Our Only May Amelia

Will you still visit if I recommend another sad story where a baby dies? Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm is the other 2000 Newbery Honor book. It is set in the still wild west at the turn of the twentieth century. It is about a family of Finnish immigrants. The title character is the youngest of seven siblings and the only girl, but you wouldn't know it! She's a tom boy through and through!

In a little town on the river, May is one of the few girls. Folk joke that there was something in the water because all of the babies born were boys. May's mother considers May her little MIRACLE. But how is one supposed to grow up to be a proper lady when surrounded by all those brothers! May's mother is expecting again and May's wish is that she will have a little sister.

May's mother is so busy cooking and feeding and providing for such a large family that she has little time to devote to her daughter and so May runs wild. May's father yells at her for running wild and the older boys don't want her hanging around. The youngest brother is her best friend and she isn't going to complain. She enjoys her life, but she doesn't want her freedom taken away.

Then father's mother, Grandmother Patience, moves in with the family. She is abusive both physically and mentally. May cannot do right by her. Grandmother calls her evil and a little brat and says that nothing good will come of her. Grandmother even strikes her with a cane. With so much going on, May really needs an ally, however, everyone has their own little world they are trying to navigate.

May's second oldest brother isn't really her brother. He's her cousin, but he doesn't know this until an explosive event in this book when he's nearly 18. May's best brother, Wilbert, takes ill and almost dies. And of course, after the new baby is born, Amy, the girl May always wanted, May's mother becomes too ill to care for the infant. That task falls to May.

I would have called Getting Near to Baby a sweet tragedy. Our Only May Amelia might be described as a violent tragedy. Baby Amy dies on May's watch and Grandmother Patience openly blames the death on May. There is physical abuse. And there is even a murder along with a murderer on the loose. The dead bodies are described graphically. I know I cried when I read this book. There are some adults that complained that this should be a young adult book. But there are more kids that loved this book.

This book is presented unusually. No quotations are used. And capitalization is used in abundance instead. I remember it taking a little while to get into the rhythm of the conversations. The dialect of the Finnish immigrants is also used.

It was not a book I would have chosen. It can be depressing. However, such things happen everyday. They are not that unusual. I'm sure there are many library patrons that can identify with May and may find hope in her story.