THE GIRL WITH SPUNK

by Judith Robinson St. George ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3, 1975

Josie, fourteen in 1848, needs all the spunk she can muster. First, she falls into the water in the process of rescuing little Will Brown from a goat on the wharf as they are about to embark on an excursion boat outing. Josie, having already outraged a solid local citizen by correcting his arithmetic, goes ahead with the trip despite her lost shoes and soaked clothing, and when on top of that she is seen in the company of a strange young man, she's dismissed from her job as the Browns' hired girl and, because of the scandal, is unable to find another. Nor can Josie go home, where her drunken, abusive uncle has inherited her father's farm and married her widowed mother. But Josie keeps hearing references to an upcoming women's meeting at nearby Seneca Falls and at the end she goes to hire out at the dairy farm of a crazy, independent old woman who's been urging her to attend. There is a sprinkling of ginger in Josie; her trials are realistic (though you can never quite forget the author's feminist intentions), and those who take their adventure on the tame side and their consciousness raising in small stages can share her growing indignation.

Pub Date: Dec. 3, 1975

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1975

Categories: FICTION