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bethgiven's review against another edition
4.0
This book is at the intersection of a couple of my favorite genres; it's both a pioneer story and a coming-of-age story. I liked following spunky thirteen-year-old Charlotte across the plains as she grows from a girl to a woman. She learns a lot about herself as she cares for a friend's baby, Rose. And there are plenty of other interesting supporting characters that help fill out the company: Charlotte's supportive and kind father, a widowed young mother who struggles with depression, a mysterious woman who is slowly befriended by Charlotte's family, and the "boy next door" who takes a fancy to Charlotte over "the Elizabeths."
While this is a book about the Mormon handcart pioneers, religion plays a rather neutral role in the story compared to other handcart pioneer books I've read (Gerald Lund's or Sandra Dallas's) -- the author was quite successful in making the story about the pioneers themselves and not about Mormonism or polygamy.
This book is appropriate and accessible to younger girls, but I found it to be well-written enough that adults would enjoy it as well -- a quick, enjoyable read. Thanks to my mother-in-law for gifting this one to me.
While this is a book about the Mormon handcart pioneers, religion plays a rather neutral role in the story compared to other handcart pioneer books I've read (Gerald Lund's or Sandra Dallas's) -- the author was quite successful in making the story about the pioneers themselves and not about Mormonism or polygamy.
This book is appropriate and accessible to younger girls, but I found it to be well-written enough that adults would enjoy it as well -- a quick, enjoyable read. Thanks to my mother-in-law for gifting this one to me.
cheryl6of8's review
4.0
My sister-in-law handed over a bunch of books she was done with so that I could give them away at book festivals in the spring. She told me that I had to read this one. This is a story of a young Welsh girl who is part of a Mormon handcart company making the journey to Utah in 1856. I grew up in Utah and am a Mormon, so Iam familiar with the basics of the story of poor families pushing and pulling their belongings across the prairies to their new home. Seeing it all through the eyes of 13 year old girl was enlightening. I cried through the last 50+ pages. It was a well told story and I see why my sister-in-law recommended it. I was surprised and pleased to see that the author (listed on the book jacket as A. E. Cannon) is someone I was acquainted with slightly shortly before the book was published. It is a reminder that writing a book is not out of the question for someone like me.
whitneyborup's review
3.0
As far as young adult literature about Mormon pioneers go, I thought this was alright.
margaretann84's review
4.0
A beautiful story about different types of love--religious, romantic, and familial, and how a young Welsh immigrant on the Mormon Trail to Utah in 1856. Part of it actually made me cry, which doubly unusual because I'm not a big fan of "God" books. Overall, it was good. The main character was dynamic in a clunky kind of way, which is appropriate given her age. The descriptions of the trail were good, though time in the book didn't seem to flow very well. A definite recommendation to historical fiction lovers and YA lovers alike.
4/5 on here, 8/10 for myself
4/5 on here, 8/10 for myself
boricuabookfairy's review
4.0
I've read this book if I'm correct in 8th grade. I'm now a eighteen year old finishing high school, and I could honestly say this book was a memorable one. It was probably the historical fiction of the story or how I related to this young lady in the story. But it became a memorable book, that I could remember the title to the dot.
I would re-read this book again any day.
I would re-read this book again any day.
arguhlincozzi's review
5.0
The first time I read this book, I was in the 4th grade, lying in a hospital bed, recovering from a particularly acute case of appendicitis. The recovery time was long, the time in the hospital punctuated by a lot of pain in different parts of my body, and not great food. BUT- there was this book.
It was a gift from a co-worker of my father, and that meant it was A NEW BOOK. Being someone who read voraciously meant that every new book was a call for celebration. They weren't always easy to come by, books that were new and belonged to me. I needed a lot of rest, so a book that would have taken me 2 days to read took me a week of recovery time, and I spent a lot of time alongside Charlotte as she cared for Rose and observed the difficulties of the trail to Zion.
This book, in comparison to 'Bound For Oregon', which I recently reviewed, is a far less preachy and much more nuanced perspective of the settlement period in the United States, and the Native American reaction to it. Charlotte is a Welsh immigrant, escaping the oppressive English governance. While she also reacts with fear initially to Native Americans in one encounter, she later comes to view them as the saviors of their party, when they arrive in the middle of the trail, as the only opportunity to trade for food, and also the providers of what they are able to trade in the first place.
The Mormon perspective on religion, Zion, and how they are received by Christians is taken here, but not in a way that's meant to convert. This is clearly a historical fiction, showing the strong beliefs of this group, the strength and joy their faith offers them, and the resulting culture they cherish. The emotional maturity and complexity shown in this book as we watch Charlotte grow up as she travels and cares for Rose touches me each time I read this book, and the guidance she receives from various adults, the open opportunity she has to mourn her mother with her father, and her ability to carry on in the face of everything, I think, gave me strength when I first read it, and gives me strength even now.
It was a gift from a co-worker of my father, and that meant it was A NEW BOOK. Being someone who read voraciously meant that every new book was a call for celebration. They weren't always easy to come by, books that were new and belonged to me. I needed a lot of rest, so a book that would have taken me 2 days to read took me a week of recovery time, and I spent a lot of time alongside Charlotte as she cared for Rose and observed the difficulties of the trail to Zion.
This book, in comparison to 'Bound For Oregon', which I recently reviewed, is a far less preachy and much more nuanced perspective of the settlement period in the United States, and the Native American reaction to it. Charlotte is a Welsh immigrant, escaping the oppressive English governance. While she also reacts with fear initially to Native Americans in one encounter, she later comes to view them as the saviors of their party, when they arrive in the middle of the trail, as the only opportunity to trade for food, and also the providers of what they are able to trade in the first place.
The Mormon perspective on religion, Zion, and how they are received by Christians is taken here, but not in a way that's meant to convert. This is clearly a historical fiction, showing the strong beliefs of this group, the strength and joy their faith offers them, and the resulting culture they cherish. The emotional maturity and complexity shown in this book as we watch Charlotte grow up as she travels and cares for Rose touches me each time I read this book, and the guidance she receives from various adults, the open opportunity she has to mourn her mother with her father, and her ability to carry on in the face of everything, I think, gave me strength when I first read it, and gives me strength even now.
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