Call Me Floy

Book excerpt: In this coming-of-age novel, a headstrong girl persists against expectations, following her dream in nineteenth century Yosemite. Florence "Floy" Hutchings is the daughter of a famous father, and while the extra attention that brings is not unwelcome, all she really wants is to be herself. However, in 1876 being clever, confident, and bold are not expected of girls on the cusp of turning twelve. Stuck in a stuffy classroom in crowded San Francisco, Floy longs to return to the majestic mountain valley where she was born and where she has always felt free: Yosemite! Upon returning to her beloved valley, Floy finds that it is changing in confusing ways: the intimate paradise she once knew is opening to more visitors and to troubling attitudes about her indigenous friends and about what girls should and should not do. Yet, against this backdrop of change, Floy pursues her dream of climbing the indomitable Half Dome. Steeped in the rich atmosphere of old Yosemite and based on real people and true events,Call Me Floy is about a girl who follows her dream up the steepest path imaginable.