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Book Summary

Reviewed by Matt Berman

During World War I, Hattie is an orphan passed from relative to relative, when she receives word that an uncle has left her a homesteading claim in Montana. With nothing to stay for, she heads West alone, only to find that the claim is a shack, a Montana winter is setting in, and she has less than a year to fence the land, plant crops and pay the fees, or else lose the claim.

She is warmly welcomed by her immediate neighbors, with whom she becomes fast friends. But she has a lot to battle: brutal weather, her own inexperience and loneliness, and bigoted locals who seek to punish those of German descent, their friends, and anyone they think is insufficiently patriotic. Includes recipes, Author's Note, and a reading list.

Is It Any Good?

4

This warmhearted and gritty story of early 20th century pioneering is more realistic than most novels of this genre. The bad guys are not quite as bad as they seem, things don't always work out as you might hope, people die unexpectedly of unadventurous things such as disease, and life is hard but never unremittingly bleak. The little moments of friendship and kindness shine bright, and the result is not rose-tinted, but recognizably true.

In addition to the riveting frontier survival story, and the tension of the anti-German sentiment, the characters are unusually delightful, including Hattie, who tells her own story in a sensible, self-deprecating style, and Chase, an 8-year-old wise beyond his years. The only sour note comes in the About the Author page at the back and on the flap -- apparently the author has some scores to settle, and has chosen this inappropriate place to do it.

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