An inspiring story of self discovery. In Jean Little's first historical novel, Elspet Mary, a young Scottish orphan, embarks on the journey of a lifetime when she emigrates with relatives to Canada in the 1840s. Her struggle to make a place for herself, not only in her adoptive family but in her new home as well, is powerful and poignant, told as only Jean Little can tell it. Jean Little is the award-winning author of more than twenty books for young readers, including the novels His Banner Over Me, which Kirkus called "exceptional storytelling, unforced, and powerful",and Mine for Keeps (both Viking).
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6. To ease her boredom while her broken leg mends, 16-year-old Elspet writes her life story, from her early years in Scotland to her family's homestead in Canada in the mid-19th century. After Elspet's mother dies when she is three, her seafaring father places the girl with her uncle's family in the Scottish countryside. When her father is lost at sea, Elspet is adopted by them. Although she feels secure and happy, she strongly resists Da's decision to take the family to Canada and is unable to express her fear of moving. In Canada, the family settles on a remote homestead. The loneliness of the backwoods is relieved when neighbors settle nearby. The ship voyage is depicted as typically miserable with seasickness, filth, stench, and boredom, and the new land is properly majestic and inspiring. There are enough bannocks and bairns to give the flavor of the auld country but no real explanation of the hardships of life in northern Scotland or the reason why so many people were leaving. However, Little excels in creating characters dealing, or not dealing, with their feelings. Surrounded by unfaltering love, Elspet writes of her lingering fears and doubts about her place in the family. With their need for belonging and love, young people will identify with and understand her.?Melissa Hudak, Northern Illinois Medical Center, McHenry, IL
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A young Scottish orphan suffers doubts about the completeness of her acceptance into her adopted family in this pointed but comforting novel, set in the middle of the 19th century. After her mother dies in a street accident, four-year-old Elspet is taken in by the Gordons, the large family of her mother's childhood friend, and formally adopted two years later when her sailor father dies at sea. Having lost her only daughter to diphtheria, Ailsa Gordon welcomes Elspet lovingly, but the worm of doubt planted by Elspet's grandfather when he coldly suggests that she be sent to her father's people prevents her from feeling fully secure in the household. Elspet feels bereft again when the Gordons emigrate to the Canadian woods, leaving her cat and beloved matriarch Granny Ross behind, but gains a measure of solace from a new cat, and better yet, a new friend. Elspet's uncertainty years later suggests that she may never be completely free of it--but as long as she never has to look far for evidence that she is loved, her doubts can be allayed. The plot is predictable, and, except for a dreadful sea voyage, Little (His Banner Over Me, 1995, etc.) barely notes the daily details of pioneer life, but Elspet's character is conveyed by a distinct, individual voice, and the manner in which her security is repeatedly shaken by minor remarks or incidents drives home the fragility of her sense of belonging. (Fiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Awesome Book,
By Fiona "(>^^)> <(^^<)" (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Belonging Place, The (Paperback)
This is a really good book. The time of this book is way back when, it is about a girl called Elspet-Mary and she when she is very young she has to go and live with some relatives she does not know very well. Then her and her relatives decided to go to a new land, she makes new friends and gets to know everyone. There is much more to this book but they could be spoilers so I will let you find out about this book by reading it. I highly recommend this book! Jean Little is an amazing writer!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Boring Book,
By Lauren (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Belonging Place (Hardcover)
I read this book earlier this year and I didn't enjoy it. The first chapter was interesting though, because everything happens at once. Then it just goes on and on about one boring thing. For a book by a great author it was bad.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read,
By opheliainred (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Belonging Place, The (Paperback)
A great book about what it was like to come to Canada from Scotland in the 19th Century to try to make a new life and home.
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