Thoughts....

I reviewed My Near Death Adventures on my Books for Teens Blog earlier this week.  If you want to read my book talk, the link is above.  It is a wonderfully well written piece of historical fiction that I really enjoyed reading.

But the book got me thinking.  I don't want to head into my deeper thoughts on my Books for Teens Blog, as that blog is intended to be strictly a book talking blog..  So I'm going to share them here.

The books is set in the 1890's.  The mother in the story was abandoned by her husband soon after their child was born.  As the story opens, the mother has been granted a divorce by her husband.  He has charged her with abandonment, and she signed off on the papers in order to move on with her life.

Moving on in the 1890's.  How did a woman do that?  In this story, her brother was in charge of a lumber camp, and he hired her to cook for the winter.  While she was there, her own mother was busy trying to find a husband for her.  Moving on - as in getting a new husband.

So, in the 1890's, what options did women have?

Think about that for a while.  I've been pondering that.  We hear stories of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to become a doctor.  Florence Nightingale, the first nurse.  Annie Oakley, the sharpshooter.  And there's the occasional woman who owned and operated a business owned by her husband that she inherited and ran after the death of her husband. 

But, for the average, every day, run of the mill woman...  What were her options? 

I've made a very fun, well written book into a deeper question.  These questions are mine.  They were not raised in the book itself.  The book is a story about a young boy struggling to come to grips with his new reality in the rough world of a lumber camp.  It is a good story!  It's a Black Eyed Susan Nominee for the state of Maryland!  I recommend reading the book!

It's just that it made me think deeper thoughts about life.  Isn't that the sign of an excellent story?