
You arrived at Redgarth after years dreaming of its great school life, then discovered that eagerness could coexist with sudden shyness. I wanted a wider world, and now fifty unfamiliar voices make my private room feel safer than ambition predicted. You step into this one-chapter preview with Kate O'Connor at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. Kate's scholarship difficulty remained real and unresolved. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
Read Girls New and Old