The Misadventures Of Maude March (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
Maude and Sallie March have the great misfortune of seeing their Aunt Ruthie get gunned down outside of the mercantile. This makes them orphans a second time over, and although the Reverend Peasley takes them in, it’s hardly an ideal situation. The Reverend’s wife is like to work the girls to the bone looking after her large family, and the Peasleys – having stripped Aunt Ruthie’s house of everything useful - are especially keen on marrying Maude off to some unpleasant bachelor or another. Maude and Sallie, seeing no other choices before them, are determined to run away to live with their Uncle Arlen in Independence.Everything goes wrong. Maude’s picture appears on the first page of the paper as a “grief-crazed” horse thief wanted for her misdeeds. Then, the girls run into the man who was responsible for killing their aunt – Joe Harden (well, actually Marion Harding – he changed his name). He seems to be a decent fellow (except for the bit about the murdering) until he decides to rob a bank while the girls are standing around outside. They are all forced to flee and Maude and Sallie end up stealing yet another set of horses. The horse thieving and the bank robbery are attributed to Maude and she and Sallie are forced to keep a low profile as they continue their travels. Just as they’re sure they’re out of trouble, they’re set upon by a gang and Sallie accidentally kills the leader. This, too, is attributed to Maude. The girls do eventually reach their uncle in Independence and begin to set up new lives for themselves, but neither feels right living under the shadow of the infamous, “Mad Maude March.” Maude convinces Marion to return the money he stole from the bank, and Sallie writes a detailed explanation for the events that made them appear to be outlaws – intending to send both money and explanation to the Sheriff in order to clear their good names.This is an amusing tale of one (at least) reluctant outlaw. Poor Maude, she’s such a nice young lady, and circumstances beyond her control force her take things into her own hands and become someone she’s not. She’s totally horrified by the claims that she’s a crazy, murderous hoodlum. This story does a nice job of showing (while being funny) how events can grow in their retellings – becoming much larger than life. Sallie and Maude’s tale becomes like something out of a dime novel (one of those Westerns with a notorious outlaw protagonist). It might be fun to have kids take a normal event and sensationalize it for the papers.
Exciting, Funny, and Whip-SmartBottom line - this is one of the best sister books I've read in a while. Sure, it's a western adventure with a cowgirls-on-the-run plot. It's sort of a dryly funny "True Grit" for a slightly younger crowd. It has a lot of action and horses and chases and bad guys and dusty towns and accidental shootin's and trail riding and such, and that's all fun, but it's not the main point.What we have is a teenage girl, Maude, who accidentally ends up as a hunted desperado, and her younger sister sidekick, Sallie. This younger sister is a gimlet-eyed, practical, deadpan, dry-as-dust funny narrator of our tale, and her flinty throw-away lines pepper the book. But get this - the two sisters like and admire each other, support and encourage each other, understand each other, and are loyal through thick and then. No phoney-baloney, no ironic detachment, they are sisters and a team. This doesn't come across as dopey or preachy; it's just the basic nature of their relationship and who they are, and it informs all of the action. When one is weak the other is strong; when one is confused the other is decisive. And you like them both, you root for them, and you cheer their little escapades and victories.I think the western setting really helps. We avoid all of the modern cliches - no school or fashion angst, no mean girls, or bullies, or cell phones, or dreamy jocks, or any of the staples of modern teen fiction. The western time and place strips the story of the two girls down to its essentials and eliminates modern distractions. This leaves the field open for the characters to really shine, and reminds us why westerns remain a classic story-telling form.The upshot is that you get a funny and sharply observed picaresque with two great female leads, finely sketched and entertainingly eccentric secondary characters, and spare western dime novel deadpan narrative. This book is loaded with vinegary one-liners, straight faced cowboy humor, and laconic cowboy understatement. I would press this into the hands of any young reader who possessed an ounce of spunk, and would especially recommend it for those seeking strong and courageous heroines.
What do You think about The Misadventures Of Maude March (2007)?
This is a fun historical fiction. Told from eleven year old Sallie's perspective the voice in this book captures the innocence a child mixed with the adventure and colloquialism of the "dimer" novels Sallie is so fond of.It also has a bit of a "tall tale" feel to it. Fortunately the manner in which Sallie tells her story it comes across as honest and plausible even though nobody would likely have as many outrageous misadventures as the March sisters.Sallie and her sister Maude are both very likable characters and they meet an interesting assortment of other characters, some much nicer than others. While not a "morality tale" per say it could be a springboard for discussion about making quick judgements of people without getting all of the facts first.
—Lisa the Librarian
Eleven-year-old Sallie March is a whip-smart tomboy and voracious reader of Western adventure novels called "dimers". When she and her sister Maude once again become orphaned, they escape their self-serving guardians for the wilds of the frontier, they begin an adventure the likes of which Sallie has only read about. This time however, the "wanted woman" isn't a dime-novel villian, it's Sallie's very own sister! What follows is not the lies the papers printed, but the honest-to-goodness truth of how two sisters went from being orphans to being outlaws—and lived to tell the tale! Great adventure of two sisters who took matters into their own hands and found themselves in the process. The narrator was absolutely amazing with just the right amount of sass and twang to pop the listener back into the frontier lands of the 1800's. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.
—Cathy
I like westerns, strong female leads (especially when they are the reluctant type), and a good tale. I feel like this book did fabulous with those first two qualities and yet fell short of the last. I read an e-version of this book and maybe it's formatted different than the print version but I felt as though the moments that held suspense lasted about 3 sentences and the "reveals" were less than climactic. Maybe if the chapters had ended on cliffhangers this would have been better.The rattlesnake scene, where the snake continues to strike without a head, is very true. I've seen this happen myself. Very freaky!This is marketed as young adult level. I read a lot of young adult material and find good writing is good writing no matter the audience it's intended for. I had high hopes but was a little disappointed with this one. There's a sequel but it will probably be a long time before I, if ever, get around to reading it.
—Jessica
