This book was very, very good! I received this as a gift from my aunt, who was an english teacher. This book takes place in 1906 in a rural area. The main character, Mattie, lives with her dad and three sisters and wants to go to college, but doesn't have much money. That is the base of the entire plot. I really liked the time period it took place in because it made the book so much more interesting. I saw all of the differences between their society and ours, which was quite entertaining. One of the differences that I really enjoyed reading was the difference in prices. A composition book was 45 cents and when Mattie had 60 cents leftover that she didn't give her dad, it was a huge deal. I thought it was funny. Also, at this time, cars were just invented and very, very few people in their town had one. Everybody rides their horse or donkey. Mattie was amazed and scared to get into her teacher's car, which was also funny too. I also noticed some similarities. Mattie is like girls in many shows, movies and books today. She is stuck in a life she is not very fond of and wants to do something great. Also, she is a girl in a not very education-promoting family and wants to do something educational with her life and future. I liked how I could compare her to characters I know in today's society. Overall, this book was very good and I am looking forward to reading the other books I got by this author.
