289 pages
Description
Booklist starred (September 1, 2006 (Vol 103, No.1)
In this engaging historical novel set in 1918, 16-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks leaves Iowa and travels to a Montana homestead inherited from her uncle. In the beautiful but harsh setting, she has less than a year to fence and cultivate the land in order to keep it. neighbors who welcome Hattie help heal the hurt she has suffered from years f feeling unwanted. Chapters open with short artic,es that Hattie writes for an Iowa newspaper or her lively letters to a friend and possible beau who is in the military in France. The authentic first-person narrative, full of hope and anxiety, effectively portrays Hattie's struggles as a young woman with liimited options, a homesteader facing terrible odds, and a loyal citizen confused about the war and the local anit-German bias that endangers her new friends. Larson, whose great-grandmother homesteaded alone in Montana, read dozens of homesteaders' journals and based scenes in the book on reral events. Writing in figurative language that draws on nature and domestic detail to infuse her story with the sounds, smells, and sights of the prairie, she creates a richly textured novel full of memorable characters.
Horn Book Guide (Spring 2007) Set in Montana during World War I, Larson's novel tells a
gripping story of frontier life through the eyes of an unlikely homesteader--a sixteen-year-old orphan girl. Pressures to be a "loyal" American complicate her situation after she befriends a German couple. Evocative yet straightforward language ably depicts Hattie's joys and struggles. Recipes and an author's note are included. Reading list.
Comments
Pair this with Prairie Lotus for a more realistic take on
“Little House in the Woods.” I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. Kids might be reluctant to borrow it, thinking it could be old fashioned, but it’s a great story, an adventure, an example of female independence, courage, and resilience
No comments:
Post a Comment