This book is about a young girl named Seely. Her family lives in southern Indiana where lots of tragedy surround them. Some of these events are suicide, illness, and accidental deaths. But despite all of the darkness around her Seely knew she would never let it consume her and catch up to her. She flew through it and thrived through all of the suffering and painful situations.
This book is great for students in learning that when bad things happen around you, you have to keep you head up and keep moving. If your darkness ever feels right behind you, you don't give up and when you continue to keep going you will survive.
While hunting for inspiration for Depression Era stories, I ran into this series of three books by Crystal Thrasher, written for young adults. It's set in Indiana with a family moving to find a better job, a better place to live. Seely, the heroine, is on the brink of puberty, struggling with what's said between her parents and what's not said, with other nuances with school friends and even adult neighbors. Overall it's a satisfying series. I liked the third book, The End of the Dark Road, the best.