Growing up during the Depression is brought to life in this wonderful story by Heather Marshall. The Logan family live in Petone, Wellington. The father dies at the beginning of the book leaving Mrs Logan a widow with five daughters to raise on her own with a small pension. The story is mainly told through the eyes of the youngest child, Chrissie who is five at the beginning of the book and seven towards the end (though in those two years, she does a lot of growing up).
It's the 1930s and many families are facing unemployment, poverty, sickness and abandonment. All this is told and understood through the eyes of children. The first few chapters set the scene of the depression and Father's death, and it's very sombre, but after that, the story picks up as Chrissie faces day-to-day life with her family. She starts school (chapter 3 will put any homeschooled child off school forever!), faces a haunted house, visits the beach, buys more tomatoes than you can pickle, and the antics go on. Some of the chapters are hilarious. Heather Marshall has a great sense of humour. Other chapters are very sad and address difficult themes, especially the disparity between the poor and the rich. This was a major theme running throughout the book. Mrs Logan originally came from a well-to-do family, but something happened and they lost a lot of money. After her husband died she was reduced even further to a widow's status. Without her husband, she and her children were treated differently. They were barraged by the minister's wife who tried to force charity on them in a patronising manner, and she had trouble with teachers and principal at the school because they treated the poorer children differently. This had an effect on the children too. There is a lot of bullying in the book. The richer children pick on the poorer children, (especially the boys from the orphanage), and one particular girl is relentlessly bullied because she has a terrible body odour. The teachers also bully the children and some of it is very cruel. As you read, you watch the sisters digest and react to what is happening around them in different ways. Some of their reactions are hopeful and they rise above the situation, but Chrissie, in particular, is overwhelmed by the teacher's cruelty and her bitterness turns to hate, then she despises them. Some moments are hard to read.
There is a very sad moment in the book when a child dies, leaving one of the sisters, Cynthia, questioning her life choices. She concludes the book on a positive note though. I was very happy for Billy Lamb (one of the orphanage boys) at the end of the book. Amidst all the hardship and cruelty of the Depression, there was hope and love.
I recommend this book to an older age group. Even though Chrissie is young, the themes are more mature. As a parent, you will need to be able to discuss issues that arise with a more mature mind.
There are some veiled references and childish discussions about where babies come from.
Christianity in the book is not portrayed in a positive light. Mrs Logan is very committed to her local Presbyterian church and attends many meetings. Her children resent her for spending so much time at the church away from home. There is a major disconnect between the mother's faith and her children's. Later in the book, the sisters discuss believing in Jesus alongside Father Christmas and the tooth fairy (quite nonchalantly) and some of them decide not to believe in any of them. I think part of the issue is that the children associate their mother's church attendance and faith as part of her former well-to-do life when they had a Father and plenty to eat and wear. Mrs Logan finds it hardest of all to adjust to their poverty and she struggles to watch her children dress and speak like "poor" children. As the children identify more with the poorer children at school, they leave behind the culture of their former life. The church just isn't a part of it. The only times it shows up in the story is when it tries to force donations on the family and Mrs Logan refuses all such donations. Personally, I would've liked to have seen a more compassionate church helping the family, but I didn't write this book. This theme isn't a major issue in the book, it just pops up now and then and you might want to be aware of it.
All in all, I love this book. I couldn't put it down. I adore the characters and feel a real connection because I grew up in Wellington and know Petone well. If you are looking for a book about growing up in the early 20th Century, then I highly recommend this novel for older readers.
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