After tumbling off the back of a wagon, Jip was brought to live at the town poor farm. He has been content to do chores and tend animals -- until the day the lunatic arrives. Put seems terrifying and less than human, but as the weeks pass, Jip sees the man he truly is. So, when a menacing stranger comes to town, claiming to have been sent by Jip's grieving father, Jip turns to his new friend to make sense of his past.

00010302

So this ended up being my last book for the USA by the book challenge started by Moonlight Reader. She can't give me any guff since I did finsih all of the books I signed up for...who cares that it took me til December to finish this up :-)

JIP His Story ended up being my last book but only because I accidentally left it at the office and started on Devilish. I wish that I had not ended the book challenge with this book because it really was a downer. That does not mean it's not a great book. It is. But man was I depressed at certain times reading it and definitely at the end.

I don't want to get into too many details since this would spoil the book for other readers.

From the book snyposis:

After tumbling off the back of a wagon, Jip was brought to the town poor farm. He has lived there ever since, content to do chores and tend animals--until the day the lunatic comes. caged like an animal, Put seems terrifying and less than human. But as weeks pass, Jip sees Put as the wise man he truly is. And, when a menancing stranger comes to town, claiming to have been sent by Jip's grieving father, Jip turns to his new friend to make sense of it all. with Put's help, can Jip solve the riddle of his past?

Jip takes place in 1855 in Vermont. The main character Jip is kind and all he wants is to keep working at the poor farm with his friend Sheldon and to take care of Put. At times it does seem if the character of Jip is simple minded and simply too good. However, there are layers there that Ms. Paterson weaves into the story with Jip and others.

The stranger who comes to uproot it all with a surprising revelation was a surprise to me. I honestly didn't see the surprise backstory and thought that Katherine Paterson did a very good job of leaving clues for the reader, but I honestly didn't catch it until my second read through.

The ending was and is sad to me especially when you know what comes next. And all Jip wants is to be on a farm in Vermont with animals and those to take care of, which seems a simple and easy enough dream. ( )

An outstanding and simple story of a boy with love for all. ( )

Jip is a story of the evilness of slavery, of poverty, of classism, and of hope. Jip (so named because allegedly as a baby, he fell off a wagon while traveling with gypsies), lives and workds on a poor farm, uneducated and mistreated, still his love of others shines through.

When an older man deemed a lunatic is sent to live on the farm, Jip soon befriends him and looks upon him as a father he never had. When an untrustworthy man comes to the farm, Jip's intuition tells him all is not well.

When Jip learns the reason why he was abandoned as a child, he also understands why, with the help of loving Quakers, he needs to flee to Canada.

Time and time again in my readings, I find Quakers are portrayed in a positive, social conscious way. I vow to learn more about them.

If anyone has suggestions, please point me in the right direction. Thanks. ( )