A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906 (Dear America Series)

by Judy Blundell

Overview

From National Book Award-winning author Judy Blundell, a thrilling account of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.

When Minnie Bonner's father disappears after losing the Bonners' Philadelphia tavern, the wealthy gentleman Edward Sump, led by his avaricious wife, offers Minnie a chance to work as a lady's maid to support her family. The Sumps have grand plans, grander than the city of Philadelphia can offer, however, and decide to move to San Francisco -- the greatest city in the west. But when a powerful earthquake strikes, Minnie finds herself the sole survivor among them. After the dust settles, Minnie discovers a bag belonging to the Sumps filled with cash and papers that could drastically change her fortune. With no one else to claim it, Minnie has turned into an heiress overnight. Wealth comes at a price, though, and she is soon wrapped up in a deception that leads her down a dangerous path. As the aftermath of the earthquake ravages the city, Minnie continues to maintain her new identity. That is, until a mysterious but familiar stranger appears.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545510066
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	03/01/2013
Series:	Dear America Series
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

Judy Blundell's WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED is the 2008 winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. As Jude Watson, she is the author of several titles in the New York Times bestselling 39 Clues series as well as the bestselling Star Wars: Last of the Jedi and Jedi Quest series. She lives in Katonah, New York.

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR DEAR AMERICA:
"More than a supplement to classroom textbooks, this series is an imaginative, solid entree into American history." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"An impressive series that will challenge students to make connections from prominent historical events to relevant life situations. . . . A wonderful asset to the classroom as well as to home libraries." --CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW SERVICE

"Engaging accessible historical fiction." --SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

"The Dear America diaries represent the best of historical fiction for any age."
--CHICAGO TRIBUNE

From the Publisher

Gr 5–8—When her father loses the family business in a series of bad bets, 14-year-old Minette Bonner must work off the debt as a lady's maid for a wealthy family, moving with them from Philadelphia to San Francisco. Minnie soon finds that her own family's losses are much more complicated than she originally thought. The Sumps, however, throw around money to assure their place in San Francisco society. Minnie arrives, along with Mrs. Sump and her daughter, Lily, just in time to overhear secrets that help explain her own family's troubles and to experience the 1906 earthquake. The quake throws the world into chaos and offers Minnie new choices, including the chance to masquerade as Lily in order to save her own family. When viewed through the lens of a story about a girl's new life in a new city, this novel fits with a middle school audience. When considering the complex socioeconomic and political issues at work, however, it will be appreciated by older students. An interesting piece of historical fiction and a solid purchase.—Sarah Knutson, American Canyon Middle School, CA

School Library Journal

National Book Award winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied, 2008) explores the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires in this well-crafted, literary page turner. Resourceful, frank and observant, with a wry sense of humor, 14-year-old Minnie must take work as a lady's maid for the unscrupulous and ostentatious Sumps, who are moving to San Francisco, when her beloved and restless father gambles away the family's Philadelphia tavern. "I'd rather wash the greasiest pots in the tavern. I'd rather clean the fish," she confides in her diary. Mrs. Chester Sump, her remote, 16-year-old daughter Lily and Minnie arrive in San Francisco on April 17, 1906, just in time for the biggest society event of the season--Enrico Caruso's appearance in Carmen. At 5:12 the next morning, a massive earthquake tears through the city. The author deftly incorporates true events, circumstances and key historical figures into the rapidly unfolding fictional plot, in which Minnie is thrown into a moral dilemma after she is mistaken for someone else. Blundell achieves an impressive balance, portraying the catastrophic destruction and fight to save the city while imbuing the story with elements of mystery, melodrama and a Mark Twain–like sensibility. As Minnie uncovers truly corrupt and greedy goings-on, perpetrated by characters such as "Slippery Andy," and also witnesses heroic firemen in action, her sense of what it means to live with integrity crystallizes. Exciting, suspenseful, absorbing and informative. (epilogue, historical note, archival photographs, author's note) (Historical fiction. 8-13)

Kirkus Reviews