Wheels of Change

Emily Soper is happiest when she is in her father’s barn watching him and his assistants make carriages, not helping her mother cook or other “ladylike” things. She wants to make a miniature wagon for her father for Christmas, and also to prove that she belongs right there beside him. But disaster strikes: one of Father’s assistants falls deathly ill, Emily has to deal with terrible teasing from a school-fellow, she must host a fancy Tea Party, and, worst of all, her father might be driven out of buisiness by automobiles. Emily must pull on all her reserves of spunk, strength, and will to get through this mess and find her future.

I felt this book was a little preachy; the women’s-rights-you-can’t-hold-me-down-evil-gender-rules-I-don’t-disciminate theme is cliché. Besides that, this was a short, easy introduction to the 1908 time and society. It is easy to empathize with Emily and see her point of view. The problems are resolved satisfyingly while keeping things simple. My favorite part was where Emily showed a nasty acquaintance her feelings with a teapot.