Caribella
By Phillis Gershator
Is this a Cinderella story?
Caribel’s stepmother treats her cruelly. But in Caribel’s story, there are also people who care for her: an uncle, who is now her pen pal; a spritely old lady who lives hidden away in the bush; and a devoted school teacher. Caribel hopes that someday she’ll become a real, “inside” member of her family, if only she can be good enough. She tries her best. She does her chores. She wins the school spelling bee. But what does good enough mean? Can she be good and keep secrets, too? Or speak her mind? Or break a promise? Or, when the time comes, save her own life?