Dora Deane was but twelve years of age when she became an orphan. Her dad died first, then a few years later, her mom died.

She was left with only a widowed aunt with two daughters, and an uncle somewhere in India. Her Uncle Nat had left for India after his brother married the girl he had been in love with for years. His brother was closer to her age and they fell in love. He could not bear seeing her with any other man so fled to Europe and soon established a profitable business in India where he remanined. He was to be Dora's guardian but felt he couldn't bear seeing her, reminding him each day of her mother and his lost love. He contacted his siter-in-law and made arrangements to send a fair amount of money each year for her care. He also committed himself to pay for education and any other expense she may incur.

Dora's Aunt Sarah was somewhat compassionate and felt the additional money would aid her and her two daughters, as well as help her niece. Her eldest daughter, Eugenia, was very selfish and had other ideas. She convinved her mother to never allow Dora to know of the money, nor write to Uncle Nat. Instead Eugenia responded to his generous allowance and inferred that Dora couldn't take the time to write and was ungrateful. Thus, Uncle Nat had a poor opininion of Dora...and yes, this is a somewhat different twist to the ever popular 'Cinderella' story.

Mr. Hastings is the one who found Dora nearly frozen, lying next to her dead mother. He had observed her and her mother's situation for quite some time. He admired them both tremendously. He sought the help of his mother and sister in giving her shelter and food until they could contact her guardan and aunt to give her a home. Mr Hastings had told his fiance' of his observances and finally of the tragic end. After that, he lost tract of the girl.

An elaborate home on the hill, in the small town Dora lived in with her relatives, had been vacant for years. Dora was seventeen when someone bought it to live in with his new wife....Mr Hastings, if coourse!

Eugenia, putting on social aires, befriended his wife, then the story builds from there.

Even though the ending is somewhat predictable, the emotional roller-coaster is strong throughout the story. It only drags slightly in places.

The writing style is exceptional. The classic tale is given a facinationg twist which, I feel, actually improves upon the original tale.

Key Points: Tragedy, despair, poverty, cruelty, deceit, compassion, befriending, acceptance, gratitude, selfishness/unselfishness, forgiveness, and revenge.

The book kept the reader's attention, plus, kept the suspense growing until the very end. The cover does not coinside with Dora's physical description. I feel it could have been created much more effectively. However, the cover is plain on most other editions. The character strenghts were consistent throughout the story. There was mostly a solid "flow" throught the tale. It was very"cleanly" written. Safe for family reading. Even for older elementary children.

My review of this book deems it worthy of a solid Four and 1/2 Stars rating. ( )

Review to come ( )