A Place to Call Home

by

Jackie French Koller

In the book A Place to Call Home, Anna is shunned by her classmates because of the way she looks and acts. Only Nate takes the time to try and get to know the real Anna. Why do you think Nate does this?

Writers often base stories on true incidents. Anna’s character is based in part on someone the author really knew in high school. Have you ever been in a situation where people have judged you unfairly based on appearances? Have you ever judged someone else, or witnessed someone else being judged unfairly this way? Write a paragraph below telling about your experience.

Can you see the beginnings of a story here? Replace the real people in your paragraph with fictional characters and write a short story. Try writing it first from the point of view of one of the characters who is doing the judging, then rewrite it from the point of view of the character who is being judged. Which version do you like better? Why?

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