Boston Jane

Boston Jane

By: Jennifer L. Holm

HarperCollins Children’s Books ©2001

ISBN#: 006028739

Boston Jane is set in 1849. Jane Peck is on her way from Boston to Shoalwater Bay to marry the man of her dreams, William. Jane has spent the last five years learning to be a proper young lady, even though her father taught her to think and speak her mind. However, things just keep going wrong for Jane. She loses her best friend on the journey and arrives only to find that William is gone. Jane faces any number of adventures, finds friends in unlikely places and discovers that “she ain’t no lady.”

Boston Jane will make readers laugh, but it will also make them think. It has a lighthearted tone, but presents some very heavy topics that could be discussed. In this novel, Jennifer L. Holm challenges society’s view that women should be meek, passable possessions of their husbands. Holm shows that life on the frontier made women into resourceful, independent, free-thinkers. Jane becomes a business partner and the areas doctor. Holm also addresses the misconceptions about native Indians in that area. Jane gets to Shoalwater Bay and believes all Indians are savages, but she quickly learns differently. Holm accurately depicts the hardships of travel and life on the frontier. It takes Jane’s ship 180 days to travel from Boston to Shoalwater Bay and she loses her closest friend in the process. Moreover, she learns that everyone has to help out and do their part.

This novel could be the basis for a classroom debate. In the novel, the frontiersmen do not agree on whether or not to move the Indians to a reservation. A teacher could split the class into two groups and debate both points of view. This novel could also be the starting off point for a discussion about the hardships of travel and life on the frontier or the roles of women in that time period.

Horn Book Magazine—“The comical overabundance of incident, combined with Jane’s indignant responses to the affronts perpetuated by the frontier and its inhabitants, create a slapstick romp that will entertain anyone in search of a fast-paced, feather-light read” (Burkam).

Works Cited:

Burkam, Anita L. "Boston Jane." Horn Book Magazine 78.5 (2002): 574. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.