Summer 1900s. A young girl named Dorothy boards the Mary Powell for a voyage down the Hudson River with her teacher and friends, and the adventure she finds is nothing like the quiet vacation she expected. When a suspicious stranger catches her eye, Dorothy's impulsive nature kicks in she chases the "shiny man" through the bustling streets of New York City and lands herself thoroughly, spectacularly lost. Along the way, she meets Alfaretta, a mountain girl whose spontaneous decision to join the journey adds another layer of unpredictability to the trip. Raymond captures something precious about early twentieth-century youth: the boundless energy, the fearless optimism, the friendships forged in excitement and mishap alike. This is a book for readers who want to step back into a gentler era of adventure stories, where children roam freely and summer trips yield genuine transformation.
