Wildthorn by Jane Eagland

I'm still really backed up on my reading - I'm trying to catch up on the books I need to read that were selected for my LTRC 2010 list, while also reading books for the 2011 list and other books that just catch my eye. Well this book was one of those books! I try not to take home any new books until I finish the ones I have at home, but I couldn't help but sneak this one into my pile, and I'm glad I did!

I enjoyed this one from the start, though I was initially put off by its first person narrative and the lack of chapter numbers. It didn't take long for me to get wrapped up in the story and forget my minor annoyances with those matters.

The first part of the book rotates between chapters of the present day, where Louisa Cosgrove has been locked up in Wildthorn, an asylum for the insane, and chapters of the past, in which Louisa remembers things about her childhood and recent months. Louisa is fooled into believing that she is going to stay with the Woodville family, so she is surprised to find herself at Wildthorn where the people insist that her name is Lucy Childs. Most of the attendants treat her as if she is mentally ill, though there is one kind girl named Eliza who tries to help her.

During the chapters that tell of Louisa's past, we learn of her troubled relationship with her brother Tom, her loving relationship with her father, her somewhat strained relationship with her mother, and her friendship with her cousin Grace. The book does not name a specific time period, but it takes place in older times, when women are expected to mind the home, take care of the children, and visit with the neighbors. Ladies are not supposed to take part in the activities of men. So Louisa's mother was always concerned by her wish to ride horses and play with Tom, her constant desire to read and learn more. As Louisa becomes a young lady, she wants nothing more than to follow in her father's footsteps and become a doctor, which is something that most people are not willing to accept of a woman in that time.

For those that have tired of the teen angst found in many of today's young adult novels, this book has a strong female character standing up for who she wants to be, despite what society wants her to be. There is a touch of romance, but it hardly rules the story. It's a good, fast read that you won't want to put down!

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