What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

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SOLVED: Children's/YA > SOLVED!: Cinderella-esque girl called Beetle [s]

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message 1: by Emma (new)

Emma This YA book had a similar cover to that of Ella Enchanted, obviously they had the same publisher. The protagonist was an orphan who had been found huddled in a dung heap for warmth and was forever after called Dung Beetle or just Beetle.

Help! This is driving me crazy.


message 2: by Deb (last edited Sep 05, 2008 06:39AM) (new)

Deb | 48 comments The Midwife's Apprentice, by Karen Cushman.

...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.


message 3: by Emma (new)

Emma Thank you! That's definitely it.


message 4: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Vegan (lisavegan) | 1396 comments I took care of the SOLVED title & folder. Sorry, just noticed how recent the last comment was/should have waited. ;-)


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