Gap Year: Can I Fit in My Daughter’s Backpack?

My daughter Julie has worn backpacks since preschool days. The early ones were festooned with cartoon characters and held minuscule amounts of stuff (small backs can only tote so much, after all). In elementary school she graduated to sturdy packs from L.L. Bean with her monogram on them; these were so pricey that they were made to last until they were in tatters.

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The beginning of middle school and high school warranted the purch...