Our Only May Amelia

Jennifer L. Holm’s novel Our Only May Amelia (2001), a recipient of the Newbery Award, tells the story of a Finnish family that has settled on the Nasel River in Washington State. May Amelia is the only daughter in a family of eight children and the only girl among the Finnish families on the Nasel. For this reason, May Amelia tends to dress and play like a boy and to get into just as much trouble as her brothers, if not more. Throughout the course of the novel, May Amelia struggles to figure out where she belongs and her role within her family.

May Amelia has seven brothers who are all older than her. On her twelfth birthday, she decides to run away after an argument with her father over an impromptu trip to Armstrong's logging camp. Her favorite brother, Wilber, goes after her and convinces her to come home. May Amelia believes that her father does not love her because he is constantly harping on her bad behavior. At home, May Amelia finds her favorite aunts and uncle waiting for her. One of her aunts gives May Amelia a store-bought doll for her birthday; it is the fanciest gift she has ever received.

May Amelia’s Aunt Alice returns to Astoria, and she is allowed to go along with three of her brothers in order to help with the shopping for her pregnant mother. At Aunt Alice's, May Amelia admires her aunt's fancy belongings and decadent food. May Amelia finds that she enjoys being in the city; she is especially intrigued by the unique mix of people she sees on the streets. She feels that city life is a lot more exciting than what she is used to back home. When May Amelia returns home, there is excitement when one of the sheep breaks its back. Her brother, Isaiah, has named all the sheep after their neighbors and everyone mistakes his emergency call for the sheep as one for a neighbor's mother.

A short time later, Kaarlo, May Amelia's cousin who has been raised as her brother for the last seven years, learns that his family has died in an epidemic. Kaarlo runs away for a short time, but May Amelia talks him into coming home despite the fact that they have never really gotten along. Not long after Kaarlo returns to the family, Grandmother Patience comes to live with them. Grandmother Patience is a cruel, impatient woman who has a particular dislike for May Amelia. Grandmother Patience hits May Amelia when she believes she is being improper. One night, after May Amelia refuses to give in to her unfair commands, Grandmother Patience breaks her doll.

May Amelia's mother gives birth suddenly one cold morning on the way home from church. Her mother becomes ill afterward, suffering from a fever that leaves her unable to care for the infant. May Amelia is given the responsibility of caring for the infant, and she names her Amy Alice. Grandmother Patience insists that May Amelia is not a fit mother for the child, but everyone else believes that May Amelia is doing a good job. In fact, May Amelia has restructured her whole existence around the baby. Therefore, when the infant dies in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve, May Amelia is devastated. Grandmother Patience points to the incident as evidence of May Amelia’s incompetence, blaming her for the death of the child.

May Amelia runs away to Astoria and moves in with her aunt and uncle. May Amelia stays in the city all winter, making new friends. She even allows her Aunt Alice to make her a dress so she can attend a dance. However, May Amelia is bored by the dance and sneaks away to spend the evening with another friend. Not long afterward, May Amelia's father sends word that Grandmother Patience has died from scarlet fever and her brother Wendell is suffering from the illness as well. May Amelia finally agrees to return home, where she nurses her brother back to health.

When summer finally comes again, May Amelia has settled back in with her family. One afternoon, May Amelia plans to go swimming with Wilbert. Wilbert returns to the house to retrieve something, so May Amelia goes into the water without him. When she is in the middle of the river, Wilbert comes running, screaming that the logs are coming. May Amelia freezes for a moment. However, Wilbert gets May Amelia out of the water just in time. May Amelia is worried that she will get into trouble, but instead, her father, brothers, and mother are so relieved she is okay they smother her with affection.