Finishing Becca

Reader response to Finishing Becca by Ann Rinalidi

The back cover reads:
"Peggy Shippen is everything Becca is not-- a beautiful, rich, and horribly spoiled Quaker daughter whose life revolves around the whirlwind society of Philadelphia in 1778. Becca's family has fallen on hard times, and she is sent to the Shippen household to be Peggy's personal maid and to receive a finishing education. But working for Peggy, Becca gets an education in deceit and treachery, as Peggy sets her sights first on British Captain John Andre and then on American General Benedict Arnold.

As Becca fervently tries to find the "missing pieces" of her self, she watches in horror as Peggy Shippen manipulates General Benedict Arnold to turn traitor and join forces with the Crown against the revolutionary Americans."

My response:
slow going, but interesting. I love this time period. This would certainly be a female counterpart to My Brother Sam is Dead. It would be great for 6th grade and older. Rinaldi does a great job, and she has some awesome quotes:

"Time stretched like worn fabric, forced to endure too much weight" (268).

"How could so dolorous be going on in this house?" (313).

"Mothers and daughters have to have secrets from one another, once the daughter is grown. Because they are of two different times. And they can noe more understand each other, acting out of the influence of those times, than the times can mesh. But that doesn't mean they can't love one another" (339).

A great bildungsroman story. I'm just not too excited about it. I'd recommend it, but it doesn't get the Word Nerd Seal of Approval.