Book Title: Jacob Have I Loved
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright Date: 1991
Selection Choice: Book by Katherine Paterson
Brief Annotation: Sara Louise, or "Wheeze", lives in the shadow of her twin sister, Caroline. Living on the island of Rass in the early 1940s isn't easy- and being second behind her beautiful and talented sister makes things even harder on Wheeze. When both Caroline and Cass, Wheeze's best friend on the island, leave her for separate reasons, but later end up married. Grief stricken and hurt, Wheeze finally gets her mother's permission and blessing to leave the island and get a college education. She takes on a job as a midwife to earn support for her dream of becoming a doctor later on. She marries a widow and becomes a successful midwife. When a pair of twins is set to be born, Sara Louise's services are called upon, and unbeknown to her, she is about to learn the toughest lesson of her life.
Your Rating: 3/5 stars. While I enjoyed this book I found it very slow moving. I couldn't bring myself to have any compassion or empathy for Sara Louise. I found the story to drag at times. It was an interesting story and very well written, but perhaps it was just out of my interest range.
Readers who will like this book: Readers who like contemporary historical fiction. Readers who like strong female characters. Readers with sibling rivalry.
Question to ask about this book before reading: Have you ever been jealous of another person close to you? Why?
Question to ask about this book during reading: Which character do you find yourself identifying with?
Question to ask about this book after reading: How do we know when a person has truly "learned a lesson"?
Optional, but noted as extra effort:
1. Interest Level (age): 13 years and older
2. Grade Level Equivalent (grade): 6th-9th grade
3. List awards: 1981 Newbery Medal
It's funny. I remember having read this book, and really liking it, but your summary was not familiar to me at all! I guess my memory for the details of a book go away, but the feelings I had about it remain. Maybe that's true for a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the questions you wrote to spark discussion are strong--they require inferential thinking, and the final question really draws on the theme of the book. Students would be required to look for textual evidence, as well as referencing their own experience, to discuss what it means to "learn a lesson".
Have you read other books by Katherine Paterson?