I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from . This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Rise! A Girl's Struggle for More
by Diann Floyd Boehm
on October 20, 2021
Genres: YA Historical
Format: Kindle
Goodreads
Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Rise! A Girl's Struggle for More is an old-fashioned, historical family drama-a sweet, yet edgy, coming of age story. Set in the 1920s, it is based on the life of the author's grandmother.
The main character, Ruby Pearl, is mature beyond her years, born at least a decade too soon. Growing up in a family of nine children in Oilton, Oklahoma, with her nose constantly in a book, she's the girl who would rather read than can tomatoes.
Ruby studies hard to make good grades, while her parents humor her. They encourage the courtship with her beau, Arthur, who they expect will be their son-in-law when the two graduate from high school. Ruby has loftier goals than that. She admires her momma and big sister, Rilla, the "CEOs of the household," and hopes to have children and a home of her own to manage someday, but first things first!
Ruby's story unfolds amidst the backdrop of a horse and buggy town welcoming its first motor cars. She becomes a pioneer for girls her age, following the inspiration of the suffrage movement, breaking all norms, defying tradition-and her parents-to become a truly independent woman.
Rise! A Girl’s Struggle for More by Diann Floyd Boehm is about life in the 1920s for young ladies.
Will Ruby get to go to college and do the things she wants to do?
Ruby
Ruby Dinsmore is our main character and the one that we follow throughout the storyline. The main character’s name is Ruby Pearl Dinsmore. She goes by just plain Ruby, is the middle of nine children, and is smart. Ruby is like any normal teenage girl from the 1920s but she wants to do more than be a housewife. There are some things that I like about Ruby and some things that I dislike about her.
I like that Ruby doesn’t take no for an answer, and if she wants to do something, she does it. Another thing that I like about her is how focused she is on her goals. What I don’t like about her is that achieving her goals made me not like her as much as I thought I would. This young woman wants to go into the workforce instead of staying home to be taken care of by her husband. I wouldn’t say I like how she achieved her goals because it got her friends in trouble and upset her family. The way she went about it just wasn’t the right way to do it. However, they were Ruby’s choices, and she owned her decisions.
The Story
As I said above, Ruby Pearl Dinsmore is in the middle of nine kids and wants the same opportunities as her brother does. The author does a great job of showing the setting to make the reader feel like they are in Oklahoma and Missouri. Ruby, just a junior in high school has decided that she is going to college with or without her parents’ blessings and gets three school friends to help her out. I don’t really want to say too much but the way that Ruby went about to get to her goal kind of broke my heart. Apart of me was hoping that Ruby could see Arthur in a different light.
Three Stars
Rise! A Girl’s Struggle for More by Diann Floyd Boehm is a historical novel. The author based the main character on her own great grandmother, and it is quite a story. Ms. Boehm has quite a way with her words, but I guess I struggled with this novel more than I imagined just by reading the plot summary. Ruby Pearl is a fascinating character, but I just didn’t quite like her in the end like I was supposed to. I am giving this book three stars.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Rise! A Girl’s Struggle for More by Diann Floyd Boehm.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Diann Floyd Boehm
Diann Floyd Boehm is an international children’s author, having lived in Dubai for 14 years, and now based in Texas. Diann has always enjoyed the art of storytelling and has taken her imagination to print so she can share her stories with more children and families around the world.
Diann is the author of five children’s books and published her first YA novel, Rise-A Girl’s Struggle for More, in 2021, all partner published with OC Publishing. One of her books, Harry the Camel, was translated into Arabic and won the 2020 Authors Marketing Guild Award for Best Children’s Book – Foreign Translation. Her most recent children’s book, Moonling Adventures-The Serengeti, won the Texas Best Children’s Book Award in 2021. Diann also started a YouTube channel in 2020 called The Story Garden, where viewers can enjoy the author reading her books, interviewing other authors, and highlighting their books.
Her creative flair encompasses the performing arts as well, having performed in musical theatre productions in Dubai produced by Popular Productions out of the UK. Diann enjoys making guest appearances on the radio and in-person, where she encourages young and old to embrace their imagination.
Diann is not only an author and educator but also a wife and mother of three. She was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma but grew up in Texas with five brothers. She has traveled extensively to many parts of the world. She has a Bachelor of Education from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and has taught elementary school both overseas and stateside.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge
- 2021 New Release Reading Challenge
Leave a Reply