Jacob Have I Loved

Title: Jacob Have I Loved
Author: Katherine Paterson
ISBN: 0064403688

Plot Summary: Louise Bradshaw is a young woman growing up in the Chesapeake Bay area during the Second World War. Her twin sister, Caroline, has always been her parents' favorite: prettier, more talented, and initially in poorer health after their birth, which has garnered her far more attention throughout her life. Caroline, although never intentionally cruel to her sister, takes from Louise everything she wants in life. When Louise gets the opportunity to leave her small community and build her own future, a large part of this will be learning how to develop her own identity, separate from that of her sister.

Critical Evaluation: This book paints a masterful picture of the complex and troubling nature of sibling rivalry, going so far as to reference God's preference for Jacob over Esau as one of the earliest examples of one child being preferred over the other. It also captures the period and dialect of its specific era and location very well, grounding its universal story in a highly specific milieu. Louise undergoes a number of humiliations in the book - losing her best friend to her sister, having her song competition entry rejected via form letter, even being discouraged from becoming a doctor because of her gender. However, the book's strength lies in letting Louise come to the gradual realization that although she has not been given the same preference as her sister, her strength will lie in finding her own voice, life, and purpose.

Reader's Annotation: It's hard for Louise growing up in the Chesapeake Bay area during World War II: times are hard financially, she feels trapped in small-town life, and worst of all, her beautiful, talented sister Caroline seems determined to steal away all the love and attention Louise feels she deserves. How will she get out from under her sister's shadow and find her own way in life?

About the Author: Katherine Paterson was born in Jiangsu, China in 1932 to missionary parents, and lived there until 1937, when the Japanese invasion of China forced the family to emigrate, first to Virginia and then, after a brief return to China, to North Carolina. She graduated with highest honors from King College in Tennessee with an English degree, subsequently earning two master's degrees, in Bible and Christian Education and Religious Education, respectively. She lived in Japan for four years doing missionary work. Upon her return to the United States, she met and married the Reverend John Paterson, with whom she had four children, two of whom were adopted. She has written numerous novels for young adults, and currently lives in Vermont with her husband.

Genre: Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Sex Education, American History

Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: Louise, as a midwife, assists at the birth of twins, one of whom is in poor health. She saves the sickly child, but reminds the parents not to neglect the other child.
Approach: Scene-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Discuss how Louise's own experiences growing up inform her choices in this scene. She "never gave her parents a moment's trouble," but this came at the expense of their extra love and attention. Caroline was breast-fed for health reasons while Louise "[grew] fat on tinned milk." Just because a child doesn't need extra help doesn't mean they can be safely ignored. Does the message get through to the new parents? Is Louise projecting her own sibling rivalry onto the situation, or is she motivated by genuine concern? Discuss the extent to which both of these could be true.

Hook: Louise is jealous of Caroline - but how does Caroline feel about her?
Approach: Character-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Is the sisters' rivalry one-sided? Caroline gives her sister an unflattering nickname, frequently teases her, and positively glories in the spotlight. Is any of this conscious on her part? She doesn't really have to think about anyone else's feelings, but she doesn't appear to actively hate her sister - is it just thoughtlessness, or is there something else at work? The grandmother notices Louise's envy, mocks her with the biblical passage implying God loves her sister better. Does this make Louise feel that there is no hope for her to get out from under her sister's shadow, or is it the catalyst she needs to stop defining herself in relation to her family's terms?

Reading Level/Interest Age: Middle/High School

Challenge Issues: Unsuited to age group. Although this book has no explicit sexual content or offensive language, it does present the protagonist in a number of adult situations: getting her period for the first time, getting married and having her own child, assisting at a birth. As Louise makes the transition from girlhood to adulthood, she undergoes experiences that some might find too "mature" for young readers. To these people, I would respond that this book is a valuable resource to any young person, especially a girl, undergoing issues with their own identity in relation to their siblings, and shows that in terms of discovering one's own identity, there is indeed a light at the end of the tunnel. The fact that this tunnel opens out onto adulthood is no accident; often, it takes people until then to learn how to deal with the injustices, real or perceived, of childhood. As such, I would encourage parents, especially those with daughters, not only to let their children read this book, but to read it with them and discuss the issues it raises.

Why I Chose This Book: This book struck a strong chord with me as a young adult, when I first read it. Any person with siblings, and particularly girls with sisters, can recall at least one occasion during which they felt others preferred the sibling over them, or that they were in some way short-changed. At the time, I waited throughout the book for Louise to finally tell off her parents for giving Caroline preferential treatment for so many years. However, when this denouement finally came, the book proved to me not only that the parents' treatment wasn't intentional