Reading Schedule for Gracelin O'Malley:
Section 1= beginning-82
Section 2= 82-170
Section 3= 170-240
Section 4= 240-324
Section 5= 324-end

My name is Alex Schaefer and recently I have been reading the book Gracelin O'Malley. I had not heard anything about this book until I stumbled across it in a book store. I asked for a book about historical fiction and the librarian began pulling out books that she recommended. This was the last one she handed to me but it immediately caught my attention. I chose it because I felt that I could relate to it most because it was based around the life a girl who was my age. It seemed interesting and was also about a topic that I had never read much about before; the potato famine in Ireland. I developed a reading schedule for the book that breaks the book up into five sections to make this blog easier to follow.
So far that book has taken place in a small village in Ireland where a modest family lives together-five of them in all. The book opens with the death of their mother on a rainy day. The younger brother Sean is the one that is with her last. The family is made up of the youngest and the only daughter, Gracelin, then two brother Sean, the younger of the two, and Ryan the oldest. They live with their father and grandmother also. Their father is a hard worker but has lost his way after his wife's death. The whole family is trying to cope with this horrible sudden tragedy.
The family lives on a plot of land owned by the Donnelly's. They have always made their pay, but recently it had been getting harder.
One day their father comes to the table, and everyone in the family notices that he seems to be a little off, soon they get it out of him that his daughter Gracelin is too be married to Squire Donnelly, the lord of their estate's son. Their are many questions arising and thoughts to be addressed. Their father, Patrick seems to think it will be the best for everyone. A better life for Grace, a better life for the family. The Squire has agreed to make the whole O'Malley family's life easier. Sean, who was always close to Gracelin had a problem with the idea that his sister was to be married off to an older man for the sake of putting them all in a better position financially. After their father assured him that this was not the case, they began to understands that their father would never do anything that he had not thought through or believed to be the best situation for his family, and especially his daughter.
Gracelin and her Granna have many talks about what this new life is going ton be like for her. But she can't quite imagine what is in store for her. She will be the talk of the village. She is the one who has managed to move up in society. Gracelin has not quite decided her feelings toward the whole situation, but she knows that she will dearly miss her family, but has also become quite excited about the idea of becoming the squire's wife.
In the village there has not been entirely good talk of this Squire. There were some questionable stories floating around about his relationship's with his past two wives and I belive that this is potentially foreshadowing what Gracelin is going to have to deal with further into her marriage. But so far he has come across as a very respectable gentleman.
What may also happen that Gracelin feared was limited time spent with her family. She has always been so close to them and with this new position is society she may be spending her time with the wealthier members of the community. I don't think that Grace will ever loose touch with whole she really is despite the changes in her life that she has had to deal with and will continue to deal with each day. She is a strong spirited girl who will never forget where she came from.