Title: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

Author: Kate Douglas Wiggin

Pages/Format: 327/e-book

What I Thought: Rebecca Randall goes to live with her two aunts, Jane and Miranda, in order to help out her family.  She lived on the family farm, but the family was poor because of the family falling on some hard times.  Rebecca’s father had been dead for 3 years at the beginning of the novel, the farm itself was being mortgaged, and Rebecca’s mom had trouble feeding the entire family (Rebecca, her 6 siblings and the mom). 

Rebecca was sent to live with her aunts so that there would be one less mouth to feed, and so that she would get the chance to improve her life.

Along the way Rebecca meets characters like Emma Jane, Jeremiah and Sarah Cobb, and Adam (or Mr Aladdin as Rebecca calls him).  She goes to school, with a talent for writing, and does very well in her English classes, going on to graduate from high school. 

I love how imaginative and creative Rebecca is, despite the fact that she comes from an impoverished background.  She’s also high-spirited, which is something that stays with her, even as she matures into a young woman. 

She tries to please her aunt Miranda, and wants her approval, but still finds it hard to live up to her aunt’s high standards.  Rebecca does brighten aunt Jane’s life because of her curiousity and because of her liveliness.  Both Jane and Miranda do their best to make sure Rebecca becomes a proper young woman by teaching her how to sew and cook, as well as other household skills. 

In the end, it seems like Miranda is fond of Rebecca, at least to a degree, because when Miranda dies, she leaves the house to Rebecca.  Because of Miranda’s will, Rebecca can be independent and help out her family.       

Rating: 4 out of 5.  It was a great book, and it was nice to see how Rebecca changed over time, and yet still was an imaginative and spirited person.