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DIARY OF A WAITRESS

Name: DIARY OF A WAITRESS
Author: Carolyn Meyer
ISBN: 978-1-62091-652-0

THE NOT-SO-GLAMOROUS LIFE OF A HARVEY GIRL

by Carolyn Meyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2015

A slowly paced and occasionally even tedious depiction of a small slice of American railroad history.

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Although more than a year too young for the position, almost-17-year-old Kitty takes a job as a Harvey Girl, one of the well-trained waitresses that staffed a national restaurant chain serving rail passengers from the late-19th to mid-20th centuries.

Frustrated that her father no longer has the money to send her to college, budding journalist Kitty applies on a whim, defying family expectations, to become a Harvey Girl. She’s chosen along with outgoing flapper Cordelia, and after a month of rigorous training, they’re sent to work at the Harvey House in Belén, New Mexico. Kitty records her experiences in her diary, sometimes in too-extensive detail. In New Mexico, she slowly develops a romantic relationship with a railroad worker, Gus, and gets to know the Latino culture of the area. As her writing skills improve, she begins to sell articles—included in the text—to the local newspaper. Kitty does a good job of describing the personalities of her co-workers, and because she is so descriptive, the era—the late 1920s—is also neatly depicted. This effort is most likely to appeal to readers who have enjoyed but outgrown the Dear America and American Girl series, but other readers may find the tale lacks sufficient tension to sustain interest through the extended narrative. A smattering of period photographs add flavor.

A slowly paced and occasionally even tedious depiction of a small slice of American railroad history. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: April 7, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-62091-652-0

Page Count: 348

Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills

Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
GIRL WITH BRUSH AND CANVAS
by Carolyn Meyer

- BOOK REVIEW
GIRL WITH A CAMERA
by Carolyn Meyer

- BOOK REVIEW
ANASTASIA AND HER SISTERS
by Carolyn Meyer

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THE SCHOOL FOR THIEVES

From the School for Thieves series , Vol. 1

by Peter Burns ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 2025

A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.

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An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.

In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.

A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)