This historical novel set in the 1800s poses a challenging question: how much is a child worth when differently abled or orphaned?
Eleven-year-old Nathaniel “Nate” Peale helps his parents Gabriel and Mary Eva to farm their land in Nebraska. He does not attend school. Suddenly, his life changes when an accident during a storm badly breaks his leg, forcing Nate to limit his physical exertions. Alienated and frustrated by his son’s permanent impairment, Gabe Peale adopts John Worth from the Orphan Train. At first, Nate dislikes John, a city boy who replaces Nate for most farm work.
Gabriel and Mary Eva decide to send Nate to school when he recuperates enough from his injury to walk. Nate struggles to make up for lost time. He learns to read much better and meets new friends, especially Anemone Cordimas, an immigrant girl from Greece, who loans him a book about Greek mythology that he loves.
Nate reads these Greek myths to John, and they begin to bond. Nate finds out that John’s whole family died in a tragic fire (Ch. 5, p. 31). Nate sympathizes with his new brother because Nate’s toddler sister died by choking: both young men share the experience of traumatic loss. A misunderstanding leads to a bad fight between them, but Nate and John get closer.
When vandal fence-cutters try to exacerbate an old feud between two local families, Nate and John block some vandals and warn the adults, who stop the crime spree.
Proud of the two young men, the town considers them heroes. Also, Nate’s parents accept John as a true son of theirs. By the end of this novel, both Nate and John have proven their worth.
Worth is realistic, is well written, and deals with important themes. Readers aged nine to twelve are LaFaye’s target audience. I highly recommend this novel to parents, teachers, librarians, churches, and organizations that serve young people.
