Gene Stratton-Porter 
Girl of the Limberlost 

Elnora Comstock is a poor girl, living with her widowed mother on the edge of the Limberlost swamp. She begins high school despite lack of money and her painfully unfashionable dress. She faces cold neglect from her mother, a woman ruined by the death of her husband. Eventually, Elnora wins her mother’s love. She then meets and falls in love with a young man who is already engaged.