Diary of a Waitress: A Review and ARC Giveaway

Diary of a Waitress: The Not-So-Glamarous Life of a Harvey Girl (Calkins Creek, 2015) by Carolyn Meyer chronicles six months in 17-year-old Kitty Evans' life. The time is 1926; a time when young women were expected to marry and have children with few aspirations beyond that. Kitty, on the other hand, plans to go to college to become a journalist.  

The books opens with Kitty's father's announcement that due to problems with his business, he doesn't have the money to send her to college. Left with this devastating news, Kitty impulsively decides to apply for a job as a Harvey Girl waitress. She is accepted and her life, working long days in the Harvey House Hotels and Restaurants, begins. 


Although the book warmly shows Kitty discovering her own pathway to becoming a published writer, her colorful friend Cordelia, often steals the limelight. Cordelia is a flapper, a musician, and a young woman with enough spunk to return an expensive engagement ring from a man she doesn't love. 

The "railroaders" young men who work at the roundhouse, and local ranchers, provide romantic interests for Kitty and her fellow waitresses, Emmy and Maggie. In the final chapter, when the women come together for a reunion twenty-five years later, the reader finds out the pathways that each women took. 

I enjoyed the way Meyer brought the story to a close:

"What about you, Kitty?" Cordelia asked. "Are you still writing in your journal?"
I said I was.
"You should write a book about the Harvey Girls," she said.
"A novel of romance and adventure," Emmy suggested.
"A book about us," Maggie insisted.
I promised them I'd think about it.

One of the New Mexico Harvey House Hotels
http://harvey-house.info/new_mexico_1 

Written in a diary format with black and white photographs of the real Harvey House Hotels sprinkled in, this novel will appeal to middle grade girls who enjoyed the American Girl series when they were younger. The hotels were built along the railroad lines and the book includes fun scenes where the waitresses take the trains and visit other hotels. With it's emphasis on historical accuracy, readers will be immersed in a time when waitresses were glad for a dime tip, and had to ask permission from their employer to go out on a date.  

I am giving away my gently read ARC. If you would like to win it for yourself or the middle grade girl in your life, please leave me a comment by 6 PM on October 22. If you are new to this blog, make sure you leave your email address too.