Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L Holm

 

Our Only May Amelia

Bibliography

Holm, Jennifer L. 1999. Our Only May Amelia.  New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780060278229.

Plot Summary

May Amelia was the only daughter of a family who had a homestead on the Nasel river in Washington, and she was the only girl in the area.  She had seven brothers, Wilbert being the closest to her.  Not only did she share the duties of cooking and cleaning the house, to help her pregnant mother, she also had to help around the farm and was a tomboy.  After her Grandmother Patience came to live with them, she felt the brunt of her mean spirit; May Amelia could do nothing right in her eyes.  When her mother had the baby, named Amy, May Amelia cared for her since her mother took ill.  After Amy died in her sleep, Grandmother Patience blamed her death on May Amelia.  Amelia ran away to her aunt and uncle’s house, where she stayed with Wilbert for a few months to escape the pain of losing her sister.  After her grandmother’s death, her father came to get her, and she reluctantly came home.  After almost dying in the river when the logs were set free from the logging camp downstream, she realized how much her family meant to her and that Nasel was where she belonged.

 

Critical Analysis

This book was inspired by the author’s grandaunt Alice Amelia Holm, whose diary was found in her grandmother’s house. It is rich with details about the life of homesteaders in a logging town, including the types of food eaten in this Finnish community, the jobs that people had, how they dressed, and how hard people had to work to survive, and the dangers of living on the Nasel River.  A historical photograph can be found at the beginning of each chapter that ties in with the plot. 

An interesting text effect that the author uses is to capitalize certain phrases that characters say, emphasized for importance or to signify that the character is shouting, such as “Can’t You Ever Be Quiet Girl” or “Proper Young Lady.”  There is also foreshadowing in the book before Amy is born and dies; a seagull flies in the house, flaps around, and then flies back out through the window.  Even though what happened didn’t quite fit the superstition of a bird hitting the window, the reader knows that something bad is coming.  The author also does a great job of painting a picture of the despicable Grandmother Patience, who is the clear antagonist of the book and is cruel to May Amelia for no reason.

Review Excerpts

2000 John Newbery Medal Honor

Horn Book Guide 9/1/1999 “The voice of the colloquial first-person narrative rings true and provides a vivid picture of frontier and pioneer life in Washington State in 1899.”

School Library Journal 6/1/1999 Cindy Darling Codell  “Her first-person narrative, in an almost stream-of-consciousness style, has plenty of hilarity to lighten the pathos inevitably found in the harsh reality of pioneer life. Holm also pays much attention to the limited roles allowed women of this era, describing Indian healers, tavern keepers, teachers, and even an aunt who is supported by an affluent gentleman.”

Connections

Readers may also enjoy The Trouble With May Amelia by Jennifer Holm ISBN 9781416913733 or The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming by J Anderson Coats ISBN 9781481464963