Katherine Paterson's remarkable Newbery Medal-winning classic about a
painful sibling rivalry, and one sister's struggle to make her own
way, is an honest and daring portrayal of adolescence and coming
of age.
A strong choice for independent reading, both for summer reading and
homeschooling, as well as in the classroom, Jacob Have I Loved has
been lauded as a cornerstone young adult novel and was ranked among the
all-time best children's novels in a survey published by School Library
Journal.
"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated . . ." With her grandmother's
taunt, Louise knew that she, like the biblical Esau, was the despised
elder twin. Caroline, her selfish younger sister, was the one everyone
loved.
Growing up on a tiny Chesapeake Bay island, angry Louise reveals how
Caroline has robbed her of everything: her hopes for schooling, her
friends, her mother, even her name. While everyone pampers Caroline,
Wheeze (her sister's name for her) begins to learn the ways of the
watermen and the secrets of the island, especially of old Captain
Wallace, who has mysteriously returned after fifty years.
The war unexpectedly gives this independent girl a chance to fulfill her
dream to work on the water alongside her father. But the dream does not
satisfy the woman she is becoming. Alone and unsure, Louise begins to
fight her way to a place for herself outside her sister's shadow. But in
order to do that, she must first figure out who she is...