Rodzina (by Karen Cushman)

Rodzina, the eponymous heroine of Karen Cushman's latest historical fiction, is a big, angry, chunky, homely Polish-American orphan. Though twelve, she looks fifteen, and is sure no one could possibly want to adopt her except to exploit her as a virtual slave. Forced onto one of the Orphan Trains, which took orphans from the cities in the east to find homes in the frontier lands westward in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it seems she may be right -- the only people interested in her are looking for hard workers, not daughters.

The adult caretakers on this expedition, Mr. Szprot and the woman Rodzina calls Miss Doctor, come from the Mr. Bumble school of orphan care -- they are mean and seemingly heartless, though there may be more to Miss Doctor than meets the eye. But if they won't look after her best interests, Rodzina is determined to do it herself, even if it means she never finds a home.

Rodzina is no winsome and appealing little Oliver Twist -- she's tough and strong and, as the narrator of her own tale, far more engaging to readers than she is to the other characters in the story. But the world she describes is somewhat Dickensian, filled with filth, squalor, and a lot of mean adults who don't like children.

Two-time Newbery author Karen Cushman writes an enjoyable story, but this is not her best work. She softens the story for her audience, and experienced young readers will see the too-pat ending coming a long way off. In the meantime, though, this tale of plucky orphans making their way in a rugged and unfeeling world is entertaining enough, and Rodzina is an unusual heroine.

Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publication date: March 31, 2003
Number of pages: 215
Hardcover price: $16.00