Ester Ried (Grace Livingston Hill Library) cover

Ester Ried (Grace Livingston Hill Library)

by Isabella Macdonald Alden

“If something would only happen―if I could have one day, just one day, different from the others!” Thus mourned Ester Ried, for it seemed to her that her days consisted of nothing but monotony. Every day she made beds, baked endless pies in a hot kitchen, ironed, and raced against the clock to get tea on the table for the boarders. Every evening she fell into bed, too weary even for prayers, much less any Bible reading. As she nursed her suffering soul, she snapped at her sisters and brother until her very crossness added still more to her suffering and made her crosser still! Then a letter arrived from a well-to-do cousin in New York City―and thing did begin to happen. Ester was invited for a visit, and when she accepted, she had no idea that the coming days would change her life in ways she had never imagined.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?