How It Happened

This is a tender early 20th-century portrait of Carmencita, a spirited young girl navigating life after her mother's death. She lives in modest circumstances with her blind father, their home haunted by poverty and grief. When Carmencita destroys her mother's gaudy hat, a gift that represents everything ugly and constraining in her life, she commits to breaking free from the limitations that have shaped her childhood. Her vivacious personality emerges through her conversations with herself, her dancing, and her fervent prayers for better fortune. Christmas brings new hope, and readers witness her loving bond with her father and her blossoming dreams for something more. Bosher captures the universal ache of childhood longing, the resilience required to survive loss, and the fierce determination to find beauty despite hardship.