Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Language:  While the “F” word is never used, every other swear word is numerous times. The Lord’s name is taken in vain. Racial slur used three times.

Violence: Weaver, a young black man, is beaten up by three men for not backing down to them. A verbal, and then physical fight ensues. Weaver’s father was murdered because he was black and didn’t step off the sidewalk for a white man. Weaver’s home and farm are destroyed by revengeful men. While drunk, Matti’s father strikes her face after discovering she has spent money on a writing notebook. Grace Brown is murdered (drowned) by her lover, Chester Gillette.

Sexual Content: Grace Brown is pregnant by her lover. Matti is told by her parents that “men only want one thing” and about girls who sneak off with boys. Mrs. Hubbard has had a string of boyfriends. Matti walks in on Mrs. Hubbard and Mr. Loomis having an affair. Royal Loomis and Matti engage in heavy petting, but it is deemed ok, “because they are sparking.” A perverted hotel guest shows himself to  Matti and the other waitresses. He is hoping to start a sexual relationship with one of them.

Adult Themes:  Weaver is discriminated against because of his race. He is treated by one man as if he were a slave. Feminist ideas, unique and offensive for the time period, are discussed in a positive light. Uncle Fifty is often drunk and spends most of his money on prostitutes and liquor. Matti’s father drinks alcohol. There is a description of Minnie during her difficult childbirth. Miss Wilcox, the town school teacher, is a chain smoker. Matti deals with the emotional loss of her mother and the incredible amount of work that falls onto her shoulders.

Synopsis

This novel is set against the background of the 1906 true account of  Grace Brown’s murder in upstate New York. Matti Gokey, a local, poverty-stricken 16-year-old girl who is working at a hotel to earn money to pursue her own writing aspirations, briefly meets Grace the day of her murder. Grace gives her a stack of love letters to burn. Before Matti has a chance to do this, Grace is found dead. In piecing together the story of Grace’s life and death through the letters, Matti is able to understand and solve her own problems. Matti’s life is hard and seems hopeless. Her mother has recently died, and there is little chance that she’ll be able to pursue a college education. Matti is expected to help her father manage the farm and home. But, in the end Matti finds the courage to be true to her talents and her dreams.

I thought this was a great idea for a novel—a fictional character set amongst true events personal to the author, who is from this area of New York.  Many issues are raised about what was expected of girls in that time period, the treatment of blacks, and the universal conflict between loyalty to family and following one’s dreams.  The characters are courageous and believable.  Each chapter is entitled by a “word of the day” that Matti uses to deepen her own vocabulary in hopes that she’ll need those words in her writing.  The authenticity of the book would have still remained true with less swearing.