Thunderwith - "Discuss the ways in which the novel shows us how being part of a family can bring both pain and joy."
Lara experienced pain with the loss of her mother that's she loved very much. She faced a lot of challenges when she had to move into a family that she didn't know. She felt a sense of rejection when both Pearl (one of the daughters) and Gladwyn (the mother) let her know that they didn't want her living with their family. As soon as she arrived at the house, Pearl and Garnet accepted her, and this made her feel happy, and appreciated. When Gladwyn and Pearl finally come to accept her she feels nothing but joy.
Lara was happier than she had ever been. She was living her mother that she loved, and she had just learnt how to read by herself. Although they lived in a quaint caravan, her and her mother had the best times together.
"...Lara and her Mum had laughed and cried together." Pg. 7. This quote shows just how close Lara and her mother were. When she passed away, Lara felt a great sense of loss and pain. She worried that her mother wouldn't be there for her as she has always promised. The only thing that she had left of her mother was a silver coin that she had given her as a symbol of what they were going to achieve before her mother's death. She treasured it and did her best to keep it from harm.
When she has to move into an isolated farmhouse with her Dad and a family that she has never met, it doesn't help her pain when Gladwyn doesn't accept her, and Pearl refuses to talk to her. When more of Lara's baggage arrives on the train and Gladwyn says "And we've got no room, anyway, for more of her stuff. Bad enough as it is." Lara's feelings are hurt, and her thoughts turn back to grieving for her loving mother. But not everyone in the family had hard feelings towards Lara moving in with them. Her father enjoyed spending time with her, and taught her to drive when he had time to spare, and their two youngest children, Opal and Garnet accepted her as a Ritchie as soon as she came to the farmhouse.
After saving Gladwyn's life, and putting out a fire using her
Lara was happier than she had ever been. She was living her mother that she loved, and she had just learnt how to read by herself. Although they lived in a quaint caravan, her and her mother had the best times together.
"...Lara and her Mum had laughed and cried together." Pg. 7. This quote shows just how close Lara and her mother were. When she passed away, Lara felt a great sense of loss and pain. She worried that her mother wouldn't be there for her as she has always promised. The only thing that she had left of her mother was a silver coin that she had given her as a symbol of what they were going to achieve before her mother's death. She treasured it and did her best to keep it from harm.
When she has to move into an isolated farmhouse with her Dad and a family that she has never met, it doesn't help her pain when Gladwyn doesn't accept her, and Pearl refuses to talk to her. When more of Lara's baggage arrives on the train and Gladwyn says "And we've got no room, anyway, for more of her stuff. Bad enough as it is." Lara's feelings are hurt, and her thoughts turn back to grieving for her loving mother. But not everyone in the family had hard feelings towards Lara moving in with them. Her father enjoyed spending time with her, and taught her to drive when he had time to spare, and their two youngest children, Opal and Garnet accepted her as a Ritchie as soon as she came to the farmhouse.
After saving Gladwyn's life, and putting out a fire using her