I wonder how many of you have come to the end of a book and felt as though a friendship had ended? I nearly cried today, because I finished reading The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, and I'm going to miss her so much.
The story takes place in Texas in 1899, and Calpurnia Virginia Tate (Callie Vee) is 11 years old. This is definitely not an action-packed adventure. In fact, it is a little slow-moving. However, it is so delightfully well-written that it is a joy to read. I found myself reading parts of it over again, and even reading some of it outloud, just to hear the beauty of the words.
Callie Vee is the only girl in a family of 7 children. At the beginning of the summer of 1899 she strikes up a marvelous friendship with her grandfather (who lives with them) and they spend their days making scientific discoveries. She loves the outdoors and nature, and is overwhelmingly frustrated by the fact that, because she is a girl, her life has to be a life of cooking, sewing, needlework and the like. Callie is devastated to realize that her dream of attending a university and becoming a scientist may never happen simply because she was born a girl.
It is in her relationship with her grandfather, her brothers (who have wonderful names!), and her best friend Lula that we really get to know and love Callie. One of my favorite paragraphs is this (and of course, it just had to be one about books!):
One day I would have all the books in the world, shelves and shelves of them. I would live my life in a tower of books. I would read all day long and eat peaches. And if any young knights in armor dared to come calling on their white chargers and plead with me to let down my hair, I would pelt them with peach pits until they went home.http://www.jacquelinekelly.com/
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