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Dear America

A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906

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From National Book Award-winning author Judy Blundell, a thrilling account of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.

When Minnie Bonner's father disappears after losing the Bonners' Philadelphia tavern, the wealthy gentleman Edward Sump, led by his avaricious wife, offers Minnie a chance to work as a lady's maid to support her family. The Sumps have grand plans, grander than the city of Philadelphia can offer, and decide to move to San Francisco--the greatest city in the west. But when a powerful earthquake strikes, Minnie finds herself the sole survivor among them. After the dust settles, Minnie discovers a bag belonging to the Sumps filled with cash and papers that could drastically change her fortune. With no one else to claim it, Minnie has turned into an heiress overnight.

Wealth comes at a price, however, and she is soon wrapped up in a deception that leads her down a dangerous path. As the aftermath of the earthquake ravages the city, Minnie continues to maintain her new identity. That is, until a mysterious but familiar stranger appears.

218 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2013

51 people are currently reading
1638 people want to read

About the author

Judy Blundell

13 books347 followers
A pseudonym used by Jude Watson.

Judy Blundell has written books for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers under several pseudonyms. Her novel, Premonitions, was an ALA Reluctant Readers Best Picks and was chosen by the New York Public Library as a 2004 Best Books for the Teen Age. Among her forthcoming projects is Book #4 in the New York Times bestselling series, The 39 Clues. Judy Blundell lives in Katonah, New York, with her husband and daughter.
2008 National Book Award winner for her YA novel What I Saw and How I Lied, Judy Blundell is well known to Star Wars fans by her pseudonym, Jude Watson.
What could be more fun than writing in your journal? Well, how about writing Queen Amidala's journal for her? Jude Watson is currently the most celebrated author in the prequel-era of the Star Wars phenomenon. She's no stranger to science fiction — her own series, entitled Danger.com, is a mystery series based on the Internet. Watson became involved with LucasBooks when an editor she had worked with in the past selected her to write Captive to Evil by Princess Leia Organa (Star Wars Journal). Since then Watson has penned the Star Wars Jedi Apprentice series as well as journals for Queen Amidala and Darth Maul.
Readers of the Queen Amidala journal become privy to all her top secrets such as why she applies her lipstick in such an odd manner and how she manages her two identities as Queen Amidala and as Padme. The book is a doorway to all her thoughts, fears and strategies for everything from dealing with droid blasts to negotiating with the less-than-trustworthy Neimoidians!
In Jude's series, Jedi Quest, she explores the world of the Jedi through Jedi Master Obiwan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker.
So how does Jude keep all the characters and events in order? Jude definitely relies on the movies and the folks at LucasBooks, and she has even used A Guide to the Star Wars Universe by Bill Slavicsek as a handy reference. Jude also credits the creative collaboration with Scholastic editor David Levithan and Lucas editors Jane Mason and Sarah Hines Stephens as being extremely helpful. On the Lucas editors, she comments, "They are also incredibly cool — not only do they know the Star Wars universe inside and out, they really urge writers to bring their own ideas to the table."
Although the books are written for children ranging from 9 to 13 years of age, Watson has found a large fan base with adults! That's not a surprise since the stories are not only timeless, but also universal.
From Scholastic.com

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5 stars
269 (29%)
4 stars
281 (30%)
3 stars
294 (31%)
2 stars
58 (6%)
1 star
20 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
Profile Image for Peyton Tracy.
134 reviews5 followers
May 7, 2021
This one falls into the same camp as Down the Rabbit Hole, but with a more traditional journaling style as well as a more captivating narrative. Our narrator actually spends the time to tell us what the experience of surviving a major disaster is like and participating in the work to save it as well as the boring, stressful downtime in between. The story amidst the chaos about losing her family’s tavern, widespread corruption, and navigating her father’s struggles with gambling was a struggle for me while reading it, because I didn’t have enough time to care about the stakes before they were put in front of me. But upon finishing the book, I appreciate that this kind of loss, strained relationship, and systemic problem being tucked into this already intense moment in history was somewhat impressive. An interesting addition to the series.
Profile Image for Kelsey Hanson.
938 reviews34 followers
December 13, 2015
UGH! This is proof that some things were better in the 90s. This is one of the "new" Dear America books and quite frankly I haven't liked any of them. Part of the problem is that they changed the format. Instead of simply telling the story of a the day-to-day life of a young girl in certain time periods, they're trying to take a story with a specific plot and force into a diary style. This really doesn't work for events like the San Francisco fire which only occurs over a few days.. and its during a time when it is very unlikely that someone would find time to write. If this were written simply as a children's novel without the Dear America element I think it would have been much more effective.
Profile Image for Jenny Clark.
3,225 reviews122 followers
March 26, 2017
Honestly, I really liked the older Dear Americas better. I would like to pick up one of the new editions of one of the originals just to compare. With the exception of Cannons At Dawn, these new diaries have been a little too plot driven, where the originals just followed day to day life. Like, this one could have started out the same, but then just dove into the aftermath of the great quake as it affected everyone, as it did mostly, instead of having the whole mistaken identity thing, and con men plot. I would not say it was bad, just different.
Profile Image for Drew.
458 reviews556 followers
August 24, 2016
My reaction when I read that "Judy Blundell" was a pseudonym for Jude Watson:

description

So. About the book.

Funny story: A few years ago, when I was around twelve, I was absolutely OBSESSED with the Dear America series; I tried to write my own Dear America book, and the historical moment I chose to write about was the San Francisco fire and earthquake.

Alas, I never finished that little story of mine. And, obviously, it wasn't nearly as good as Judy Blundell's.

I quite enjoyed this installment in the series. Minnie was an interesting character. I think the thing that most fascinated me, and what set it apart from the other books in the series, was the mystery about Minnie's father added alongside the plot.

I would have liked to read more details about the disaster itself. And I wanted SO much more of Minnie and Jake in the book.

It was a lot more laid back than some of the Dear America books, probably too much, considering the historical event of the fire and earthquake. I would've liked that part in the book to be a little more intense, thus more realistic.
Profile Image for Taylor.
76 reviews11 followers
Read
February 22, 2018
i thought it was an awesome book i had a lot of emotions when i read this
821 reviews3 followers
May 18, 2021
I’ve heard about the San Francisco earthquake and fire, but only just surface stuff. This gave me a bit of a bigger picture of just HOW destructive and devastating it was. I also found the narrative of Minnie becoming a maid subsequently being confused for Lily to be quite interesting and engaging. I know other reviewers don’t like how the narratives of the newer dear America’s are more in depth, but I liked this one, and the historical notes seem to show that there are many fine details the author made sure to include, which I appreciated.
Profile Image for Margo Tanenbaum.
823 reviews27 followers
May 6, 2013
Dear America is a go-to for historical fiction for young people, and the series keeps expanding with more titles by award-winning authors. One of the newest entries is by Judy Blundell, author of award-winning YA novel What I Saw and How I Lied, among others. In this novel, she presents the diary of a 14-year old Philadelphia girl, Minnie Bonner, the daughter of a French tavern owner who has deserted his wife and child. His wife sends her only daughter Minnie into service as a lady's maid for the young daughter of a rich family, the Sumps, who are moving to the great city of San Francisco.

As the reader can guess by the title, they arrive to a luxurious life in San Francisco just days before the earthquake strikes. Without giving away too much of the story, let's just say that in the immediate chaos after the great shock, Minnie finds herself confused for the Sumps' daughter, a great heiress, and confronted by moral dilemmas she never contemplated. As the disaster spreads into a firestorm that threatens the destroy the entire city of San Francisco, Minnie must decide who she is, who she wants to be, and what her destiny will be.

This is a real page turner for middle-grade readers. In the addition to the obvious excitement of the earthquake and its aftermath, Blundell adds a story of con men, political graft, and good and evil, personified by corrupt politicians and courageous firemen, among others. Although there is a female heroine, and this series is predominantly marketed to female readers, this novel, with its great sense of adventure, could easily appeal to boys as well. Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Ami.
42 reviews
July 17, 2014
This one was...weird. I'm used to the Dear America books from my childhood, which were usually less about adventure and more about history. It seems like most of the books in the relaunch are the opposite. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but it doesn't seem to fit the formula for me.

The earthquake that sparks most of the latter part of the story seems to be well researched, at least, but the story itself is just strange for a Dear America novel. I'm giving it three stars because if viewed as a diary-form novel and not specifically a Dear America one, it is an entertaining story. As realistic historical fiction, it seems a little far-fetched and not about an accessible, normal girl that the old books were about. Mostly, it's a story of mistaken identity, leading to Minnie's reluctant participation in a con game that is resolved all too quickly in the end.

The setup in the main story for the romance in the epilogue is a little strange, as well, in that it doesn't seem likely that things would progress in that way nine years later, but I suppose it's possible in the way a normal girl being mistaken for heiress and being drawn into a criminal plot is possible.

Basically, it's a decent book, even if it's not what I've come to expect from this series up to this point.
Profile Image for Nicole.
1,271 reviews11 followers
October 5, 2022
What happened to this series? It doesn’t surprise me that the relaunch didn’t last long- instead of being a snapshot of one normal person in history, it’s like a cheesy sort-of mystery drama that only exists in this story to make sure plot contrivances happen.

The book was really good at describing the horror of and right after the shake. There is a lot of well written building dread. The crawl of the fire and how it built up the tension around the characters well. Just as it was getting good, feeling like a real classic Dear America book, it completely jumps the shark. It goes off the rails very quickly. In fact, it gets more and more frustrating. It leaves what a good DA book should do and becomes melodrama that’s only partially about the historical setting.
Profile Image for Sara.
625 reviews3 followers
December 19, 2024
Reading all the Dear Americas and Royal Diaries (40/63)

Why do these later Dear Americas have to try and be exciting?? We don't need business intrigue - the earthquake is plenty of drama. And it's another that reads more novel than diary. Booooooo! It was a little better than the Chicago fire one at centering the actual historical event, at least.
46 reviews
October 3, 2022
I discovered something at that moment, diary. If you see enough destruction, if you feel helpless in the face of it, if you've been terrified enough times, there does come a moment when you cannot bear one more thing to be lost. I was tired of being afraid. Tired of moving away from the fire. I wanted to fight.

I will not pretend that nostalgia did not power this rating... Just a little.

I very fondly remember reading these books when I was in fifth and sixth grade. I've always been a history buff, so these books were a perfect fit for elementary aged me. This one is a newer one - definitely not one of the ones on the bookshelves of my school library. But, one of the prompts for the "Beat the Backlist" Challenge that I am doing this year was to read a book not aimed at my age group, and I felt like one of these books would fit perfectly. I've also been really fascinated with the San Francisco quake of 1906 over the last couple of weeks, so I thought that this would help scratch that itch as well.

And it was an absolutely fine read. Keeping in mind that it is very much not written for someone in her mid-twenties, this book was a great read. Sure, I didn't really feel like I could relate with Minnie, but I'm also a decade older than she is. Would I recommend it to someone else my age? Probably not. Would I recommend it to my cousin's kid who's 9? Absolutely.
Profile Image for Kallia Rinkel.
107 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2022
I discovered something at that moment, diary. If you see enough destruction, if you feel helpless in the face of it, if you've been terrified enough times, there does come a moment when you cannot bear one more thing to be lost. I was tired of being afraid. Tired of moving away from the fire. I wanted to fight.

I will not pretend that nostalgia did not power this rating... Just a little.

I very fondly remember reading these books when I was in fifth and sixth grade. I've always been a history buff, so these books were a perfect fit for elementary aged me. This one is a newer one - definitely not one of the ones on the bookshelves of my school library. But, one of the prompts for the "Beat the Backlist" Challenge that I am doing this year was to read a book not aimed at my age group, and I felt like one of these books would fit perfectly. I've also been really fascinated with the San Francisco quake of 1906 over the last couple of weeks, so I thought that this would help scratch that itch as well.

And it was an absolutely fine read. Keeping in mind that it is very much not written for someone in her mid-twenties, this book was a great read. Sure, I didn't really feel like I could relate with Minnie, but I'm also a decade older than she is. Would I recommend it to someone else my age? Probably not. Would I recommend it to my cousin's kid who's 9? Absolutely.
Profile Image for Kat Saunders.
310 reviews13 followers
November 25, 2024
I appreciated the plot twists in this one; while they aren't believable, this didn't feel as silly as the previous book in the series. I can tell how much research went into this, and the author paints a compelling portrait of one of the country's worst natural disasters.

A City Tossed and Broken read like a diary up until the fire happened, and then the framing stopped working. This is the case with almost every diary where a major event occurs (like the Titanic sinking or Pearl Harbor). However, the pacing was successful for the most part.

With so many books in the series, this one is just okay--not particularly memorable, but not terrible either. The dad is maybe the worst in the group by far (and that's saying a lot). The Sumps are the kind of 1%-ers you love to hate. I thought some of the characters like Andrew Jewell were half-baked though, and the story just kind of ended too quickly and neatly. There was also absolutely no reason to marry Minnie off to literally the only non-family, non-villain male character in the book, but it's the Dear America way, I guess, and at least he was age appropriate.
83 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2017
Dreadful. Listen, Dear America books don't need dramatic stories of intrigue and double-crossing and thieves and spies. The San Francisco earthquake is plenty dramatic enough on its own! Dragging all of that into this book weakens it severely, and it doesn't lend itself well to a diary-style novel anyhow. Compared to other Dear America and Dear Canada novels that cover tragic events with a much better tone, this one is worth leaving behind.

For my full recap and review including spoilers, check out Young Adult Historical Vault. https://yahistoricalvault.com/2016/11...
161 reviews2 followers
April 29, 2018
This is the Diary of Minnie Bonner who is living in Philadelphia Pennsylvania after her family loosing their tavern in a card game is forced to become a lady's maid for the Stump family. They are going to San Francisco,California to start new life. They go by train and Minnie is kept busy taking care of the needs of Lily Stump and her Mom.They arrive in San Francisco and all the servants have left to work for someone else and Minnie takes care of everything.The next day a earthquake hits San Francisco and it is a very terrible time for Minnie and everyone else as they deal with it.
Profile Image for LobsterQuadrille.
1,102 reviews
August 23, 2025
2.5 stars
A competent novel, but A City Tossed and Broken is yet another example of the DA reboots being afraid to lean into the diary format. I don't mind some of the diary books having a stronger plot direction, but this tried to do a little too much. I never felt immersed in the setting, and the mystery of Minnie trying to find out how her father was cheated was too much. The aftermath of the quake and Minnie's moral dilemma should have been plenty to work with.
Profile Image for Kim Gjerde.
Author 2 books9 followers
January 8, 2018
My daughter loves these Dear America books, so just for fun, I decided to read one to see what it was all about. I enjoyed it very much. It reads like a diary or a young teen girl. A historical fictional account of the 1906 San Fransisco earthquake which destroyed most of SF.
16 reviews
February 3, 2019
A city tossed and broken by Judy Blundell is a good book. I think it’s a good book because it’s about a girl who her family was poor. She had to become a maid so she can get money for her family. The book has 304 pages and it’s the one of the books of Dear America.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Drucilla.
2,670 reviews52 followers
May 30, 2020
Actual rating: 3.5 stars. This entry into the series was very exciting. Both the story and the disaster were done well. Blundell really did a great job intertwining a lot of historical details into the story.
Profile Image for Janis.
1,056 reviews4 followers
September 7, 2020
I like the books in the series that are based on an event rather than a concept. So many of them are about mistreating workers & forming a union. It was a nice break from that plot before I get back into it again in the shirtwaist factory.
12 reviews
December 31, 2020
I found that the story line was a bit fantastical to make it more exciting? I liked the historical elements of the story but it didn't seem to include as much as I have come to expect from the Dear America series i.e. what happened and how the residents dealt with the aftermath.
Profile Image for Remi Storm.
6 reviews
February 2, 2024
Excellent!

I have read several in this series, and while it wasn't my favorite, I did enjoy the uniqueness of the way she told this particular tale. I felt I was getting a bit of a story within a story and I loved it!
Profile Image for Katherine Kapellen.
85 reviews
July 25, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. I liked that the details made you feel like you were part of the story.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
254 reviews7 followers
March 23, 2018
It helps if you don't know the date of the San Francisco Earthquake. Interesting information and pictures at the back.
Profile Image for Darcie Saunier.
288 reviews3 followers
June 7, 2018
This was a good story for middle readers about the San Franciso earthquake with a little mystery thrown in to boot!
Profile Image for Dorkmissile.
59 reviews1 follower
June 9, 2018
I loved this book because it had a twist that we don’t normally see with this series. It felt like they went outside their normal boundaries for this one.
Profile Image for Diane.
1,391 reviews1 follower
October 23, 2018
A new maid experiences moving from Philadelphia to San Francisco, and being part of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.
1,135 reviews4 followers
April 10, 2019
I like the idea of these "Dear America" diaries. This was a fun, quick read. Thank you, Olivia, for suggesting it.
3 reviews5 followers
October 29, 2019
Actual rating closer to 3.5.
It was a pretty good book, but not that much "CAN'T PUT IT DOWN". It was a good time filling book, but that was about it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews

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