Book Review: Our Only May Amelia
Rated by 1 member
What Parents Should Know
May Amelia is a girl, but this book has boy appeal too; six
brothers and a male cousin share in her adventures. The
drawings add to the book's appeal.
Common Sense Media Review
This historical novel captures the harsh and lonely life of
a girl living in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the
twentieth century. The author builds excitement and suspense
into each chapter: Chased by an angry mother bear and a cougar
and nearly swept away by logs sent downriver from a logging
camp, May Amelia seems to remain alive only by virtue of a
string of luck.
To write this story, Holm delved into her family history: Her great-grandfather was one of the first Finnish-American settlers in the Nasel River Valley, but it was her grand-aunt's diary that inspired the title character.
Holm has crafted her award-winning story with adventure and suspense. Readers learn some things don't change in a hundred years: Brothers and sisters argue, parents set rules, and children run away.
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