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passifloraincarnata's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
katemarie99's review against another edition
2.0
I like rags-to-riches stories but otherwise it was lame.
jamie_o's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This one wasn't quite as compelling as several of the others but it was still well-written. Ralph arrives in Nebraska with only a dime to his name, but months later owns several teams of horses and wagons and has made a name for himself in the area.
Ralph astonishes me in every book in this series with his incredible work ethic, ingenuity, and problem solving skills. Here, he turns a bad situation, working as a day laborer for a dishonest, angry, abusive farmer (who ends up dying at that), into a profitable endeavor. Ralph comes up with a business plan, and aided by the crew he was hired with, saves the wheat crop for the farmer's widow. I loved how dedicated and helpful Judy (the widow's sister) is to Ralph and company. She's truly the backbone of the crew. Hopefully Ralph realizes her for the keeper she is.
The worst aspect of the book is the descriptions of the equipment, wheat farming, and hauling processes. These terms and processes were foreign to me and I often had a hard time visualizing what was happening... and there are some lengthy sections of this.
"When I was a little kid I used to wish I could talk to horses and they to me, but I think it's better just as it is, for among people it's talking more than anything else that breaks friendships and causes misunderstandings."
"The painting wasn't exactly professional looking, but a lot better than I would have expected of two girls, one of them barely an eight-year-old, and Michelangelo couldn't have been more proud of his masterpiece than they were of theirs."
Ralph astonishes me in every book in this series with his incredible work ethic, ingenuity, and problem solving skills. Here, he turns a bad situation, working as a day laborer for a dishonest, angry, abusive farmer (who ends up dying at that), into a profitable endeavor. Ralph comes up with a business plan, and aided by the crew he was hired with, saves the wheat crop for the farmer's widow. I loved how dedicated and helpful Judy (the widow's sister) is to Ralph and company. She's truly the backbone of the crew. Hopefully Ralph realizes her for the keeper she is.
The worst aspect of the book is the descriptions of the equipment, wheat farming, and hauling processes. These terms and processes were foreign to me and I often had a hard time visualizing what was happening... and there are some lengthy sections of this.
"When I was a little kid I used to wish I could talk to horses and they to me, but I think it's better just as it is, for among people it's talking more than anything else that breaks friendships and causes misunderstandings."
"The painting wasn't exactly professional looking, but a lot better than I would have expected of two girls, one of them barely an eight-year-old, and Michelangelo couldn't have been more proud of his masterpiece than they were of theirs."
dawnica's review against another edition
3.0
I’m so spoiled by beautiful cover art these days, I have a hard time with ones like this
satyridae's review
2.0
This one made me wonder some. Moody's so unwaveringly bright, so much more insightful than any other character in the book, so adept at every task he puts his hand to- he's a better loan officer than the banker, a better bookkeeper than the accountant, a better horseman than the rancher, a better milker than the dairymaid, and so on. It got somewhat monotonous, listening to this 20-year-old kid teach everyone else their business.
I understand that he's using his life to illuminate the wonders and rewards of hard work and sheer grit. I get it. I just don't know that I believe it all, especially since a little research shows that he didn't write this series till he was well into his 50s. I suspect a little bit of euphoric recall crept in after he married a woman who wouldn't allow him to do any ranching at all.
Still an interesting historical perspective, but not my favorite.
I understand that he's using his life to illuminate the wonders and rewards of hard work and sheer grit. I get it. I just don't know that I believe it all, especially since a little research shows that he didn't write this series till he was well into his 50s. I suspect a little bit of euphoric recall crept in after he married a woman who wouldn't allow him to do any ranching at all.
Still an interesting historical perspective, but not my favorite.
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