Janice Day at Poketown

"Janice Day at Poketown" by Helen Beecher Long is a story about Janice Day, a young and hopeful girl who leaves her home to live with her uncle in Poketown while her father travels to Mexico. Arriving with dreams of a thrilling new chapter, Janice is met with a disappointing reality: Poketown is a listless and worn-down community. The story begins with Janice's arrival by steamer, filled with anticipation, which is quickly dampened by the dreary atmosphere of her relatives' farm and the town itself. As Janice gets to know the townspeople, like the odd Mrs. Scattergood and her unenthusiastic cousin Marty, she struggles with missing home and the strange, unchanging ways of Poketown, but she also begins to build friendships, including one with a blind girl named Lottie—suggesting that a future of meaningful experiences and profound relationships is still a possibility .