Does Lyddie show signs of courage?

Lyddie is a very courageous young woman. She's not yet fifteen, yet she and her brother Charlie are already the sole supports for their family, working hard to hold onto the farm left to them by their father. As well as displaying great moral courage, Lyddie is also physically brave. When a bear tries to enter the family home, she shows grace under fire, getting everyone to safety before staring out the bear. Most people in that situation would've been incredibly scared, unsure what to do. But not Lyddie. Her courage displayed so early on in the story helps to establish just what kind of person she is, and how she'll conduct herself throughout the rest of the book.
Working as a child laborer in a dangerous factory is another example of Lyddie's courage. Most people today have very little understanding of just how bad the conditions for people working in factories were in those days. As well as the challenges of soul-destroying drudgery, Lyddie also has to deal with the issue of sexual harassment, when Mr. Marsden, one of the factory's overseers, starts touching one of the girls inappropriately. Lyddie stands up to him, and in protecting the other girls from a sexual predator, she's showing enormous courage way beyond her tender years. Predictably, Lyddie loses her job for speaking out and challenging Marsden. But this merely proves once more just how courageous she is. Lyddie was prepared to sacrifice her job to prevent girls in the factory from being harassed by a serial sex predator. That's a stand that few would've been willing to take.