So the first book I read by Anita Diamant was The Red Tent and I absolutely loved it; even though historical fiction is generally not my jam. So I immediately added all of her books on my to-read shelf on Goodreads. The next one I ended up getting from the library was The Boston Girl.
The narrator of this story is and 85 year old grandmother talking to her 22 year old granddaughter. Addie Baum is The Boston Girl, she was born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were and are suspicious of America and its effects on their three daughters. Addie's intelligence and curiosity take her into a world that her parents just cannot understand; one of short skirts, movies, celebrities and new opportunities for women. Addie is dreaming big; she wants to finish high school, go to college, find a career and fall in love.
Addie begins her story when she asked by her granddaughter, "How did you get to be the woman that you are today?" She takes us through her years, beginning in 1915 when she made new friends who would shape the course of her life.
I love reading about a woman finding her own voice, even under the repression of her family and the times she is living in. Addie has balls, and it wasn't really looked great upon for women, especially immigrant women, to have balls. I also loved how the book was told as a grandmother telling her story to her granddaughter. I felt like I was a part of it, like I really was sitting there listening to a grandmother tell her life story. It made the book just that much more engaging and it made me feel so much more invested in the outcomes. I definitely recommend this book for anyone that likes history, Boston or just a great story with interesting characters.
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