It’s the late 1800s on the east Kansas prairie. Times are tough, and May B’s parents need money. Their plan is to send their daughter to work at a homestead 15 miles away. They’ll make a little money, and it’ll teach May B the value of hard work. She’s 12 and young to move away from home, but at this time and in this place, it wasn’t entirely uncommon for these things to happen. She packs a few pairs of clothes, along with her Reader, for the stay. She doesn’t need much else, since she’ll have a roof over her head and food in her stomach — food she’ll make.

May isn’t thrilled with the family she’s working for — Mrs. Oblinger is cold toward her, often giving her the side eye for choosing to work through her Reader rather than find some household task to complete, and Mr. Oblinger isn’t really around enough. Oh, and the house? It’s hardly a house. It needs a lot of work. To say the living conditions for May here are nothing like they were at home would be an understatement.

During one afternoon, Mrs. Oblinger confesses to May B that she hates her life here on the prairie. She left a bigger place to be with her husband, and she would like nothing more than to get away. It takes nearly no time for her to act upon this either, and it’s within pages that May went from being the help in the house to being the only person in the house. The Oblingers abandon her completely — and without giving her any idea of when or if they plan on coming back.

Now, she’s on her own, and home is a long 15 miles away.

May B is a fast-paced middle grade novel written in verse. The setting in this story plays as much a huge role as do the characters. This is partially because the only character we really get to know in the story is May. May’s a strong character, and she’s thrown into a crummy situation. She’s lonely when she begins her job with the Oblingers, but she becomes truly lonely when she’s abandoned at their home. She knows now she has to fend for herself and figure out how to live in this place alone. There’s not only the fact seasons are changing and winter’s knocking at the door, but she’s running out of food and there are the beasts of nature with which to contend. Before snow falls, May tries to make a run for it back home, knowing that while 15 miles is a long way, it’d be worth it. But she stops herself. She goes back to the Oblinger’s home and lets winter take over.

Something I didn’t mention is that May B’s real name is Mavis Elizabeth Betterly. And the reason she brings her Reader with her to the Oblinger house is because she wants to be a teacher. But to be a teacher, she has to overcome her learning disability: dyslexia. This isn’t something we know about her right away as readers. We know she wants to be a teacher and she wants to be a better reader. It’s not until the winter really descends and May is completely alone that she offers us the insight into her personal struggle with reading. We see it in spurts, but it’s when May owns it that we understand the full depths of her character. Her isolation is much greater than being at the Oblinger’s home on the prairie without her family.

Rose is very smart in the execution of May B because of this — it would be easy to build sympathy for May because of her learning disability. The thing is, we build that sympathy well before we’re in the know. We get it when we see her being shipped away from home for a few dollars, and we get it again when Mrs. Oblinger treats her poorly, and we get it again when she’s completely abandoned. She’s been given up over and over. Then we reach the moments of flashback when her teacher has given up on her, and when May hits her lowest point in the winter, she lets us in on this secret. We’re not sorry for her because of this; we want her to get better and fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher.

I’m a fan of verse novels, even though I usually find them problematic. Rose uses the format exceptionally well, though. The sparseness in the writing translates further into the sparseness of the Kansas landscape and into May herself. This is the way May thinks. Her language is rich and picturesque, as well, without diverging into the literary. It’s important to note that because it’s May’s voice, and it rings true to a 12-year-old, particularly one who struggles herself with reading.

Though I liked the novel, I wanted a little bit more. At times, it felt like May got through things a little bit too easily, particularly at the very end of the story. While this feels right for the middle grade readership, it could have been pushed even further. I also hoped to get a little bit more of Mr. Oblinger, since it’s ultimately his actions that leave May B alone in his house.

It’s worthwhile to read the author’s note at the end of the book, as Rose talks about her inspirations. In it, she discusses her love of Little House on the Prairie and I think that this book would appeal to that readership. Your middle grade historical fiction readers will eat this one up. I’d be comfortable handing this one off to the tween readers easily, as there’s nothing content wise to be worried about, and the strong female lead will strike the right notes with many readers. It’d be a nice stepping stone to books like The Year We Were Famous by Carole Estby Dagg and Kirby Larson’s Hattie Big Sky. This is an impressive debut and I’m eager to see where Rose goes next — my fingers are crossed for another historical novel, since she’s got a knack here.

Review copy received from the publisher. May B is available now.