When I initially read the synopsis of the novel, I was intrigued. I liked the title and the cover also appealed to me – a throwback to my own childhood when I spent most of my time outside. The book has been awarded The Newberry Honor and people tell me that’s quite prestigious so I was confident that I would enjoy this novel. And I did. To a certain extent, the novel was all it promised to be. A sassy young miss, coming of age on a Texas cotton farm. The character was warm, engaging and a pleasure to read. Her interactions with her brothers and parents were also well written and made you feel that warm glow of happiness that is so essential in a book that strives to make you feel good.The novel, however, is not at all about simply feeling good. It is a precursor to the devastation of a little girl’s dreams when she realizes that her role in the world has been predetermined by time and her gender. That her hopes to be a scientist will remain hopes and the most she can hope for where science is concerned is, “The Science of Housewifery.” The book does not seem like a story – not one which has a plot, where things happened, where there is an end and the resolution of a conflict is reached. The novel failed to answer the “so what” question for me. So Callie has dreams. But she is a privileged daughter of a rich farmer, she has the freedom to study and she does – so she wants to be a scientist – what is she going to do to achieve that? Understandably, there is nothing she can do at the moment, considering she is but twelve but it just gets a bit wearying reading her continuing adventures that have no purpose about them.The other thing that troubled me is her diction. A girl who thinks mutants are spelled “mootants” having the vocabulary of a college educated person is not logical. Her childishness is not consistent. Sometimes she sounds like a little girl and other times she sounds way older than her age. I am not suggesting that the author deliberately dumb down – okay, actually, I think I am. If you are going to be sincere to the character, you will need to make a few changes to the way the story is told.All in all, the book was an interesting read. It was also a frustrating one because as I said, there was no story to it. She doesn’t evolve – she just grows up a little. We are still on that journey and the destination is nowhere in sight.
