Meanwhile, Mary Alice develops feelings for a new boy at school, Royce McNabb. Weidenbach, in her place by indirectly revealing that Weidenbach does not have the noble blood that she claims, but the blood of the local, looked-down-upon hooligans, the Burdick family. Grandma surprises Mary Alice by buying her new shoes, making her a beautiful tin halo to wear in the play, and paying for Mary Alice's cherished brother Joey's train ticket for a visit.Īround Valentine's Day, Grandma hosts a Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) gathering at her home, and puts the haughty DAR leader, Mrs. Mary Alice doesn't think Grandma likes Christmas, and she doesn't expect any gifts. Next up is the annual Christmas program at school, and Mary Alice is chosen to play the Virgin Mary in the Nativity scene. Abernathy to help care for her war-wounded, invalid son. Grandma charges exorbitant fees for cups of burgoo stew at lunch, and it is only later revealed that all the proceeds from the stew go to Mrs. Next, Grandma and Mary Alice attend a turkey shoot on Armistice Day at the Abernathy farm. Grandma then saves an otherwise boring school Halloween party by bringing a load of pecan and pumpkin pies. Grandma bullies the bully by unhitching Mildred's horse and forcing the girl to walk home without shoes.Īt Halloween, Grandma pranks a gang of pranksters by dousing their leader in warm glue when they try to vandalize her cobhouse. A bully, Mildred, calls Mary Alice the 'rich Chicago girl' and rides home with Mary Alice in order to force her to give Mildred a dollar. Grandma immediately enrolls Mary Alice in school, and she is placed in Miss Butler's class.

Mary Alice dreads being stuck in a hick town, and she is afraid of her imposing, stern grandmother. The narrator is fifteen-year-old Mary Alice, who is forced to live with her Grandma Dowdel in a small rural town in southern Illinois because her parents cannot afford to keep her. The town is full of eccentric personalities, not the least of which is the grandmother.

A Year Down Yonder is about a Chicago girl's year-long stay with her grandmother in a rural town during the height of the Great Depression.

A year down yonder book