This book is so old that we didn't even have a copy of it in our entire Mesa Public Library system. The copy I listened to was on loan from Tumwater, Washington.

And I think it's like the Energizer Bunny. It keeps going, and going, and going! At one point it took a huge jump and I was shocked! Thought I'd missed something! What happened?

This is the story of a beautiful child, daughter of a beautiful mother, told all her life that being beautiful is the most important thing. If you are not beautiful, people will not love you. She lived her British life as she had been taught, and it was a life lacking substance. Her misadventures take her to America, to the southern states, where she meets people who do not pamper her. Desperate to make herself beautiful for them, she cannot understnd the society into which she is thrown. In spite of all she does, nobody seems to love her.

Our heroine has to grow up, quit relying on others and take responsibility for her own life. It's a long and difficult process. The characters she meets along her journey complicate her life. She learns to be loyal and trustworthy. She challenges those around her, and in the end, she creates a life that makes her happy and fulfilled.

This book is fast-moving. I love all the supporting characters. Very complex but entertaining story!