“Anyone who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.” Mary Alice, the fifteen-year-old narrator of A Year Down Yonder, is forced to leave Chicago and spend a year with her Grandma Dowdel in a small rural town. Readers follow the travails of Richard Peck’s main character and draft a character analysis of Mary Alice as guided practice. They then craft their own analysis of a second character. Links to materials are provided.