American Diaries

Zellie Blake: Massachusetts, 1836 (American Diaries)

Lowell, Massachusetts, February 1834

Mrs. Gird is still asking me to spy on the girls for her. I don't want to do it....I don't think I can refuse to try.

Grandmamma has died and Zellie has no other family. She desperately needs her job with mean-spirited Mrs. Gird, who runs a boardinghouse for the girls who work at the textile mills. When Mrs. Gird tells Zellie to eavesdrop and report what she hears, Zellie is surprised. The girls' conversations seem ordinary to her.

Then Zellie finds a puzzling list in one of the girls' rooms. A hidden note and whispers in the dark add to the mystery, until a budding friendship leads Zellie to a secret meeting where things become clear. She doesn't want to betray the girls, but if she doesn't, she could find herself jobless and homeless. Will Zellie risk everything to stand up for what she believes?

Anisett Lundberg: American Diaries #3: California 1851 (American Diaries)

Rosa Moreno: Hollywood, California, 1928 (American Diaries)

Amelina Carrett : Bayou Grand Coeur, Louisiana 1863

BAYOU GRAND COEUR, LOUISIANA
1863

I wonder if the Confederates think of this war as their own? Or the Yankees? Who would want a war to be their own?

Amelina is frightened. She is used to being alone while her Nonc Alain is away trading, but now Yankee soldiers are so close that she can sometimes hear the rumble of gunfire. Just because her close-knit Cajun community has for the most part been uninvolved in the war doesn't mean Nonc Alain's farm would be spared if the Yankees swept through the area.

When Amelina makes a startling discovery that challenges everything she's been told about the Yankees, she is forced to make her own decision about what is right and what is wrong. Can she find the courage to face the danger that her decision brings?

Sarah Anne Hartford: Puritan, Massachusetts, 1650 (American Diaries)

Janey G Blue: Pearl Harbor, 1941 (American Diaries)

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII
DECEMBER, 1941

I just hope the war stays far, far away from us

Janey loves the beautiful trees, delicious fruits, and exotic mix of people on the island of Oahu, where her father has come to work at Hickam Airfield. But she's terribly homesick for her friends back in Kansas -- especially with all the frightening talk about war and rumors of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. Then, on December 7th, Janey's worst nightmares come true. Japanese bombs and bullets shatter the early morning peace. Fleeing with her mother, brother, and Akiko -- the girl across the street, who barely speaks to her -- Janey is terrified for her father at the airfield. During the long, tense hours of worry and fear, Janey must try to find her courage. Will the war turn everything upside down? Will Janey be scared and lonely forever?

Summer MacCleary: Virginia, 1749 (American Diaries)

Mary Alice Peale: Philadelphia, 1777 (American Diaries)

Celou Sudden Shout, Idaho 1827 (American Diaries)

Emma Eileen Grove