The Reader's Shire - Book Reviews

Book Review: The Hired Girl

Title: The Hired Girl
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
Series: -
Genres: Young Adult Historical fiction, diaries/memoirs.
Format: eBook
Publication date: September 8, 2015.
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Goodreads Avg Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

"When life offers you something good, you take it, you hear me? You go to a good school, learn everything you can, and grow up to be a woman."

I have a lot of good things to say about this book but it would take forever so I'm mainly going to stick to the negative aspects! I'm sorry! The Hired Girl is fantastic (look at the 4 stars!), but there were several elements which bugged the hell out of me.

Before you read this, take a moment to appreciate your daddy and please hug him because he doesn't burn your books. Also, I'm aware this book took me weeks to finish this book but it was nothing to do with it being boring or not gripping, it was me, and well, something I'll get to later.

So, after her loving and supportive mother died, fourteen year old Joan Scraggs endured all sorts of unfair treatment which most girls struggled with during the 1900s. Her horrible excuse of a father made her drop out school and forced her to take care of the household without any payment or freedom. It reached it's peak when he forbade her from meeting her old school teacher and eventually, burned her books as a punishment for her rebellion.

Joan, then decided to run away from her family's Pennsylvania farm, change her identity to an 18 year old girl called Janet Lovelace and take a job as a hired girl (*roll credits*) for a wealthy and jewish family called, "The Rosenbachs" while saving up money to continue her schooling.

Now, any girl would naturally become very pessimistic, cold hearted and suspicious of anyone after receiving such brutal treatment. But Joan must be the most naive, idealistic, and well, slightly stupid heroine I've ever read about. She's what you'd call the "act before you think" girl. It was very admirable, yes, but a bit irritating.

I've read reviews where readers have commented on her optimism and clumsiness, saying how it was very adorable and realistic but it was incredibly annoying for me. I literally had to stop reading the novel for 25 minute intervals, convince myself that it was just a book because I was getting secondhand embarrassment by Joan's idiocy.

At times when stuff like this happened, I was like, "You go, girl!".

"I think I would rather have a cat than a sweetheart, after all. They are less trouble, and even the handsomest sweetheart is sadly lacking in fur."

I told David that Mimi could manage the store, and he said, "But she's a girl!" Then I flared up and said a girl could do anything a man could do. David said I was a regular fire-eater but maybe I was right.

But when these things happened, I was like "Bitch, get over yourself".

Example no. 1 of Joan's stupidity:

Joan is hired in a household where everyone is extremely religeous and then she decides to teach her religion to her employer's nephew. Um, whyyyyy? Why would you do that? How can you be so idiotic? Heck, I don't even blame Miss whats-her-face for being sharp with her. Believe me, I'm a devout Muslim but I would never try to convert or introduce anyone to my religion if they're not interested.

Example no. 2 of Joan's stupidity:

While doing her chores, Joan finds a poem written by one of her employers to the girl he likes. Instead, of minding her own business by throwing it in the trash or returning it to the place where she found it, silly little Joan, being the over-mendling girl she is, decides to continue writing the poem and then, gives it to the girl who doesn't even like him back, convinced the poem would change her mind, thus, ruining both of their lives in the process! (Kinda) I'm not even going to bother posting the poem over here because it was pathetic. I know her intentions were well but thats precisely what bothered me.

Most of the time, Joan was so convinced her actions would have positive consequences when she didn't even have any experience or background information on the topic. I'll admit I've done stupid things in my life but I don't think I'll ever do anything as foolish as that!

Example no. 3 of Joan's stupidity:

These are Joan's thoughts after having her first kiss with the man she's known for like, a week:

"I wonder how married men go off to work every morning, when they could stay home and kiss their wives. I wonder how married women set about cooking meals and supervising the servants when they must be thinking of the hour when their husbands will come home and kiss them."

Are you for real?

"I wonder about the whole history of the world. Governments and courtrooms and steam engines and combines - all necessary inventions, but how did men come up with them, when they could have been kissing?"

Yeah, because kissing is so much more important than finding a cure for cancer.

"He called me "the girl" as if I were any old hired girl, and not his girl."

Because you're not.

In the words of Ron Weasley, "She needs to sort out her priorities!"

The blurb obviously forgot to mention that Joan is a hopeless romantic. Though, I can't help but disagree with Mimi when she said that it came from reading books, because I read a lot of books but I don't plan on getting married to boys I've just met.

Anyway, despite her flaws, I grew to love her because she was a feminist, she was extremely brave, to the point of being reckless (I mean, it takes guts to run away from home!), I adored her thirst for travelling, her passion for reading and writing, and her appreciation for art and music.

I liked how her goal wasn't just to get married but to complete her education. She really developed from the lovesick girl who daydreamed about getting married to the man who was almost seven years her senior, to the young woman who was focused in her schoolwork and determined to follow her mother's advice and become an independent lady who don't need no man.

"You'll get your education, just as your mother wanted. You can grow up to be anything you want - not that there's any shame in being a hired girl."

This was a fascinating and beautiful tale about the importance of education, stereotypes, unrequited love, discrimination, religeon, art and family. I really enjoyed it despite not being a fan of diaries and novellas. Highly recommended.

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This review can also be found on my blog, Goodreads and Tumblr. (Links in bio.)