History Class we were assigned to read the book, Beyond the Divide by Kathryn Lasky. Some of the characters in this story included Meribah Simon, her father Will Simon, Mr. Goodnough, the Billings, the Whitings, and many more who were not really important in this story. All these characters were great, each one in its own and different way, and also had interesting or weird personalities. Each one of these characters gave the book a little bit of themselves, which made the book more interesting and enjoyable.
Meribah was a fourteen-year-old Amish girl who had lived all her life in an Amish community with her brother, sisters, mother and father. Her family was the most important thing in her life, especially her father. Will Simon, Meribah's father was shunned by the elders of the community. She can't talk to him, spend time with him, or even acknowledge he exists. She can't stand it anymore, so she decides to leave to California with her father to join the gold rush. This is the story of Meribah's journey. It's a Story about friendship, betrayal, and love. It's a story about life. I liked Meribah because she was a true fighter who never gave up, because of her great desire to live freely and be happy, and because she though that happiness came before anything, even before her Amish community. I also liked her father because he was a man of great courage who never showed his emotions no matter what, and because he loved his daughter.
Mr. Goodnough was a very nice and important person. He was one of the few loyal friends Meribah had. He was very friendly to everyone especially with Meribah, and when she first saw him she said that he had the bluest and liveliest eyes she had ever seen. Meribah met him for the first time in St. Jo and was impressed because he was a mapmaker. How was she to know that later on he would save her and change her life forever. I liked him because he was nice, giving, trustful, and because he saved Meribah who was from a different company, and even though he didn"t know her, and also because he treated and considered Meribah as part of his family.