When the story opens, Gertrude or Gerty is an eight-year-old orphaned girl in Boston, MA, who is being raised by a mean widow named Nan Grant, whose late husband Ben was a sailor and whose son Stephen is a scoundrel. Gerty finds a kitten to be her pet, but Nan kills it and then throws the sick littl

I just read through this one again and remembered how much I loved it. The plot was deeper and wider than I remembered from last time, and the characters were so awesome, especially Willie, Trueman Flint, and younger Gertie.) I could hear all the voices that dad gave them when he read it aloud all t

This is a beautiful story that follows Gerty's life and its many twists and turns with the childhood of poverty, girlhood of opportunity, and womanhood of uncertainty. The characters are beautiful, the writing is high quality, and the plot is surprising yet satisfying. This is a classic not to be mi

Going in, I expected this book to be a lot more about Gerty as a little girl than as a young woman. I was a little disappointed that we skipped over so many important formative years--although by the end, I agree that the story didn't need to be stretched out any longer than it was! However, I appre

Another one of my favorite period pieces. I have read it numerous times and listened to it read aloud. This story is one I will treasure always and hope to pass on to my children someday.