And the one day, the opportunity to prove herself comes along. One of the highly respected ladies of the village goes into labor, and the girl delivers the baby without the help of the midwife. Her heart is filled with unimaginable happiness. But this moment of joy is short lived. Soon, another opportunity - identical to the pervious one - comes along. Again she is filled with emotion but this time of the saddest and most bitter kind. The girl feels as if her life is over. What little dignity she had earned within the village was now gone in a blink of an eye. She knows she can not stay in a village where every body despises her, so she runs far away, planning to start a new life where no one has ever heard of her failure. While trying to forget all her dearest memories and friends, she finds that running away brought a misery far worse than living with her failure would have been. Within herself, and with the help of friendly advice, she finds the strength to renew the life she had loved so much before. But most importantly, she determines "I will keep trying and trying and I will never give up" (page 118).
Some of the best things about this book are the characters. Karen Cushman really brings to life the people and places in this book. Every one has their own little ways of dealing with things and the characters range from a shy beggar girl to a ruthless penny - pinching midwife to a kind hearted farm boy who helps the girl remember her dreams. Even if you have the most unique characteristics, you will be able to identify with some one in this book. This book should be read by any one of any age.