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Gold Rush Girl by Avi- 4 Stars!




Today's Tea Choice: Bigelow Earl Grey (becoming one of my favorites!) with a touch of orange blossom honey


Trigger Warnings: some child abandonment issues


Genre: YA historical fiction


Pages:  306


Summary(goodreads.com):

Newbery Medalist Avi brings us mud-caked, tent-filled San Francisco in 1848 with a willful heroine who goes on an unintended -- and perilous -- adventure to save her brother.



Victoria Blaisdell longs for independence and adventure, and she yearns to accompany her father as he sails west in search of real gold! But it is 1848, and Tory isn't even allowed to go to school, much less travel all the way from Rhode Island to California. Determined to take control of her own destiny, Tory stows away on the ship. Though San Francisco is frenzied and full of wild and dangerous men, Tory finds freedom and friendship there. Until one day, when Father is in the gold fields, her younger brother, Jacob, is kidnapped. And so Tory is spurred on a treacherous search for him in Rotten Row, a part of San Francisco Bay crowded with hundreds of abandoned ships. Beloved storyteller Avi is at the top of his form as he ushers us back to an extraordinary time of hope and risk, brought to life by a heroine readers will cheer for. Spot-on details and high suspense make this a vivid, absorbing historical adventure.


My Review:


If you visit my blog often, you know by now that Avi is one of my favorite authors of YA historical fiction. He always brings so much life to his characters and the details to historical accuracy really help immerse you into the book!


I haven't read many books about the gold rush, and it was thrilling to read about Tory's adventure.

 


What I loved:


POV:  As with most of Avi's stories, they are told in first person POV, and this one is no different. Having Victoria, aka Tory's, view on the situation helps the reader feel immersed in the plot and understand character motivations.


Setting/Historical Context: The story begins in 1848 on Rhode Island. Tory's family lives comfortably in a relatively nice home. Her aunt is a social climber and constantly complains that Victoria is unruly and needs to learn domestic housekeeping.



"Aunt Lavinia had insisted I attend lessons at Mrs. Coldbrett’s Academy of Dancery. There I was expected to learn to dance while absorbing proper social etiquette, which is to say, how to conduct my social life."



Avi's attention to historical detail is shown through the San Francisco settlement; everyone was living in tents, the area is filthy, and extremley dangerous. Tory and her father also learn that it's expensive just to buy much-needed staples. At the end of the novel, Avi also presents more historical facts about San Francisco along with the many shipwrecks still buried under the streets! Avi also uses brilliant sensory details to show how dire the settlement was along with Tory's living situation:


There were gambling establishments everywhere I looked, a quantity sufficient to challenge my mathematical reckoning. Nor could I begin to count how many drinking places — saloons and doggeries — I observed. The air was heavy with whiffs — no, rather clouds — of whiskey vapor. As for my ears, they were filled with a constant clamor, sounds of squabbling voices, shouts, and sometimes disturbing screams.


Characters:  Within the first few pages, we see how Tory is very astute and mature for her age. She also loves to read and learn, but isn't allowed to attend school; her family thinks her talents are better suited for domestic life, which causes Tory to rebel at different times throughout the novel.



One day I informed my brother that I was going to walk downtown to the Arcade to buy a ribbon. “Alone?” he said. “Across the river?” I said, “Alone. Across the river.” “Without a chaperone?” “Without a chaperone.” “What,” he said, “would Aunt Lavinia say?” Jacob’s words stiffened my resolve. I said, “I don’t care what she says. But you mustn’t tell."



Unfortunately, her father is quite naïve about the gold rush. Once he lost his job, he decides to move out west but waits to bring his wife along until they are settled. The children were also supposed to stay behind, but sneaky Tory and her brother join the oceanic voyage to California! Her father thinks finding gold is going to be easy, but once they arrive at the San Francisco settlement, he learns that finding gold is treacherous, especially for the children. When her father heads to the mines, Tory and her brother are left to fend for themselves and have to work in order to buy food. She is extremely resourceful and soon earns more money per day than her father since she's paid in gold!


She is an inspiring character, and I loved reading her coming of age story!


What Needed Improvement:

The only negative to this story was it's exposition-heavy areas, and I wish some events were shown instead of told. However, this is still an excellent historical fiction novel.

 


Authors Can Learn:

  • How to use sensory details and historical research to bring settings to life

  • How to write a coming-of-age story

  • The importance of using first person POV versus third

 


Readers Will Love This For:

A harrowing journey on the San Francisco frontier with a headstrong protagonist.

 

 

I give this book 4 stars.

 

Kyla


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