I picked up this one after reading about it on a children's lit blog. Unfortunately, I don't remember which one.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable book. It reminds me of [b: A Drowned Maiden's Hair|199741|A Drowned Maiden's Hair|Laura Amy Schlitz|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388342186s/199741.jpg|193232] by Laura Amy Schlitz, but in subject matter, not writing style. While I wasn't blown away by anything in particular, I found myself wanting to pick this one up even when I wasn't on the train- always a good sign. I wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen, and the ending was satisfying. I especially like that the romance was left so open-ended. The uncertainty of that saved the ending from being too tidy.

I was about to tag this "historical fiction" because, I suppose it is, being set in the 1920s, however, almost nothing about the book conveys a particular time or place (despite the explicit mention of rural upstate New York and flapper dresses). Really, it could be in any small town in any post-industrial, pre-war era when flim-flam artists and con men could stay just one town ahead of the law.

I remember going to a conference on historical fiction once, quite a few years ago. What I retained was the difference between historical fiction, which features actual historical people such as [b: Johnny Tremain|816870|Johnny Tremain|Esther Forbes|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1308964858s/816870.jpg|2683165] or [b: Little House on the Prairie|77767|Little House on the Prairie (Little House, #2)|Laura Ingalls Wilder|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1441903581s/77767.jpg|2884161], and period fiction, which is set in the past, such as Mildred Taylor's books or [b: Long Way From Chicago|39963|A Long Way from Chicago (A Long Way from Chicago, #1)|Richard Peck|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388195985s/39963.jpg|1207111]. It is an interesting distinction, especially since I more often find myself annoyed by the appearance of actual people in fiction. The Royal Diaries is a good example; I hate that they have taken real people and made up diaries for them, with little or no documentation or indication of what is real and what is not. If I were to encounter Johnny Tremain now, would I feel the same way about it? I don't think so, because the historical people are secondary characters, and while I haven't read it in some time, I think it is historically substantiated. But perhaps I only think that because it's a classic and I never questioned it.

And then what do we do with Little Women and Secret Garden? They sure seem like period fiction now, but when they were written, they were contemporary. Do we need a third term? And if so, what would it be? ( )

Gr 5-9-During the 1920s, 15-year-old Annie travels from town to town in upstate New York with her mother, a self-proclaimed spiritual adviser. Annie is her mother's secret weapon: by posing as an idiot, she can eavesdrop on conversations around town and gather fodder for "Madame Caterina's " fortune-telling sessions. The downside, of course, is that Annie is never able to let anyone learn just how intelligent and lonely she really is. When they move to Peach Hill, the teen longs to settle down, and it seems she may get her wish when, in a rebellious moment, she feigns a miraculous cure that allows her to drop her mentally disabled pose. Finally, she is able to attend school and get to know some of the townspeople on her own terms. But the mother is as tenacious as the daughter, and has no intention of losing Annie's services. Add to the mix a local schemer who is determined to use the duo's skills to his own advantage and a persistent truant officer who has her doubts about Madame Caterina, and the result is a rollicking coming-of-age story that ends with dreams realized in unexpected ways. Jocelyn's research of the period is evident, and the old wives' tales that she has chosen as titles for each chapter hint at how the plot will unfold. Readers will not soon forget this unconventional mother-and-daughter team.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
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This book, How it Happened in Peach HIll, is a marvelous book that relates to "being" a psychic. I think that this book is really great, and everyone should read it. ( )

Annie's mother swindles people by reading their palms and reaching their loved ones on "the other side." Since the book is set during WWI, there are many women wanting to contact their lost husbands and sons. Annie's part is to gather information to assist her domineering mother. She does this by pretending to be an idiot. But Annie is 15 and wants to go to school and live a normal life, and she especially wants to meet Sammy Sloane. ( )