by Jacqueline Kelly was a gift (well, a giveaway) from Goodreads because I am such a good reviewer, posting about 2 reviews per year - and I am glad to say that I have read yet another gem that didn't cost me a dime! Actually I fell in love with the cover first, upon receiving the monthly Goodreads newsletter where Callie Tate was featured in all her silhouetted glory. And isn't it just the best thing ever to be able to review a book with a great cover *and* a great story? :swoon:
Callie Tate is my kinda girl...
One day I would have all the books in the world, shelves and shelves of them. I would live my life in a tower of books. I would read all day long and eat peaches. And if any young knights in armor dared to come calling on their white chargers and plead with me to let down my hair, I would pelt them with peach pits until they went home.
Curious by nature, Callie befriends her quiet grandfather and likes nothing better than to help him gather specimens of flora and fauna from the family farm for Scientific study. Callie's mother on the other hand sees a different life for her excitable 12-year-old daughter, in a late 19th-century world of coming-out parties, frilly dresses and lots of knitting. Much to poor Callie's dismay, no one and least of all her own mother, seems to understand her. Will Callie be able to break out of the 19th century and achieve her dreams of studying and seeing the world? Or will her mother's (and society's) ambitions take over any hope of freedom?
This really was a funny book, and you know how often I am disappointed by books that say they're funny and well, they are not. Calpurnia is the cutest heroine, whose wonderings and ideas keep you on your toes and laughing the whole way, while she decides what life for her is all about. Her grandfather is just as adorable, as her friend and confidante in all things Scientific and, by association, awesome fun. Definitely recommended for children and adults, the story of a young girl's dreams in a changing world will never get old, especially when it holds as many laughs and smiles as Calpurnia Tate.
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