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Summary
Summary
An award-winning author brings the story of one American girl to life.
When Minnie Bonner's father disappears, the wealthy gentleman Edward Sump, led by his avaricious wife, offers Minnie a chance to work as a lady's maid. The Sumps have grand plans, grander than the city of Philadelphia can offer, and decide to move to San Francisco - the greatest city in the west. But when a powerful earthquake strikes, Minnie finds herself the sole survivor among them. After the dust settles, Minnie discovers a bag belonging to the Sumps filled with cash and papers. With no one else to claim it, Minnie has turned into an heiress overnight. Wealth comes at a price, however, and she is soon wrapped up in a deception that leads her down a dangerous path.
Author Notes
Judy Blundell is a pseudonym for Jude Watson. She is an author of several books for young adult, middle grade and adult readers. She is best known for books set in the Star Wars universe written under her real name Jude Watson. Her debut in this series came in 1998 when LucasBooks recruited her to write the Star Wars Journal "Captive to Evil by Princess Leia Organa". She is also the author of three series that include approximately 40 books: Jedi Quest, Jedi Apprentice, and The Last Jedi.
Her other books include the romance series: Brides of Wildcat County, Premonitions, Disappearance, The High Season, and three books in the 39 Clues series.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-When her father loses the family business in a series of bad bets, 14-year-old Minette Bonner must work off the debt as a lady's maid for a wealthy family, moving with them from Philadelphia to San Francisco. Minnie soon finds that her own family's losses are much more complicated than she originally thought. The Sumps, however, throw around money to assure their place in San Francisco society. Minnie arrives, along with Mrs. Sump and her daughter, Lily, just in time to overhear secrets that help explain her own family's troubles and to experience the 1906 earthquake. The quake throws the world into chaos and offers Minnie new choices, including the chance to masquerade as Lily in order to save her own family. When viewed through the lens of a story about a girl's new life in a new city, this novel fits with a middle school audience. When considering the complex socioeconomic and political issues at work, however, it will be appreciated by older students. An interesting piece of historical fiction and a solid purchase.-Sarah Knutson, American Canyon Middle School, CA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
When lady's maid Minnie's wealthy employers are killed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Minnie is mistaken for their daughter. In a book that is both a mystery and a historical adventure, Minnie must decide if she should live a lie. As Dear America volumes reliably do, this fast-paced, engaging story gives readers a picture of an important historical event. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
National Book Award winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied, 2008) explores the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires in this well-crafted, literary page turner. Resourceful, frank and observant, with a wry sense of humor, 14-year-old Minnie must take work as a lady's maid for the unscrupulous and ostentatious Sumps, who are moving to San Francisco, when her beloved and restless father gambles away the family's Philadelphia tavern. "I'd rather wash the greasiest pots in the tavern. I'd rather clean the fish," she confides in her diary. Mrs. Chester Sump, her remote, 16-year-old daughter Lily and Minnie arrive in San Francisco on April 17, 1906, just in time for the biggest society event of the season--Enrico Caruso's appearance in Carmen. At 5:12 the next morning, a massive earthquake tears through the city. The author deftly incorporates true events, circumstances and key historical figures into the rapidly unfolding fictional plot, in which Minnie is thrown into a moral dilemma after she is mistaken for someone else. Blundell achieves an impressive balance, portraying the catastrophic destruction and fight to save the city while imbuing the story with elements of mystery, melodrama and a Mark Twainlike sensibility. As Minnie uncovers truly corrupt and greedy goings-on, perpetrated by characters such as "Slippery Andy," and also witnesses heroic firemen in action, her sense of what it means to live with integrity crystallizes. Exciting, suspenseful, absorbing and informative. (epilogue, historical note, archival photographs, author's note) (Historical fiction. 8-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Can teen housemaid Minnie pretend to be wealthy young heiress Lily Sump after the latter is killed with her parents in San Francisco's devastating 1906 earthquake? Indeed, it is a chance to avenge her family after they had been swindled out of their livelihood by the corrupt Mr. Sump and his cronies. This tantalizing prospect propels Blundell's lively Dear America series entry. The vivid portrayal of the wreckage and ensuing fires captures the horror of the catastrophe and provides a striking backdrop to Minnie's wrenching drama and crisis response. Even an overly convenient ending does not lessen the pull of the fascinating concept at the story's core: Could we assume another person's life?--O'Malley, Anne Copyright 2010 Booklist
