Review: Our Only May Amelia

Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

May Amelia lives on a farm in Washington state around the turn of the last century, the only daughter of Finnish immigrants. In fact, she is often referred to as a miracle because she was the first girl born in the whole area that had only seen boys before that. Despite her "miracle" status, May Amelia is often the scapegoat for things that go wrong, simply because she's a girl. May Amelia has a hard time being the only girl in a family with seven brothers, and is often scolded for not being a Proper Young Lady due to her independent and adventurous spirit. Life is not easy for anyone living along the Nasel at that time, as frontier life was fraught with danger and tragedy.

I bought this book for my niece who also suffers being afflicted with too many brothers, based on summaries and recommendations, and decided to read it for myself. I found it an enjoyable read, except for one glaring issue - what in the hell does the author have against quotation marks?? The book was filled with dialogue, and not a single quotation mark to be found throughout. I found this to be distracting and confusing, making it hard to follow the story. I do not understand the purpose of this, and can't fathom why an editor let the book go to publication like that. I do not approve of such stylistic choices at all, but particularly for children's literature, since they are still learning and to see correct usage, not be confused. This is very different from having characters use improper grammer in a realistic way.

This is a charming story that draws the reader into May Amelia's world and will have them sharing her emotions. Her close relationships with her favorite brothers were very sweet and touching, but the brusque way her father treated her, blaming her for things that weren't her fault and complaining about her being a girl was maddening, though that was nothing compared to the constant verbal, emotional, and physical abuse heaped on her by her bitter, sadistic grandmother. I admired how independent and adventurous May Amelia was, not wanting to settle down and be a wife and mother, but desiring to travel the world instead. My favorite line in the whole book made me laugh out loud. May Amelia is getting fitted for a dress, and is accompanied by her friend Emma:

May Amelia - "Get Me Outta These Darn Pins"
Emma, shocked - "May Amelia you curse like a boy. You should mind your language--you'll never get a fella if he hears you talking like that."
May Amelia - "I got seven brothers already, why would I need another boy?"

This story is well paced and a fairly quick and easy read, other than the confusion caused by not using quotation marks. It would surely appeal to any other young girl who is burdened with too many brothers or is independent and adventurous like May Amelia and can relate to fighting others' expectations and gender stereotypes. Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series or The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate would likely enjoy this book as well.

Jennifer Holm has written several middle-grade novels, mostly historical fiction, including Turtle In Paradise, several of which have been award winners or honor books.

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