Worth

Difficult subjects makes for difficult reading. However, Worth's writer, A. LaFaye, has managed to handle the subject of the human need to be wanted, to be needed, to have--worth, with a masterful hand. "Ma says you can hear the lightening in the tall grass before a storm. Haven't heard it myself, but she swears there's a crackling in the grass like tiny bolts of lightening traveling from blade to blade." So begins our story with a slight ominous preminition. Written in first person, our main character, Nathaniel James, talks to us with descriptions so rich and easy you feel you are right there in the middle of the action. And there is plenty of action! Our author fearlessly takes on all the problems and stresses that Nathaniel's family has to deal with. Some outside their control: ranchers vs. farmers, how women are treated, city boy vs country boy biases and does so in a direct and honest way. But the story's true brilliance is it's handling of the relationships between father and son, husband and wife, son and new adopted son. This is a short book but its power will last a long time.

You know, you can never have too many awards for works of children's fiction. Sometimes that's the only way you're ever going to find an audience for a perfectly nice but sadly forgotten title. Take, "Worth" as an example. Until it won itself a rather prestigious Scott O'Dell Award For Historical Fiction, I hadn't heard so much as a breath upon the wind about it. It seemed nice enough, of course. But historical fiction is something I find myself unconsciously avoiding. When the O'Dell honor fell upon it, however, I picked "Worth" up for some good reading. What I found proves that no matter how great a book is, if it gets lost in the shuffle then it may remain an exceptional but forgotten title. I'm pleased to see so many kids reviewing it on their own. Hopefully that will mean that "Worth" will become a classic simply by word of mouth. It all would have been fine if the lightning hadn't come. That was the whole reason why Nathaniel, his father, and his mother were out in the fields working like mad to get their crops in before the rain fell. In his haste to help out, Nate gets his pitchfork stuck in the ground and, in freeing it, happens to be in the way of the horses when the lightening spooks them. The wheel of the wagon and the horses themselves break the boy's leg all to pieces and though he lives he'll never walk the same again. This is a particular problem on a farm where every family member has to pull their own weight. That means Nate has to be replaced by John Worth, an orphan from New York City who's been taken in by Nate's pa. No one likes John, but as Nate slowly begins to learn this stranger's story he crawls a little bit away from his own self-pity and into liking this odd city slicker. It just so happens that Worth's appearance coincides with heightened tensions between the ranchers and the farmers and if everybody isn't careful there's going to be range war. That is, unless Nate and John can stop it. What sets "Worth" apart from other works of historical fiction is its readability and the fact that it's a great story for kids within a wide range of ages. Standing at a mere 144 pages, it's the ideal length for those kids assigned to do a book report on a book that takes place in the nineteenth century, but who don't want to wade through "Little Women" (not that I have anything AGAINST Alcott but...). As I mentioned before, historical fiction is not my favorite genre. Imagine my surprise then when my hand kept reaching for the book on my coffee table, almost entirely of its own accord. I was even more surprised to find that I wanted to learn more. I wanted to see if and when Worth and Nathaniel would start to get along. I wanted to examine the family dynamics, for crying out loud. Not every book does so much. I also liked that LaFaye left some questions floating in the wind. At one point Nathaniel wonders why it is that his mother dislikes John Worth so very very much. We never get a good answer to t

WORTH is a poignant portrayal of both sides of the Orphan Train dilemma--the pain and loneliness of the orphan boy, John Worth, trying to find a place in his new family, and the fear and jealousy that Nathaniel Peale feels when the new arrival takes HIS place beside Pa while Nate heals from a devastating accident. And it is so much more, too--the story of the effects of the range wars between ranchers and farmers, the story of friendship, the story of a strong mother and the story of a father struggling with loss and guilt. WORTH is a quick read, but every spare detail is packed with meaning. This book definitely was worthy of the 2005 Scott O'Dell Award. Thanks to A. LaFaye for writing WORTH. --Candie Moonshower, Nashville

I think Worth was a very good book because it was sad and I like sad stories. But it also had good lessons in it. I learned that it is important to go to school and learn. I think the saddest part in the book was when he smashed his foot. Also, when he lost his crops. I would like to read more books that LaFaye wrote.

This is one of those books that will stick with you long after you've closed the cover. It's bad enough that Nate breaks a leg in an accident on the farm - lightning strikes and spooks the horse pulling the wagon he's on, causing him to fall under a wheel and leaves him unable to help fulfill his duty to the family and he's told he may never walk normally again - but when his father brings home an Orphan Train boy named John Worth to take his place, Nate feels like a complete burden. Worse than useless. Worthless. He ostracizes John, punishing the boy for his own inadequacy, but John is suffering, too, and is still grieving the loss of his own family. Nate's parents are grieving the loss of their little girl, too. When events in the community create a crisis pitting farmer against rancher, the boys are forced to call a truce and forge an alliance to stop the hostilities that threaten their very livelihood, but will they ever be friends? If this one doesn't show up on the Newbery short list, I'll be really surprised.(...)