Three of Hearts (An Avon Camelot Book)

By Kathleen Duey

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380787202
• ISBN13: 9780380787203
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 116 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.5" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A sweet historical novel about the power of friendship.

It's 1857 in St. Louis, Missouri. Eight years ago, eleven-year-old Elsa Linstrom's father left to try and make his fortune in the goldfields of California, but ended up dying there. Elsa's older brother, Karl, refuses to be responsible for the family, spending his days drinking with his friends, and so Elsa and her mother are forced to work as servants in a boarding school for young girls. Mattie Green's mother died when she was born, and so she has never had a mother. Her father is a Mississippi River steamboat captain, and Mattie spent her childhood on her father's boat, travelling up and down the river. But now Mr. Green has decided his daughter needs a proper education, and so she is sent to the boarding school where Elsa works. Francesca de Larmo is another student at the school. She is rich, snobby, and spoiled. Although they are from three very different worlds, the three girls, against all odds, end up becoming the most unlikely of friends, when Francesca and Mattie team up to teach Elsa how to read. This book was a very sweet and heartwarming story of three girls from worlds apart who somehow come together as friends, and make a difference in each other's lives as they learn important lessons about the meaning of friendship and not judging others for being poor or different. I highly recommend this book to young girls who enjoy historical fiction and stories of friendship.

I loved this book!

It is 1857 in St. Louis. Eleven year old Elsa Linstrom's father went off to find gold in California when Elsa was three, and he died there in the wilderness. Elsa's older brother, Karl, can't hold a steady job because he's drinking with friends all day long. So Elsa and her mother must work in a girls' boarding school, cooking, cleaning, and serving meals. The wealthy students are mean to Elsa, but she can't fight back against them because her mother might lose her job. Mattie Green's mother died giving birth to her, and her father, a riverboat captain, raised her on his riverboat, and during her childhood Mattie travelled up and down the Mississippi. Now, Mr. Green has decided Mattie must get a proper education, so against Mattie's wishes, he has sent her to the boarding school where Elsa works. Francesca de Larmo, daughter of a wealthy couple, comes to the school a spoiled, snobby girl, and is friends with all the popular, stuck-up girls. Mattie immediatley stands up for Elsa against the other girls in school. It's only when the cruelty and teasing go to far that Francesca gives Elsa a chance - and finds out just how nice she is. Elsa dreams of learning how to read, and Francesca and Mattie team up to teach her. And the three unlikely friends work together against the meanest girl in school - and are the most surprised of all at the results.