Jean Webster
[Type: Classic, Juvenile]

Although this is such a classic for young people I have only just read it--and I agree with what the general opinion about it: it's such a sweet story.

It's 'sweet' overall but it's also funny and heart-warming, and the portrayal of Jerusha is realistic. 

Jerusha Abbott is the oldest orphan in the John Grier Home and is, therefore, used to a lot of work and responsibility, looking after the little children in the orphanage. One day, suddenly, her life changes--she is offered a college education by one of the trustees who wants to remain unknown but only insists that Jerusha write to him monthly of her progress without expecting a reply from him. College life is like a rebirth for the girl and she delights in studying, friends, and extra-curricular activities.

The story is told almost entirely through Jerusha's letters to the trustee whom she calls Daddy-Long-Legs because that's all she was able to see of him before he leaves the orphanage on that life-changing day--an elongated shadow of his legs.

A quick, absorbing read. I'd definitely recommend this book to my daughter when she grows up!