First person narration is pretty much the best of times and the worst of times, all rolled into one. On the one hand, because Mattie's telling us her own story, in her own words, we become pretty f...

A widower of indeterminate age, Pa has one son and four daughters. Unfortunately, Lawton, his son, abandoned the Gokey farm to seek his fortune on the river. Pa had a happy life when his wife was a...

Young and vibrant, Emily Wilcox provides a physical example of what and who Mattie could become: a writer, a teacher, and a role model for other girls. But because of Mattie's conflicting tensions,...

The second son of Frank Loomis, Royal is a little older than Mattie and the resident hottie in Eagle Bay. He's got one passion—farming—and can talk about it for hours. Oh, BabyOkay, we get that...

Abby GokeyAbby is two years younger than Mattie, and a much needed calming presence in the Gokey household; Mattie thinks that of the four girls, Abby is the most like their mother. And of all the...