (but pretending to be 18) finally gets a bit of mothering and fathering that she is desperately in need of. This is a book I'll be reading many times. Ms. Schlitz, you've done it again!!!!

THE HIRED GIRL by Laura Amy Schlitz
There are volumes of wisdom contained in this young adult novel. Joan, 14, is abused and over worked by her father so she leaves home to seek her fortune. Along the way she comes in contact with a young Jewish man who “rescues” her, a Catholic priest who teaches about her own religion, an old woman who teaches her she is worthwhile, a young boy who teaches her she has talent and a family that both welcomes and chastises her.
Well written, with engaging and true-to-life characters, conversation and incidents, THE HIRED GIRL is well worth reading and even re-reading. You will find nuggets of wisdom on almost every page, but the novel never preaches. The world of 1911 Baltimore is clearly shown, especially the world of the well-to-do and the servants who ease their way. Hard work is rewarded, education is valued, love is sought after, faith is paramount, toleration is expected and desired, patience is a virtue, and hope is ever present.
Book groups of varying ages will find plenty to discuss here. Mother-daughter groups will find themselves agreeing that this is an excellent book.
5 of 5 stars

Well, this is one of those reviews that will take me a while because I am fan-girling so much.

Total disclosure: I am a librarian, I have a degree in Art History, I have written and published non-fiction that covers the time period in this book. I absolutely love good historical fiction and get very sad at sloppy work.

One of the huge challenges of historical fiction is making characters relevant to now but still making them accurate for the time, and sometimes our modern view of old-time values can be a deal breaker for enjoying a book.

You will not enjoy this book if you are very much into animal rights (a character has a whole bird wing on her hat) and may not if you are a Native American (a character who is a "good guy" refers to Native people as "civilized" when they act like white people). You will not enjoy this book if you believe that sexual passion is something that only occurs in adulthood.

If you have strong religious prejudices, you will either hate this or be converted by it, and by "converted" I mean to religious tolerance, not to a religion. The protagonist is a Catholic girl who runs away from her abusive home hires herself out to a Jewish family. And try as I might, I cannot figure out if the author herself is Catholic or Jewish, so persuasively does she write about each culture.

So! With the academics out of the way, I'll say I loved this! The characters are believable, the struggles are believable and compelling. Another reviewer said that there was a fairly typical forbidden romance, but I didn't see it that way at all. A typical "forbidden romance" plotline has me rooting for them to get together despite all odds, and this one had me just about wanting to strangle (one of the characters) even though I could believe in the attraction between the participants.

And I could believe that it happened, that someone 14 pretending to be 18 could fall for someone so wrong for her. When she says that she will "give herself" to him (and being a farm girl, she knows what that means) it's the stuff of tragedy.

Incidentally, she is a character, though young, who knows herself well. It is a popular thing in YA fic for the female to view herself as unpretty, to believe it straightforwardly, only to have all the supporting characters show that in reality the character is a beauty queen. Schlitz is brave enough to have the character describe herself as thickly built and to have that description be accurate. "Zaftig" is a word that is used for her.

While I didn't go over the history detail by detail, nothing jumped out at me as inaccurate and I would be happy to recommend this for classroom use. The sheer, exhausting, horrible work that a hired girl had to do before dishwashers and vacuums and electricity were commonplace made me ache just to read it.

And the diary entries were good. Often, authors don't have the feel for how incomplete diary entries are, how they are cryptic because we are supposed to believe that the only person who was intended to read it was also the person who wrote it down in the first place. In this case, there's a great deal of cryptic writing and it feels and sounds very much like a real diary. Laura Amy Schlitz did the literary equivalent of a Rockettes routine, all those things to get in sync at the same time, and she makes it look easy.

One or two quibbles: The ending seemed rushed. And giving the character the last name Skraggs? Really? SKRAGGS? OK, we get it, she is poor.

I read it once, and couldn't bear to give it back to the library, so I read it again, then parted reluctantly.

Told through diary entries, Laura Amy Schlitz provides young readers with an engaging, historically accurate view of the life of a young girl in her newest book, “The Hired Girl”.

When 14 year-old Joan’s mother dies, her stark life on a meager Pennsylvania farm becomes even more inhospitable. Although she’s a promising student, her father insists she quit school and work on the farm. While her brothers earn a small amount of money for their contributions to the farm operations, Joan’s father denies her any income. When Joan’s former teacher visits and brings books for her to borrow, Joan’s father orders the teacher off the property and forbids her from visiting again. When he burns the three books Joan owns (including her favorite, Jane Eyre) Joan decides to leave home and look for work as a hired girl in a city far from the family farm.

Joan pretends she is 18 and is immediately hired by a well-to-do Jewish family in Baltimore. Here her naivete is on display in full force. While she’s no stranger to hard work, she has many lessons to learn about religion, tolerance, love, the servant/employer relationship and more.

I enjoyed “The Hired Girl”. Joan is an utterly believable 14 year old (whether it’s 1911 or 2015 somethings are constant – one day is “the best day ever”, the next day “the worst”, and the following day “so good, I wish it would never end”). The text incorporates fantastic vocabulary words – I was happy to be reading on my e-reader so that I could easily look them up! This is partially due to the era and partially due to Joan’s character, who loved classic literature and tried to incorporate the words she read into her diary entries.

There’s much for today’s tweens/early teens to learn from reading “The Hired Girl”. The historical setting is interesting, while the messages about tolerance, education, equal opportunities, and “puppy love” are timeless. I do wonder though whether the length and pacing of this book would hold the attention of this age group (which I believe is the intended audience). Sadly, I sense they might think it too boring.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THE HIRED GIRL by Laura Amy Schlitz is an engaging work of historical fiction aimed at tweens.

Set in 1911, fourteen-year old Joan runs away from her oppressive home in rural Pennsylvania hoping to reinvent herself as a hired girl in the city of Baltimore. Pretending to be an eighteen-year-old named Janet Lovelace, she lands a job as a housekeeper in a Jewish home. As she strives to learn more about her Catholic heritage, she also becomes familiar with Jewish tradition.

Most young readers will enjoy the conversational style of the diary format. With a hint of flirty romance and a focus on period clothing, librarians will find that the book is of more interest to girls than boys. However, it will have a wide readership among youth who enjoy reading the classics and are attracted to a protagonist who has a passion for reading.

Many works of fiction for youth avoid conversations about religion, however this novel is filled with thought-provoking discussions of culture, philosophy, and religion including concerns about anti-semitism and the role of religion in society.

Published by Candlewick on September 8, 2015.

In the book, The Hired Girl, the reader learns of a young girl who wishes to escape her harsh father, after he bans her from schooling and her books. In order to escape his clutch, Joan leaves and finds herself in Baltimore. With no family and no place to work, she finds herself taken in by the Rosenbachs. The Rosenbachs give her a chance, to what turns out to be a great new beginning and challenge for the willing child. Along the way, Joan grows strong relationships with the family members, and even falls in love with one!
This book would be great for readers that love historical fiction, and enjoy feeling like they are involved in the story! My favorite part was when Joan and David visit the opera together, because it showed Joan's love for art and knowledge and how she was truly fascinated and caring. I would definitely recommend this book to readers that are looking for a great read!
Review by Grace P. Age 13, Mensa 76

I just finished The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schiltz. It is a children’s book that is written in the style of a journal/diary. Joan Skraggs is fourteen years old in 1911. She lives on Steeple Hill Farm with her father and three brothers. Her mother passed away about four years previously. Joan’s father has decided that she cannot continue with school (and that she does not need it to keep house). As a going away gift her teacher, Miss Chandler gives her a blank book to write in. Joan is actually quite intelligent and learns quickly (but she is very naïve in the ways of the world). Joan’s father does not allow her any money, not even the egg money. Joan decides to go on strike. Her father retaliates by burning her three books (classics she received from Miss Chandler). Joan has decided she cannot take it on the farm any longer and plans to run away. Her mother had given her a doll (named Belinda) with money sewn into her apron. Joan’s mother told her it was for an emergency (I think she knew that Joan would need to get away at some point).

Joan escapes and heads to Baltimore. After a scary incident, Joan is rescued by Solomon Rosenbach. Solomon takes Joan home to his parents’ house. Joan tells Mrs. Rosenbach that she is eighteen and her name is Janet Lovelace. She is hired as a maid to assist their elderly housekeeper, Malka (very set in her ways). The Rosenbach’s are Jewish and Joan has to learn about Orthodox Jews (two sinks, two refrigerators, two sets of dishes, etc.). Joan proceeds to write about her new life in the Rosenbach household. Learning about fashion (from the Rosenbach’s youngest daughter, handling money, seeing the opera, access to the families library (she loves to read), being careful with candles (she sets her hair on fire), and about religion. Joan was raised by a Catholic mother and she wishes to be baptized into the church. Joan is young (emotionally immature) and naïve so she is going to make mistakes. Joan’s ultimate goal is to be a schoolteacher. Will she be able to achieve her goal?

I found The Hired Girl to be an interesting book. The writer did a very good job writing it as though a fourteen year old girl was actually writing about her life. It is very easy to read and there are many laughs in the book. I think young girls (between nine and thirteen) will enjoy reading The Hired Girl. It provides a glimpse into the life of a maid in a Jewish household in 1911. I give The Hired Girl 4 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of The Hired Girl from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

I absolutely loved this. I was so excited to read it because I am a massive fan of Splendors & Glooms and A Drowned Maiden's Hair. So when I started this and saw that it is extremely different, I was disappointed. I wasn't sure I would enjoy and thought it started maybe a little slowly. But WOW did she pull me in. The narrator, whose diary we're reading, made me think of Anne Shirley in the best possible ways. I really loved the extremely thoughtful approach to complex theological questions, too. No talking down to MG readers here! Laura Amy Schlitz remains one of my favorite MG writers.

The Hired Girl, by: Laura Amy Schlitz is a tender, poignant & sometimes heart wrenching coming-of-age story. Her 14-yr-old protagonist touched me on multiple levels.

Hopes and heartache are timeless. Their effect on our choices and decisions are inevitable and sometimes irreversible. Laura Schlitz has written not only a page-turner, she has also provided a venue where her reader inadvertently learns about ordinary life and prejudices in America in the early nineteen hundreds.

This remarkable story has touched my heart with a flood of memories about words and experiences my grandmother told to me. The Hired Girl will resonate with anyone of any age who finds cultural history interesting.

Joan Scraggs is the picture of youthful courage...and lack of impulse control. I very much enjoyed this--a quick little read that explores a social dynamic I've never really considered before: what happens when your employer is of a different religion AND people who practice that religion has a long history of being persecuted? The dynamic was a really interesting one at times, particularly when dealing with a young heroine who was still sorting out her own beliefs and even just what it means to be an adult when she herself was clearly not an adult yet. Great story, fun heroine.

The Hired Girl, by Laura Amy Schlitz, is a historical fiction/period fiction set in 1911 Pennsylvania. The book’s themes include family relationships, farm-life, socio-economic differences in 1911, first love, and Jewish and Catholic traditions.
The book is written as the main character’s diary. This book was very mellow, almost episodic until the ending. The ending was very fulfilling for me as the reader. I loved how the author deeply developed the characters.
I think girls between the ages 10 to adults would enjoy reading this book if they enjoy a mellow story about a young girls personal challenges being a house servant, while having her first taste of love, and intermingling her Catholic beliefs within a Jewish household.

A powerful fourteen year old female protagonist operating within the confines of a time and place that offered unimaginably small opportunities for a woman to direct her own life and future.
The voice and circumstances are equally engaging and reasonably plausible. I suspect my favorite character, though, is Joan/Janet's deceased mother, whose managed to share dreams and provide options far beyond her brief and restricted life.

I really enjoyed reading this book and was into it, but wished there was more closure. I kind of think the Title of the book should have been The Silly Hired Girl because she was so young and swayed by romantic notions. However, maybe that was the point because it was written as her diary. I think I was just waiting for more of a plot and more depth.

Interesting historical fiction about a Catholic girl who becomes a servent to a Jewish family through happenstance. It is basically a diary with lots of references to literature as Joan is reader. She believes everything she reads in literature is reality which makes her stronger at times but also makes her foolish at times. Great read.

Carefully crafted, beautifully written, and deeply engaging. Schlitz slyly engages and subverts the social norms of the early 20th century in the U.S. The main character, Joan, is a product of her place and time, but her intellect, and her eagerness to understand and know more about the world she lives in, lead her to question and ultimately critique social and religious conventions.

What a little treasure! Turn of the century tale transcending polarizing religions and illustrating how the boundaries can be respected and not compromise the integrity of each other's belief or proselytize.

I started out quite liking this book. The main character, Joan, had a very similar personality to Anne Shirley and I enjoyed her strong spirit, desire to learn, and her ability to overcome hardships. Unfortunately for me, however, once she become a hired girl some of her charm was replaced with pouting, selfishness, and meddling that made her less likable and a little annoying. It decreased my enjoyment of the book

Entertaining and interesting. Joan is a lovable heroine and well deserving of a sequel. The novel informs the reader about Judaism and Catholicism from the perspective of a teenage girl, and is a realistic story of the muddles she makes of her life as she figures out how to balance heart, soul and mind.

This is a great work of historical fiction written in the form of diary entries. It is geared toward a young adult audience but I quite enjoyed it. I would recommend it to any historical fiction lover.

The beginning, about Joan’s life with her family on a farm, was really intriguing. But now in the middle of the book the story starts to get very boring with its endless description of Jewish customs and beliefs. I am starting to feel like the author had an agenda to educate about Judaism.