false <![CDATA[The Midwife's Apprentice]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166674150m/15595.jpg 15595 18 Karen Cushman likes to write with her tongue firmly planted in her cheek, and her feisty female characters firmly planted in history. In The Midwife's Apprentice, which earned the 1996 Newbery Medal, this makes a winning combination for children and adult readers alike. Like her award-winning book, Catherine, Called Birdy, the story takes place in medieval England. This time our protagonist is Alyce, who rises from the dung heap (literally) of homelessness and namelessness to find a station in life--apprentice to the crotchety, snaggletoothed midwife Jane Sharp. On Alyce's first solo outing as a midwife, she fails to deliver. Instead of facing her ignorance, Alyce chooses to run from failure--never a good choice. Disappointingly, Cushman does not offer any hardships or internal wrestling to warrant Alyce's final epiphanies, and one of the book's climactic insights is when Alyce discovers that lo and behold she is actually pretty! Still, Cushman redeems her writing, as always, with historical accuracy, saucy dialogue, fast-paced action, and plucky, original characters that older readers will eagerly devour. (Ages 12 and older) <I>--Gail Hudson</I> 168119 1995 The Midwife's Apprentice total:3114|5:560|4:1201|3:1052|2:238|1:63| 3114 11299 3849 354 5 3 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Tue Aug 07 17:36:40 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 17:36:59 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 27 07:21:47 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 07:28:55 -0700 2009 2
Like Cushman's first book, this is set in medeival times with the heroine a young girl. In this case, the girl is found sleeping in a dung heap by a midwife and taken on as an apprentice.

It ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Aug 14 17:02:33 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 23 08:53:32 -0800 2009 Catherine Called Birdy, a Newbery Honor Book, about ten years ago, and while it was interesting it wasn’t quite captivating enough for me to want to read anything else by Karen Cushman. Still, when The Midwife’s Apprentice showed up on Paperback Swap, I figured I’d give it a try.
...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jul 24 11:14:44 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 11:16:03 -0700 2008 Orphaned since as long as she can remember, Beetle becomes employed by the cold village midwife. And while her payment is meager, Beetle eventually gains confidence in herself and her abilities through her work.
Strengths:
While it uses the language of the time, the book is ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Oct 17 10:36:28 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 17 10:41:57 -0700 2007 While the cover of this book seems to be geared toward children, I would NOT hand this over to a child who does not ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 18:12:25 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 18:16:53 -0800 2008
I read this really fast, in a couple of hours. Well, it's a kid's book after all.

It's about a girl, an orphan, who has nothing and nobody, who makes a life for herself. What I most appreciated about this book...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 19:38:56 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 19:57:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jul 24 13:20:40 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 13:20:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 20 13:39:45 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 13:53:32 -0700 2009 The midwife’s apprentice. New York: Clarion Books.

Summary:
Alyce (also known as Beetle and various derogatory nicknames) comes into her own as she grows up in extreme poverty and hunger during medieval England, to realizing her own worth.

Reviews/Aw...more...]]> 4 2 false false Fri Jul 03 13:54:51 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 14:02:15 -0700 2009 neither protagonist is a princess! *gasp*), is that she never sugar-coats the history. Take The Midwife's Apprentice, which i...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 23 13:16:54 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 13:29:53 -0700 2009
This "Cinde...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 13 12:00:05 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 09:09:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 21 03:48:38 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 24 11:33:54 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 19:03:41 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 19:58:45 -0700 2009
Once again, a story about self-discovery and finding a place and a sense of belonging.

The story reminded me a lot of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman in regard to the main characters both not know...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 11:48:11 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 20 07:52:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Dec 07 16:42:31 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 16:52:06 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 07:30:37 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 07:31:15 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Oct 15 08:44:02 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 08:45:05 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 15:13:06 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 15:31:48 -0700 2009
As a children's book, I find it to be very dark. Brat/Beetle/Alice has been beaten into the ground by everyone she has ever known. Yet she is a really resilient character, not self-hating but ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jun 21 15:19:46 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 14:17:39 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 15:19:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=15595