The Secret Sisters and Tenmile

Avi. The Secret Sisters

August 29, 2023 by Clarion Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ida Bidson has finished 8th grade in rural Routt County, Colorado, and has been given the opportunity to attend high school in Steamboat Springs. In order to do this, she must board with Gertrude Sedgewick, who was working as a school supervisor and took the chance to let Ida teach. Trudy's fiance died of the flu after fighting in WWI, and at 32, she is a bit lonely but too old to marry. She enjoys hosting Ida, but finds her enthusiasm sometimes misplaced. The two share meals from Trudy's newfangled Boston Cooking-School Cookbook and talk about their days, but Ida really wants to be friends with girls like Lulu, who fancies herself a flapper, or Dot, who rides a train in from a coal mining town. The girls form a club they call The Secret Sisters, and try to convince Ida to bob her hair. Ida makes the mistake of correcting the principal, Mr. Langley, in front of class. He doesn't believe in modern women, so is incensed when the new music teacher, Miss Mickle, teachers the girls the Charleston dance. He threatens to expel Ida if her grades aren't good or she causes any more disruptions. The girls decide that they should pay more attention to their lessons so that they have more opportunities for advancement, and are able to keep studying at the school. 

Strengths: Ah, flappers. Modern readers can't understand how shocking and scandalous they were. I mean, showing their ankles? Smoking in public! Using phrases like "heebie-jeebies"? This was such fun, and catching up with Ida and seeing her transition to the "big town" was fascinating. Trudy was an interesting character, because I am sure there were many women who were "forced" into careers when they were unable to marry after so many young men died because of WWI. I would have adored this when I was in middel school, especially since I was a huge fan of Cheaper by the Dozen. 
Weaknesses: I had the first book in this series, The Secret School (2001), but weeded it a while ago because no one read it, so I'm not sure about purchasing this one even though I enjoyed it. 
What I really think: Since this describes life 100 years ago, I would love for my students to read it and to understand the standards to which people were held at the time. It was especially interesting to me because my grandmother was born the same year Trudy was, and Trudy was considered "old fashioned". If there are students who are reading Little Women (which is mentioned in the book) or Anne of Green Gables, this would be a book they would love. The cover isn't great, although it the book is nice and short. 

Dallas, Sandra. Tenmile
November 15, 2022 by Sleeping Bear Press
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Sissy Carlson is reminded daily that living in Tenmile, Colorado in 1880 is difficult. While her father is the local doctor and she lives in a nice house, her mother died when she was young. Luckily, the housekeeper, Mrs. Greenwood (whom she calls Greenie) is kind and understands Sissy's desire to get an education and move away from the small mining town. The local school educates everyone, so some of Sissy's friends have much harder lives, especially the ones who live in Chicken Flats. Jack's father is a miner, but he also wants to pursue an education. When his father gambles away his wages and puts the family in debt, Jack has to quit school and go to work. Nelle's father runs a restaurant, but since her mother's death, more and more of the work has fallen to her and her sister Essie. When their work isn't satisfactory, their father often beats them. Poverty isn't the only thing that makes life hard; Sissy gets a job tutoring Willie, the son of the mine's owner, Mr. Gilpin, whose mother is so fearful of losing him that he is never allowed outside and has no friends. Sissy tries her best to keep up in school, but she is an integral part of her father's practice, helping to deliver babies and stitch up wounds at the mine, even though her father doesn't completely appreciate how much she contributes. When Jack is injured in a mine collapse, he is slow to heal, and she visits him. She helps Nelle out, and sometimes ventures out to gather mushrooms and visit with Sarah and her mother, helping to heal Sarah's father when he comes down with ague. She does help Willie, and brings Jack's young brother Pete to play with him, which seems to have a good effect on Willie's health as well as give him some empathy for the families who rely on his father's business. It's difficult to find a way to get out of Tenmile's harsh existence, but some of our characters manage. Sadly, not all of them manage to get out alive.

 
There could certainly be a lot more books set in the late 1800s in the US West. There were many of these published in the first half of the twentieth century, but many have problematic content concerning the treatment of Native Americans. That issues is not addressed in this book, but there are plenty of details about life in a mining community during this time period.

A wide array of characters are portrayed, from mining families like Jack's to new transports from the South like Sarah and her mother Willow Louise. Mrs. Gilpin, the mine owner's wife, wants to keep her distance from the "lower classes", but most people, like her housekeeper Mrs. Ogden, know that the community is best served by having everyone work together. Greenie supports Sissy's ambitions and helps her to save money, encouraging her to set her sights on college. There is plenty of discussion about what the expectations are for girls, and how unusual it would be for Sissy to be able to train to be a doctor, but also community support for her when her skills are put to good use. 

 
Fans of Wilder's Little House on the Prairie will be glad to see some familiar settings, like the school and restaurant, and it is fascinating to see the perspective of the doctor's household. Fans of Hobbs' City of Gold, Meyer's A Sky Full of Song and Park's Prairie Lotus will want to take a look at this slice of life novel about a time period quickly slipping from collective memory.