On The Rails: The Adventures of Boxcar Bertie by Rosemary & Larry Mild – Book Tour (Review)

Synopsis:

Once again, authors Rosemary and Larry Mild bring you an exciting adventure, a fictional story of a young and frisky woman wrestling to survive life’s obstacles. On the Rails, a Boxcar Bertie Adventure takes you to a trying time and rich milieu no longer in existence.

What’s a woman to do? Bertie Patchet has just graduated from college in New Haven, Connecticut, to become a grammar school teacher. But the year is 1936, and the country is deep in the throes of The Great Depression. Securing employment is nearly impossible for everyone, let alone a single inexperienced female. Going home is an ugly option to be avoided. Bertie absolutely must get away, but travel without an income? Forget it!

Bertie dresses like a man and turns to hopping railway boxcars to make her escape to better opportunities. A female hobo? Unheard of! It’s a man’s world, so how can she maneuver in this male atmosphere fraught with risk, danger, and loss? Will she ever find a teaching job? And will she dare to find romance in the bargain?

About the Authors – Rosemary and Larry Mild

Rosemary and Larry Mild coauthored the Dan & Rivka Sherman Mysteries; the Paco and the Molly Mysteries; Hawaii adventure/thrillers Cry Ohana and Honolulu Heat; and four volumes of short stories, including their new one, Charlie and the Magic Jug and Other Stories. Many of their stories appear in anthologies. The Milds, a happy husband-and-wife team, make their home in Honolulu, where they cherish time with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren.

Website:  https://www.magicile.com/

My Review:

Historical? Romance? Adventure? Coming of Age? I simply can’t choose one genre to describe On The Rails. While this is true of many books with cross-genre writing, this one hits the target in all of the mentioned genres.

Set in 1930s Depression Era New Haven, CT, our main character Bertie Patchet has just received her teaching degree. As she waits to hear about a possible teaching position, she realizes that her uncomfortable family life has not changed since she left for school. With a drunken mother who is dependent on her abusive second husband, and with a stepfather that seeks to physically abuse her, Bertie sets out on her own to make a living. Nearly penniless, she decides to hop a train hobo-style and makes her first foray to the neighboring rail yards. What follows is the story of her adventures during that summer of 1936.

The plot of the story is unique. Up to that point in time there were no female hobos. Bertie (a.k.a. Bert) seems to have no trouble passing for a male youth and she makes several friends as she rides the rails. The story comes full circle when she returns to New Haven, gets her teaching position, and finds love along the way.

The style of writing is laid back and easy to read. A great escape into the past. Overall, I found On The Rails: The Adventures of Boxcar Bertie to be a light, engaging read.

Rating: 4 stars

You can find this book and others by the Milds at all major book retailers.

Follow On the Rails by Rosemary and Larry Mild

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