Worth by A. LaFaye

BIBLIOGRAPHY :
LaFaye, A. 2004. Worth. New York: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers. ISBN 0689857306.

PLOT SUMMARY:
After an accident leaves, eleven-year-old Nathaniel Peale crippled, he is unable to help out on the family farm. Questioning his worth and his fathers love, Nathaniel resents the orphan, John Worth, brought home by his father to help out around the farm. As both boys struggle to cope with their new roles and lives, they end up helping each other and saving the community.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
The plot of ranchers versus farmers is a story students have been introduced to in textbooks, movies and other literature. The setting of 19^th century Nebraska is brought to life with the authors rich descriptions of the farm. The first person narrative of the main character tells the story of a young man in anguish over his situation. After he is told he may never walk again, Nate thinks to himself, “Half wished my mind would fog up again so there’d be no room for the new thoughts rolling in. I’d be a cripple. … Might not even be able to stand. What’s a man to do if he can’t stand? Sit around collecting dust while the rest of the world earned their living.” The attitudes of the times reflect in his thinking of himself as a man at eleven years old with a need to help his family by working on the farm.

Terms like Ma and Pa, “plugging chinks in the soddie” and “correcting my sums” convey the speech patterns of the time and add authenticity to the author’s historical fiction. Nate’s immigrant school friends from Greece and mention of Greek mythology add a multicultural view of early America. The themes of self-worth, family love, acceptance and courage are interwoven in this historical novel suitable for elementary and the upper grade levels.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “There's a world of pain in LaFaye's (The Year of the Sawdust Man) spare, lyrical novel set in 19th-century Nebraska. The author here assumes an unusual perspective on the Orphan Train theme, focusing on the adoptive family. … LaFaye paints a realistic picture of the hardships for average families at the time the Orphan Train rode the rails.”

Review from VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES: “The easy lilting cadence of the language combined with details of farming successfully evoke nineteenth-century frontier life, a time when a man's value was determined by his actions and capabilities. … This historical novel is solid in plot; Nate's reflective narrative balances the various conflicts smoothly. The subplot introduces a Greek family with whom Nate becomes acquainted, adding an unexpected multicultural flavor to the novel.”

Review from BOOKLIST: “Through Nate's narrative comes a sense of the grueling daily work, the family struggle to try to hold on to the land and avoid failure. In addition, there's some late-nineteenth-century history about the local wars between cattle ranchers (who want grazing land) and farmers (who need room for crops), … A great choice for American history classes.”

AWARDS
Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award 2005

Connections
Other books about pioneer/frontier life:
Greenwood, Barbara. 1998. A pioneer sampler: the daily life of a pioneer family in 1840. ISBN 0395883938
Moss, Melissa. 2001. Rachel's journal: The story of a pioneer girl. ISBN 015202168X
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. 2007. Little house in the big woods. ISBN 0061289809

Books about orphan trains:
Buchanan, Jane. 2002. Hank's story. ISBN 0142302112
Cushman, Karen. 2005. Rodzina. ISBN 044041993X
Kerr, Rita. 1994. The Texas orphans: a story of the orphan train children. ISBN 0890159629