The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls

In 1910 Cold Creek, Colo., tween Stanislava lives in a Slovene neighborhood, which her peers refer to as “Bohunk” Town, a derogatory term for Slovenian immigrants. School provides Stanislava with an escape from chores at home, where her 23-year-old sister, Stina, bears the brunt of the housework and childcare. Discovering a novel about an immigrant girl’s experiences at college leads Stanislava to dream of higher education and a bigger life. When Stina elopes, leaving Stanislava to take over the housekeeping role, Stanislava rebels, running away to Denver and going by Sylvia as she tries to forge a different life. Naive but brave and resolute, Stanislava is an inspiring, relatable narrator who steadily matures in thoughtfulness and compassion as she begins recognizing similarities between her flight from the traditional constraints of her home and her father’s from Slovenia decades earlier. Coats (A Season Most Unfair) portrays the challenging family dynamics that immigrant children sometimes navigate while celebrating free-thinking librarians, teachers, and other women who support Stanislava in following her dreams. An encounter with an unnamed Black child stimulates Stanislava’s reflections on challenges faced by people of color; all other characters read as white. An author’s note concludes. Ages 10–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Aevitas Creative. (Sept.)