The Actual & Truthful Adventures of Becky Thatcher

Summary

In 1860, eleven-year-oldBecky Thatcher is the new girl in town, determined to have adventures like shepromised her brother Jon before he died. With her Mama frozen in grief and herDaddy busy as town judge, Becky spends much of her time on her own, gettinginto mischief. Before long, she joins the boys at school in a bet to steal fromthe Widow Douglas, and Becky convinces her new best friend, Amy Lawrence, tojoin her.

Becky decides that she andAmy need a bag of dirt from a bad man’s grave as protection for entering theWidow’s house, so they sneak out to the cemetery at midnight, where theywitness the thieving Pritchard brothers digging up a coffin. Determined to keepher family safe (and to avoid getting in trouble), Becky makes Amy promise notto tell anyone what they saw.

When their silenceinadvertently results in the Widow Douglas being accused of the grave robbery,Becky concocts a plan to clear the Widow’s name. If she pulls it off, she mightjust get her Mama to notice her again and fulfill her promise to Jon in a mostunexpected way … if that tattle-tale Tom Sawyer will quit following her around.