Jocelyn (The Invisible Day) ventures into historical fiction for this often vivid but incompletely realized novel set in 1884 New York City. Twelve-year-old Josephine measures only 28U" tall, but she has outsize adventures. For the past five years, she has slaved away at Miss McLaren's academy for girls, an establishment that recalls Miss Minchin's from A Little Princess for its cruelty and hypocrisy. Exploited past endurance, Josephine runs away. Immediately she meets one R.J. Walters, the owner of The Museum of Earthly Astonishments, which displays "curiosities," human and otherwise. Billed as Little Jo-Jo, the world's smallest girl, Josephine becomes a star attraction among the Coney Island amusement-seekers, and she also becomes friends with another of Mr. Walters's "astonishments," a 14-year-old albino boy. But evil Miss McLaren is not so easily left behind, and the plot becomes a tangle of melodramatic sequences in which Miss McLaren attempts at all costs to get Josephine back in her clutches. The characters are colorful but one-dimensional; Josephine, for example, seems less an individual than a contemporary heroine assigned a period setting and a midget's body, and even her extraordinary stature is not entirely reflected in her perceptions and personality. The abundance of historical details demonstrates that the author has researched her subject, yet the characters themselves do not seem lifelike. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Josephine's parents have always been slightly afraid of their daughter. By age seven, she measures all of 22 inches, so they jump at the opportunity when a shrewd headmistress from a New York City boarding school offers to take her in for hire. After five long years of abuse, the intelligent, hardworking girl runs away. After a perilous journey downtown, she is taken under the wing of a kindly barmaid, Nell, and Mr. R. J. Walters, the owner of the Museum of Earthly Astonishments-a glorified freak show. She moves into a squalid apartment with Nell and her albino son Charley, a "ghostly phenomenon." Under Mr. Walters's tutelage, Josephine is reborn as Little Jo-Jo, a refined lady of mysterious origins and creates a sensation in the press. The troupe moves to Coney Island for the summer, where she enjoys even greater success and a sense of belonging. Unfortunately, her notoriety prompts her former employer to attempt to retrieve her "property." After a big to-do, Josephine escapes the headmistress's grasp and realizes that she is ready to make her own fortune with Nell and Charley by her side. The protagonist is a compelling and sympathetic character with whom children will identify. The occasional use of letters, newspaper articles, and a billboard ad creates a feel for New York in the 1880s. However, the real story here is that while family isn't always found where it should be, it's okay to make one's own.
Carrie Schadle, Beginning with Children School, New York City
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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