New York Times bestseller An unforgettable novel about a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century, told “with humor and optimism…through the eyes of an irresistible heroine” (People)–from the acclaimed author of The Red Tent. Anita Diamant’s “vivid, affectionate portrait of American womanhood” (Los Angeles Times), follows the life of one woman, Addie Baum, … follows the life of one woman, Addie Baum, through a period of dramatic change. Addie is The Boston Girl, the spirited daughter of an immigrant Jewish family, born in 1900 to parents who were unprepared for America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End of Boston, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie’s intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can’t imagine–a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture, and new opportunities for women. Addie wants to finish high school and dreams of going to college. She wants a career and to find true love. From the one-room tenement apartment she shared with her parents and two sisters, to the library group for girls she joins at a neighborhood settlement house, to her first, disastrous love affair, to finding the love of her life, eighty-five-year-old Addie recounts her adventures with humor and compassion for the naive girl she once was.
Written with the same attention to historical detail and emotional resonance that made Diamant’s previous novels bestsellers, The Boston Girl is a moving portrait of one woman’s complicated life in twentieth century America, and a fascinating look at a generation of women finding their places in a changing world. “Diamant brings to life a piece of feminism’s forgotten history” (Good Housekeeping) in this “inspirational…page-turning portrait of immigrant life in the early twentieth century” (Booklist).more
Anita Diamant doesn’t just tell a story, she draws the reader in to live the events along with the characters. This is a truly American story, about the daughter of Jewish Russian immigrants who grows up in the multi-cultural melting pot of Boston’s north end in the Post WWI era. With the courage to ignore tradition and the expectations of the …
Anita Diamant’s novel, The Boston Girl: A Novel, captures the essence of an immigrant Jewish family. College student Ava interviews her 85 year-old grandmother Addie: “How did you become the woman you are today?”
Addie was born into an immigrant Jewish family in Boston in the early 1900’s. During her lifetime, her family experiences many changes …
I absolutely loved this book. It made me laugh and cry. A great story of a girl coming of age and dealing with some difficult situations along the way. Great historical fiction novel. Highly recommended
I listened to this book on audio, and I highly recommend it. The narrator’s voice is fantastic, and I felt like I was literally listening to somebody tell me their life story. It’s one of my all time favorites!
Here’s a book that gets better with every page you turn.
It’s a first person account, a grandmother narrating her life’s story to her granddaughter. Anita Diamant has created a very believable voice in the character of this grandmother. Although Addie Baum is Jewish, her ethnic voice could just as easily be Italian or Greek.
Addie’s story is …
Very moving story of immigrants & more in Boston. The importance of family, love, hard work, education. Told with humor, honesty and humility
Strong women characters!
As a native Bostonian I loved the trip through so many familiar places.
A bit slow getting started, but then it’s difficult to put down. Anita Diamant has such real and moving characters. A family of immigrants learning to live in Boston at the beginning of the 20th century. Friendship, family, loves, death, betrayal are all portrayed in the haunting tale of a grandmother reliving the highlights of her youth to her …
This charming book is written from the point of view of an 85 year old woman. The style is simple…probably a 7th grade level…but I loved it! The characters are vivid and well developed, and the story itself is absorbing. There are no huge discoveries or world-changing epiphanies…just the wear and tear of a life lived in an immigrant …
I bought this book based on having read The Red Tent by the same author. I knew her writing to be compelling in that book and in some ways that is also true of this story. The Boston Girl opens with 85 year old Addie Baum recording her early life memories for her granddaughter Ava. We follow her story during the early years of the 20th century we …