TITLE: The Education of Bet
AUTHOR: Lauren Baratz-Logsted
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2010
PAGES: 186
GRADE LEVEL(S): 6-7
RELEVANT CURRICULA: English Language Arts, Social Studies
CLASSROOM USES: Class reading, Literature Circles, Independent Reading
BRIDGE TEXTS: Any 19th-century English literature
Life can hardly ever accurately be described as fair, but young Elizabeth Smith—better known as Bet—has most certainly gotten short shrift. Growing up in the 1800s, Bet had the unfortunate lot in life of being a female from a poor family. At the age of four, her parents were killed by typhoid. She was “rescued,” as it were by the great-uncle of another child, Will, whose parents had also died of the illness. This certainly was preferential to an orphanage, but such was Bet’s family’s social stature, that she could not exactly be treated as Will’s equal. Instead she became a sort of servant and attendant to the old man, while her contemporary was sent off to school.
As luck would have it, though, Will neither excelled at nor was very interested in school, and he was routinely being expelled from one of them or another. Will wanted to join the military. Bet wanted to go to school. They were the same age and, despite the obvious gender-related differences, looked strikingly similar.
Thus Bet hatched her plan to dress herself as a boy, assume Will’s identity, and go to school for him. This way, they would both get what they wanted. Bet would have an education; Will would have freedom; and his great-uncle (not privy to the plan) would be satisfied that his young ward had finally succeeded in school. Nothing could go wrong.
As people are wont to do, Bet had idealized what getting an education would truly be like, and she finds that school is not the academic haven she had expected.
Some of Bet’s challenges are predictable. She has to look, dress, and act like a boy. More troubling, she realizes, she has to live among boys. Even the best of disguises, however, cannot hide one’s true identity, and Bet has many more obstacles to face in passing herself off as a boy than she first anticipated. Ultimately, she is a young woman, with all the hormones and other trappings incumbent to them.
The Education of Bet would make a fantastic read for many young girls, and quite possibly for quite a few young boys as well. Her story is intriguing, her character endearing, and the writing flows easily. Students will root for Bet in making her dream of an education come true, and they will root for her in other aspects of life, as well.
And in the end, no one will be disappointed.
FTC Disclosure: This review is based on a copy of the book we received from the author.
FTC Disclosure: This review is based on a copy of the book we received from the author.
