bookgirl4ever 's review for:

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

4.0

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Homeless Alyce, aka Beetle, aka dung heap girl, is taken in by the village midwife. She does many gross, menial tasks for the midwife, learning nothing of the trade, until one day the midwife loses hope over one birth and decides to go help out at another. She tells Alyce to stay behind and watch over the mom. Alyce miraculously births the babe. After this she decides to spy on her mentor to learn all she can about the art, which includes strange rituals and herbal remedies that don't make much sense. When called upon to deliver another baby, Alyce thinks she is prepared but is unable to follow through and has to enlist the help of the real midwife to finish. Feeling useless and dumb, Alyce runs away. It is while she is away that she is able to recognize that she is not useless, nor dumb, but needs to persevere to fulfill what she determines to be her calling in life.

Loved the prose.

JHS