THE UNEXPECTED LIVES OF ORDINARY GIRLS

In 1910 Cold Creek, Colorado, Stanislava Razpotnik forges her own path in life.

The 12-year old’s worldview widens after she picks up a book from the penny library about Katinka, another daughter of immigrants, who attends college. Katinka Americanizes her name to Katie, which inspires Stanislava to ask people to call her Sylvia. Identifying with Katie, Sylvia hungers to attend college and leave behind Bohunk Town, the derogatory name for her Slovenian community, where her father works at the smelter. But Sylvia’s dreams are disrupted when her older sister, Stina, forced to leave school to do housework and child care, boldly elopes with a Protestant mine geologist in defiance of her Catholic parents. Now Sylvia’s parents expect her to take Stina’s place. Instead, Sylvia audaciously stows away on a train to Denver, seeking refuge with Stina and her new husband—but she finds herself alone, hiding out in the large public library. Although Sylvia’s eventually discovered, a librarian offers her a short-term job as an interpreter assisting with library outreach to local Slovenians. There, she finds sympathy and support. Sylvia is an appealing lead: Her conflicted feelings about her background, combined with her sophisticated understanding of subtle and overt prejudice, cultural differences, and her parents’ sacrifices, have contemporary relevance. Readers will also admire her sense of adventure, yearning for education, feminist sentiments, and tenacity in living independently.

A nuanced and inspiring adventure centering on a valiant tween.