A heart of steel can’t be stolen—unless the thief is Hellie Jondoe. It’s 1918. A war of nations is ending and a worldwide flu epidemic just heating up, but to thirteen-year-old Hellie, the only battle that counts is her own survival. An orphan by four, a beggar by six, Hellie—as apprentice pickpocket to her brother Harry—is now “the best dang cannon of moveable property between Satan’s Circus and Hell’s Kitchen.” She’s as tough as she is resourceful . . . on her own turf. But after a gang shootout coerces Hellie to head west on an orphan train, her plans to jump track are quickly derailed. Landing in the Hidden Hills, a ranch outside Pendleton, Oregon, Hellie meets her match in the domineering Scholastica Gorence, an elderly ranch woman to whom she is indentured for three years. To make matters worse, Hellie becomes the unwilling caretaker of Lizzie, a nearly blind girl, and Joey, a crippled toddler. The last thing Hellie wants is a family, but she is strapped with one now. There’s a time to cut and run, a time to stay and fight. Choosing which is right takes savvy, guts, and heart . . . all compelling Hellie to dig down deep.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Randall Platt writes fiction for adults and young adults—and those who don’t own up to being either. A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, she is the author of the Fe-As-Ko series of humorous westerns for adults as well as award-winning novels for younger readers. She lives outside Seattle, Washington.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hell on wheels--or off,
By
This review is from: Hellie Jondoe (Paperback)
Hellie has a head for survival and a strong sense of justice and loyalty. Forced to steal at an early age in order to survive, she becomes wily and head-strong. Not really knowing the difference between love and simple bonding, she learns a lesson of attachment when she ends up in the west. The book explores a lot of history from around the turn of the 20th century--of polio, a deadly flu, and the differences between east coast and west. This book has messages on several levels and is an excellent book for teens and tweens.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Child of the Streets,
By E. B. (Kansas) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Hellie Jondoe (Paperback)
In 1918, Hellie Jondoe was a child of the streets, as anonymous as the alias she used. She and her brother, Harry, were orphans who lived by their wits. But Harry realizing his sister who had so far passed for a boy, will not be able to do so much longer and knowing girls do not fare well on the streets, signs her up for the orphan trains. Those trains traveled west with homeless, destitute children, stopping in towns along the way and offering the children to whoever would take them. Not wanting to be adopted, Hellie puts on her tough act and scares away any potential parents. Finally she is indentured, along with a girl with a scarred face, a club footed baby thrown in with the deal, to an old woman who owns a ranch near Pendleton. OR. In this new environment, Hellie's rough edges begin to smooth out and she learns to view the world and her life in a broader light. The flu epidemic and a reunion with Harry, who has been on the streets too long to ever be saved from a life of crime and self-destruction, also helps her begin to learn how to give and receive from others. A book primarily for young people, I'm way past that and I enjoyed it very much.
Eunice Boeve author of Maggie Rose and Sass
5.0 out of 5 stars
great characters, great story!,
By Shirley Walston (Spokane, WA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Hellie Jondoe (Paperback)
As a writer myself, I'm in awe of the way Randi Platt keeps coming up with such great characters. She's a master storyteller. The book tackles a serious issue in the middle of a laugh-out-loud story. Brilliant!
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