A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama, by Laura Amy Schlitz, 389pp RL5
A Drowned Maiden's Hair is by Laura Amy Schlitz, winner of the 2008 Newbery Medal for her book Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village , which is a collection of monologues and dialogues. She has written a moving work with her first young adult novel which was published in 2006. On a Spring morning in 1909 we first meet Maude Flynn, eleven years old and locked in the Barbary Asylum for Female Orphans outhouse singing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." What unfolds from there is a deliciously long but fast paced story with characters as intricate as unfolding origami. Maude is one of the most layered, convincing child characters I have read in a long time. Orphaned at a young age, she is separated from her older brother, Samm'l, and infant sister when an older couple arrive to adopt a strong boy to help on the farm. They are enchanted enough by beautiful baby Kit to adopt her too, but have no interest in Maude. Maude begins to believe