by Avi
Amazon rating: 4.7/5.0
Good Reads: 3.75/5
Common Sense Media: 4/5, age 10+
4Rbooks: 5/6, Grades 4+
Synopsis:
13-year-old Victoria Blaisdell lives a proper life in Rhode Island, or at least she is expected to. Tory, as she likes to be called, bristles at the expectations put on her by her parents and overbearing aunt to be more ladylike and accept her place in society. She wants to read, explore, and live a life of adventure and courage, just her hero Jane Eyre. She takes as her motto, your will shall decide your destiny, from the novel.
Her life is thrown upside down when her father loses his job and decides to sail to California to pursue riches on the gold rush fields. He intends to only take Tory’s younger brother Jacob (9) with him, but she stows away on the ship and joins the journey. Upon arriving in San Francisco, they do not find a shining city of gold, but a dirty, crowded, run-down settlement. Mr. Blaisdell is soon off to the gold fields and leaves Tory behind with Jacob to stay and wait in their tent until he returns with his riches.
Tory steps up to find a job and provide for she and her brother but is not happy with the expectations that come with being his care provider. That changes when Jacob disappears, and she is convinced that he has been kidnapped to work on a ship that will soon sail out of the bay. With the help of her new friends Thad and Sam, Tory risks everything to fin Jacob and bring him back home.
Parental Guidance: medium-low
The San Francisco of 1848 is accurately depicted: filth, corruption,
gambling, drinking, and kidnapping.
Tory’s friend Sam is African American and suffers discrimination.
Tory and Jacob are left in an extremely dangerous situation when their
father goes off to the gold fields.
Jacob is drugged and kidnapped to work as a cabin boy.
Recommendation: High
This was a good read with a strong female lead. The story had many thrilling and suspenseful scenes, and good character development with the leads: Tory, Jacob, Thad and Sam. The story was well-researched as it painted an accurate picture of the voyage to California, and the rough-and-tumble nature of San Francisco. Children with good imaginations who can visualize themselves being a part of the story, and history, should enjoy this tale.
While I think this story would be enjoyed by all students, 4-8th grade, I would, in particular, recommend this to 4th and 5th grade students who are studying the history of California and/or the Gold Rush. I think this could be a great read-aloud for teachers who are leading classes on this time period. I would suggest that there be parent and teacher guidance involved with the reading of this novel by elementary students. As an adult, I found the plot line of children being left alone disturbing, and it was uncomfortable to recognize the dangers of a 13/14-year-old girl on her own in a town mostly comprised of men. Nothing happens, but it was an uneasy read.
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