The Hired Girl

I really enjoyed this one. The story is told through entries in the bright young heroine's diary. Joan is smart, but young and gets herself into awkward situations as she works as a hired girl in a wealthy Jewish home in 1911 Baltimore. Joan is Catholic by birth, and is learning about her faith, and learning about the faith of the family she works for (as it infuses the day to day routines of the home). The family she works for recognizes she is bright and encourages her reading. Even though religion is a backdrop to the story, this is not a religious book. The comparisons to Ann Shirley in the other reviews are correct: This is Ann Shirley cleans house and widens her horizons.