Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Girl Scientists are the Best!

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate, #2)The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I truly enjoyed getting to know Calpurnia Tate! She was a girl ahead of her time. A girl with a scientific bent in a world that did not credit woman with brains or skill. Other than her grandpa, who encouraged her to learn everything she could, there was no-one who appreciated her smartness. Indeed, when she asked about going to college, her father said she should save her money for her trousseau.
My what? Bridal linens? Clothes? Was he kidding? I searched his face for signs of joshing but there were none. I couldn't believe it. How had this happened? How could I be so misunderstood by my own father? I was a foreigner in my own home, a citizen of some other tribe, a member of some other genus.
Poor Calpurnia, she who could learn and do anything, was treated as a second class citizen just because she was a girl.

Calpurnia and her brother Travis were partners of a sort. Travis loved animals, trying to adopt armadillos, raccoons, and a certain coyote dog who wormed his way into Travis's heart. Calpurnia tried to be the voice of reason. As a girl scientist, she knew these animals were better off in the wild, but Travis just wanted to love them all.

I loved Calpurnia's voice. She was smart, with a sort of wry humor and way of looking at her life. Her grandpa is the love of her life, he who says
"...life was full of opportunities to learn something new about the world, and one should glean all one could from an expert in his field, no matter what that field may be."
Calpurnia realized that she was an anomaly in her world, but she was determined to overcome it. I was really sad to have to say good-bye to her.


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