Head high, Ellen Brody

the long version

From Kirkus Review: Redhead Ellen Brody, just seventeen at the turn of the century, reflects in her high-spirited enthusiasm, the spirit of growth and dynamism so prevalent in the Mid-West at that time. Well endowed with beauty and talent, Ellen is torn between her desire to lift herself from the underprivileged environment in which she lives by pursuing the career of a fashion designer and an increasingly strong urge to serve in some higher cause. Her romance with a dedicated young social worker helps her to resolve this conflict and in the end, as an exuberant and determined young bride, she assumes a role in her home community which promises excitement and gratification. A mechanical story is revived here by a nice feeling of period and by an essentially interesting conflict between personal and spiritual gratification.