Finding Hattie

By Sally Warner

Book Overview

First Hattie's father and mother die, and then she loses her adored little brother. So she is shipped off to an exclusive boarding school with her cousin, Sophie. Sophie has wealth, beauty, friends, and most of all, confidence--things Hattie has never had. Hattie is terrified. What if the other girls don't accept her? What if fickle Sophie turns on her?Then like a whirlwind, Fannie Macintosh shows up at Miss Bulkey's Seminary for Young Ladies. She's from the Wild West and does everything wrong--she wears the wrong clothes, sys the wrong things, and laughs at he wrong jokes. But there's something about Fannie that Hattie likes--something genuine and fresh. Maybe even something admirable. Based on the journal kept by Sally Warner's great-grandmother, Finding Hattie is a warm and moving story about a lonely, intelligent girl who loses her way and finds it again.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060284641
• ISBN13: 9780060284640
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Length: 234 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.3" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Read this book.

By the time Hattie is 14 years old, she has already experienced more tragedy than most people experience in their whole lifetime. Her parents, the aunt who raised her, and her little brother have all died. Her only surving relative, Uncle Charley, is quite wealthy but doesn't like her; he has, up until now, made arrangements so that he would not have to take care of her. But Hattie's situation has become so desperate that Charley and his wife, Aunt Margaret, take her into their home. They believe charity to Hattie is their "Christian duty". Having known only filth and poverty her whole life; Hattie has trouble adjusting to the incredible wealth that surrounds her now, as she still is trying to cope with the loss of her dearest family members. But Uncle Charley and Aunt Margaret resent Hattie's sorrowful demeanor; they feel she has plenty to be happy about. Hattie shares her bedroom with her sousin Sophie, but instead of becoming fond friends, the girls are at odds. Sophie believes Hattie should be happy and grateful that she has been taken in, and that she should not wear her troubles for all the world to see. When Aunt Margaret has had her fill of Sophie's presence at home, she decrees that Hattie leave the house to attend Miss Bulkley's Seminary for Young Ladies. This is the same school that Sophie attends and the cousins finally begin to bond; Hattie, Sophie and Sophie's two best friends even call themselves the Quartette. Sophie's friends, however, don't really like Hattie, they merely tolerate her for Sophie's sake. Hattie tries hard to not make social mistakes and blend into an upper class world she has never known before. Then a new girl named Fannie comes to Miss Bulkley's Seminary. Fannie, who comes from out West, sticks out even more than Hattie! She wears all the wrong clothes, and the pampered young ladies at Miss Bulkley's think she's as wild as a heathen. They won't have anything to do with her, except to make cruel fun of her. Hattie kind of likes her, but Sophie makes it very clear: if Hattie wants to remain part of the Quartette, she will have to shun Fannie. Hattie knows that she herself would be as awkward as Fannie if Aunt Margaret hadn't picked out all her clothes for her and if Sophie hadn't smoothed out her path at school for her. Hattie doesn't think it's right to treat Fannie the way the other girls do. Hattie wants the right to choose her own friends and keep some of her own individuality. But if she goes against the wishes of Uncle Charley, Aunt Margaret, and Sophie, she'll be absolutely alone in the world. Can she afford to be friendly with Fannie and risk being shunned herself? Hattie walks a very thin line trying to be herself and one of the Quartette, too. She does something innocently enough that mushrooms into a tragedy. Will she learn where her truest loyalties should lie? How will things work out for Hattie, Fannie, and Sophie? Read this book to find out. --- Reviewed by Tamara Penny

Shows the power of writing

This is a great "growing-up" book, especially appropriate for girls. When Hattie Knowlton's immediate family dies (parents, brother, and eventually her caretaker Aunt Lydia), she goes to live with her affluent relatives--Aunt Margaret, Uncle Charley, and cousin Soph. Most of the action happens at Miss Bulkley's Seminary for Young Ladies in New York during the late 1800s. Not only does this novel show the reader about daily life in a different era, middle-school teachers should find this an excellent resource to use in conjunction with teaching writing. Sally Warner uses her great-grandmother Hattie's journals to show how writers create "reality" throught the act of writing. Hattie writes, "Soph came a week ago Monday [to Miss Bulkley's] and we four girls have had a jolly time ever since." Hattie actually felt intimidated by her new surroundings. Never mind! The omniscient narrator tells us, "She [Hattie] could create another Hattie, happy, funny, and confident...that would be the Hattie that lived on...." Quite a testament to the power of writing.

A wonderful historical novel.

After Hattie Knowlton's parents died when she was a little girl, she and her baby brother were sent to live with their great-aunt. But when Hattie is fourteen, both her great-aunt and her brother died, leaving her all alone in the world. Having lived in poverty all her life, she feels awkward and out of place when she arrives at the luxurious New York City home of her Uncle Charley and Aunt Margaret, and their daughter Sophie, an elegant young lady who Hattie feels like a country bumpkin next to. Even though Sophie is kind to Hattie, she is still lonely, grieving for her little brother. When fall comes, Hattie is sent with Sophie to a boarding school for wealthy young ladies. Hattie is ashamed of being a "charity case," and worries that all the other girls will find out. This was a wonderful novel set during the 1880s about a young girl who struggles to rise above her difficult childhood to find her own place in the world. I would reccomend this book to young teenage girls who enjoy historical fiction.