COUNTING ON GRACE

Lili Gamache creates a remarkably resourceful and sympathetic character in Grace Forcier, a 12-year-old girl who leaves school to work at the mill in a Vermont town in 1910. COUNTING ON GRACE is an excellent historical novel inspired by the real-life photograph of a mill child taken by child labor activist Lewis Hines. Grace is a wide-eyed girl who wants so much to help her family earn more money, to learn to read with her teacher on Sundays, and ultimately to become a teacher; and that enthusiasm and frustration are faithfully translated. Another highlight is Gamache’s interpretation of Grace’s mother as a proud French-Canadian mill worker and a force to be reckoned with. The music seems slightly overused but doesn’t mar a stunning production. A.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 07]