Judith McPherson lives alone with her father. Her mother is dead, but is a presence in the house due to old photographs and some of her possessions still being around.
Judith's father is devoutly religious, and he and Judith belong to a congregation, which, whilst never identified, bears a resemblance to the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Judith is making a model in her bedroom, called "The Land of Decoration", after the promised land in the Bible. Judith believes the end of the world is coming, but in the meantime she has drawn the attention of the school bullies. Judith is dreading school on Monday, and makes it snow in the Land of Decoration. When she wakes up to snow on Monday morning, she believes she has performed a miracle. The book continues with the effect that the bullying has on Judith and on her father.
This is a very assured first novel. It has a small, but effective cast of characters, and although the story is narrated by Judith, in her voice, from her childish viewpoint, that never becomes annoying.
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