Thanks to her superstitious mother, Esther knows some tricks for avoiding bad luck: toss salt over your left shoulder, never button your shirt crooked, and avoid black cats. But even luck can't keep her family safe from the Great Depression. When Pa loses his job, Esther's family leaves their comfy Chicago life behind for a farm in Wisconsin.
Living on a farm comes with lots of hard work, but that means there are plenty of opportunities for Esther to show her mother how helpful she can be. She loves all of the farm animals (except the mean geese) and even better makes a fast friend in lively Bethany. But then Ma sees a sign that Esther just knows is wrong. If believing a superstition makes you miserable, how can that be good luck?
Debut author Gayle Rosengren brings the past to life in this extraordinary, hopeful story
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published
February 20th 2014
by Putnam Juvenile
Terri's Thoughts:
I received a copy of this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
This book is definitely geared towards the middle grade demographic. Although I have not read a lot of stories for this age group I thought this was a really cute read. It takes place during the depression so it has the historical fiction aspect that I love in my reads. It gives the opportunity to educate young readers about the time in a way that they do not really realise they are learning something.
This story was written in a way that there were no real bad people in the story. Through Esther the reader goes on a journey of life changes and learning to accept things the way they are. This is a story about family and love and growing up.
Although this was not a challenging read for me I still enjoyed the time I spent in the story. I would recommend this book to the younger audience who is not looking for a lot of action. I can see that this story could be of good educational use.
Website: http://www.gaylerosengren.com
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