Helen Brewster, the 11 year old heroine of this Canadian story, is a shy, gangling, overly conscientious girl who lives...

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Helen Brewster, the 11 year old heroine of this Canadian story, is a shy, gangling, overly conscientious girl who lives alone with her widowed mother by the woods, and who is a misfit among the other children at school. (Helen, it seems, carries chicken salad sandwiches instead of blood sausage or liverwurst for lunch like everyone else). Things look up for Helen when she acquires a baby fox and a girl friend. The fox, although dearly loved and watched over by Helen, doesn't reciprocate her affection and keeps disappearing. The friend, Mary Kelly, who has come from New York to stay with her grandmother because her mother has died and her father is having a nervous breakdown, is also temperamental but maintains her attachment to Helen. The girls are good influences on each other -- Helen develops some self-confidence and acquires more friends, and Mary becomes more settled. This is a rather dreary story, which rambles on until its arbitrary and unsatisfactory finish. It will be appreciated, however, by shy girls, who will understand Helen Brewster's feelings.

Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1964

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Hastings House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1964

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