Book
Unbroken / by Jessie Haas.
Summary:
Following her mother's death in the early 1900s, thirteen-year-old Harry lives on Aunt Sarah's farm where an accident with her spirited colt leaves her a changed young woman.
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Salmo Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salmo Public Library | PBK JF HAA (Text) | SPL19096 | Juvenile Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Book Report : The Book Report Reviews 1999 September-October
Human relationships with horses have proven to be a trademark of Haas' novels. in this selection, set in the late 1800s, free-spirited Harriet, whose story is based loosely on the life of Helen Chase, is orphaned and sent to live with her austere, emotionless Aunt Sarah on a New England hill farm. Also orphaned in the accident that took the life of Harry's mother, is her unbroken colt. Education is not high among Aunt Sarah's priorities; if Harry wants to return to school in the fall, she must find a way to get there herself, and that means training the skittish colt. Angry and frustrated, especially over implications that question her legitimacy, Harry begins taking her pent-up emotions out on the young, headstrong horse, resulting in an accident that places Aunt Sarah in a more caring and sympathetic light. Characterization, even of minor characters, is strong and vibrant; also, thematic parallels are drawn between the main characters and their need to be in control. Haas is too skillful and realistic a writer to conveniently sew up the ragged edges of the difficult family dynamics she has created; the reader is left with a "kinder, gentler" Aunt Sarah but Harriet is still working out what her future holds. Recommended. By Catherine M. Andronik, Library Media Specialist, Seymour Public Schools, Seymour, Connecticut © 1999 Linworth Publishing, Inc. - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Monthly Selections - #2 March 1999
Gr. 6^-8. When the mare pulling Harriet's mother's wagon encounters a Model T Ford on the road, a tragic accident results, leaving Harriet, like the mare's young colt, without a mother. With her father also dead, Harriet goes to live with mean-spirited Aunt Sarah and her meek husband on their farm. Working through her pain and grief is not easy. Aunt Sarah disliked Mother, and, in an explosive argument, Harriet discovers why: "Your mother was an immoral woman! She got herself in trouble like any common trash, and she ruined my brother's life!" Harriet refuses to believe her aunt's story until she finds a dated wedding photograph that leads her to the truth. There are some sensitive topics here--the death scene is positively heartrending, and, of course, there's the illegitimacy issue. But readers shouldn't shy away from this beautifully written novel, which has fresh and utterly believable dialogue and a wonderful cast of characters. ((Reviewed March 15, 1999)) Copyright 2000 Booklist Reviews - Horn Book Magazine Reviews : Horn Book Magazine Reviews 1999 #4
In a novel set in 1910 Vermont, thirteen-year-old Harriet has lived contentedly alone with her mother, but their life together is shattered when her mother is killed in a horse and buggy accident. The mare has to be shot, leaving both Harry and the mare's two-year-old colt orphans. Harry is horrified to learn that, according to her mother's will, she is to be sent to live with her father's sister, Aunt Sarah, on her scrappy hill farm outside of town. While life with her mother revolved around Harry's education, Aunt Sarah expects Harry to stay home and help out on the farm. Her only chance of returning to the Academy in the fall is to break in the colt so that she can ride the seven miles into town. Just as the colt resists Harry's attempts to train him, Harry quarrels with Aunt Sarah, who "only wanted to be the boss." Harry also refuses to listen to Aunt Sarah's insinuations of her mother's character, but Harry's lack of knowledge about her parents' wedding date causes "the doubt to bite inward." When the colt drags her in a training session, giving her severe rope burns, Aunt Sarah leaps into action, driving her to the doctor. Only then does Harry see beyond her anger to realize that Aunt Sarah does care for her, in her own aloof way. The quiet novel moves quickly and is enriched by genuine dialogue, realistic portrayals of grief, and careful observations in the first-person narrative. Sensory descriptions of the hills-"row on row of them, like ocean waves," where "morning mist still lingered, rising like whipped cream out of a bowl"-and of tasks such as butter churning and hay cutting give a strong sense of the Green Mountain setting and turn-of-the-century time. bridget t. mccaffrey Copyright 1999 Horn Book Magazine Reviews - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 1999 February #2
A heartfelt but awkwardly paced novel of an orphan finding her way in 1910 Vermont. Harriet, 13, loses her mother when their horse shies from an automobile. Still barely comprehending her loss, she must also leave the house she and her mother shared to go live with her dead father Walter's gruff sister. Sarah has had a hard life, and it shows, as she teaches Harry how to churn, gather hay, and find eggs, with little patience for her niece's longing for school, or for the colt she loves, foal of the mare who died when her mother did. Sarah hated Harry's mother, too, implying that pregnancy forced her beloved Walter into marriage. Harry doesn't know the family story, but visits to the cemetery and the stories of another uncle help her piece together her past and offer her insight into Sarah's brittleness. The emotional transitions are abrupt; the story predictably comes out all right when Harry's school tuition gets paid, and when she and Sarah recognize their ties in blood and feeling. Readers will be comforted by the cozy denouement, and by Haas's evocative descriptions of Vermont in the early years of this century. (Fiction. 9-14) Copyright 1999 Kirkus Reviews - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 1999 December #1
Gr 5-8-Harriet copes with her mother's death and her unyielding aunt while training the unruly colt that remains a symbol of her old life. A nurturing story of healing, filled with raw emotion and crystal-clear imagery. (Apr.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 1999 February #2
Haas's (Fire! My Parents' Story) exquisitely crafted prose is the driving force in this heartfelt story of family ties, as the author traces the emotional journey of an adolescent girl in rural Vermont at the turn of the century. The novel opens as Harriet Gibson better known as Harry is informed at school that her mother has had a tragic accident; she dies soon after Harry arrives at home. "I used to feel a strong line from Mother's heart to mine whenever I saw her, and love moved along it like a telegraph signal. Now the line was cut," notes the grieving Harry. Her mother's will states that Harry is to live with her father's sister stern, disapproving Aunt Sarah. Haas convincingly evokes the rigors and beauties of farm life, the pettiness of small towns and the sometimes hopeless tangle of blood relationships that can as easily wound as they can comfort and heal. As Harry struggles to break her colt also orphaned in the accident so that she can ride to town and continue her education, she also struggles to tame her grief and to hold her ground against her aunt, whose stubborn, outspoken nature mirrors Harry's own. It's not until another accident occurs, seriously injuring Harry, that the two begin to approach a measure of mutual understanding. Haas has a gift for description and graceful simile ("Night after night I lay still and narrow, like a wrinkle in the blanket"), and her characters are sharply observed, especially honest and wise 13-year-old Harry who can coax compassion from even her frozen Aunt Sarah. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) Copyright 1999 Publishers WeeklyReviews - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 1999 December
Gr 5-8-Harriet copes with her mother's death and her unyielding aunt while training the unruly colt that remains a symbol of her old life. A nurturing story of healing, filled with raw emotion and crystal-clear imagery. (Apr.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information. - School Library Journal Reviews : SLJ Reviews 1999 April
Gr 5-8-When her mother dies in an accident involving a horse and a Model T car, 13-year-old Harriet's life changes irrevocably. Left orphaned and grieving, she must move away from her friends and school to live with her stern and critical Aunt Sarah and her complacent Uncle Clayton on their farm. Living with them,Harriet is told some painful things about her family that make her all the more desperate to return to school and the way of life she has always known. To do so, she must train her stubborn colt so that she will have the means to get back and forth to town. In her impatience to tame the creature, Harriet seriously injures both of her hands. The accident forces her to realize that she has been too harsh with the colt and makes Sarah recognize that her treatment of Harriet has also been severe. Aunt and niece are then able to approach their relationship with a new appreciation and understanding of one another. Haas's memorable characters are well drawn and her descriptions of farm life in the early part of the century palpable. This is an emotionally rich and powerful tale of love, reconciliation, and healing.-Christy Norris Blanchette, Valley Cottage Library, NY Copyright 1999 School Library Journal Reviews - Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews : VOYA Reviews 1999 October
The year is 1910 and Harriet is enjoying a typical day at the Academy when Reverend Astley takes her from class to inform her that her mother has been in a serious accident with a Model T. When her mother dies, Harry is left with a two-year-oldMorgan colt, her mother's sewing machine, and debts she knew nothing about. Her father's oldest sister, Aunt Sarah, and Sarah's husband, Uncle Clayton, become her guardians. Harriet leaves everything and everyone she knows to move to a Vermont hillfarm seven miles from town. Even if they had the money, her aunt and uncle declare, they see no reason for Harry to continue her education-and anyway, she has no transportation. Against all opposition, Harry is determined to break the colt. Whileworking on the farm she learns more about her parents, her father's family, and the reason that Aunt Sarah always hated her mother. This book is a tangled weave of lives. Harriet and Sarah are total opposites: Harriet is pampered, educated, carefree; Sarah is trapped by duty and obligation, with no chance to explore her own life. Harry lost her mother (her father died when shewas too young to remember); Sarah lost her parents to consumption and was forced at fourteen to raise four siblings also lost to consumption. These two people are afraid to reach out in case they are hurt again, yet they learn to rely on each otherand compromise for the good of both. This well-written novel leaves the reader wanting to see more of Harry and Aunt Sarah-Joyce Davidson. Copyright 1999 Voya Reviews
