The Lace Dowry

Juli hasn't thought much about the future, but suddenly at her mother's urging she must think about it. Juli's mother has been saving money for her daughter's dowry for twelve years. She wants to offer Juli everything she didn't have - a dowry and dance lessons and the perfect shoes. Juli doesn't want a dowry. It's 1936 for goodness sake, no one needs a dowry anymore. Besides Juli is only twelve and she's not ever getting married if she can help it. She'll do something more exciting - she'll become a scientist or an explorer like admiral Byrd. But Juli's mother is determined, so the family sets off on the train to Kiskunhalas, a small village outside of Budapest. Juli will not have an ordinary dowry, "Because," her mother says "you are not an ordinary girl." Reluctantly Juli goes on the train. When they arrive she meets Roza, a girl who can't read or write, but who knows how to make some of the finest lace in the world. The two girls become fast friends drawn together by the vast differences between their lives and the kittens in the barn.Soon, Juli is begging to go along with her mother to visit lace makers. Between school and dancing lessons and trips to visit Roza, Juli searches within for a solid sense of self to hold up before her overbearing mother. Her emerging identity is sharply defined by her new friendship with Roza, her growing understanding of her mother, and her own notions of who she will become. The Lace Dowry is a story rich with history and a sense of place.


Genre: Young Adult Fiction