Synopses & Reviews
With their family home facing foreclosure, seventeen-year-old Clara Estby and her mother, Helga, need to raise a lot of money fast—no easy feat for two women in 1896. Helga wants to tackle the problem with her usual loud and flashy style, while Clara favors a less showy approach. Together they come up with a plan to walk the 4,600 miles from Mica Creek, Washington, to New York City—and if they can do it in only seven months, a publisher has agreed to give them $10,000. Based on the true story of the authors great-aunt and great-grandmother, this is a fast-paced historical adventure that sets the drama of Around the World in Eighty Days against an American backdrop during the time of the suffragist movement, the 1896 presidential campaign, and the changing perception of “a womans place” in society.
Review
"A vivid account . . . will draw readers into the period."--
The Horn Book "The author brings to light the earthy and exhausting elements of daily life during this era."--Publishers Weekly
"A rich historical novel."--BookPage
Review
Winner of the SCBWI Sue Alexander Award for Most Promising Manuscript
"The journey in itself is amazing, but Dagg's tender portrayal of a mother and daughter who learn to appreciate and forgive each other makes it unforgettable."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Readers will enjoy the feminist adventures."—Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
The winter has been a tough one for Pauline and Arlene's family. Though only eleven, the twin girls are old in too many ways: They know what it is to work to exhaustion, to be hamstrung by longing, to be blind with hate.
Pauline labors from dawn to dusk alongside the other members of her family at the local cotton mill, and wishes she could stay home like her sister. Meanwhile, crippled Arlene takes care of all the housework and cooking, dreaming of one day working at the mill and earning money and respect. Each is certain that the other has the easy life, but each discovers how wrong she is as this extraordinary debut novel unfolds.
Synopsis
A heartbreaking glimpse into the century-ago world of child millworkers.
About the Author
Carole Estby Dagg has two children, two grandchildren, a husband, and a bossy cat. She splits her writing time between her study in Everett, Washington and a converted woodshed on San Juan Island.