The Boston Girl in 100+ Books in 2025

Dec 13, 2014 Jgrace rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: family-relationships, audio, judithg, historical-fiction, jgrace, america-usa, 20th-century, coming-of-age, friendship, read-in-2015

The Boston Girl - Diamant
audio performance by Linda Lavin
5 stars

Addie Baum’s granddaughter isn’t important to this story. But, she’s a very smart girl. She asks her 85 year-old grandmother an important question, “How did you get to be the woman you are today?” This allows Anita Diamant to give voice to Addie’s personal 20th century history.
Addie begins her story in 1915, when she is 15. From the beginning Addie describes her conflicted relationship with her immigrant parents. She is desperate ...more

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Oct 04, 2015 Dolly rated it really liked it

Shelves: ireland-irish, jewish-israel, russia, read-but-not-finished-reviewing, historical-fiction, humor, new-england, amelia-bloomer-award, italy-italian-roman, ocean-seashore

This story presents an interesting concept. It's fictional, but it's written as a memoir, with the grandmother answering questions from her granddaughter. I enjoyed listening to Linda Lavin narrate the tale aloud on audio CD.

Sometimes I got somewhat bored and distracted by the storytelling. While there are some very dramatic events, they are interspersed between fairly benign day-to-day happenings. Sometimes, I had to chuckle at the vivid and detailed descriptions of mundane activities and conve This story presents an interesting concept. It's fictional, but it's written as a memoir, with the grandmother answering questions from her granddaughter. I enjoyed listening to Linda Lavin narrate the tale aloud on audio CD.

Sometimes I got somewhat bored and distracted by the storytelling. While there are some very dramatic events, they are interspersed between fairly benign day-to-day happenings. Sometimes, I had to chuckle at the vivid and detailed descriptions of mundane activities and conversations. As Ron Charles mentions in his review, "'The Boston Girl' suffers most from its refusal to acknowledge the complexity of memory and oral history. Addie claims, 'I’ve forgotten a lot more than I like to admit,' but without hesitation, repetition or unconscious revelation, she delivers happy recollections from the 1920s with more detail and dialogue than I can recall from breakfast."

Still, I appreciate that the author tackled some very tough subjects and showed what life was like for a young woman in those times. I learned more about life in my home state in the early twentieth century than I did from some of the history books I had as a young student.

In the end, I thought it was a touching story that encompassed most of the twentieth century. I was a bit sad to think that someone like Addie would be gone by now, and that these memories, if not captured in a story like this, would be lost. So it was good to hear the tale, even if it was a bit tedious in parts.

interesting quotes (from hardcover edition with ISBN13 978-1439199350):

"It took me until I was almost forty before I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up." (p. 25)

"She says that being an artist is more than a job or a skill; it's a way of walking through the world" (p. 36)

"When a shy person smiles, it's like the sun coming out." (p. 149)

"It's a good thing babies don't give you a lot of time to think. You fall in love with them and when you realize how much they love you back, life is very simple." (p. 300) ...more

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Feb 20, 2017 Ramona rated it liked it · review of another edition

I would actually give this book a 3.5, but don't know how to do it on here. Well written story about a woman born to live in the early 1900's as a daughter of immigrant parents. She tells her life story to her granddaughter showing her challenges and accomplishments with her family life, love life and career choices/challenges. ...more

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