Eloise of Westhaven: Not Just a Kid by jean Archambault-White is a coming of age narrative that celebrates the values of perseverance, faith, and integrity.
The beginnings of young adult fiction can be traced to Susan Eloise Hinton and her 1967 classic The Outsiders. For the first time, the realities of adolescent life are highlighted in a fiction novel. Soon after, darker, more serious themes such as rape, suicide, death, and personality crisis were the subject of the 1980s novels. Several of these books would become best-sellers and some even gained cult status worldwide. It would eventually evolve into many sub-genres like fantasy, adult mystery, adventure, and romance novels to name a few. Young adult fiction would be the platform for creating a soft transition from children’s fantasy books to works that would introduce them to life’s realities.
Eloise of Westhaven: Not Just a Kid
Eloise of Westhaven: Not Just a Kid is a coming of age young adult fiction by Jean Archambault-White. It follows the story of a young orphan named Eloise Jackson. Jackson lost her entire family after a series of misfortunes. Eloise is taken in by the Cravits, a loving family who treated Eloise as one of their own. Eloise then starts to rebuild her life using her wits, charm, and remarkable work ethic. In order to survive, she worked as a nanny of the wealthy mayor’s children. The mayor’s children are mischievous at first and they always give Eloise a hard time. One day, Eloise overhears a secret plan by a gang of outlaws who plan to rob the mayor’s house. Eloise must then use her wits and determination in order to thwart the thieves’ dark plans.
Other Works by Archambault-White
Simple Faith
In 2007, Jean Archambault-White published Simple Faith. Simple Faith is a spiritual book that talks about faith and devotion to God. It is a simple handbook that encourages readers to go on a spiritual journey through the Word of God. Simple Faith also serves as a semi-biographical book written to inspire others to examine their faith, their relationship with God, as well as their purpose in life. It is a testimony of Jean Archambault-White’s personal journey of faith.
Just like many young adult fiction novels, Jean Archambault-White’s play with the adolescent themes of friendship, adventure, finding, and building one’s character and values. Young adult novels often highlight a specific challenge of growing up. Eloise of Westhaven: Not Just a Kid, in particular, features the narrative of overcoming a tragedy and rebuilding one’s life in the hope of finding one’s place in the world while holding on to moral values and memories. Jean Archambault-White’s Eloise of Westhaven is reminiscent of the classics Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna.
Eloise of Westhaven: Love is Patient
Eloise of Westhaven serves as the sequel to the first volume, Eloise of Westhaven: Not Just a Kid. It follows a grown-up Eloise Jackson now settling into her new position- governess to the mayor’s two children- Elizabeth and Buck, as she continues to win the hearts of the children. Set during the period of economic growth of the American West, Eloise is learning more about life and is about to move into a new chapter with her engagement to David Cravits. The book highlights Eloise’s undying faith to God and to the people who have been a part of her journey since she became an orphan. Jean Archambault-White’s second volume of the Eloise Jackson journey is filled with gratitude, values, inspiration, and faith in life and in God.
About Jean Archambault-White
Jean Archambault-White is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Young Jean started writing at age fourteen and was first published at age fifteen. Jean Archambault-White has had over thirty years of experience in writing and editing multiple genres. She has published a total of four books and is now working on a fifth book. Apart from being a writer, Jean Archambault-White also has a background in the creative arts (writing, directing, and acting).