A Girl Called Chris

by Marg Nelson

When Chris's father dies while she is in high school, money becomes uncertain at home. Unable to get a scholarship for college despite stellar grades, Chris unwillingly takes a summer job at the local cannery, hoping to make enough money to pay for her tuition.

Genres: Young Adult, Childrens

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Ginny Messina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1962, this young adult novel follows 16-year-old Chris through the fateful summer after she graduates from high school. It is set in a slightly earlier period (Chris's boyfriend is all excited about the new car called Karamann Ghia, which establishes the time as probably 1955 or 56) and is sort of an "Emily of Deep Valley" for the 1950s. Chris is too tall, doesn't have a boyfriend, and doesn't have enough money for college—-but she finds herself and truly blossoms when she takes a job at the local canning factory. The writing is delightfully dated but there is a lovely little hint of feminism throughout the book.

[alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

other readers may ask themselves, "why do i read this novel again and again?" but not me! no--i _know_ the reason i keep coming back to Chris: in addition to describing a few really excellent shopping trips and the resultant outfits, Marg Nelson describes the _how_ of canning (and promoting) salmon (fancy-type, regular, whatever).

this book makes me wish i'd had a better showing in chemistry...so i could be a Home Economics major.

[Idea Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book for one that came out in the 60s or earlier. I looked for it for many years, having chanced upon it as a child and having lost it. I finally found a used copy on Amazon.

Chris Ralston has just graduated from high school but failed to get the college scholarship that she worked so hard for. Money is tight so college becomes an impossible dream now. She also has had no social life or self-confidence, having spent her entire school life behind books. Chris's journey into discovering herself in the unlikely company of fish cannery workers is both delightful and funny. She overcomes gender and economic barriers and along the way, manages to find her own references independent of the social structures around her. She makes friends, finds a larger family and discovers a way to make her academic dreams come true. This is a lighthearted but powerful feminist story, if there was ever one.

I enjoyed reading it just as much as an adult, as I did as an adolescent.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me way too long to read this book, because I lost it for a long time in the middle. I kept thinking about Chris and wondering her fate while looking for it. It showed up right before a trip on a plane, and I finished it mid flight. I have left many a book on a plane to pass on to the next reader. Not this one! I might want to read it again! I loved it, not only because she worked at a fish factory like my dad, but I resonated with her in so many ways. She was weak but strong, tomboyish but wanted to be girly, and ambitious but also wanted a family. I love books from the early 60's. The characters have real feelings, not Pollyanna feelings, but the problems don't get too deep (a father that leaves home for months at a time, not a father who beats his wife.) I highly recommend this book.

[Brianna Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good YA novel, written in 1962. Chris graduates high school and is disappointed that she didn't get the scholarship she had been counting on, a two year scholarship to attend a local college. She realizes she'll have to get a job over the summer to earn the tuition money. At first Chris's mother and sister are horrified that Chris has taken a job at a local cannery, putting fish into cans. Chris grew up on "Sawdust Hill", a wealthy area of town where people who owned pulp mills lived. Her father wasn't as rich as their neighbors, but he made enough for them to live there. Then, he suffered a long illness and died. Chris helped take care of him, and after he died, when her mother and sister had to get jobs to keep the house, Chris took over cooking and housekeeping duties. She found out she lost the scholarship to another girl whose grades weren't as good as hers because the other girl did more volunteer work in the community, and Chris is resentful. She feels it isn't fair, because she had so many other responsibilities at home that she didn't have time for anything else besides studying. When Chris first starts working at the cannery, she has a bit of a snobbish attitude towards her coworkers, who are mostly Scandinavian immigrants. As the novel progresses, Chris starts to feel more gratitude for her comfortable home, and also begins to truly like her coworkers. She actually starts to feel at home in the cannery, and is glad to be working there. Chris doesn't make enough money for tuition and other expenses to enable her to be able start college the next fall, but she still plans to enroll mid-year. Chris matures a lot throughout this novel, and becomes more adaptable and accepting of her circumstances. She loosens up socially and makes friends. It's a coming-of-age novel, basically, but not a mundane, predictable one.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprising book.

CLM gave this to me; it's an old Scholastic paperback from 1962. I expected the usual dated teen romance. (And indeed, there was an element of that - and the problem of having the right clothes for every occasion....) Instead, it was about class prejudice, the problems of the fishing industry, the value of hard work and reliability, women seeking jobs that had preciously been reserved for men and how good Swedish food is. It still won't make me eat fish but it was worth reading!

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book several times as a teen. Recently, I decided to revisit the story. It still captivates me.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed much more than I expected to. Who knew reading about a fish cannery would be so interesting? Read this on openlibrary.org

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book written in the 1960s. I found it in a box of books that used to belong to my parents. It was interesting to read about how it was for women/girls at that time.

[Saya · Rating 4 out of 5]

surprisingly good for a random YA novel from 1962

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this on my sister's book shelf. Chris graduates from high school and wants to go to college but there is no money and she doesn't get the scholarship she thinks is hers. I have to admit I read this book several times as a teen and young adult.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another odd book that I read over and over as a child. Don't ask me why.

[Adrianne Woodward]

I read this book a thousand years ago, back when I was in middle school, I think. It did not inspire me to want to work in a cannery, however.