From AudioFile
Orphaned at age 16, Hattie longs for a place where folks will welcome her and become her family. When an uncle leaves her a claim of 320 acres in Montana, she hastens to make a home of her own, unprepared for life on the prairie in the brutal winter of 1918. With considerable humor, Kirsten Potter employs a variety of old-fashioned Western accents to differentiate the cast of colorful characters. Potter excels at conveying the emotions that run high as Hattie faces the challenges of homestead life, including the bigotry of neighbors against the German-American friends who have helped her in every way. Meticulous research in archives and family materials gives this saga an authenticity that will captivate listeners. R.H.H. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine--
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* 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 of feeling unwanted. Chapters open with short articles 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 limited options, a homesteader facing terrible odds, and a loyal citizen confused about the war and the local anti-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 real 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.
Kathleen OdeanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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