Blos in A Gathering of Days would necessarily be all that textually appealing to many if not even most younger children.

However, even with my personal enjoyment, I do have to wonder and question whether the journalistic, whether the diary format presented by Joan W. Blos writing as, pretending to be Catherine, which for me is of the utmost importance for an enjoyable first person narrative such as journal novels always are and should be).

Blos' 1980 Newbery Award winning A Gathering of Days (and in particular, the minute details of early 19th century New England farm life, information both happy and indeed also at times sad and painful).Īnd yes, Catherine's voice shines naturally and realistically (and I for one also always do feel as though I am reading the words of a typical thirteen year old 19th century New Englander and not in fact the musings of author Joan W. As an older adult who has come to very much enjoy journal-like (as well as epistolary) novels, I very much have loved Joan W.

A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos