Gene Stratton-Porter

At the beginning of Gene Stratton-Porter's thoroughly uplifting novel Michael O'Halloran, the protagonist is a scrappy 10-year-old orphan who must literally fight every day to ensure his own survival. It is only when he stumbles across a little girl facing circumstances even more dire than his own that he begins to make plans for a new life for himself. Will his grandiose vision become reality, or will Michael O'Halloran succumb to the

Two sisters find themselves in unimaginably trying circumstances: left as orphans with no one else to turn to, the girls struggle to make it on their meager income. When their already-tenuous existence is imperiled even further by unforeseen circumstances, the two begin a journey of discovery that leads them to truths about themselves—and their legacy. If you loved Freckles, Michael O'Halloran, and Gene Stratton-Porter's other