Reviews by Jen F-A
Aliens have taken over the Earth! But it's not like those 50s movies with the huge robots and people running in terror. No, this time, the aliens are joining us in our bodies. This story intriguingly looks at what it means to be human, and makes the reader think, in a good way, about what's worth fighting for.
My four-year-old daughter and I very much enjoyed reading this book aloud. She really liked hearing about five sisters who live on the lower East Side of New York at the beginning of the 20th Century. Because life was so different then, each chapter seemed very exotic to my daughter - and the addition of information about Jewish holidays and how they were celebrated back then - certainly kept her interest. If you have a child who can sit and listen to stories for 15 minutes at a time, this may be a very good book to choose. Girls who are in the third grade and above (and like history) will probably also enjoy reading this book.
My daughter summarizes with the statement "I really like it!"
My daughter summarizes with the statement "I really like it!"
Dora Rare is a shipbuilder's daughter who apprentices as a midwife in order to improve her lot in life. Through the entries of this "literary scrapbook," we learn more of what it took to be a traditional midwife in Scots Bay, Nova Scotia, as the technology of the early Twentieth Century was beginning to intrude. Along the way, we read about love, lies and what it means to live in a small town.
As a doula, I was impressed with the research of the author. I could recognize several of the conditions that Dora's clients suffered from just from the descriptions provided. I also felt like I learned a lot about the so-called "modern" technology used by OB/GYNs at that time; these male practitioners would have benefited greatly from listening and sharing their techniques with the old-fashioned midwives.
Some of the characters could have been developed more - some of the occupants of Scots Bay seemed stereotypical - and the plot seemed somewhat secondary to creating the atmosphere. That being said, I really loved the characters of Dora Rare and her midwife mentor Marie Babineau and would highly recommend this title to anyone who is a birth junkie like myself.
As a doula, I was impressed with the research of the author. I could recognize several of the conditions that Dora's clients suffered from just from the descriptions provided. I also felt like I learned a lot about the so-called "modern" technology used by OB/GYNs at that time; these male practitioners would have benefited greatly from listening and sharing their techniques with the old-fashioned midwives.
Some of the characters could have been developed more - some of the occupants of Scots Bay seemed stereotypical - and the plot seemed somewhat secondary to creating the atmosphere. That being said, I really loved the characters of Dora Rare and her midwife mentor Marie Babineau and would highly recommend this title to anyone who is a birth junkie like myself.
