Justice for Emily

Nobody's Daughter #2

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Emily Hasbrouck saw her 11-year-old friend die, and she knows the people responsible. But nobody will believe her because she is an orphan living on the goodwill of the townspeople, while the girls she accuses are the daughters of the richest men in town. Emily is determined to speak the truth. She refuses to let her friend's death be called an accident, even if it means she'll be sent to live in a poorhouse. Reaching out to Emily are a few people who believe her, and with their help Emily must tell--in front of the powerful men who want to send her away--what really happened.

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Susan Beth Pfeffer was an American author best known for young adult and science fiction. After writing for 35 years, she received wider notice for her series of post-apocalyptic novels, officially titled "The Life as We Knew It Series", but often called "The Last Survivors" or "Moon Crash" series, some of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Leigh Teale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a difficult book, not because of big words or twisted plots, but because it was wholly unlike other children's books I've read or reviewed. There is no fantastical element to make the danger easier to bear. There is no guarantee in the summary that there will be a happy ending. As a matter of fact, for a large chunk of the book I was pretty sure there wouldn't be--at least, not a conventionally happy ending. Children are cruel, as we all know (and if you don't know then you might be the reason the rest of us know), and life is unfair. Sometimes adults are cruel, too. And in this story, nobody knows all of those facts quite as sharply as poor Emily Hasbrouck. She is treated unfairly because she is an orphan. She is slandered by those that think they're better than her. Her best friend is murdered before her eyes (even if it was accidentally) simply because she refused to be "put in her place" by the rich girls. Then, because she witnessed the murder, the whole town turns against her. The girls spread lies that she and the dead girl were to blame for what happened and were the real villains in the tableaux. All put a handful of people in the entire town turn against her. She is beaten, she is stripped of good access to an education, she is verbally abused, cruel pranks are pulled on her. Even the police turn against her because one of the girls involved is the mayor's daughter. It's heartbreaking all the way up until the very last chapter. It's a book that should have taken me two hours to read, but it took me two days. Still, I feel it's an important book. It shows kids that they must stand up for what's right, even if it makes life harder. Popularity and money aren't everything, but how you live your principles is.

[Shoshana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Susan Beth Pfeffer and I like Emily. I like that Pfeffer stays very true to Emily's character through this book. I like that I read Justice for Emily over a decade ago without knowing there was a prequel and liked it then, and that I read it over a decade later having just read the prequel and liked it now. It's old fashioned, but it stands up.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is okay, though a trifle heavy-handed. I like the way it ties up so many loose ends from the first book, without feeling rushed.