Product Description
With her mother ill, it’s up to fifteen-year-old Ruby Jacinski to support her family. But in the 1940s, the only opportunities open to a Polish-American girl from Chicago’s poor Yards is a job in one of the meat packing plants. Through a chance meeting with a local tough, Ruby lands a job as a taxi dancer and soon becomes an expert in the art of “fishing”: working her patrons for meals, cash, clothes, even jewelry. Drawn ever deeper into the world of dance halls, jazz, and the mob, Ruby gradually realizes that the only one who can save her is herself. A mesmerizing look into a little known world and era.
My thoughts
Christine Fletcher captures the life of the poor in Chicago of the 1940s with such realism that you feel for the characters, especially Ruby Jacinski. Wanting more for herself that what the slums have to offer, she takes a job as a taxi dancer. We learn that life is not always greener on the other side. But Roby is strong and learns to overcome her obstacles. I enjoyed this book, but when I learned that the inspiration for this story was based on the author’s long lost family member Sophia who was a taxi dancer made it all the more special. Although this book was written for the young adult reader, it is also enjoyable for us older adults.
1 comments:
After reading your great review, I now must buy a copy and read TEN CENTS A DANCE. While some books may be classified as YA, we all were there at one point, and that part of us can remember. Books like this one reminds us life has lessons for all ages.
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