A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-32

Author:
Joan W. Blos
Illustrator:
Published by:
Aladin Paperbacks, Simon & Schuster
Suitable for ages:
10
to
15
ISBN:
068971419X
Reviewer:
Fotini Hamplova
Reviewer:
Fotini Hamplová

A book of historical fiction about a girl and her family living in 1800’s rural New Hampshire. Written as the girls’ journal, it is easy to read and full of personal details. A great book of folk history. We learn about the way they lived, their schooling, their seasonal labours; but more interestingly we learn about their personalities and their approach to life.

As another reviewer correctly put it, this book is good because the characters are convincing. You feel like you are spending time with a girl from past. Her ‘mindset’ feels authentic. It is not (like many unfortunate ‘historical’ books) our contemporary mindset played out on a ‘historic background’.

The story of the girls life is touching. You get a feeling of how time passes, bringing with it joys as well as difficulties. The reader feels the inevitable sadness that accompanies the beauty of our world. A beautiful and upright community that struggles with historical questions including: slavery in the southern states; human dignity; and death. An enjoyable and heart-warming book that deserves its Newberry Medal. At points it felt a tad bit didactical but I consider that this attitude is historically correct.

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love, childhood, death, American, settlers

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