When California Morning Whipple's widowed mother uproots her family from their comfortable Massachusetts environs and moves them to a rough mining camp called Lucky Diggins in the Sierras, California Morning resents the upheaval. California doesn't suit her — not the name, not the place. But moving out West to Lucky Diggins, California, was her mama's dream-come-true, and now her brother, Butte, and sisters, Prairie and Sierra, seem to be Westerners at heart, too.
Desperately wanting to control something in her own life, she decides to be called Lucy. For Lucy, Lucky Diggins is hardly a town at all — just a bunch of ramshackle tents and tobacco-spitting miners. the gold her mama claimed was just lying around in the fields isn't panning out. Worst of all, there's no lending library! So Lucy vows to be plain miserable until she can hightail it back East where she belongs. But Lucy California Morning Whipple may be in for a surprise — because home is a lot closer than she thinks... Award-winning author Karen Cushman helps the American Gold Rush spring to colorful life through the eyes of one determined girl.
"As in her previous books, Newbery Award winner Cushman (The Midwife's Apprentice) proves herself a master at establishing atmosphere. Here she also renders serious social issues through sharply etched portraits: a runaway slave who has no name of his own, a preacher with a congregation of one, a raggedy child whose arms are covered in bruises. The writing reflects her expert craftsmanship; for example, Lucy's brother Butte, dead for lack of a doctor, is eulogized thus: 'He was eleven years old, could do his sums, and knew fifty words for liquor.' A coming-of-age story rich with historical flavor." — Publishers Weekly
Recommended Age | 10 - 13 |
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Author | Karen Cushman |
ISBN | 1328631133 |
Publication Date | Jul 30, 2019 |
Publisher | Clarion Books |
Language | English |