Ketchum, Liza. Newsgirl. 2009. 327 p. Viking. $17.99 (978-0-670-01119-3). Gr. 5-8.

1851. California. Twelve-year-old Amelia, her mother, and her mother’s friend Estelle have journeyed to San Francisco in search of fortune and a place where women can be independent, own property, and fashion a new life together. For Amelia, however, it is the disheartening discovery that if she is to become a newsgirl she must first pretend to be a newsboy! This well-researched historical novel offers an insightful view of gender roles and alternative families in the context of Gold Rush America.  – Michael Cart