DOCTOR MAY'S CABIN

Arnstein’s debut middle-grade novel explores a young girl’s relationship with her trailblazing relative in 1960s Minnesota.

The year is 1969, and grade schooler Pam is enjoying the last days of summer camp. When her parents have to attend her grandfather’s funeral, however, she’s sent to stay with her grandmother May and great aunt Grace for a few days until her parents can pick her up on their way home. Pam is nervous since May is notoriously fastidious and lives in a house with no TV or running water. But the more Pam gets to know her grandmother, the more she comes to appreciate the extraordinary things the old woman has accomplished throughout her long life. May and Grace both bucked tradition by electing to pursue professions (May is a doctor; Grace teaches high school math) and remain unmarried—shocking choices for women in the early 1900s. May further proved herself a maverick by adopting a child (Pam’s mother) in her late 30s as a single woman. Pam grows closer to her grandmother and great aunt and develops a love of the rugged landscape around the cabin, which is nestled in Minnesota’s Iron Range. There is no climactic event or major conflict in this story. Instead, it presents a series of small, quiet snapshots that depict a simpler time: cooking chicken and wild rice soup, exploring the woods, and going into town to enjoy a butterscotch malt and peruse the “variety store.” The relationship that develops between Pam and May, which starts off cautiously and blossoms into a sweet understanding, largely offsets the stilted dialogue: “My doctor grandmother has high standards for behavior and cleanliness, so staying at her cabin probably won’t be much fun.” The simple black-and-white illustrations by Bocek do a wonderful job of complementing the quiet nature of the story.

This simple, sweet story of a girl unlocking the mysteries of her grandmother’s past will appeal to middle-grade readers.