A review by lovegirl30
To Stay Alive: Mary Ann Graves and the Tragic Journey of the Donner Party by Skila Brown

4.0

This was such a beautiful book. It was gritty, horrifying, real, and extremely deep. To Stay Alive is a story told in short poems that tell the fictionalized yet somewhat true story of Mary Ann Graves. Who was a member of the tragic Donner party.

The author tells the story straight up. She makes is engaging but honest. She tells the really gruesome parts without sensationalizing things. She really shares the horrible and bleak things that the pioneers faced. The boring parts, the dirty parts, and the sad and somber parts are all shown in great detail. This isn't an easy read, however, it is a good and important one.

I love the main character, Mary Ann. While her voice seems mature it was important to remember that she was a fairly young girl when everything happened. I loved how she was emotional and loveable. She cared for her family and was a great sister to her younger brother Frank, hold him when she was exhausted and tired. Her voice created a tone for the story. One of hunger, sadness, hope, horror, excitement. It was interesting watching her grow through out the story.

I love free verse poetry, it works so well for this story.

Overall it is a great story. It is a quick read but not a light read. There were parts of this book at the end that made me put the book down and think a lot. I feel like this book will stick with me for a while. I find myself wondering what I would have done on the trail. Would I have followed the same path? It would have been very difficult making some of those choices. It really was eye-opening. Glad I picked it up at the library will be buying it for sure.