Crossing the Tracks

by Barbara Stuber

At fifteen, Iris is a hobo of sorts -- no home, no family, no direction. After her mother’s early death, Iris’s father focuses on big plans for his new shoe stores and his latest girlfriend, and has no time for his daughter. Unbeknownst to her, he hires Iris out as housekeeper and companion for a country doctor’s elderly mother. Suddenly Iris is alone, stuck in gritty rural Missouri, too far from her only friend Leroy and too close to a tenant farmer, Cecil Deets, who menaces the neighbors and, Iris suspects, his own daughter.

Iris is buoyed by the warmth and understanding the doctor and his mother show her, but just as she starts to break out of her shell, tragedy strikes. Iris must find the guts and cunning to take aim at the devil incarnate and discover if she is really as helpless—or as hopeless—as she once believed.

Lyrical, yet humorous, Barbara Stuber’s debut novel is the unforgettable story of a girl who struggles to cast aside her long-standing grief and doubt and, in the span of one dusty summer, learn to trust, hope, and—ultimately—love.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical, Book Club, Realistic Fiction, Teen

258 pages, Hardcover

First published June 18, 2010

About the author

In the fourth grade Barbara Stuber co-authored her first book – a "Diotionary" (sic)of nonsense words. Early spelling challenges resolved she now weaves those words into short stories and novels. When not writing, Barbara is an art museum docent, drawing inspiration for her characters and honing details of setting and plot from the museum’s vast resource of portraits, landscapes and sculpture.

Barbara lives in Kansas City with her family, about two hours from the good folks of Wellsford, Missouri. Crossing the Tracks is her first novel.

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is a sensitive coming of age story dealing with the usual things done and experienced for the first time by a young woman. But the plot goes beyond that to deal with the more serious matters of death of a parent and finding ways to protect a neighboring minor from sexual abuse.

Iris' mother died when she was six and now at age fifteen she's being hired out as a companion to a country doctor's elderly mother during the summer of 1926. She believes with good cause that her father has made these arrangements to get her out of the way while he gets married again, moves to Kansas City, and opens a new shoe store there.

Then when she receives word that her father has died in a car accident, Iris not only has to deal with the conflicted feelings about her father but she must also make some important decisions about who will be her guardian and what will be her future relationship with the woman who would have been her stepmother had her father not died first.

In addition to those major decisions she also has to plot with the family she is staying with on how to connive a rescue mission to save a thirteen-year-old neighbor girl from a violent and sexual abusive father. They need to accomplish their plan without the abusive father knowing of their involvement or else they know his wrath will turn on them.

I read the story because I had previously read the book Girl in Reverse by the same author. In that book there was conflict between a teenaged girl and her mother, and I was curious to see if a similar conflict was described in this book as well. As it turns out in this book the conflict was with the father. As the story is presented in this book the father can be faulted for bad parenting skills. However, back in 1926 I'm not sure fathers were expected to be good communicators, and in this case there was no mother present to smooth things over.

I know from a talk by the author that the story in this book is based upon the life experiences of her mother. This is a well crafted story with some repeating motifs which I thought were cleverly slipped into the narrative—the title of the book is one of them.

[Aditi · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Griffith "Jack" London, an American author, journalist, and social activist, has quoted remarkably about "HOBOs", i.e. homeward-bound;

"They were hobos, and with every word they uttered...
It all spelled adventure."

Let me be clear one thing, homeless people are not exactly "hobos", "hobos" are more interesting with lots of experience in life. "Hobos" have got a direction in their life and generally people coin "Hobo" in a negative way, but it's actually a positive word! The author, Barbara Stuber has shown that in her award-winning book, Crossing the Tracks. Yeah, I know sounds very hobo indeed, but it’s not, although, in the end, the protagonist is left as homeless and living off in some body else’s home, still, the title is so fitting with the protagonist, Iris's situation, who resided in Atchison, in Kansas, but all of a sudden we see her as a hobo living in a farm in Wellsford. This tale is so profound that it takes away your heart and makes your heart ache for Iris's journey towards her home, to where her heart belongs.

I can't thank enough to the author, Barbara Stuber, for giving me this opportunity to read and review her novel.

Iris is 15 years old, after her loving mother's death, her father, who happen to own a very luxurious and quite famous shoe-store, turns sour towards her. This man you would love to hate him, I mean seriously, which father asks her daughter to suppress her from coughing, since her cough irritated him, and since he was too traumatized after his tuberculosis-affected wife's death. But Iris's father finds another woman, named Celeste to share his happiness with and in the city of Kansas, thereby sending Iris to Wells to serve the Nestbitts family for a while-meaning getting rid of her! Iris, all sad and lonely sets off on her journey to Wellsford. Dr. Nesbitt and his mother, Mrs. Nesbitt, used to live in a farm in Wellsford and they had rented their land to a man named Cecil and his daughter, Dot, who were very foul-mouthed people. Soon Iris finds herself adjusting in Nesbitt's home with a aching in her heart for Atchison, her home-town, Leroy, her best friend-cum-neighbor and for her memories with her mother. But one sudden incident leaves her being a hobo for the rest of her lives in Nesbitt's home with a gaping hole in her heart and with hope to happiness.

How I can explain the beauty in this story, a teenager, who longs so many things in her life, but unfortunately left with nothing- only loneliness engulfs her in a foreign land. Iris and Leroy are the epitome of the first blossoming of a beautiful flower, I really loved the way their relationship unfolded, way too innocently and it is something that keeps Iris going forward. Marie, a hobo dog, was Iris's companion in Wellsford and Mrs.Nesbitt, being so old and wise, took Iris into her home like her own flesh and blood. Before leaving Atchison, Iris was dreaded with the idea of working as a house-keeper for an old lady, but the warmth with which the Nesbitt's welcomed her, made her lose herself in their world. Crossing the Tracks is a gorgeously written and strikingly-narrated tale about the pull between finding a way to home and individual freedom and happiness. This story will not only touch your soul but will also leave you craving for the achiness in Iris's heart. The author has unraveled the journey of Iris with passion and love. From the very beginning you can feel the pull that the book creates with its humor and profundity.

This book is a must read for all teenagers and also for adults who are still searching for their way towards home.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful story! A must read.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before I ramble on about how come I think you should give this book I try I wanted to give a mention to the cover. It's beautiful but more than that I liked that it's illustrated and you can tell the cover artist put some time and effort into it. It reflects the story and I appreciate that. That vast blue sky showing opportunity and crossing into something new is what the story is about. What happened to those kinds of covers?

I'm afraid these sorts of books get overlooked quite a bit, getting lost behind the hyped up books. I love to read books with lots of hype and get excited with other people over those books, but sometimes you need a change of pace. Where there aren’t paranormal creatures or teenage angst, just a simple yet moving coming of age story.

The story is set in the 1920s in Middle America. Iris Baldwin is fifteen from a sleepy town in Kansas and lives with her father. Her father is a distant man and Iris feels he probably loves his shoe store and new wife more than he loves her. That fact seems to be cemented when her father sends her away to be a live in employee for an elderly woman, who has a doctor for a son. Without any kind of say so in the matter Iris moves to a small town in Missouri to start a new life. One she doesn't know she even wants.

Iris has this strong but quiet personality that we don't see quite often. It's usually about the spitfires, but Iris is incredibly insightful and I liked her character a lot. Then there are the wonderful characters of Mrs. Nesbitt and her son. They really embrace Iris into their home and help her feel like she belongs somewhere finally. The writing style is hard to describe, sometimes it feels distant but I think this comes from Iris's own feelings of being misplaced. Not knowing where she fits into the world. It must be incomprehensibly difficult not to grow up with a mother figure and Iris needed a lot of love that missed out on. The author knows how to use words; I just don't know how to describe it.

There is a lot of tension and incidents that actually happen in the story, but I won't go into that. Let's just say there is a lot of justice served throughout the novel. One of my favorite aspects was the correspondence between Leroy, Iris's lifelong friend in Kansas, and herself. It is sweet and gives something for Iris to hold on to when things feel like they are going to go south.

I may be partial to the story because it's set close to where I live, but if you're up for something different this is it.

[Joe Lunievicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crossing the Tracks, by Barbara Stuber is a gem of a book.

Barbara Stuber’s award winning first novel lives up to its promise of beautiful writing and fascinating narrative storytelling. From the opening scene of a five year old Iris playing beneath her mother’s coffin to the home of Dr. Nesbitt in Wellesford, Missouri, where Iris has been sent by her busy father to work – the 1926 rural landscape and atmosphere is perfect. This is a wonderful historical novel that you savor as you read. Ms. Stuber’s writing is lyrical, insightful of human nature, and textured. For example, Iris, the protagonist says of a crying elderly Mrs. Nesbitt, “I’ve never seen an old person cry like this. The sadness from life is supposed to be folded inside an old person, not streaming out.” A throughline in the story of dusting off memories is especially wonderful as is the call-back to the meaning of the word hobo – homeword bound. As in the best historical novels, the details of the period give life to the world Ms. Stuber has created, but do not overwhelm it. For example Doctor Nesbitt treats common rural illness but also broken bones from injuries related to hand cranking cars. The world building is quite simply terriffic. Characters are real and draw the reader into Iris’ world immediately. I just loved Iris and Mrs. Nesbitt. As a protagonist Iris made me turn the pages to see what happened next.

This is a novel about loss and grief and the themes are handled with love and care. The author’s understanding of these themes is deep and her novel shows how great losses – a mother, a son, a husband, growing old – can cripple and bind a heart but then with time and the help of others can be healed.

How relevant can a story set in the 1920s be to teens today? Highly. Iris’ world and her problems, insecurity, loss of a parent, the need to be loved and to find love, the need to understand her place in the world, are universal. This is a book that deserves a wide audience and I truly hope it finds one.

Visit Ms. Stuber’s website for more information about her and the writing of her debut novel, Crossing the Tracks.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Iris’ mother died, her father no longer has time for her, immersed in his growing shoe business. When the business is about to expand to Kansas City, her father hires her out to a farm family without informing her first much less asking her opinion. So Iris is sent to care for an elderly woman and her doctor son in rural Missouri. She leaves behind her best friend Leroy and any illusions about her father caring about her. The move to the country turns out to be the best thing that could have happened to Iris. The family is warm and friendly to Iris, who slowly learns a lot about herself, her courage, and her connection to her mother. But all is not perfect in the countryside, they live far too close to an angry man who drove off his wife and is now doing unspeakable things to his daughter. Iris has to find a cunning way to help a girl who has only ever hated her. In the end, Iris may be a hobo, but so are we all.

A virtuoso of a debut performance, this book is written with strength and conviction. Stuber’s writing is beautifully constructed, each small detail meant to lead somewhere in the story or mean something more to the reader. She uses several important themes that tie the entire novel together: homelessness and hobos being the most significant. Yet she never allows these themes to drive the story, rather they are part of it, a twining of theme around the plot. It is beautifully done.

Set in the 1920s, the book never gets bogged down with period details, rather the time period is portrayed through the story. It is woven in and helps tell the story itself. Doctors make housecalls, cars are fairly new machines, and there are no cell phones and only party lines.

Iris is a marvelous protagonist with her hard exterior from years with her father neglecting her and yet her yearning for connection and family. Iris grows as the story progresses and kindness is shown her. Stuber has written her growth in a natural and organic way that really rings true. There are no unbelievable leaps forward, but a slow movement with steps backwards. The supporting cast is also very well rendered right down to Marie, the dog. Mrs. Nesbitt, the fiesty woman whom Iris cares for, does just as much caring for Iris. Mrs. Nesbitt is one of the reasons this book is so successful, she is hardly the stereotypical elderly woman, far from it.

Highly recommended, this book is historical fiction with a touch of romance and danger. It is an intoxicating mix that readers will find difficult to put down. Appropriate for ages 12-15.

[Lisa Cindrich]

This was really a lovely read. I enjoyed seeing the Atchison and small-town Missouri of almost a century ago. (And learned some fascinating historical trivia--how women of the time purchased Kotex, for example. Who knew? The book wears Stuber's historical research lightly, but you can tell that she really dug into that research.) Iris is a believable and likeable heroine. I think a lot of teenage girls will identify with her feelings of frustration and helplessness early in the book and will love her all the more as she gains confidence AND competence. Drama, humor, romance: It's like a good old-fashioned story that also dares to dig beneath the surface of things. Well-done!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five year old Iris hides beneath her mother’s coffin. It’s just her and her emotionally distant father now. Ten years later her father, preoccupied with his shoe store and preparing for remarriage, sends her away to work for a country doctor and his elderly mother. “Crossing the Tracks” is a beautifully written story set in 1920’s Missouri. It’s about grief and loss, love and loyalty and redefining the meaning of home and family. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. The writing is impeccable, the characters are superbly real. I love Iris and Mrs. Nesbitt and Dr. Nesbit and Leroy and I hope Barbara Stuber has her next book finished and it comes out tomorrow. Even the bad people are human.

[Caitlin Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cross the Tracks is a book about a young girl named Iris who has to find her way and use the stars. I thought this book was a little sad, but uplifting at the end. I loved the characters and enjoyed the story as it kept pulling me in.

[Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful read! Not just a coming-of-age story but a story for any age. Beautifully written, with a soft but vivid way to describe every character.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really not good at writing reviews. I always intend to elaborate but usually just say, "I loved it!" or something like that. So I thought if I tried to write something while the book is fresh in my mind, it would help.

Set in the 20's, Iris is 15 years old and her mother has been dead for 10 years. She lives with her father, who is very distant and seems to only care about his shoe store business. When he hires her out for the summer to care for a doctor's elderly mother in another town, she is understandably angry and resentful.

Dr. Nesbit and his mother, however, turn out to be wonderful and caring, and she immediately finds a bond with Mrs. Nesbit.

I loved Iris - her quirkiness and her quiet determination. You can see how she changes, blooms, loses her innocence, but learns so much about herself and her parents in the process.

The book does have a bit of a dark side with the addition of the Nesbit's abusive tenant, Cecil Deets. I wondered early on if perhaps Stuber could have left that (icky) story line out, but I realized that it's important for Iris to confront some of these issues. She's much stronger because of it.

It's been a while since I read The Secret Life of Bees or Ellen Foster, but something about Iris reminded me a bit of those girls. They were all on their own in uncertain circumstances, yet they all have a certain quirky, dark humor to them.

OK, the writing. The writing! The writing is beautiful. I had intended to add some examples, but I already took the book back to the library... You can read the prologue here: http://barbarastuber.com/books/

Beautiful descriptive writing that really does it for me. This is a book I'd like to own.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quarter of the way into this I really wanted to like it because it's so beautifully written and is local to me, but wasn't sure I'd be able to make myself care enough for the character and her issues that seemed a little too removed from what I can relate to and bordering on the softly mundane. Three-quarters of the way through I'd been reminded how powerful subtle understatement can be with a little time, because I was completely involved in Iris's life, found myself feeling what she felt as though she were a real person I knew. Reserved, but quietly excellent.

Under a bruised sky, fingers of wind stroke the wheat from bleached gold to tan and back. We pass threshing machines crouched under showers of dust and straw. Fat hay bales dot the landscape.

I'm in the backseat, wondering if the sky will cry and turn the roads to mud before we get to Atchison. The shifting wheat makes the land look upholstered in suede. I shut my eyes, recalling our store and Carl at his bench in the back room.

"Charles, you tryin' to make my life miserable, sellin' this suede? Why every spit of grease and horse shit in Atchison, Kansas, just falls in love with it."

Suede.

Daddy's shoes!

I sit straight. Oh, God. Oh, no! I didn't tell Carl to pick out shoes. Daddy can't go anywhere without the right footwear.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character, Iris, was a fifteen year old girl living in Atichson, Kansas in the year 1925. Her mother had died of tuberculosis when she was 5 and her father, after a string of girlfriends, had found someone special - Celeste. Iris was being sent away to work for the summer in Wellsford, Missouri and not very happy about it. "...my perfectly healthy father has mistaken me for a piece of furniture that doesn't fit in his house, his life, anymore."

This was a beautiful book. The writing was poetic and evocative: "The wind explores the morning, fills my sleeves, twirls up my skirt, ruffles the robins, then switches destinations, and so do we" and another of my favorites: "...feeling like no more than a speck in the middle of God's dirty thumbprint..."

I truly came to love the characters (except for the one or two we weren't supposed to love.) They were real and believable, dimensional, flawed yet wonderful. These were real people. I almost forgot this was a story, the people created out of the authors imagination - they could have been my neighbors, my friends, my relatives.

This was a subtle book, nuances expertly interwoven to give you a feel for the time, the people, the story of their lives in the year 1925.

And the ending was satisfying, not a fairy tale ending, but a hopeful and realistic ending.

I loved this book.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep trying to find something eloquent to say, and I really can't. This came following a few very disappointing reads, and it made them all worth it -- wow. Gorgeous language, with stunning imagery and incredibly painful moments. And this is such a wonderful story of pain, the pain we carry inside of ourselves and the ways we inflict it on each other, and the ways we don't, the ways we transcend that pain. And even more refreshingly, it's a story about women -- women and their friendships and their strength and their weakness and their families and the things they carry with them in spite of all their efforts. And, again, I can't say enough good about the way Stuber uses language -- it's one of those books that gets inside of your head, so that you find your own language mimicking it afterwards, like picking up the echo of a close friend's accent.

Which, actually, is probably entirely appropriate, because this is such a book about close friendships and things that are said (or not) between friends, but also because I suspect this book is going to become a lifelong friend of mine.

[Sara Truog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this a week ago and forgot to log in here :) Written by a local author who came to our book club, is absolutely charming, and who talked about the fine art connections to the novel - very interesting. Having said that, I'm just not sure this should be a YA novel. While the themes are relevant to teens (first period, first love, father taking a new wife) and not juveniles (incest theme), I don't think that many teens are interested in reading historical fiction of this nature. If my book club is any indication, adult readers who enjoy American historical fiction will connect more with this book. I'd love to know if teens think I'm wrong...
I liked the book - loved the characters, particularly the Nesbitts, and found it to be a fast and delightful read. I thought the talking to the wallpaper bits were a little heavy-handed...

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there are many things I find bewildering about this book--it is, as it acknowledges, kind of morbid, for instance--it is exceedingly well-crafted and well worth a read, if you don't read exclusively feel-good stories. It is also BLESSEDLY SHORT. (Which is, I suppose, part of the well-craftedness.) In theme, setting, characters, etc, it's sort of a logical YA followup to Richard Peck's country historical fiction books (A Year Down Yonder etc).

Recommended generally if you aren't bothered by plenty of talk about death and dying. And let's go ahead and acknowledge that if you're an evangelical-Christian or LDS blogger you aren't going to like it. (No, no, I didn't just say that because I know it's the best hook out there for my friends. Really.)

[Terrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming novel set in the frontier of Kansas in the 1920’s. Ten years after her mother’s death, fifteen year old Iris is sent by her emotionally neglectful father to be a companion for a Doctor’s elderly mother. Using her common sense, and with the support of her unlikely new friends, she learns about life, love and loss. I loved this well written and emotionally charged novel. Appropriate for grades 4 and up.

[CarolAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was beautifully written. The characters were vividly alive and I admired Ms. Stuber's talent. I don't know why but the feel of the story reminded me of "Old Yeller", "Where the Red Fern Grows", and "The Yearling". It has a classic feel of growing up with hard loses and with emotions that were hard to define.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Persephone in Kansas City

Crossing the Tracks settles into a tale of family is the people you chose, not the ones you're born to. The old woman teaches her how to manage a house and a farm. The doctor teaches her how to drive.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

[Laura Manivong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to read this book as it was being written, and what an honor to see how Stuber developed these characters into people I cared about. And the writing is simple, yet stunning. Beautiful all the way around.

[Barby Wendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author, Barbara Stuber is a college friend and this is her first novel. I loved the story! Iris is a strong girl who learns about herself and her mother after being sent away by her father. I am so impressed with her writing.

[Loryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick yet quite fulfilling read. The relationship between Iris and Mrs. Nesbitt was not what I would have thought it would be. Usually it's an old crotchety woman and a girl that has to win her over, but this was refreshing! Loved it!

[Janet]

Great story by a local author. Met her at the Nelson last Saturday for a tour of the art that influenced some of her descriptions of characters and settings. Very interesting.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my book groups, has a member who knows the author, and she's going
came speak to us!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just plain fabulous. I loved this book from beginning to end.

[Heidi Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iris has nobody with her. Her mother passed away and her Dad is sick but also focused on his new girlfriend. He sends her to Dr.Nesbitt farm for three long dusty months as a house keeper. She misses his only friend Leroy but they still communicate by sending each other letters. She then starts feeling curious about the farmer next door harming his own daughter. Suddenly everything crashes down on Iris.
Iris is completely alone. She finds out that her Dad is sick but he dint want her to find out but either way the truth came out. She feels terrified about eveything that has happend but manages to keep her head up and staying positive.

Iris is mainly the main character but they also include her Dad, Dr.Nesbitt, and Celeste.
I would say that Iris is a depressed girl that has been through alot at her age but no matter what she maintains to keep her head high and wont let it fall.

I can relate with Iris when she said "one of my favorite cars is riding the Cadillac' i like those as well ever since i was younger and up to this day i still do.

Yeah, i personaly do like this book, i like the way the author expresses her thoughts im enojoying reading this book im still not completely finished i stil need a couple more pages. My favorite part of the book was when " She goes by the railroad and goes to this place called ladies house journal" whoever named the place it shooked me but ill like to say that its somewhat creative and did a good job. My least favorite part was when i read that her "Mother passed away" it made me feel bad in a way because it makes you appreciate your mom even more. The author did very well on coming up with these ideas and completing this book hopefully other kids get into this book. I think the author doesnt have to do more it is a wonderful book to read.

I would recommend it and intruduce it to people who like knowing about other peoples stories.
I think most of the people who like to read would enjoy it in a way but probably not everyone will like it but knowing that they read it is worth it.

[Ella Higgins]

Reading “Crossing the Tracks” informed me about the manic life of Iris Baldwin. This story captivated me every page of the book. Ever since Iris, a teenage girl of the 1920’s, lost her mother to tuberculosis, she is left with her self-absorbed father to look after her. Mr. Baldwin had a more substantial life image to pursue than to care for Iris. He made arrangements for Iris to live and work on a farm with the Nesbitts, an elderly woman and son who is a doctor. Meanwhile, Iris’s father takes the road to Kansas City to open his long dreamed for shoe store with his prissy girlfriend, Celeste. Iris experiences a whole new understanding about the world when she takes on a new life living with the Nesbitts. Barbara Stuber does a spectacular job of bringing a historical environment into the reader's imagination with elaborate details in this realistic-fiction novel.
The characters portrayed in the novel came to life because of the detailed descriptions the author constructed. The three main characters are Iris Baldwin, Mrs. Nesbitt, and Iris’s father. The minor characters of Dr. Nesbitt, Dot, Leroy, Celeste, and Cecil play an important role to make the novel more captivating.
Iris, the character narrating the story, shares her feelings and experiences of her new life living with the Nesbitts throughout the story. Iris is an intelligent, matured, 16 year old girl. After her mother tragically died when Iris was eight, her life was never the same, but she pursued through and helped out the Nesbitt’s on the farm. include quote
Iris’s father was an arrogant man whose only goal was to open a shoe store with his beloved girlfriend, celeste. Mr. Baldwin had a closer relationship to shoes than he did his own daughter (insert quote). However, his life cuts short. Iris’s father was speeding his car, intending to beat the upcoming train, but his car struck the train leaving Iris’s father dead. Mr. Baldwin was Iri’s only family left, so Iris lives with the Nesbitts for the remainder of her childhood.
Mrs. Nesbitt and Dr. Nesbitt are the mother and son who takes Iris under their wings and provide her with love. Mrs. Nesbitt is a fragile, elderly woman who needs help from Iris with day to day tasks. She is a careful, wise human being that knows how to handle any situation. Dr. Avery Nesbitt, the son of Mrs. Nesbitt, has a warming and helping soul, yet he is firm at times when he needs to be. Both are fitted caretakers for Iris as she grows up to learn about life.
Some of the minor characters in the story are Dot, Cecil, Celeste, and Leroy. Cecil is the father of his vulgar daughter, Dot. Cecil and Dot are neighbors with the Nesbitts. Dot often causes commotion with Iris every time they see each other to hang the laundry. “You’re nothing to no one, Iris Baldwin,” (pg. 90). Cecil is just as horrendous as his daughter. Later on in the story, Cecil beats Dot until she has bruises veining through her arms and legs. Eventually, Cecil goes too far and gets Dot pregnant. Dot’s pregnancy leads to the Nesbitt’s and Iris helping Dot run away and start a new life away from her heinous father. Celeste is Mr. Baldwin’s girlfriend who is despised by Iris because of her prissy attitude and opposite traits of her mother. Celeste tries to get Iris to live with her in Kansas City after Iris’s father dies, but Iris declines the offer. Leroy is Iris’s childhood friend who is two years older than her. Leroy and Iris maintain a solid relationship. Throughout the story start to develop feelings for each other. Throughout the book Leroy acts as a solacing friend towards Iris. My favorite character in this novel was Mrs. Nesbitt, because she assisted Iris through her troubles throughout the book and displays a kind feel towards anyone. The characters in “Crossing the Tracks” come to life in the reader’s imagination.
Barbara Stuber has an excellent style that guides the reader to understand everything that is occurring in the book. The describing words she uses create a clear image in the reader’s head. “Hail hammers the shingles. Lightning turns the ice stones to a field of opals,” (pg. 109). The author includes letters in the novel that Iris has written to Celeste and Leroy to make the reader feel more engaged. The letters help the reader understand the relationships between Iris and her friends or acquaintances. I enjoyed reading the author’s style of the book because it flowed well. “I hug my knees, wanting the bedroom to fold in around me, to wall off the future. My fingers trace the imaginary ribs of my old chenille bedspread. I smell the faint bacon grease and coffee scent of our kitchen, (pg. 110). I would recommend the book to middle schoolers and above, because the book contains some foul language and inappropriate scenes. Overall, the novel is easy to understand and flows well.
Many themes are portrayed in “Crossing the Tracks” but the most notable theme is grief and loss can lead to a new chapter in your life. Iris experiences the loss of her mother and father. When her mother passes, Iris has to learn how to care for herself, because her father has his thoughts focused on his work. Eventually, a new chapter opens up and Iris becomes employed to the Nesbitts. Iris finds out about her employment in a letter she reads that has been mailed to her father. “Enclosed is the rail schedule to Wellsford and the photograph of Iris you sent. Employment will begin June 1 and continue through Labor Day. Cordially, Avery Nesbitt, M.D,” (pg. 9). Once Iris’s father died, she makes the decision to live with the Nesbitts instead of moving to Kansas City with Celeste. Her grief and loss of family guides Iris to a new life living with the Nesbitts. “The Nesbitts have agreed to be my guardians and I am going to live with them in Wellsford,” (pg. 179).
All in all, the novel “Crossing the Tracks” is an engrossing read. I would recommend this book because it has enthralling characters, an acceptable writing style, and a strong theme. This novel was written for readers who are in late elementary school and up because it has a sophisticated approach. Barbara Stuber is an excellent author who likes to weave visual art into her books from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. “Crossing the Tracks” is a Morris Award finalist that I recommend.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Iris's mother's death when she was a little girl, she has become less than an afterthought to her father. Now she is fifteen, and without her knowledge or consent, he signs a contract to send her away to work as a housekeeper of sorts to a country doctor and his elderly mother in rural Missouri. While Iris feels homeless and unloved, she finds her "home" with Mrs. and Dr. Nesbitt becoming a place that actually feels just that, like home. However, between the impending end of her contract, her father's upcoming marriage, and the creepy neighbor, Cecil Deets, Iris may just be destined to never feel at home, and feel herself a Hobo (homeward bound), never actually finding home. Set in the 1920's, it was a beautiful and heartfelt story of love, loss, and finding home.

I really loved this book, even the hard and sad parts, or the parts when I just wanted to smack her Iris's father. So beautifully written, and you couldn't help but get attacked to the characters, especially Mrs. Nesbitt.

[Penny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to give a book 5 stars when I started reading it when I went to bed and a couple of times thought, I really should go to sleep now, but carried on reading until I finished. It’s a quiet reflective book on the whole and the characters, at least the main ones, are entirely likeable, In fact if I have a criticism that might be it. For the central characters things are maybe just a little too ‘nice’. And the antagonists, a father and daughter are correspondingly awful. It is set in 1926 and 15 year old Iris, motherless for ten years, is hired out for the summer to a doctor and his mother as a cleaner/companion/general dogsbody without being consulted as to her wishes. He has reasons that are nothing to do with Iris’s well-being about which he seems to care little. I will certainly be looking to see if there are other novels by this author.