My Darlin' Clementine

by Kristiana Gregory

Book Overview

Originally titled, MY DARLIN' CLEMENTINE, this riveting historical novel won the 2010 Idaho choice for the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Library of Congress.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823421988
• ISBN13: 9780823421985
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Holiday House
• Length: 206 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.7" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8

Customer Reviews

Imaginative Take on an Old Ballad

Based on the popular ballad, Kristiana Gregory provides the story behind the song. The book opens in 1867 just after Clementine Kidd "fell into the foamy brine," with Clementine's younger sister Josie sharing the details of Clementine's disappearance with her father and with the reader. Flash back to 1866 and sixteen year-old Clementine takes up the tale of her life with her parents and younger sister in the mining town of Nugget in Idaho Territory. Life is rough in the small mining town with saloons, opium dens, abandoned mine shafts and vigilante justice. Clementine's Papa is unable to mine due to rheumatism and spends his time drinking, gambling and losing money. Clementine's sweet mother does her best to provide for the family and keep them safe. Also watching out for them is Tall Sing, a Chinese man who works for Clementine's family. Clementine worries about her father and her wild younger sister growing up in a rough environment and longs for a better life. Clementine takes an interest in medicine with the help of Tall Sing, and harbors secret dreams of attending a ladies' medical college in Pennsylvania. Clementine's ambitions are tested when Boone Reno, the judge's son begins to court her. Boone is kind and gentle and her family all love him, but Clementine doesn't wish to be rushed into marriage. When the rough and violent ways of their western mining town begin to intrude on Clementine's life, she's forced to choose between her dreams and the welfare of her family. The story is concluded from Josie's point-of-view two years after Clementine is "lost and gone forever" and the reader finally learns what happened to Clementine and what happens next. Gregory has long since been one of my favorite historical fiction writers and I was anxious to read her latest. She does not disappoint with this unusual story. The imagery is so vivid that I can easily picture the wild west and follow Clementine around in my mind. Though the violence of life in a mining town is distasteful, Gregory doesn't shy away from depicting the realities. Clementine is a sympathetic character but I found her almost too easy going. I preferred young Josie, the spunky tomboy as a narrator. Even so, I liked reading Gregory's imaginative take on an old ballad. I would love a sequel!

Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children

Clementine Kidd, a sixteen-year-old living in the mining town of Nugget during the height of Idaho Territory's gold rush, had gotten fairly used to the wild and rough lifestyle. Violent crimes, dozens of saloons and gambling houses, vigilante groups rather than deputies to enforce the law, and hazardous traveling paths outside of town had all become routine in Nugget as the local residents sought their fortunes. These circumstances took a more personal turn as Clementine witnessed her father falling prey to alcoholism and gambling, and as she learned of his participation in a brutal vigilante group. As her father's addictions worsened, Clementine and her mother and sister resorted to selling meals to local miners and hiding money in order to support themselves economically. They each dreamed of a way out, which for Clementine meant studying medicine far away at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. However, her father's growing debts, pressures to get married rather than pursue a career, her mother's strange disappearance, and the need to protect her sister all seemed to make this dream grow ever more distant. Crucial to the plotline are some important economic issues, especially the rapid growth of a gold-mining town, the struggles of a family to survive when the primary breadwinner is no longer earning money, and the challenges faced by women to pursue nontraditional occupations. My Darlin' Clementine starts from the premise in the western folk ballad "Oh My Darling Clementine" that Clementine, a miner's daughter, tragically fell into the water. From this popular folksong, Kristiana Gregory spins an engrossing tale of adventure, love, hardship, and hope.