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rossjenc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.0
kimreadz's review against another edition
4.0
I've been excited about this one ever since last fall when I learned it was on the way, so I was happy when my turn came up on the holds list. I really enjoyed this book, though I almost gave up on it. The book got off to a very slow start for me, and I really didn’t like either sister, at least at the beginning of the story. Both were self-centered which led to bad, and even unforgivable choices. I also didn’t like ‘Mother Pedersen’. She was embittered about being dragged out to the prairie and took it out on a child! And the child’s mother was even worse! That said, I did feel that as the story picked up, it was hard to put down, and many of the characters redeemed themselves. I knew that there would be a lot of death in this story, and while it made me sad when some of the characters I liked did not survive the storm, I was prepared for it. It is hard to imagine being lost just yards from your home, but this book really let me feel what that was like—how cold it felt, how hopeless it seemed. This book did what good historical fiction must do for me—it caused me to read more! One character was a reported for the Omaha Daily Bee, so when I got done with the book, I spent a couple of hours perusing stories from the Omaha Daily Bee from January 1888. (You can find this online as NewspaperArchive.com, which may be available through your local library’s website).
Overall, I was satisfied with the end. I would have liked a little more detail about the lives of those who survived the storm, though. We know vaguely where the reporter went, and some general ideas about Raina and her parents, and even Gerda. But I wanted more! And I had questions, particularly about the Pedersen family! This would make for a great book club discussion! There are discussion questions on the author’s website.
Overall, I was satisfied with the end. I would have liked a little more detail about the lives of those who survived the storm, though. We know vaguely where the reporter went, and some general ideas about Raina and her parents, and even Gerda. But I wanted more! And I had questions, particularly about the Pedersen family! This would make for a great book club discussion! There are discussion questions on the author’s website.
bsmith27's review against another edition
4.0
A great story about two sisters who are School teachers in Nebraska. They are both young and the daughters of immigrants. They teach mostly immigrant students from Norway. One day a freaks no storm hits. Greta has let her students out early so that she may spend a few hours alone with her beau. Even after she sees the dark cloud she tells the children to run. Her sister reina, buckles down in the school house for a while until a window breaks. One of her students runs out the door and another follows her. The little girl is the servant at the house where Raina boards. Raina has recently had a small affair with the husband where she boards. The wife had found out though. The wife also really doesn't like the servant who the husband brought to the house when the mother sold her. Raina and an older boy named Tor, guide the children through the storm and end up at tors house. The trouble is that tours younger brother was the one who ran after the servant girl. Frederick has not made it home and they are worried about his whereabouts. The father goes out to look for Frederick and the young girl. Greta is on the prairie with her beau and two neighbor girls when the storm strikes. The horse gets loose and the young man follows the horse. Greta takes the two girls and stumbles into a stack. She falls asleep inside. When she wakes both girls are quiet but she thinks they're sleeping, she discovers they are just a few steps away from the children's home. She goes inside and they find that the young girls have died. In fact all of credit students have died. Greta loser frostbite. Her parents come and get her she's clearly has changed the entire family. Raina however is a hero and a local newspaper man princess story about her and the young servant girl who survived because Frederick took off all his clothes and covered her. Money is sent in from readers and Rayna and the young servant girls education are paid for. They both move to Lincoln and continue their education. The story flashes forward little and Rayna has very excited to be in the city and think she wants to be a newspaper woman. Young serving girl has not had she runs into Tor, and they hit it off and eventually get married and have children. Greta writes to her sister and has a life filled with wanderings and regret. It's a really good historical novel based upon true events.
thebooklady_nj's review against another edition
5.0
This will definitely be one of my favorite books of 2021.
paulabellman's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
I would have given this book a 5* if the characters were more developed. I felt this bookbread like YA.
I love to read about the pioneers and the difficulties they experienced while forming the west. One room school houses w a teacher who was barely old enough to be out of school are so fascinating.
So much responsibility placed on young adults in this story.
I love to read about the pioneers and the difficulties they experienced while forming the west. One room school houses w a teacher who was barely old enough to be out of school are so fascinating.
So much responsibility placed on young adults in this story.
lottie1803's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75