Customer Reviews

All the Stars in the Sky: the Santa Fe Trail Diary of Florrie Mack Ryder

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Twelve-year-old Florrie barely remembers her father, who died when she was very young. Now her mother has remarried, and Florrie's new stepfather, who is a trader, has decided to take his new family to Santa Fe, where he is part owner of a store. Florrie begins her diary as she, her younger brother, mother, and stepfather set out from Missouri on the Santa Fe trail. She describes the hardships they face crossing rivers, mountains, and deserts, but also the joys, as she makes new friends and experiences the wonders of the beautiful wilderness. This wasn't one of the best Dear America books, but it was still very good, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the series. I particularly enjoyed that it covered a subject not written about that much in historical fiction.

I have been reading Dear America books for a long time, and I've had a hard time trying to stop! I started in fifth grade, and I am a senior now. I normally read adult books, but there are just some series that I can't let go!

Florrie (Florence) Mack Ryder sets out from Missouri to travel in a wagon to Santa Fe. Along with her come her pregnant mother, stepfather, brother, and dog, Mr. Biscuit. The journey is harder than they thought, filled with hardships and losses. The tragedies were not in vein, for it made Florrie a stronger person, as you will find in the end.

I enjoyed The Wild and Lonesome Prairie, so I thought I would enjoy this. I did. As with most Dear America books, it was well written, it kept me turning pages, and it was educational. For instance, did you know Santa Fe means "holy faith"?

Florrie Ryder is having a hard time leaving everything she has ever known behind. Her best friend, her grandparents, and even the grave of her father must all remain in Arrow Rock, Missouri. Florrie, her younger brother Jem, her mother, and her mother's new husband are going to travel down the Santa Fe Trail to begin a new life in New Mexico in the town of Santa Fe. Unlike the Oregon Trail and others that went towards the west coast, the Santa Fe Trail was used mostly by traders rather than by settlers.

Nevertheless, it was still a grueling journey and Florrie witnesses more than her fair share of suffering and hardship. She develops friendships that come to mean a great deal to her and that sustain her. We are drawn into the story as Florrie and her family battle their way down the trail, and we are charmed by Florrie's likable and determined personality. Florrie sees things with a clarity that can be quite startling at times, even to her. For example, she comments early in the journey that she feels lost "like a stick figure drawn in the dust, erased by wagon tracks." Later she remarks, "I am lonely and have fallen under the cloud of my own bad weather."

Written in a style that suggests Florrie's own speech, Megan McDonald has created a wonderful character and has gone to great lengths to study the times and the people she writes about. Her inclusion of Spanish words, as Florrie begins to learn the language, is a particularly effective device. Both sad and at times humorous, Florrie's story provides us with a thought-provoking picture of a time and place not often written about.

--- Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber (mjansengruber@mindspring.com)

13-year-old Florrie starts her journal as her family begins their jorney on the Sante Fe Trail from Independence Missouri. Like the title suggests, Florrie loves staring at the stars and watch for those special shooting stars. Her family also have many new experiences on the trip, such as encountering Indians, and various animals such as trantulas, and badgers. Throughtout the diary, Florrie grows into herself as she has more life experiences, such as learning Spanish and eating foods of other cultures. This books was pretty good in the fact that it described landscape very well, such as wildflowers, mountains, etc. I did feel that this diary was very similar to other accounts such as the Oregon Trail, etc. It is still a very good read for any lover of Dear America.

All the Stars in the Sky (Santa Fe Trail) / 0-439-16963-1

"All the Stars in the Sky" takes the reader over the Santa Fe trail as the narrator's family emigrates to their new home. Like many of the Dear America books, the narrator's family life is frustratingly messy - in this case, her mother is newly remarried after having been a widow for many years, and the children are forced to adjust to a new father and a new way of life at the same time, for Mr. Ryder is a merchant and merchants must go where the customers go, in this case, Santa Fe.

Young Florrie learns a great deal through her trail experiences, including the value of forgiveness for her friends and family, the importance of meeting people from other cultures, and the pioneering skills to keep a family safe, fed, and warm in the harsh American wilderness. In many ways, "All the Stars in the Sky" is reminiscent of the other successful Dear America trail diaries, including the Oregon Trail diary, and it is always fascinating to see how difficult and treacherous these trail travels could be for the people traveling them.

For parents, there is a great deal of excitement in this novel, but very little that would be frightening to a young child. However, there is a fatal accident on the trail, when a tent catches fire at night, and there is mention of families dying of illnesses along the way. There is no overt sexuality, but the newly remarried mother does become pregnant along the trail before being put on bed rest in the nearest town to await a difficult delivery. Taken as a whole, this is a wonderful novel for inquiring children, and I was impressed at how sensitive the author is to other cultures - Florrie learns (and teaches the reader!) dozens of Spanish and American Indian words for everything from "candle" to "magpie".

~ Ana Mardoll

Although I have read better books from this series, this one is still worth reading and I'm glad I did.
Again (like I say in all my reviews), I won't take the time to discuss the story, but I will say that this was an interesting book.
This story has a few twists and turns, so you really can't predict what exactly will happen...my kind of book!
Because I have read better, I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5.

When I first went to Borders, I picked any books at random, and happened to get my hands on "All The Stars In The Sky". And I have to admit...when I first started reading it, it took me a while to understand. I even considered taking it back. However, after turning page after page, I finally came to an understanding with this book, and I ended up loving it after all. I recommend it to all fans of the Dear America series.

This one just didn't do anything for me. I thought it was bland, and boring.