Hattie on Her Way

by Clara Gillow Clark

As she struggles to navigate polite nineteenth-century society, the feisty Hattie learns the difficult truth about a family mystery — and discovers her own capacity for forgiveness and love.

Now that Pa has plunked her down at Grandmother's in Kingston to get a good education like Ma, Hattie Belle Basket has traded her rough boy's overalls for a blue checked dress that matches her eyes. But prettying up her rustic Hill Hawk ways is not so easy, and Hattie is sure she will never be at home in this fancy gingerbread house, where her prim grandmother and the buzzardlike cook continually remind her she can't compare with her sweet, beloved late mother. Even her tutor, Horace Bottle, seems more interested in food than he is in teaching. And now the stuck-up girl next door is taunting her — with rumors that a sinister fate has befallen Hattie's absent grandfather. Could someone in Grandmother's house be harboring an unspeakable secret?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Mental Health, Historical

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2005

About the author

The youngest child in a family who came from "a long line of farmers and readers," Clara Gillow Clark began school in a one-room schoolhouse and-when she wasn't wanting to be an inventor, archaeologist, geologist, missionary, or solo violinist-grew increasingly drawn to writing. After marrying and having a son, she read a magazine article on children's author Judy Blume, who, like her, was a stay-at-home wife who sold her own crafts before starting her writing career. Inspired, Clara Gillow Clark began commuting to writing classes in New York City, while juggling jobs ranging from teacher's aide to store manager.


Her long efforts paid off. "Now I work at home,"she says, happily. When she's not writing--or reading, or teaching writing, or talking shop with other writers--she enjoys baking, gardening, and walking the dirt roads bordering her little red house, surrounded by her own meadows, woods, and lake. "Walking," she says, "is a love I learned from my father, who took his sprawling brood on nature walks and taught us to stop long enough to really see things."


Clara Gillow Clark lives in Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[K.L. Neidecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not the intended audience for this book, at least as far as any book has an intended audience! As a 30+ year old man who reads sci-fi and fantasy, a "middle grade" novel from the POV of a young girl is not exactly my normal fare.

However, all of that aside, I don't think this book *was* a middle grade novel, but rather a novel designed to be very accessible to a middle grade audience without the dumbing down or talking down that sometimes makes its way into fiction aimed at younger audiences.

It was entertaining and intriguing, very vivid and lyrical without being all purple prose. There was mystery, interesting characters, important decisions, and a main character unafraid to cause a little mischief once in a while.

The main character, Hattie, is far from the classic "flowering young lady" archetype you see all over. A girl from the mountains, brought up in a cabin, maybe a little rough around the edges when thrown into social situations, I think she is a very real young girl filled with very real thoughts and worries. She remained very active throughout the book, not the type that lets herself get dragged along by life, and in the end it was her actions that moved the story forward.

If you are looking for a good, short period piece that throws away the stuffy and stereotypical people that tend to populate stories of this type, I suggest you take a look at this series.

[Carol Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Review
A sequel to Clara's first book, Hill Hawk Hattie, this book opens in April of 1883 with Hattie arriving at her grandmother's house. Right away, the reader hears her voice:
Pa said hawks don't crash into mountains or trees. He said they fly alert, watchful. But suppose a hawk got itself blown off course, ended up somewhere strange, somewhere it didn't rightly belongs? Could it find its way home, fly back to its nest in the hills again? (p. 1)
The imagery of hawks and the theme of Hattie yearning for home repeat themselves. Surrounded by secrets, Hattie tries to get used to living with a grandmother she doesn't know in the house where her deceased mother grew up.
If she [Grandmother] thought we were on the same side together, she might share the shadowy secrets of Grandfather, and why the keys had gone missing and the silver was squirreled away, and why she didn't wear black, and where all the furniture and pictures had gone, and why she had hurried Pa away, and mostly why Ma had run off and never come back. It was a powerful lot to find out. And that's why I had to stay here and behave properly, though sitting so close to Grandmother made me even more lonesome for Pa and Jasper and my real home. (p.28)

A young next door neighbor, Ivy Victoria, pretends to befriend her. Ivy doesn't know that Hattie's mother is dead but relays the town rumor that her mother ran off with her father because her Grandmother killed her Grandfather. This theory only lends credence to Hattie's over-active imagination.

Hattie's relationship with her Grandmother warms up when she sings Hattie the same songs she sang to her mother. That new closeness makes Hattie think,
Somehow I knew it better not to tell Grandmother about Ma's fairies becoming real to her. "Can you hear the fairies in the hemlocks?" Ma would say to me. All I heard was the wind. "See their gossamer wings?" All I saw were rainbows on raindrops or crystals of frost. She would tilt her head and smile. "They wish me to sing and dance with them," she would say. "Will you dance too, Hattie Belle?" The fairy make-believe was mostly enchanting. But I didn't want to dance about in the clearing with invisible things or answer them like they were asking me questions or telling me what to do." (p. 63)
On the day that Grandmother unlocks her mother's beroom, the two of them inspect her mother's dollhouse where she made up imaginary fairies rather than played with dolls. When her Grandmother finds little dresses and cloaks that her mother had made,
A sick feeling came over me like we were caught in a blinding snow together, and I shivered. "She sewed little dresses and bonnets for my clothespin dolls," I said. "She just liked to do it, sew dainty things." I reassured myself that Ma's fairy world had been make-believe and enchanting for both of us until just a few months before she died.
"Yes," Grandmother said slowly, thoughtfully as if she'd stumbled onto something a bit troubling and sad. (p.121)
In the end, Hattie discovers the truth of the mental illness that plagued both her grandfather and her mother. This "madness" is dealt with in a very sensitive manner and enables Hattie to make an important decision.

Girls in grades 4-6 will enjoy this historical novel. The only scene that may trouble some sensitive readers is a seance towards the end of the book.

Two Giveaways
Clara is generously sponsoring this give away. The first winner will receive a Hattie doll plus an autographed copy of the book. The runner-up will receive an autographed copy of the book. What are you waiting for? This is a great holiday gift for the younger sister, daughter, niece, or granddaughter in your life! Please leave me a comment by December 8, 2017. Share this on the social media of your choice or become a new follower of my blog, and I'll never your name twice. PLEASE leave your email address and tell me what you did.

[Tracey Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winning MG novel by Clara Gillow Clark, whose introspective heroine Hattie Belle moves in with her grandmother and adjusts to a very different life than the one she had with "Pa" on the river. There's a little mystery in this story, too, which makes for a very fast read!

[Janet Slingerland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was worth reading just on the voice alone.

[Keri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a sweet middle grade read. The writing is beautifully done, descriptive enough to capture the minds and attention of the novel's targeted audience, as well as the imagination of older readers. Hattie is a perfect female character for young readers to look up to. She has the perfect amount of spunkiness and kindness and is very reminiscent of Laura Ingalls in this way. The other characters are also wonderfully detailed. Horace Bottle, Hattie's tutor with an unending appetite and awkward demeanor, is my favorite character as he adds the perfect amount of comic relief to the story. The gradual relationship between Hattie and her grandmother is believable, not rushed, and the murder mystery Hattie involves herself in is entertaining enough to keep readers' attention, but not gruesome enough to lose its perfect middle grade standing. Even though I didn't read the first book in the series, Hattie on Her Way stands alone rather well. I would highly recommend this novel for young readers looking for something clean and entertaining.

[C.J. Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hattie Belle has grown up pretty wild, so when her Pa takes her into town and leaves her with her maternal grandmother to get a proper education, it's a drastic change. Hattie's used to wearing overalls, and her hair's cut short as a boy's. Her vernacular's not a good match for good society, and her blunt manner and short temper get her into all kinds of trouble. All she wants to do is fly home.

Family secrets and finding fault and fitting in. A touch of mystery, but mostly slice-of-life as Hattie figures out how to get along with her grandmother, the cook, and a tutor. (I hadn't realized this was the second book in a series. It read just fine on its own, but I'd enjoy going back to read the first installment in Hattie's story.)

[I Trump · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. There were many mysteries surrounding Hattie's mother, grandmother, grandfather, and cook/maid. People behaved inconsistently, so it was hard to tell who was telling the truth. The mysteries were solved slowly and quietly. In the end, I was surprised with Hattie's choice.

I want to make a comment about the cover. Hattie is supposed to have wild hair and dark skin. She's mistaken for an "Indian" by her neighbor. So I was surprised to see a straight, blond-haired girl with pale skin on the cover. While it's a nice-looking cover, it doesn't reflect the main character.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hattie finally meets her grandmother and the world that her mother grew up. With all of the formalities, she does miss her father. She learns more about both her mother and grandfather and wants to stay longer and help her grandmother.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

1883, Kingston, NY. Sequel to Hill Hawk Hattie.

[Peggy House · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the series and was motivated to write once I read the sequel.