The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Summary:
The summer of 1899 is HOT in Calpurnia Virginia Tate’s sleepy Texas town, and there aren’t a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine from town, but Callie might just have to resort to stealthily cutting off her hair, one sneaky inch at a time. She also spends a lot time at the river with her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist. It turns out that every drop of river water is teeming with life – all you have to do is look through a microscope!
As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.
My review:
It’s 1899. Imagine yourself to be a 12 year old girl living in Texas. The summer is about to start and all of the amusements we have today are not available. To make matters worse, Callie Vee is the only girl out of seven children.
But her summer is saved when she discovers a kindred spirit in her grandfather, an eccentric old scientist who works in his make-shift lab – a place where the children are always too scared to go. Together they make discoveries and Callie Vee starts to learn what growing up means.
Jacqueline Kelly does a beautiful job of mixing science and discovery with the changing world of a girl on the cusp of entering her teens and starting a new century. I sympathized with Callie as she struggled to please her mother and do what is expected of her despite her desires to be something more – something very difficult for a woman to do at the turn of the century.
This book wasn’t at all what I expected it to be – a light, fluffy read with a bit of substance. Instead I got a thoughtful, beautiful read about a girl choosing to follow a path of knowledge and, while on that path, learning not only about her scientific discoveries, but also learning a bit more about the people surrounding her.
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