The Hope Chest

Overview

Violet's older sister Chloe didn't get married. She bought a car instead. And then she drove that car to New York City and never came home again. Violet's parents said Chloe had turned into the Wrong Sort of Person, but Violet knew better. Now she's determined to find her sister, and she'll go all the way to New York City to do it. The only problem is that Chloe's not in New York anymore. So Violet must journey even further to Tennessee, where Chloe is fighting for the vote for women. Nashville is a hotbed of political intrigue. Suffs and Antis are doing anything and everything to sway legislators to their side: bribing them, pleading with them, and even kidnapping them. Violet is hanging out with suffragists, socialists, and colored people. But if she's becoming the Wrong Sort of Person, why does it feel just right?

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6-In America in 1920, "proper young ladies" are expected to behave in a certain way. But when 11-year-old Violet Mayhew discovers that her parents have been keeping her disowned older sister Chloe's letters from her, she abandons propriety and runs away to find her in New York City. There she meets Myrtle, a "colored" girl who is happy to leave her own training as a maid and join Violet in finding her sibling, who has left the city. Their travels take them first to Washington, DC, and then to Tennessee, where Chloe works on the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. Here Violet and Myrtle join the fight for women's suffrage. The girls confront heavy issues such as racism and sexism, but the narrative is leavened with humor. The story is packed with period details-Jim Crow laws, Bolsheviks, Palmer agents, Prohibition, shell shock, autocamping, just to name a few-but Schwabach's attention to character and plotting ensures that it never bogs down. Readers will cheer along with the "Suffs" as the victory in Tennessee grants women the vote. The book concludes with historical notes and a voting time line that includes black-and-white photos. Illuminating a time period rarely featured in children's literature, this is a fresh choice for historical fiction fans.-Laurie Slagenwhite, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Author Information

Bio of Karen Schwabach

Karen Schwabach is a professor of teacher education at Salem College, the oldest women's college in the U.S. She also spent eight years in Alaska teaching English as a second language. The author lives in Winston-Salem. NC.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Random House, Incorporated

Filesize

918.37 KB

Number of Pages

288

eBook ISBN

9780307495945