About This Book
Boston Jane: An Adventure introduces readers to Jane Peck, a 16-year-old Philadelphia debutante sent to the Washington Territory in 1855 for an arranged marriage. When her maid dies and her fiancé abandons her, Jane must learn to survive in a rough frontier settlement. The story skillfully weaves between Jane's past, revealing her struggle with societal expectations, and her present, where she forms unlikely friendships with settlers and the Chinook people. It explores themes of identity, resilience, cultural exchange, and finding one's place in a challenging new world, culminating in Jane's powerful transformation.
The arrival from Philadelphia of her spiteful nemesis Sally Biddle and the return of her corrupt ex-fiance William Baldt spell trouble for seventeen-year-old Miss Jane Peck, who has survived on her own in Shoalwater Bay, a community of white settlers
Concepts
Self-Confidence & IdentityResilience & PerseveranceFreedom & IndependenceLoneliness & BelongingEmpathy & KindnessLove & FamilySadness & GriefFriendship & LoyaltyJustice & FairnessCuriosity & WonderGood vs. EvilGrowing UpBeing DifferentMaking FriendsCultural IdentityDeath of a Loved OneSurvival & WildernessCooking & Food
Character Death
peril_danger
illness
abandonment
Discussion Prompts
1
How does Jane change throughout her journey? What events contribute most to her transformation?
2
What challenges did settlers and Native Americans face in the Washington Territory in 1855?
3
How does Jane's understanding of "manners" and "proper" behavior evolve? Do you think her father's advice was helpful?
4
Discuss the relationships Jane forms with the Chinook people. What does she learn from them?
5
What does the name "Boston Jane" signify, both to the Chinook and to Jane herself?
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