by Irene Hunt
Seven-year-old Julie Trelling arrives at her Aunt Cordelia's remote farmhouse clutching her few belongings. Her mother has died, and her father cannot care for her and her baby sister alone. Aunt Cordelia runs a strict household where books matter more than sympathy and proper behavior earns respect. Julie struggles with her new life among unfamiliar relatives and the one-room schoolhouse down the dirt road. She faces the cruelty of other children, the weight of family secrets, and her own mistakes that hurt people she grows to love. As years pass, Julie learns hard lessons about forgiveness, responsibility, and finding her place in a world that shifted beneath her feet. The girl who once felt abandoned discovers strength in the very isolation that first frightened her.
Genres: fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Aunt Cordelia's Farmhouse
Period: 20th Century