Like the title says, I’m trying to find a book that I had read from from my days in grade school, and I don’t recall the name of the author or the title. Thought a place like this might have some more informed minds.
The few details that I recall, is that the book was the story of a girl growing up and facing the realities of life as a woman. I want to say that the setting was the eastern seaboard. I think the story was set either around the turn of the century (early 1900s) or possibly around the great depression. I also recall that this character had something of a fixation on nail hygiene and… I think Jergens, for some reason. It really stood out as a weird detail for a book… In all honestly, I started trimming my nails the way she suggested in the book, and it turns out, they were way more comfortable, and I got fewer sore corners… That’s kinda one reason this book stuck in my mind for so long! LOL
Later details I recall about the character’s life is that she ended up with a guy that wasn’t exactly her first choice of man, but that’s just how life played out. Again, a weird detail that stuck with me from the book was that she noted that he trimmed his nails all the way down to the quick, which she did not think highly of. Again… I guess I concur…
At another point in the story, they use an old wood or coal fired oven as a means to keep their baby warm, as that was their primary heat source.
I honestly don’t recall much else from the story, other than it was an assigned reading for a reading class back in grade school… probably sometime between 1990 and 1992. I feel like the book was probably published earlier than those dates, especially given the time setting of the book. I do not recall if it was based on someone’s life or not, but given all the mundane day to day elements of simple life, I feel like I thought it maybe was? I dunno.
That’s why I’ve come here… I’ve tried many times to come up with a string of words that would satisfy Google, but Google *always* fails me. I even desperately tried a few other search engines. The details I actually recall are just too generic to return meaningful results, and the inclusion of a real brand name in the story absolutely poisons any search results with… well… that brand. That’s why I’m hoping someone recalls the book, and knows what on Earth I’m even talking about. I know I’m not exactly asking for a suggestion on a new book… I’m trying to dig up an old relic from decades past, but any help would definitely be appreciated! Thanks!
by richfiles