Ellen Foster

I am now finished with the book and I was surprised at how it played out. Ellen spends the summer with her grandmother, whom she calls her "mama's mama," and is miserable with her. Ellen's grandmother thinks that Ellen is an image of her father, whom both they hate. She reminds Ellen that she is just like her father and somehow wants revenge on him through her torture of Ellen. Ellen's grandmother also tells Ellen that she is to blame for her mother's death, because Ellen had allowed her to die. Now Ellen is scarred for at the end of the book, and she still cannot cry. After her grandmother's death, Ellen is sent to live with her aunt Nadine, and her cousin Dora. Nadine and Dora treat Ellen condescendingly and ignore her for being "cheap," though they have little more money than Ellen and far less integrity. For Christmas, Ellen wants to give Nadine and Dora a wonderful gift. Because she cannot afford to buy them a present, Ellen uses her artistic talent and paints them a picture of two cute-looking cats. She never coexisted with them so she had left.

Ellen wears her best dress so that she will make a good first impression. The woman, to be Ellen's new mom, welcomes Ellen into her home and is concerned for her well being. Then Ellen thinks to herself how lucky she is to have her new mom.After Ellen has settled in at her new mom's house, she wants to invite her old friend to sleep over, since they have split apart as they have grown older. Ellen is ashamed as she remembers how she acted because of their skin color. When Starletta come over Ellen's new house, Ellen confesses to her of how she feels for prejudices. This ending reminds me of another book I read about a baseball in which they didn't allow different colored people to play on their team until they realized how these people really are. I really disliked the grandmother thinking that Ellen was always the bad one, but my prediction had been right she did find her way with help and now she's safe.