The Ornament Tree

The Ornament Tree #1

by Jean Thesman

Bonnie Shaster, fourteen years old and recently orphaned, has happily come to live with her mother's family in Seattle, never expecting to find such chaos. Her charming, hapless relatives have been forced to take in gentleman boarders to make ends meet. The progressive ladies crusade for causes like women's suffrage, yet they are quite inept at managing the household. Money is always a problem and the boarders are frequently at odds with one another and with the household of women, not one of whom knows how to cook. Yet when handsome young boarder Carson Young, a blind veteran of the Great War, jokingly warns Bonnie to run for her life, she knows she isn't going anywhere.

After escaping from the misery of living with her disagreeable aunt, Bonnie has found a home where she is happy and where she is valued – often for taking charge of problems that threaten to become disasters. And as she ties her wishes on scraps of paper to the family's"ornament tree," Bonnie dares to believe that her new home and the people in it are the beginning of a new life where her fondest wishes can come true.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Jean Thesman was a widely read and award-winning American author known for her young adult fiction, with a career spanning over 25 years. Her novels often explored themes of family, identity, and belonging, frequently featuring heroines who find their place in the world by uncovering truths about their families and forming chosen connections. “I loved telling the story,” she once wrote, “because I really believed that families were made up of the people you wanted, not the people you were stuck with.”
Born with a passion for storytelling and literacy, she learned to read before starting school and recalled having to wait until she was six years old before being allowed her first library card. Throughout her career, she authored around 40 books, most under her own name but a few under the pseudonym T.J. Bradstreet.
Thesman published a wide range of novels for teens and middle-grade readers, including stand-alone works such as The Rain Catchers, Calling the Swan, and Cattail Moon, as well as series like The Whitney Cousins, The Birthday Girls, and The Elliott Cousins. Her lyrical style, emotional depth, and strong female characters earned her a loyal readership. Notable works like The Ornament Tree and In the House of the Queen’s Beasts remain particularly admired for their nuanced storytelling and emotional resonance.
She was a longtime resident of Washington state and an active member of The Authors Guild and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jean Thesman passed away in 2016 at the age of 86, leaving behind a significant legacy in young adult literature.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

1918: Bonnie has the chance to move in with her great aunt in Seattle after her mother dies, and ends up growing up in different circumstances than she expected. This book is...harmless, with the best parts the sweet unfulfilled love story betrayed by the dedication. A pleasant read of the Classic Girls of Children's Lit variety with a moral undertone despite it's recent publication date. It is too bad the author's strongest bits seem to be reimaginings of stories she heard, because she drops in some history (birth control advocates, the general strike, women attending college) that she does minimal amounts with but which might have added punch to a longer version of the story.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my favorites growing up and I recently rediscovered it. Why isn't this more well known? Its a YA novel about a girl in 1920's Seattle who goes to live with suffragette aunts in a boarding house filled with quirky characters. Add in a dose of feminist and class issues, the Spanish Influenza, and a really sweet "sort of" love story with an embittered and disabled young WWI veteran, and you've got yourself a little gem of a book

[mads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ - easy read, loved the history bits, loved mr. younger. just wish the ending was a little more

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent YA book set in 1920 in Seattle. Feminism, the labor movement, WWI, Spanish flu--lots of things going on in a period that isn't well-chronicled in historical fiction. I found the ending superb; the beginning a little slow. Oddly, the "ornament tree" metaphor is one of the weakest parts of the book. Excellent book for 7th/8th graders.

[Leisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my top 10 books. I could read this over and over and over again. It's about a girl who goes to live with her great aunt and she meets a very handsome blind.....go read it it's that good.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars for me.

I wanted to love this book. It begins in 1918 when WWI is almost over, and Bonnie is 14. She moves into relatives' house in Seattle. These women believe in education, women's suffrage, and work in a 'neighborhood house' (settlement house, I assume) supporting immigrant women. Yes! I was excited for Bonnie to learn about these things. There's also the 'Spanish flu' and strikes and the beginning of Prohibition. But all these fascinating events barely touch Bonnie. She doesn't participate in suffrage events or help other women. She does meet Mr. Younger, a new boarder, who is a blinded veteran, and only seven years older than she and they have some conversations that are sometimes pretty good.

But most of all, the story is so SLOW. The first half of the book covers about a month. It's more about the goings-on in the house than outside it. For instance, the cook quits because she's not being paid and none of the adult women in the house knows how to light the stove. The irony of them wanting independence (and helping other women) but not knowing how to take care of themselves is reiterated again and again.

Finally, at the halfway mark, time moves forward and the story picks up some. We end with Bonnie about to turn 16, making decisions about her future. So just when the story gets good, it ends.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

B. fiction, historical fiction, YA, early 20th c. post-WWII, suffrage, prohibition, Seattle, boarding house, from stash, keep

[Laura Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

I work in a library and found this. I enjoyed it very much, more for middle school age. About how we can love people and call them family even when they aren't blood related.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending made me so mad! Great book, wish it lasted longer.

[Nina {ᴡᴏʀᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ} · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The story line was simple and exciting in the conventional time period way. Bonnie is a sharp clever girl who's strength holds the story together. She is the life of the story.
I think what I loved the most of the story though was Jean Thesman's writing. The writing has to be entrancing and it was. I felt drawn into Bonnie's world.

The ending though not entirely satisfying leaves space for a sequel but I doubt even a sequel could be as good. The Ornament Tree is a beautiful book. Bonnie Shaster is a strong character despite the constant dealings she has with Carson Younger.

A book worth reading.

[Meridyforgot · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had the rare ability to hold my interest throughout the entire book. For once I didn't skip anything. It was entertaining and thought provoking. I would have given it five stars if it would have had a more satisfying ending. Not a bad ending, but it would have been considerate to at least have included a epilogue. Sigh. I wish there was a sequel.

Time out. I just found out that there was one. I'm much happier now. :)

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orphan girl moves to Seattle to live with well-educated female relatives struggling to run a bording house even though they can't cook, etc. Complicated relationships with family, borders, including a blind young man, and school mates. Bonnie realizes she needs to be more than "a proper lady" and eventually goes to medical school. Middle grade or Young Adult

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me of the American Girl books. I really liked it. Takes place in the 1920's. It's a story of a 16 year old girl who moves to her Grandma's house in Seattle when her mother dies. Her grandma runs a boarding house---- great stories about the boarders. Best part -- there's a sequel.

[Advie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not what I expected it to be. The read turned out even better. We are transformed by the author into an earlier time. The lives of several people mixed and mingled in this novel with part of the focus on a tree that grants wishes. Great read for all.

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thesman creates vivid characters that make events from 1918-1920 feel real and contemporary, rather than vague, obscure moments of history. I felt affection and admiration for Bonnie and all the Devereaux women.

[Alyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books when I was little. I read it over and over. I even wrote the author, telling her how much I loved it and asking about a sequel. I still have the letter she wrote me in return. She did end up writing a sequel years later.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good story, very well written. Funny and sad and triumphant. I would read more by this author. This book is very clean and proper, but there is a girl who finds herself pregnant and mention of prostitution. It's a YA book so just wanted to mention that.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. About a young learning what things in life are really important! A coming of age book for a 1920's teenager

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the spunk this young woman has - good historical fiction with lovely characters.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice easy read. Interesting historical info. Not sure if there is a sequel, it kinda left me hanging.

[Kyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overly plotted but sweet historical details of an old-timey Seattle.

[Iris Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My memory of this book is pretty vague, but I remember liking it a lot. :) Will have to re-read.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! I would have given it five stars had the ending been a little better and the if the sequel hadn't screwed up the story.

[Asenath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prequel to Tree of Bells. Reading that one first kind of ruined this book...and it's so sad...

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Line:

"Dear Elena,
I haven't heard from you since I came here to live with Aunt Suze, and I'm worried."

[Muriel]

I liked that it added some history into the story, and the main characters were interesting.