For Gold or Soul? The Story of a Great Department Store

"For Gold or Soul? The Story of a Great Department Store" by Lurana Sheldon imagines a world where a young woman named Faith Marvin navigates the grueling world of a big department store, confronting challenging conditions and moral tests. The story kicks off with Faith trying to get a job in a hectic store filled with tired workers and mean bosses. When she meets Mr. Forbes, the store boss, we see how cold the retail world can be, as he turns her down for a job and threatens to fire a worker who is sick. Faith shows her strong values when she refuses to steal someone else's job and feels bad for those hurt by the system. The beginning of the book suggests bigger ideas about unfairness, showing the tough lives of her coworkers and how the business's bad behavior affects them. These early events set the scene for a story about right and wrong, kindness, and being strong when things get hard.