The Minstrel's Melody

Received a ratty paperback, when I paid for a very good condition hardcover… I love this book, but I bought the entire series in hardcover, and was VERY disappointed that this one wasn’t what I ordered.

This book is about a 12 year old girl named Orphelia Bruce. She wants to be a star,but her mother won't let her perform anywhere except for in church.Orphelia's idol is coming to town to do a talent show named Madame Meritta.Orphelia can't perform because she had gotten into trouble earlier that day.So, Orphelia does what she has to do.That includes stowing away in in Madame's storage wagon.Pretty smart,huh? Anyway....oh, yes.She(Orphelia)gets to tag along with the show and even perform.She also unravles a secret to her family's past.LUCKY!!!!!!!

This book is one I would recommend for any reader interested in family and real life drama,adventure and pursuit of a life dream. It begins rather slowly, but once the book is finished you appreciate the amount of detail given to each character and situation. You are able to understand the mother's anger, the father's passive ways, and the daughter's passion to fulfill her dream. This book depicts life on the road as an entertainer and the life of African Americans during some very tense and tragic times in our history. Reuben (one of the characters) tugs at your heartstrings and gives insight of the fear that African Americans must have faced during those times. The ending became quite predictable, but was not exactly what you would call the perfect ending. I found myself wishing I could turn back the hands of time, right the wrongs, and have an ending that would leave me feeling comfortable and at peace. However, had the author had chosen to end her book in that manner, real life would not have been accurately portrayed.

Twelve-year-old Orphelia Bruce lives in Missouri in 1904. She's musically gifted and wants nothing so much as to play piano and sing. Orphelia's straight-laced mother wants Orphelia to confine her music to church. Madame Meritta, leader of a traveling minstrel show, is scheduled to conduct a talent show when she passes through Orphelia's town on her way to a performance at the St. Louis World's Fair. Acts from all over the county are coming to compete. The best act gets to be part of Madame's show at the Fair. But, when Orphelia gets into trouble, her mother won't allow her to take part in the talent show. Frustrated and angry, Orphelia runs away to join Madame Meritta's troupe. As events unfold, Orphelia learns some things about her family she didn't know. She also learns something about life on the road. Will Orphelia get to play in Madame Meritta's show? Will she get back to her family? Is the show business life as glamorous as Orphelia imagines? The answers to these questions and several others are in "The Minstrel's Melody".This "history mystery" is more about Orphelia's adventures on the road than it is a mystery. Still, some interesting questions are raised and answered in the course of this book. It also has the more general virtues of all the books in this series: it is a good snapshot of life in a historical time and place removed from the present day, it has some worthwhile things to say about life in general, and it features a good leading character that most kids will identify with.We (my daughter and I) rate this, and the entire series, a solid four stars. If you look at our reviews of other books in this series, you may see five stars on them. We tried to change that after reasoning that, if the Harry Potter books rated five stars, then these (being not THAT good -- few others in this genre are) rated four, but we didn't succeed. With four stars, though, "history mysteries" are still good reading and we still recommend them. If you haven't read any, give 'em a try.

It's 1904, 12 year old,Orphelia Bruce has always wanted to sing and play her piano at the World's Fair in St. Louis and she wants to meet the famous Madame Meritta. She lives in Calico Creek, Missouri, and her mother finds it sinful to sing "Sassy" music and that only church music is acceptable. Her mother favors her daughter Pearl, who lies all the time, and her father just smokes all day. One day after she is forbidden to perform in the talent show she runs away and finds herself in one of Madame Meritta's coaches! There she gets acquainted with the strange and scraggly Reuben, Othello, and the glorious Madame Meritta herself. Orphelia finds out that show business is not as glamorous as she thought it would be and finds out spooky things about her family's past.

The year is 1904. Twelve-year-old Orphelia Bruce hates her uneventful life in tiny Calico Creek, Missouri. She longs to leave her small town behind to join a traveling minstrel show. Singing and playing the piano is Orphelia's dream - but her mother disapproves. After her mother refuses to even let her perform in a local talent show, Orphelia runs away from home and joins Madame Meritta's traveling musician show, which is headed for the St. Louis World's Fair. But when Orphelia's hiding place is discovered, Madame Meritta decides to send her back home. Can Orphelia persuade her idol to allow her to remain with the show so she can finally achieve her dream? Although the beginning of this book was a bit slow-moving, after the first couple of chapters, I got caught up in the story. I reccomend this book to all readers of the History Mysteries series.