Kribu

This is one of those books I've heard about a lot over the years, but never actually read until now. (Heh. In many ways, I feel like Jerusha - Judy - did when starting at the college; there's so many books that people in English-speaking countries have grown up with and take for granted that everyone knows, which didn't even enter my sphere of awareness until a decade ago.)

And it's such a wonderful book! Judy's voice is engaging; she's young, exuberant, intelligent, independent, curious and kind, aware of her own limitations and intent on improving herself. I really enjoyed her letters, rambling as they were - they sounded so real, so genuine.

I also truly enjoyed this glimpse into the life of an intelligent young woman in the early years of the last century, her views on the world and politics and life in general. It's always fascinating to realise that people who lived a hundred years ago were not so different from us at all, although the world itself has changed.

It's really a 4.5 star book for me - the reason why I couldn't quite round it up to five is that the ending - that last letter, the one after she found out the identity of her mystery benefactor - felt a little too hurried somehow, too rushed, even if it's what the readers had been waiting for.