Newsgirl
Starred Review. Grade 5–8—Never has 12-year-old Amelia Forrester found it so inconvenient to be a girl. Her mother and family friend, Estelle, can come all the way from Boston to San Francisco as businesswomen, but Amelia can't even sell a months'-old Boston newspaper without being assaulted and taunted by boys. While the two women—dressmakers by trade—adjust their business plan to make clothing for men, Amelia makes an entrepreneurial decision of her own. She chops off her long hair, dons a borrowed cap and trousers, and takes to the streets of 1851 San Francisco to hawk newspapers. Her nose for news soon leads her and her new friend, Patrick, to a much-hyped balloon launch. As fate would have it, they are invited to stand in the balloon's basket, but the men on the ground lose their grip on the tethers and the children find themselves soaring over the mountains. After a crash landing, Amelia is badly injured and brought to the mining town of Sonora to mend. Much to her dismay, orphaned Patrick finds a family with a French prospecting couple, while Amelia ponders her fatherless upbringing. She does finally recover, finds a newspaper editor who publishes her story, and returns home a hero. Ketchum nicely interweaves actual events into this engaging story. She also covers the topics of discrimination and same-sex couples with aplomb. Amelia is a well-rounded character: imperfect, persistent, unsure of herself, and likable. An educational and entertaining read.—Wendy Scalfaro, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton, NYEND