The Education of Mary
A Little Miss of Color, 1832

I liked this book most of the way through. It kind of did a funny thing at the end when both of the main characters sort of had changes of heart and everything just sort of died. But becuase it is based on history I wouldn't be suprised if thats the way things really happened. It was fun to listen to......more

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it ended up being more interesting than I thought it would be. There is even a little adventure and suspense! But on the other hand, the narrator, Mary, was not easy to like. She does get a lot of stuff thrown at her so I can't say she's wholly to......more

The story takes place in 1832 in Connecticut and is an excellent exploration of just how prejudice whites were against blacks even in the North prior to the Civil War. In this story Mary, 13, who is Black, is working at an all-girl's school. Only white girls are in the school at the time, so one of t......more

A Ann Rinaldi is at her best when she writes about characters from the "middling" sort. Characters who are privy to history from the sidelines. In the novel, Mary is a mixed raced girl in who is a student at one of the first schools for girls of color in Connecticut. I once read that history is supp......more

Author's note: "Were they all modest, retiring, submissive, uncomplaining, long-suffering, and sacrificing? I found that difficult to believe." Um. Yeah. She did. And the book sounds kinda crazy as a result, with the narrator, Mary, sounding almost as prissy as the people she despises. Also, she refe......more