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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book. Very quick read. I wish you could give it 1/2 stars as I would really give it 3 1/2. Mattie Spenser is a new bride who moves West with her husband to Colorado. I love pioneer stories. The boook is told through Mattie's diary which she wrote crisscross. She would write over her text in by turning the page a quarter to both save paper and keep her secrets. Definitely not a romanticized version of Prairie life.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably more of a 3.5 for me. I liked the story and the humor but wasn't sure I liked how she finished the book.
Oh boy, what a wild ride. This book, as you can probably guess is written in journal form, so it is a very quick read. However, it is NOT a love story. Which I very much thought that there would be some romance in it. There was about 3%. The other 97% was straight hardship, murder, babies dying, Indians killing and kindnapping. My heavens! So sad! As such was life on the western front. And reading about it first hand made my heart ache for her. She was one tough gal.
I had heard that this book is similar to “these is my words”. Which is totally is. Only “this is my words” is much better. Because it is a love story. And it also has sad things happen but it is SO good. You love the characters. I never loved Mattie and I sure as heck didn’t love Luke!
3 1/2 stars for me!
I had heard that this book is similar to “these is my words”. Which is totally is. Only “this is my words” is much better. Because it is a love story. And it also has sad things happen but it is SO good. You love the characters. I never loved Mattie and I sure as heck didn’t love Luke!
3 1/2 stars for me!
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
5***** and a ❤
This novel may be my favorite of Sandra Dallas's works. She has a way of making her characters speak straight to the reader. There is a real sense of time and place in this book - helped by the "diary" style in which it is written. Mattie Spenser is a young Iowa farm girl who marries Luke Spenser and moves (via wagon train) to Colorado Territory shortly after the Civil War. She encounters hardships, loneliness, and violence; and she finds an unexpected love. Her grit, perseverance and integrity endear her to all - even, eventually, to her husband. Great story. Great writing.
I've read it twice ... my book club selected it in January 2004.
This novel may be my favorite of Sandra Dallas's works. She has a way of making her characters speak straight to the reader. There is a real sense of time and place in this book - helped by the "diary" style in which it is written. Mattie Spenser is a young Iowa farm girl who marries Luke Spenser and moves (via wagon train) to Colorado Territory shortly after the Civil War. She encounters hardships, loneliness, and violence; and she finds an unexpected love. Her grit, perseverance and integrity endear her to all - even, eventually, to her husband. Great story. Great writing.
I've read it twice ... my book club selected it in January 2004.
An abrupt end… it has closure but it still leaves you asking questions.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes