Diary of a Waitress: The Not-So-Glamorous Life of a Harvey Girl

Reviewed by: Cidney Mayes - Wells Public Library, Wells, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 11, 2015

Review

After finding out that her family does not have enough money to send both her and her older bother to college, seventeen year-old Kitty takes a job as Harvey Girl even though she is a year too young for the position. As a Harvey Girl, Kitty is trained to provide excellent service as a waitress in the Harvey restaurants, a chain of dining establishments that served railway customers from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. After a month of training, Kitty is selected to go on and serve at a Harvey House in Belen, New Mexico. With aspirations to become a writer, Kitty begins selling her writing to the local newspaper and chronicles her time as a Harvey Girl through her journal. Readers who enjoyed the Dear America and Royal Diaries series, but are ready to move on to other fiction, will also enjoy Meyer's latest novel. Other readers may quickly lose interest, as the plot is slow and Kitty's descriptions are very involved. Period photographs accompanied by Kitty's diary entries provide a sense of time and place for the reader, and paint a vivid picture of the late 1920's. A good addition to collections where historical fiction is popular.

Overall Book Score: good