The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

Cover of The Dragonfly Pool

In the Dragonfly Pool, tally (the protagonist) has to face and overcome lots of different obstacles. The main one however, is encountered at the beginning of the book, when Tally is still living in London. Tally is extremely happy there. She lives with her aunts and father. She has many friends and everyone absolutely loves her. Something changes all this completely towards the beginning of the Dragonfly Pool. Her father (a doctor) calls her into his study. In the book, it tells how Tally knows something's up because of his looks. 'He looks very stressed and rather worried about something.' He tells her that someone offered Tally a scholarship to 'Delderton School.' Tally is overwhelmed as she has never been to a proper school and was not used to being among lot of children and having lessons. What makes her even more unsure is the fact that it's a boarding school. Tally had never as much as placed a footstep outside her town, let alone London, let alone to another county altogether. It was in Devon, in the countryside. It was supposedly a very well thought of school that promoted the freedom and imagination of children.

The only reason Tally went was to fulfill her father's wishes. And the only reason Tally's father sent her was because of the war that everyone thought was going to happen, remember this is in 1939, just before the war.

The only way Tally could get over everything was by sending letters every day, and making sure she knew the goings on of her aunts and father.

I think that Tally's problem is very different than most protagonists in most books, which is why I like this book.

Bai,
G.D
P.S I've finished the book so have no page number...