Boston Jane: The Claim [Hardcover]

Jennifer L. Holm (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Boston Jane

"I was on my claim,
I told myself over and over...
Nothing bad could happen to me here."

With a mind of her own and a handsome suitor who loves her for it, seventeen-year-old Jane Peck is the darling of the Washington Territory. She's outwitted wild animals, vengeful ghosts, and a disloyal fiancé, but when her finishing school nemesis Sally Biddle invades Shoalwater Bay, Jane discovers that the most dangerous thing on the frontier may be an impeccably dressed debutante. As the Biddles of Philadelphia charm their way into Jane's close-knit community, she finds everything she holds dear threatened -- including her true love, a rakish sailor named Jehu. Will Jane's claim on happiness slip away?

This third book of the richly historical Boston Jane trilogy carries on the tradition of rip-roaring romance and adventure that began with Boston Jane: An Adventure and Boston Jane: Wilderness Days. Jane has survived the wilderness and claimed herself a home, but her frontier trials are far from over. It will take all of the spunk and spit Jane can muster to protect her land and preserve her dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-Fans of this series, set in Shoalwater Bay in Washington Territory in the 1850s, will find Jane, now 17, to be just as strong and admirable a character as ever. In this third installment, the frontier settlement has grown into a town and Jane works as a concierge in the hotel. Her old rival, Sally Biddle, disembarks ship and immediately takes every opportunity to embarrass and alienate Jane just as she had done back in Philadelphia. William Baldt, the man who asked Jane to marry him in the first book, is back and threatens to take her land. She surprises some community members when she speaks up for a wrongly accused Chinook who is charged with stealing whiskey, and she bravely rescues a child of Chinook and white heritage who is unfairly placed with an abusive foster parent. A touch of romance between Jane and Jehu, the sailor she met on her journey west, helps move the story to a satisfying conclusion. This glimpse into Northwestern pioneer life is based on primary and secondary sources, including Holm's own family history. Recommend this title to readers who enjoyed L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie" series (HarperCollins).
Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, Miamisburg, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Holm continues Jane's adventure-romance, which began in Boston Jane: An Adventure (2001) and continued in Boston Jane: Wilderness Days (2002). In this story Jane's nemesis from her Philadelphia days, Sally Biddle, has arrived in Shoalwater Bay. Sally is up to her usual schemes, trying to isolate Jane from her new female friends and causing trouble between Jane and Jehu, the man Jane loves. Complicating matters, Jane's former fiance William has also returned--to help the governor relocate the Chinook population and to have Jane's homestead claim declared invalid. As always, Holm's characters are skillfully drawn. Readers will identify with the painful results of Sally's dirty tricks and cheer Jane on as she finds the backbone to put Sally in her place. A subplot involving a young girl taken away from her Chinook mother after the death of her white father is also well handled. The author's attention to historical accuracy (some of it involving her own family) is strong, as always, but memorable characters and all-too-believable situations are the real hallmarks of this very satisfying read. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060290455
• ISBN-13: 978-0060290450
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,426,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Turtle in Paradise started with a story my mom liked to tell about her childhood. During the summers, her grandmother would take her to Key West to visit her relatives. Her mother made her promise to "shake her shoes out." My mom didn't know why her mother wanted her to do this, but she did it anyway. And then one hot day, she shook her shoes and out popped . . . a scorpion!

Writing Turtle in Paradise was a wonderful way to re-connect with my Key West heritage. My great-grandmother, Jennie Lewin Peck, emigrated from the Bahamas to Key West at the turn of the century. She considered herself a "Conch," what the local Key West folks called themselves, after the native mollusk that so many fished for in the Bahamas. Nana was always talking about how she missed sugar apple ice cream and Spanish limes. When my editor, Shana Corey, started asking me about Nana and my Key West family, I just knew that there was a story somewhere in there.

Researching this book was also an interesting way to experience a different side of living through the Great Depression. While Key West suffered significant economic hardship (the town went bankrupt and the majority of the citizens were on economic relief), it didn't have the same sort of feel as most of the depression stories I was used to hearing--soup lines, tent cities, and the Dust Bowl. Key West was warm for one thing, and there was plenty of free food, courtesy of the sea. One man told me, he ate lobster during the Depression! Key West was a freewheeling town full of characters and bygone industries--sponge fishing, rumrunners, and, of course, pirates! It had all the ingredients for a fabulous setting.

I hope you enjoy reading Turtle in Paradise as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you ever go to Key West, be sure to shake out your shoes!







Brother and sister team, Matthew Holm and Jennifer Holm, grew up playing with stuffed mice. Today Jennifer is the author of several highly acclaimed novels, including the Newbery Honour book, 'Our Only May Amelia'. Matthew is a graphic designer and freelance writer. Neither of them have mice, although Jenni does have a small son who likes cheese a lot and Matt has a weasel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jane is as spunky as ever in the third Boston Jane Book, April 13, 2004

By 

Jenna Nelson (Grass Valley CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boston Jane: The Claim (Hardcover)

Ok, this book was awsome once agian holm does it with Jane Peck, 17, with her spunk and wit and charm, as she fights for her belief's, Jane has outwitted a cutthroat ex- fiancee' William Baldt, she's handled bears, murderers and a very long ocean Voyage not to mention proved herself a survivor not only to the pioneers of the washinton territory but to herself, when three of her loved ones dies in short succession. but just as Jane begins to settle into her life. a old ghost has reappeared, Jane's bitter rival who's ALMOST as stubborn as Jane, Sally Biddle appears to ruin Jane's life, especially with the rakish sailor Jehu, the man Jane loves to death. not only this but Will's back threating Jane's Claim stake, as women are not allowed to own land, as Sally with her charm and charisma begins to push Jane out of her circle of trust, on a subplot, a well loved white man the territory dies suddenly leaving his daughter and chinook wife to fend for themselves as racial tensions begin to mount, as the white settlers try to take the "Half Breed Girl" from her Indian Mother. so readers will cheer Jane on as her spine gets some starch as she has the courage to put Sally back where she belongs and defend her beloved indian freinds from an all out race war agianst them... the only thing disappointing was that it needs another sequel or a proluge I give it five stars

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good..., June 11, 2004

By 

popsicle83 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boston Jane: The Claim (Hardcover)

Okay, the third book wasn't as exciting as the second or the first. But I thought the first was the best of the Boston Jane trilogy. The first was more original, spunky, funny, entertaining, fresh, and totally unpredictable. The others are kind of like add-ons; they didn't have much of a polt to the story. But I enjoyed reading the book and all the rest as well. All in all, the book was thrilling, romantic, and fun to read over and over again and had a sweet ending.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Claim, March 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Boston Jane: The Claim (Hardcover)

This 3rd book of the Boston Jane trilogy is great! Jane Peck is now settled into her life on the bay. Her house is almost finished and she has made friends with the new families that have arrived on the bay. Everything is going great until Sally Biddle arrives. Jane Peck who has survived a sea voyage, living in the wilderness, and has made friends with Indians, finds out that her worst fear is Sally Biddle, her old school mate. When Sally arrives at Shoalwater Bay, now a thriving settlement with more women and children, her main goal is to make Jane's life miserable. With her false charm she turns away some of Jane's friends - even Jehu, the man Jane loves. Then Jane finds out that her claim could be taken away. To top it off many of the new settlers want to put the Indians on reservations and get rid of them. As Jane struggles to convince the people that the Indians are friends and deserve to be treated as humans she realizes you have to work hard for what you believe in. You'll have to read the book to find out if Jane can be happy even with Sally around and if the Indians get pushed of their land or if they get to stay and work with the white people side by side. If you like historical fiction, adventures, or just good funny stories this is a really good book to read.