A Year Down Yonder
By : Richard Peck
A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck is about a 15 year-old girl named Mary Alice Dowdel. In 1937, during the worst of the Depression, Mary Alice was forced to live with her Grandmother for a year because her parents could not afford to keep her with them during that difficult time. Her Dad lost his job and had to give up their apartment. Her parents had to live in a “Light House keeping room” and paid 7 dollars a week . So until they got things together, Mary Alice went with her Grandma for a while. She left her home in Chicago and traveled to a small town in Illinois. Being from the city, she didn’t understand small town life. Her Grandmother, Ms. Dowdel, is a large woman and very independent for that matter. People in town are pretty scared of Grandma and try not to come her way. As Mary…show more content… At school, a bully named Mildred Burdick called Mary Alice a “Rich Chicago girl” and rode home with Mary Alice saying that she owes her a dollar. Mary Alice’s Grandma takes care of Mildred the bully by untying her horse and leaving her shoes tied to the horse, sending Mildred home without shoes and a horse. At Halloween, Grandma pranks some practical teenage boys by dousing them in warm glue when they try to demolish Grandma’s cobhouse ( A flimsy unstable building or a place to store things. Basically a shed). Then Grandma saved a Halloween party from boredom city by bringing a load of her deelishis pecan and pumpkin pies. Next is the annual Christmas play. Mary Alice gets picked to be The Virgin Mary in the nativity scene. Mary Alice thinks