The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The cover of this book has been calling my name for quite some time now...and it's not just because there's a Newberry Honor medal on the front of the book.  The silhouette of a young girl with a butterfly net and the word Evolution in the title sparked some interest.  Could Mr. Charles Darwin be involved in this story somehow?  He sure is!  Calpurnia is a young girl from an upper middle class family living through a stifling summer right before the turn of the century.  With such a status comes certain expectations of a young girl. Learn how to keep house (with servant help of course), be proper, land a husband and have kids.  When things get rough, occasionally nip from your bottle of Lydia Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. End of story.  As Calpurnia sees her brothers suddenly going ga-ga over ladies and "pitching woo" (fancy right?), she wonders if this is all that is in store for her.  When she strikes up a special relationship with her eccentric grandpa, she learns that what has been the status quo for women for a long time doesn't have to be the only path.  Calpurnia begins spending her summer days with her grandpa looking at different bug and plant species and classifying them according to Charles Darwin's classification system. Grandpa even lets her read his controversial book The Origin of Species, a book which she tried to check out at the library and was treated rather rudely by the librarian.  That would never happen now, by the way.  Librarians are awesome givers of information - there is no shame in our game! As the story comes to a climax with a breakthrough discovery found in the woods by Calpurnia and her grandpa, she begins to learn about all of the great women who have contributed to science and that her grandpa may have higher hopes for her than her own parents.  What will Calpurnia choose to do?  Can she live the life she wants to lead or is she destined to wear frilly dresses and be a proper lady? Reading this story made my librarian AND my feminist heart happy!  I love to read about girls who challenge convention and who realize what potential they have inside them.  I see this struggle every day with my middle school girls and I love it when there are such positive books like this one for them to read.  I was also surprised that this was author Jacqueline Kelly's first novel!  It was so well written, I could have sworn she had been writing for decades!  If you are looking for a great, uplifting and inspirational read, check this book out!