I read this all pretty much in one day (granted, an airport day)--I was surprised by how compelling it was, given that the plot summary is basically "farm girl gets a serving job." But Joan is a great character/narrator to root for & I just wanted to see what would happen in her life!

Also A+ cat content.

I have read concerns about anti-semitism & racism against American Indians in this book--I felt personally that it was clear that Joan was just very uneducated & well-meaning & the book was almost didactic in carefully spelling out her lesson learned that Judaism is a religion that's just as good as her own Catholic faith, etc. (less so the Indians--there are a few mentions of Joan "playing Indian" with young children that aren't really addressed/correctedbby the narrative--it's not a major part of the book the way Judaism is but would be a good thing for a parent/teacher to address with a kid reading the book.)