In 1900, a shy girl named Eleanor Dallas walks into her first day of school with a nickname her family gave her: Dimple. She can't recite in front of her classmates without her heart hammering, and the world of school feels vast and frightening. But kind Miss Reese sees something in this trembling child and gently helps her find her footing among new friends. Dimple's world expands beyond her family's orbit, filled with the ordinary miracles of childhood: the terror of public speaking, the complicated loyalties of friendship, the friction of cousin Donald, and the steady comfort of her beloved Bubbles, the colored maid who has raised her. This is a book about the small, fierce battles of growing up, where a child's self-discovery unfolds through the quiet kindness of teachers, the messiness of family, and the courage it takes to simply belong.
