A humorous coming-of-age story that will appeal to fans of Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty or art on a remote farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself - because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of - a woman with a future. Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz relates Joans journey from the muck of the chicken coop to the comforts of a society household in Baltimore (Electricity! Carpet sweepers! Sending out the laundry!), taking readers on an exploration of feminism and housework; religion and literature; love and loyalty; cats, hats and bunions.