Caroline Starr Rose

picture book and middle-grade author

  • home
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Anthologies
    • Blue Birds
    • The Burning Season
    • Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine
    • May B.
    • Miraculous
    • Over in the Wetlands
    • A Race Around the World
    • Ride On, Will Cody!
  • Author Visits
  • Virtual Visits
  • Events
  • Teacher Resources
  • Contact
  • Writing One to One

Publisher’s Weekly Review — Star Number 2!

9 Comments

Set on the Kansas prairie in the 19th century, this debut novel in verse presents a harrowing portrait of pioneer life through the perspective of 12-year-old Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, called May B. After a disappointing harvest, May’s family sends her 15 miles away to help a farmer and his new bride (“She’s fancy and tall,/ but I’ve caught it right away—/ she’s hardly older than I”). May bravely faces the loss of family and the opportunity to attend school, until a homesick Mrs. Oblinger runs off for Ohio and Mr. Oblinger follows, leaving May completely alone.


The spare free-verse poems effectively sketch this quietly courageous heroine, the allure and dangers of the open prairie, and the claustrophobic sod house setting. Tension mounts as the weather worsens and supplies dwindle. May’s struggle with reading is particularly affecting, and readers will recognize her unnamed and poorly understood difficulty as dyslexia. Writing with compassion and a wealth of evocative details, Rose offers a memorable heroine and a testament to the will to survive.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Filed Under: May B.

Comments

  1. Anna Staniszewski says

    December 26, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    Hooray!!

    Reply
  2. Sarah Ann says

    December 26, 2011 at 4:16 pm

    Amazing! Sensational! Look at you!

    Reply
  3. Jeannine Atkins says

    December 26, 2011 at 4:20 pm

    Congratulations! I’m happy that it’s getting closer to a time when I can read this!

    Reply
  4. Megan Frances says

    December 26, 2011 at 10:19 pm

    Congratulations on the starred review, Caroline! That’s awesome! And thanks for commenting on my blog post about books for the holidays- and after.

    Reply
  5. Eve Marie Mont says

    December 27, 2011 at 1:53 pm

    Caroline, this is a wonderful review! So happy May is getting such great recognition!

    Reply
  6. Caroline Starr Rose says

    December 27, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    Thank you, friends!

    Reply
  7. Catherine Denton says

    December 27, 2011 at 4:48 pm

    Oh my, Caroline, that is AWESOME!! And your book sounds delicious. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!
    Catherine Denton

    Reply
  8. Dawn Simon says

    December 28, 2011 at 4:19 am

    Congratulations, Caroline! I can’t wait to read it! 🙂

    Reply
  9. Mia says

    December 29, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    Free verse, did you say?! Yay! I’ll add to my list of novels in verse!

    Top 10 YA and Middle Grade Novels in Verse from ReadInASingleSitting and constantly updated!

    http://www.pragmaticmom.com/?p=12171

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Meet Caroline Starr Rose
  • Email
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

my books

Subscribe to my newsletter + to receive regular blog posts

categories

  • A Race Around the World
  • authors
  • Blue Birds
  • books and reading
  • classroom connections
  • encouragement
  • faith
  • family
  • historical fiction
  • home
  • Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine
  • May B.
  • Miraculous
  • non-fiction
  • Over in the Wetlands
  • poetry
  • publication
  • Ride On, Will Cody!
  • Song of the Raven
  • teaching
  • The Burning Season
  • The Notebook Series
  • the writing life
  • this and that

Copyright © 2023 · Caroline Starr Rose · Site by Design by Insight

I participate in Amazon Services LLC Associates and Bookshop.org, affiliate programs that allow me to make a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting this site!

Sign up for biweekly blog posts + my quarterly author newsletter and receive a printable quote from my novel, Blue Birds.