To be fair, I kind of wrote it. So this may not be the least biased rating here.

The year is 1920 and nothing ever happens in the small town of Burr Oak, Michigan. At least not according to adventure-seeking, twelve-year-old Suzie, who lives on a farm, competing for her parent's attention with her many siblings, and trying to steer clear of her strict cantankerous grandmother. But then world traveler, Uncle Fred moves in. He is supposed to be helping on the farm, but Suzie spots him sneaking away in the early mornings. Determined to find out what Uncle Fred is doing, Suzie follows him and finds herself face to face with Burr Oak’s most famous citizen, the legendary former circus queen Madame Marantette and her amazing ostriches. Suzie takes one look at those ostriches and realizes that they are her ticket out of Burr Oak, all she has to do is learn to ride one of them. An adventurous and funny historical fiction.

WAW Award Nominee 2023-24

Delightful.

This was a delightful story told from a young girl's point of view. She lives on a farm in 1920s Michigan and although her family is more than content to remain there for the rest of their lives, she dreams only of being able to travel the world and see what else there is to see. While the main character is fictional, the author does incorporate some family lore, and she brings her character into the sphere of a real-life woman, Madam Marantette, who holds the high jump record for riding side-saddle, as well as the distance record for any person in a surrey being pulled by a horse and ostrich harnessed together. The woman does have some connection with the author's family, including a no-account lazy uncle, and she apparently had a lot of fun incorporating true parts of her family history and taking liberties to make up other things to fit the story. This is a coming-of-age story for the main protagonist, but it's one of the most unique settings I've come across. I love the epilogue that explains what happens with her (and her uncle and brother) 10 years after the events in the book.

This book would be a great book for a middle school student who likes animals, strong female characters (children and adults), historical fiction, and adventure. The illustrations by David Small are really well done and add to the mood of the book this book actually had me googling things about ostriches that I didn't know before.

I received an advance review from NetGalley copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I picked this up because of the Michigan setting, author, and illustrator.

The story began and I actually had a minute where I thought to myself, "meh, it's another plucky young farmgirl with big dreams" and felt that while it was probably fine, there would not be much new to get from this story. But there are ostriches, and Suzy continued to tenaciously hold on to her dreams, and I found myself drawn into this charmingly quirky character's life. Her steady determination is rendered visually through David Small's illustrations.

By the end I found myself deeply invested, and very pleased by the final ride into the sunset, such as it was. I flipped the page and was delightfully surprised by a very satisfying Epilogue.

AND THEN.

Any author can win my heart with backmatter, but this was some of the best after-story content I have ever encountered.

Spoiler

THE AUTHOR'S GREAT GREAT UNCLE ACTUALLY KNEW AN OSTRICH-OWNING FORMER CIRCUS STAR FROM MENDON, MICHIGAN. AND THERE ARE PHOTOGRAPHS. AND DAVID SMALL *LIVES* IN THE FORMER CIRCUS STAR'S OLD HOUSE. AND SHE BASED THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN JOCKEY ON REAL STORIES, TOO. AND THEN TO WRAP IT ALL UP SHE RECOMMENDED ONE OF MY FAVORITE NONFICTION SERIES EVER, [b:Ostriches|43261187|Ostriches|Rachel Poliquin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547954786l/43261187._SX50_.jpg|67138966]. Please feel free to imagine my voice steadily increasing in pitch and my hands getting increasingly emphatic throughout that entire shouty rant.

I could not even handle a small bit of that information; I found myself tearing up and ridiculously, stupidly thrilled.

To sum up, Suzy wormed her way into my heart and made me enjoy a story I was willing to dismiss as just "fine." And then the AUTHOR wormed her way into my heart and it was all over for me. I think everyone should read this.

This is a sweet historical novel with a feisty and funny lead character. Suzy is curious and interested in traveling the world but for a girl in Burr Oak, Michigan, at the turn of the century, there are not a lot of options open to her. Then she meets the town mystery lady, Madame Marantette, who she hopes will teach her how to live a life outside of her small town. What she learns...is how to ride an ostrich! Based on actual people and actual events, this novel will be a hit with fans of Kate DiCamilo. Great authors note at the end. The illustrations by David Small were an added treat.