Bibliophile's Corner
A Slip of a Girl
by Patricia Reilly Giff
Flap Copy Description:
The family farm is everything to Anna: the stone wall where she sits with best friend Liam, the fields of chickweed and lumpers for tea and supper. She promises her ailing Mam that she'll always look after their home and her youngest sister, Nuala, who needs extra care. When their landlord, an English earl who owns much of the land in her part of County Longford, tries to seize their farm for sheep pasture, Anna is faced with an impossible choice: give up her house to be destroyed or face imprisonment. There are whispers of a growing rebellion in the country, but how can one girl stand up to the earl's dreaded battering ram?
My Thoughts:
This lovely novel in verse by award-winning author Patricia Reilly Giff, was inspired by her own great-grandparents. The historical fiction tale tells the story of the Irish Land Wars; it comes to life through the eyes of the poor country girl, Anna. Her character arc of resilience and determination brought me to tears. It is obvious that the author not only loves Ireland, but did her due diligence with research. I highly recommend A Slip of a Girl to readers aged eight to twelve, and to fans of Ireland everywhere!
Click here to learn about the author, Patricia Reilly Giff.
For Anna, the family farm has always been home... But now, things are changing.
Anna's mother has died, and her older siblings have emigrated, leaving Anna and her father to care for a young sister with special needs. And though their family has worked this land for years, they're in danger of losing it as poor crop yields leave them without money to pay their rent.
When a violent encounter with the Lord's rent collector results in Anna and her father's arrest, all seems lost. But Anna sees her chance and bolts from the jailhouse. On the run, Anna must rely on her own inner strength to protect her sister--and try to find a way to save her family.
Written in verse, A Slip of a Girl is a poignant story of adversity, resilience, and self-determination by a master of historical fiction, painting a haunting history of the tensions in the Irish countryside of the early 1890s, and the aftermath of the Great Famine.For Anna, the family farm has always been home... But now, things are changing.
Anna's mother has died, and her older siblings have emigrated, leaving Anna and her father to care for a young sister with special needs. And though their family has worked this land for years, they're in danger of losing it as poor crop yields leave them without money to pay their rent.
When a violent encounter with the Lord's rent collector results in Anna and her father's arrest, all seems lost. But Anna sees her chance and bolts from the jailhouse. On the run, Anna must rely on her own inner strength to protect her sister--and try to find a way to save her family.
Written in verse, A Slip of a Girl is a poignant story of adversity, resilience, and self-determination by a master of historical fiction, painting a haunting history of the tensions in the Irish countryside of the early 1890s, and the aftermath of the Great Famine.
