My Last Skirt

Julia Pearson
My Last Skirt
Lynda Durrant
Historical Fiction
Holiday
pg. 74

1. Right now, the main character Jennie/Georgie/Albert is heading down the Mississippi river to fight the Rebs. Jennie is an Irish immagrint who came from Ireland to New York as a boy, named Georgie, so she could make more money. (Girls got paid half as much as boys did in the 1800s) She ran to Illinois when her cover was blown, but still dressed as a boy. This time she called herself Albert. She stayed on a farm but then signed up for the army after she/he learned that there would be sixty dollars given to everyone enlisting. Albert and her/his friend, Charlie, work hard in training. They are finally sent down the river, where they have to shovel animals off the deck after falling from the overhanging trees being hacked down. Albert has to contain the 'girly' side of herself when a spider and her babies crawl all over her.

2. This book is okay. I find it really strange that she becomes a boy and lives that way for years. Albert says he/she doesn't even think about her being a girl anymore. Its really wondering to think about how your identity could change so much, and how adaptive it can be. The writing style is okay, and kind of holiday-ish. Its been so-so but I think it will get better when she is in battles and their is alot of action.

3. The theme in the book is adaptivity. Albert/Jennie is very adaptable. She changed everything so she could get more money, and make a good living in America. She will succumb to any situation, like when she is in training, or working on farms, and change herself so she can get the best results wage wise. She makes things work, even when she thinks she can't, like when a doctor is inspecting everyone during enlisting and she fears her cover will be blown. She acts like a normal guy, and they don't look twice.

4.My favorite character is Frank. The author just introduced him, so I don't know much about him, but I think he will be fighting with Albert often so I will read about him much more. Frank is very nice and considerate, he didn't laugh at Albert for being scared of the spiders, and stuck up for her/him. Frank is also very smart (he went to college) and tells Albert about the animals they are shoveling off the boats. He even knew what an armadillo was when he spotted the strange animal. (It seems like common knowledge now, but then it was the 1860s and little of the west had been scoured for strange animals.) Frank never boasts of his smartness though, he is just very calm and considerate.

5. My least favorite character is Jennie's brother, Tom. Tom came to America with Jennie, and they worked at the same shop for a year or so. Tom got very jealous of Jennie, or Georgie, as she was called then, because she was a better worker and got more praise. Tom was mad because she wasn't going to tell the store owner that she was a girl, and during one bout of anger he blew her cover out of spite. Jennie left because of that and headed to Illinois, but first she took all of their money. She thinks Tom is out to get her for it.

6. I predict Albert will fight in many battles and she will live through them all, and that maybe someone (probably a docter after she is wounded) will find out who she really is. I don't think that person will tell though. I also believe that Albert will not go back to being Jennie for years, at least until she gets old and can't work as much, because then she won't have a reason to be a boy.