2023 REREAD: Not so good and enjoyable to me this time, I'm afraid.
It's official: I have outgrown and am letting go of Jacqueline Wilson books for good.
The ableism in 'Hetty Feather', even for historical fiction, is absolutely appalling. There's the very naughty and violent foster brother Saul, who has a limp and uses a crutch/cane and acts like he uses his disability as an excuse to be bad, to avoid punishment, and to get attention - and then he dies and is quickly forgotten about; then there's the foster sister Martha, who is near-sighted and portrayed as plain and stupid, and who is also forgotten about. Lots of characters who are seemingly, consistently important to Hetty are forgotten about by the end of this book.
Being disabled in any way in 'Hetty Feather' is very clearly viewed as something to be pitied - no child with a disability, or serious health issue, is a real, lasting character, if they don't die first, that is. One random child is even nicknamed Stutter, and Mad and Slow are other names.
There's also the typical fatphobia in females and internalised misogyny - with the overblown favouritism and romanticisation of male characters - I've sadly come to expect in Wilson's children's books. Though at least 'Hetty Feather' is nowhere near as bad as the toxic hellfire of literature that is 'Opal Plumstead'. Also, the knowledge of where this story will go in the stupid, ridiculous and contrived sequels further deterred my enjoyment.
And did a professional adult woman, Sarah Smith, who the reader is supposed to like, seriously use the term "white slave trade" in this story, as part of a BS fabrication? With no other reference to slavery whatsoever in a book set in Victorian times?!
I'm quite embarrassed by my original review now.
Oh well. I'm free now. Goodbye, Hetty Feather. Goodbye, Jacqueline Wilson.
Final Score: 3/5
Original Review:
I had no expectations going into this one. It was the last of the five Jacqueline Wilson books from recent years (well, in the last ten years or more) I'd read in a week, and it is historical fiction: after the utter travesty that was 'Queenie', I was tired out, and not looking forward to 'Hetty Feather', despite hearing almost universal praise about it.
Then, the more I read it, the further I fell. In love. I almost didn't want it to end, yet I read it in a day and a quarter.
'Hetty Feather' has got to be one of the most compulsory, addictive books I've ever read, but most especially for a historical fiction novel for children. It is never boring, never dragging, never meandering - Wilson writes on-point, as she usually does. It is realistic fiction that is also magical.
Dare I say that this might be Jacqueline Wilson's most well-written book to date? She's been hit-and-miss for me, but 'Hetty Feather''s praise is deserved.
I won't reveal much about the plot, but the best way to describe 'Hetty Feather' is that it is for children who are too young to read 'Jane Eyre' or any other classic - it is a great primer for those slower-paced but no less lyrical treasure tomes.
Hetty Feather, the foundling, the orphan, the little redheaded, high-spirited dreamer herself, is a wonderful heroine. She's genuinely strong, smart, brave and assertive for a girl so young (the first book of her adventures chronicles the first ten years of her life), and for her time, 19th century England. She's very impulsive and inquisitive. She asks lots of questions that adults don't want to answer, she does what she wants, doesn't care what others think of her, she's quick-tempered and throws a lot of tantrums, and she cries; but most of the time she's justified in her feelings and actions, given her poor circumstances where she doesn't have a permanent home. She probably never will.
For the most part, Hetty is also generous, sensitive and caring for other people's feelings, but she makes mistakes as well. She is neither arrogant nor incessantly whiny, thank god. And, still going by Wilson's trademark, she likes drawing and making up stories, both in her head and to whoever will listen to her.
As a foundling child in Victorian times, with no family, and no foster family to take care of her for more than five years, Hetty is given no prospects in life, other than a future as a servant once she turns fourteen.
But her dreams! She wants to join the circus! She sneaks into a circus at the age of five, with her foster brother and "sweetheart", Jem, and she convinces herself that a beautiful performing lady there is her real mother - a fantasy she clings onto desperately, once the foundling hospital forces her back...
Coldness, darkness, loss, loneliness and drudgery are Hetty's life now. There are bright spots that she makes herself, and she befriends other girls and servants, but she wants freedom. She wants to create her own path, not the monotonous one laid out for her since birth (props for her being called out for innocently insulting servants and their "low class" lifestyle). Does she want to be part of the circus folk? An explorer? A rich woman's lady-in-waiting? A teacher? A writer? A flower girl on the streets?
The possibilities are surprisingly numerous for a girl in the 19th century, but not all of them are good and prosperous, or attainable...
Hetty Feather is one of Jacqueline Wilson's best heroines. I disagree with some reviewers who describe her as Tracy Beaker in the Victorian era - she's much kinder, and more likeable and considerate than that.
Ironically, 'Hetty Feather' might be Wilson's most feminist novel for kids ever. There is no romance, not at this stage anyway, and Hetty's childhood fancies are treated as just that; they are fleeting once reality comes crashing in. She has many female friends and companions - she saves them and they save her on various occasions, like from abduction by a rich, dodgy man preying on urchin girls. The book brings up social and political issues, such as the disgrace and shame brought down upon unmarried women who have children, and why they often have no choice but to give them up, for their safety and welfare. The extreme difficulties women faced in those times are not ignored, nor are they sugarcoated. Another foster brother, fellow foundling Gideon, likes to dance, and he doesn't want to grow up to be a soldier. But the foster father says that boys don't dance. He clearly wants to keep doing it anyway, in spite of his extremely shy and timid nature in contrast to Hetty's fiery personality.
Hetty stamps on traditional gender roles with glee. She's like Pippi Longstocking in her fearlessness. Heck, she even pilfers and wears boys' clothes in order to sneak into the boys' ward of the foundling hospital to see poor Gideon, more than once! Without being caught! How refreshing, and inspiring to children.
I whisked through this magical, un-mundane novel, centering on a fantastic young heroine, like I was in a trance. Flaws include a rather abrupt and too-good-to-be-true ending, setting up for sequels, and a few forgotten characters that are important to Hetty, but again, sequels.
Well, anyone reading 'Hetty Feather' would want the titular girl to be happy, regardless of absolute realism. Issues such as classism, alcoholism, child abuse, abusive households, and abject poverty are highlighted, and prostitution on the streets is implied.
And, quite amazingly, the British Royal Family is not hero-worshipped in this book. Hetty doesn't care for Queen Victoria one fig. In fact, here is a fantastic quote that says it all:
'We even prayed for Queen Victoria in chapel on Sunday, which seemed to me a little bizarre. Why should all us foundlings, born in shame and destined to live our lives as servants, pray for such a fabulously rich and fortunate old woman who owned whole continents? She should surely be on her padded knees, praying for God's mercy for us.' - page 294
I told you Hetty was sharp. What an understanding, alert soul she is.
So, 'Hetty Feather' = junior 'Jane Eyre'. Read it, recommend it to others, whatever their age. It might be my new favourite Jacqueline Wilson book, but will I read the sequels and spinoffs? I've been disappointed by sequels too many times in the past, so maybe not. But you never know.
Hetty, or whoever she decides to call herself in the future, will have a home - in my heart, and the hearts of other readers.
Final Score: 4/5
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