Jemmy

by Jon Hassler

Forced to quit school to take care of her motherless family, Jemmy Stott is befriended by a well-known painter and his wife who tell the young Chippewa girl that she has great potential as an artist

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

175 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1980

About the author

Jon Hassler was born in Minneapolis, but spent his formative years in the small Minnesota towns of Staples and Plainview, where he graduated from high school. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from St. John's University in 1955. While teaching English at three different Minnesota high schools, he received his Master of Arts degree in English from the University of North Dakota in 1960. He continued to teach at the high school level until 1965, when he began his collegiate teaching career: first at Bemidji State University, then Brainerd Community College (now called Central Lakes College), and finally at Saint John's, where he became the Writer-in-Residence in 1980.

During his high-school teaching years, Hassler married and fathered three children. His first marriage lasted 25 years. He had two more marriages; the last was to Gretchen Kresl Hassler.

In 1994, Hassler was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a disease similar to Parkinson's. It caused vision and speech problems, as well as difficulty walking, but he was able to continue writing. He was reported to have finished a novel just days before his death. Hassler died in 2008, at the age of 74, at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.[1]

The Jon Hassler Theater in Plainview, Minnesota, is named for him.

Reviews

[Becky Loader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hassler has written "Jemmy" for the young adult audience, and its story of a half Native/half white 17-year-old living near the reservation in northern Minnesota is graphic in its depiction of the harder side of life.

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A talented young Indian girl struggles to find her way out of poverty and ignorance to discover her identity as a woman, an artist and an Indian. She becomes friends with Otis and Ann Chapman who recognize and encourage her talent. Otis, himself, is a well-known painter. It's a joy to read a children's book by Jon Hassler, a talented regional author who has written several fine novels including Staggerford and Simon's Night.

[E.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really quite enjoyed this. It's not exceptionally special but it's a lovely story that manages to avoid cliche in either its depiction of Native Americans or in terms of storyline.

There's the familiar elements of life on the border of a reservation (alcoholism, poverty) but the additional perspective of a mixed family and the experience of being seen as 'half-breed'. There's room for more than one answer as the characters try to find a way in life.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quick read. I’ve been reading several Native American novels lately. This one seems to have a low reading level but more high interest for high school level kids. I found it interesting with the setting being in Minnesota mostly during winter months.

[Melle]

LOL! Jemmy...
Okay, well, we read this book in middle school and our teacher told the whole class that I reminded him of Jemmy.

[Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teen-age.

[Agnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jemmy is considered adolescent literature, but I have read it several times before, and I love it. Jon Hassler creates characters that are so real, it seems like I must know them.