Midwife's Apprentice By Karen Cushman

Have you ever wondered how your life would be if you had no one to took care of you, had nothing, lived in the streets and other places, or you didn't know how to read or write? Well the book, “Midwife’s Apprentice” by Karen Cushman is about a orphan girl who has to try her best to survive in the cold world without any help. Brat is a discouraged, smart, and a responsible girl. At the beginning of the book, Brat is a lonely orphan who doesn't have a shelter or someone to care for her so she has to survive on her own by sometimes stealing food, helping out others in exchange for being able to sleep on the stable floor, and sleeping in dung heep. But, as the book goes on Alyce becomes more confident in herself. Finally, at the end of the book

She is discouraged because she doesn’t expect anything to change she felt like she will be lonely, cold, and hungry for ever. When she went to sleep she said that every night she falls asleep but doesn't dream because she knows nothing will ever change and dreams won't help her. The text states, “Tonight she settled for the warm rotting of a dung heap, where she dreamed of nothing, for she hoped for nothing, and expected nothing.” Alyce as each day passed, she became more and more discouraged she felt like she won't be able to change a thing or that the pain won't ever leave. For example, in the text it states that, “She knew only that hunger and cold cursed her life and kept her waking and walking and working for no other reason than to stop the pain.” She doesn't know what to do other than live with the pain she feels

Alyce also gets revenge on everyone who ever was mean to her. In the middle of the story Alyce is smart. The text states that, “After the departing villagers passed the river, at a spot where the water ran swift and deep, Alyce stepped out of the woods. She took something from under her skirt, threw it into the river, and followed the crowd home.” Alyce pretended to be the “devil” who catches all the people who made her feel sad and got them to be punished. Another smart thing Alyce did was she helped Will Russett's cow Tansy give birth to twins. The text states, “Alyce sang and rubbed, calling the cow Sweetheart and Good Old Girl as she heard Will do, and the boy pushed and pulled and worked hard as the cow.” That showed that Alyce contributed to helping the cow give birth even though she didn't know how to help a cow give birth she figured it out with