And while Katherine does travel far and have many adventures, there is more introspection than action. Readers learn of her hopes and dreams, her insecurities and her strengths. Largely, though, this is the story of a young woman who goes against the customs of her time. There are a number of period details, especially about the role of women the clothing of the day and of Chicago, Washington, and Richmond as they looked then. Although this story is set as the Civil War is ending, it is more of a character study than a historical novel. She discovers, however, that she can be self-sufficient despite the conventional wisdom of the day. Throughout her travels, Katherine is told that she needs a husband and family. Still, she then takes a job with an unscrupulous Scrooge-like man. On the way she is robbed and learns that not everyone can be trusted. Too proud to return home, she decides to go to Richmond, VA, to return Edith's suitcase. She becomes homesick very quickly, but her parents write that their home is now closed to her because she has betrayed them by leaving. In the big city, Katherine takes a job as a seamstress, and on a whim, assumes the name on the suitcase as her own. In 1865 when she is 16, she leaves her Wisconsin home, makes her way to Chicago, and finds a lost suitcase bearing the name of Edith Shay. Grade 6-8-Katherine Lunden has always longed to go to faraway places.
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