Hattie Ever After

Sometimes a girl has to write her own story.

With her uncle’s debt paid in full, Hattie is free to go anywhere, away from the less-than-glamorous life of a chambermaid. Her dear friend Perilee urges her to do the sensible thing and join her family in Seattle. But Hattie is not prone to the sensible. What sensible girl would say yes to trying to make a go of a long-lost uncle’s homestead claim?

For all its challenges and sorrows, Hattie’s time on the homestead gave her a taste of what it might be like to stake her own claim on life. She hasn’t yet confessed it to anyone, not even to Perilee, but Hattie has thrown a lasso around a dream even bigger than a Montana farm. And thanks to a vaudeville vanishing act, a mysterious love token, an opera star and her unique ability to throw a snake ball, it looks like Hattie just might have a chance at that dream.

With Hattie Ever After, Kirby Larson has created another lovingly written novel about the remarkable and resilient young orphan Hattie Inez Brooks.

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Awards

  • Spring 2013 Kids’ Indie Next List
  • Amazon Best Books Pick
  • Junior Library Guild Pick
  • Nominated for an ALSC (Association of Library Services for Children) Notable Children’s Book

Resources

Video of Newbery Panel

Hattie Ever After

Sometimes a girl has to write her own story.

With her uncle’s debt paid in full, Hattie is free to go anywhere, away from the less-than-glamorous life of a chambermaid. Her dear friend Perilee urges her to do the sensible thing and join her family in Seattle. But Hattie is not prone to the sensible. What sensible girl would say yes to trying to make a go of a long-lost uncle’s homestead claim?

For all its challenges and sorrows, Hattie’s time on the homestead gave her a taste of what it might be like to stake her own claim on life. She hasn’t yet confessed it to anyone, not even to Perilee, but Hattie has thrown a lasso around a dream even bigger than a Montana farm. And thanks to a vaudeville vanishing act, a mysterious love token, an opera star and her unique ability to throw a snake ball, it looks like Hattie just might have a chance at that dream.

With Hattie Ever After, Kirby Larson has created another lovingly written novel about the remarkable and resilient young orphan Hattie Inez Brooks.

Indiebound Bookshop Barnes & Noble

Reviews

★ “Plucky Hattie Inez Brooks, star of Hattie Big Sky, returns to try to find her place in the world. . . . Larson’s prodigious research allows her to accurately recreate San Francisco between 1915 and 1920, and the city will come alive for readers as much as it does for Hattie, with crowds of people, clanging streetcar bells, the smells of China Town and 10-story-high skyscrapers. Readers will fall for this earnest, wide-eyed and strong-minded young woman who does indeed become a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, covering baseball, an airplane excursion and an earthquake and even interviewing President Woodrow Wilson. Historical fiction with heart.” —Kirkus (starred review)

★ “Kirby Larson gives readers an engaging and absorbing follow-up to her Newbery Honor book, Hattie Big Sky, as the heroine makes her way to the West Coast, in a story that stands on its own.” —Shelf Awareness, (starred review)

“Fans anxious to know what happened to Montana homesteader Hattie after the Newbery Honor-winning Hattie Big Sky get their wish in Larson’s big-city sequel. . .Hattie’s transformation from a naive, timid “country mouse” to a confident, independent young woman makes the story’s ending—in which she discovers where (and with whom) home really is—all the more gratifying.” —Horn Book

“Fans of the first book will be thrilled to see the ups and downs of Hattie’s romance with old boyfriend Charlie, while her relationship with another fellow leads to an interesting twist. This is reminiscent of Maude Hart Lovelace’s later Betsy books, whose heroine also wanted to write. And that’s high praise.” —Booklist

“The feisty protagonist from Hattie Big Sky returns. . . . Larson’s meticulous research brings early-20th-century San Francisco to life, and readers will feel that they are right there with Hattie in the hustle and bustle of a booming city. The way in which she achieves not only her professional ambitions but also personal growth and fulfillment leads to a wholly satisfying conclusion, and the author’s note gives readers a good feel for the solid historical foundations of Hattie’s story.” —School Library Journal

“Hattie. . .is the kind of character readers actually wonder about after closing the book, and her fans from her first title will be satisfied, and even perhaps relieved, to know she finds her footing in the world.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books