Annie Metcalf

Annie Metcalf is the thirteen-year-old protagonist of the novel, which tells the story of Annie's emotional growth and maturity during the summer after the end of World War I. Annie, who is the only child of Dr. and Mrs. Metcalf, is sheltered from the world, mostly by her mother's insistence on keeping any news of the war out of the household and out of Annie's world. Annie loves her mother, but is devoted to her father because he acknowledges that Annie is growing up and has a right to her own opinions and feelings, even if they are in conflict with her parents' opinions. Annie also adores her Uncle Paul, who is the first person besides her parents who seems genuinely interested in Annie's thoughts and feelings. Annie's devastation over Uncle Paul's death during the war transfers to an intense friendship with Andrew Crayton, a wounded veteran...