Home › Kids Books › The Hired Girl
  • The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz book cover
  • The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz book cover
1 2

The Hired Girl

by Laura Amy Schlitz

A farm girl’s diary of ambition and possibility

$13.38 USD
$22.30 USD $13.38 USD
Save 40%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

A farm girl’s diary of ambition and possibility

Set in 1911, the novel is presented through fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs’s diary as she leaves farm life to work as a hired girl, cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week. Her entries connect the practical realities of domestic work with her hopes for love, independence, and a future beyond the one she knows. Joan’s affection for the heroines in her novels shapes the way she imagines what life might hold, giving the story a lens on aspiration and self-invention in early twentieth-century America. Its young protagonist and historical setting bring questions of work, opportunity, and growing up into the same frame.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in historical fiction set in early twentieth-century America.
  • Readers who enjoy diary-framed stories about work, ambition, and coming of age.
  • Those interested in a young Jewish protagonist and the book’s Jewish subject classification.

Themes

Ambition and self-inventionDomestic workComing of ageEarly twentieth-century AmericaJewish identity

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A New York Times bestseller!
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
An Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award Winner
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature

"Schlitz has crafted another exquisite literary gem, one told entirely via Joan's vivid, humorous, and emotionally resonant diary entries." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart and her hope out into her diary -- because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of: a woman with a future. Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz brings her delicious wit and keen eye to early twentieth-century America in a moving yet comedic tour de force.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all
Grim by Arden, Joe book cover

Grim

by Arden, Joe

Paperback

$17.70 USD $29.50 USD