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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
This is the second YA western that I have read in the last year. I liked the characters and enjoyed the story. Lee is a brave young woman who does what she feels she must to escape a bad situation. Throughout her travels, she learns a lot about trusting others and how to adapt to a foreign atmosphere. I look forward to the next book.
3.5 stars
It started out at 5 stars, and then it kind of lulled a bit in the middle, though I can't quite put my finger on why, exactly, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. But it's still a pretty good read, and I'd like to continue on to see what happens to Leah and Jefferson.
Oh I guess one thing that grates on me is that in stories like this (i.e., ones where young women have to act like a man for whatver reason), men are usually (emphasis on the usually) painted as drudges and as being stupid, rash, unthinking, and/or blundering. And women are usually (emphasis in the usually) painted as being logical, sane, quick-thinking, and smart.
Now let me just say that no, this particular book is NOT as bad as some I've encountered when it comes to how men are described (or degraded) and how women are exalted for being better than men. I greatly appreciated the handful of moments in this book when some of the men in the story were logical, rational, and good people (because I believe men can actually be those things and not just be idiots... though I will admit that not all of the men I've met were saints and some of them might have been rather dense at times).
Anyway, my point is to say that it got tiresome to wade through some of this stuff as I read, and regardless of whether men are or are not (or were/were not) this way, I don't like having it tossed at me throughout the story. When I read books, I generally want to escape and avoid these sorts of things, not have them demonstrated on multiple occasions throughout the story.
So... yeah. Like I said before, not a bad read, it just grew tiresome and lagged a bit. There were a lot of challenges and hardships (as to be expected for people traveling across the United States in the mid 19th century), and I guess I thought I was going to get a story containing a little more fantasy stuff, what with Lee's ability to sense gold and all that.
Overall, this book paints what I would call a realistic perspective of what it may have been like to travel in a wagon train across the country in the mid 19th century. It certainly doesn't paint a rosy picture, though I'm sure there were some good moments along the way. (I just can't remember them off the top of my head at the moment).
Content: (this list contains mild spoilers)
Two people murdered early on in the book with some descriptions of how it happened, physical abuse and beating (happens off the page), a general sense of peril as Lee travels from place to place, racism against African Americans and Native Americans, various deaths of characters as they travel from Georgia to California (some more traumatic than others), death of woman in childbirth (happens off the page) amputation of a man's leg after being trampled, several moments of hunting and killing of animals or abandoning too-weak animals, a low-detail description of labor and childbirth (Lee helps out so you get to read through the process), starvation and dehydration.
It started out at 5 stars, and then it kind of lulled a bit in the middle, though I can't quite put my finger on why, exactly, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. But it's still a pretty good read, and I'd like to continue on to see what happens to Leah and Jefferson.
Oh I guess one thing that grates on me is that in stories like this (i.e., ones where young women have to act like a man for whatver reason), men are usually (emphasis on the usually) painted as drudges and as being stupid, rash, unthinking, and/or blundering. And women are usually (emphasis in the usually) painted as being logical, sane, quick-thinking, and smart.
Now let me just say that no, this particular book is NOT as bad as some I've encountered when it comes to how men are described (or degraded) and how women are exalted for being better than men. I greatly appreciated the handful of moments in this book when some of the men in the story were logical, rational, and good people (because I believe men can actually be those things and not just be idiots... though I will admit that not all of the men I've met were saints and some of them might have been rather dense at times).
Anyway, my point is to say that it got tiresome to wade through some of this stuff as I read, and regardless of whether men are or are not (or were/were not) this way, I don't like having it tossed at me throughout the story. When I read books, I generally want to escape and avoid these sorts of things, not have them demonstrated on multiple occasions throughout the story.
So... yeah. Like I said before, not a bad read, it just grew tiresome and lagged a bit. There were a lot of challenges and hardships (as to be expected for people traveling across the United States in the mid 19th century), and I guess I thought I was going to get a story containing a little more fantasy stuff, what with Lee's ability to sense gold and all that.
Overall, this book paints what I would call a realistic perspective of what it may have been like to travel in a wagon train across the country in the mid 19th century. It certainly doesn't paint a rosy picture, though I'm sure there were some good moments along the way. (I just can't remember them off the top of my head at the moment).
Content: (this list contains mild spoilers)
Two people murdered early on in the book with some descriptions of how it happened, physical abuse and beating (happens off the page), a general sense of peril as Lee travels from place to place, racism against African Americans and Native Americans, various deaths of characters as they travel from Georgia to California (some more traumatic than others), death of woman in childbirth (happens off the page) amputation of a man's leg after being trampled, several moments of hunting and killing of animals or abandoning too-weak animals, a low-detail description of labor and childbirth (Lee helps out so you get to read through the process), starvation and dehydration.
I really liked this book and liked that it was a western. That's a genre that doesn't have too many books getting released in. The characters were great and I can't wait to see where they end up.
This book is amazing and the first one I have read by Rae Carson. I can't wait to get into the 2nd book, I couldn't put this one down all day. The writing, story and character development is wonderful. I absolutely loved it!
“I swallow hard and try to lower my voice, but I’ve never mastered the gentle firmness of Mama’s way. I’m a too-loud-or-nothing kind of girl”
I've been sleeping on this trilogy. I see a lot of lukewarm responses to this first book, and it definitely made me hesitate to pick it up, but now, on the other side, I honestly don't know how people can find it boring or slow. This is the story of a girl fighting to be a girl in 19th century America. What's not to love?
Leah "Lee" Westfall finds her parents murdered, and her best friend decides to leave to go west to California for the gold rush there. Lee is torn, but her Uncle Hiram comes to claim her, and he is terrible, so she gathers her belongings and her wits and follows Jefferson, leaving the only home she's ever known in Georgia to trek across the country. She disguises herself as a boy and begins her journey, with no idea of the family she's about to find or the trials she's about to face as the cruelty of America comes to bear on her and her life. Oh, and she has a magical ability to divine gold - an ability that will help her more than she could ever know.
As I said before, I absolutely adored this. There is something about Leah Westfall that is quietly spunky in such an interesting way. She's not a YA heroine who mouths off all the time, but nor is she the girl who hides in the corner and does what she's told. She has this beautiful, quiet, innate strength that is just solidified over the course of her journey. She doesn't want to be a man; she wants to be a girl with the rights of a man, and the way that she fights for that in her daily life is truly breathtaking. I found myself clutching the book multiple times just wanting so badly to give her a hug.
Women are truly at the heart of this book, and I cannot WAIT to get my hands on the sequel to find out how their journeys all end. My heart broke for Therese, and Becky Joiner, and everyone else that had so much growth and development throughout this book. There was not one flat female character. Everyone had a journey, and that pushed this over the top for me into my favourites list.
The other supporting characters are also crucial to Lee's journey. Jefferson is wonderful: he's half-Native American, and the way that Rae wove all kinds of injustices into this story made it feel like she was leaving no stone left unturned. I raged with Jeff, wanted to burn Frank Dilley and his boys to the ground for their treatment of him but also their ideas about slavery and women and just all of it. There are so many layers, so much intersectionality at work here that both Lee begins to recognize (her conversation with Hampton and the college boys sticks out to me as a particular moment of learning for her) and that Rae shines a wonderful light on. She could have brushed past so many things, and she didn't.
Finally, the picture that Rae paints of 1849 America is bloody, brutal, and so vivid that I feel like I lived there. I love her ability to worldbuild. This was just so intense, and so real, and I loved it so much.
I've been sleeping on this trilogy. I see a lot of lukewarm responses to this first book, and it definitely made me hesitate to pick it up, but now, on the other side, I honestly don't know how people can find it boring or slow. This is the story of a girl fighting to be a girl in 19th century America. What's not to love?
Leah "Lee" Westfall finds her parents murdered, and her best friend decides to leave to go west to California for the gold rush there. Lee is torn, but her Uncle Hiram comes to claim her, and he is terrible, so she gathers her belongings and her wits and follows Jefferson, leaving the only home she's ever known in Georgia to trek across the country. She disguises herself as a boy and begins her journey, with no idea of the family she's about to find or the trials she's about to face as the cruelty of America comes to bear on her and her life. Oh, and she has a magical ability to divine gold - an ability that will help her more than she could ever know.
As I said before, I absolutely adored this. There is something about Leah Westfall that is quietly spunky in such an interesting way. She's not a YA heroine who mouths off all the time, but nor is she the girl who hides in the corner and does what she's told. She has this beautiful, quiet, innate strength that is just solidified over the course of her journey. She doesn't want to be a man; she wants to be a girl with the rights of a man, and the way that she fights for that in her daily life is truly breathtaking. I found myself clutching the book multiple times just wanting so badly to give her a hug.
Women are truly at the heart of this book, and I cannot WAIT to get my hands on the sequel to find out how their journeys all end. My heart broke for Therese, and Becky Joiner, and everyone else that had so much growth and development throughout this book. There was not one flat female character. Everyone had a journey, and that pushed this over the top for me into my favourites list.
The other supporting characters are also crucial to Lee's journey. Jefferson is wonderful: he's half-Native American, and the way that Rae wove all kinds of injustices into this story made it feel like she was leaving no stone left unturned. I raged with Jeff, wanted to burn Frank Dilley and his boys to the ground for their treatment of him but also their ideas about slavery and women and just all of it. There are so many layers, so much intersectionality at work here that both Lee begins to recognize (her conversation with Hampton and the college boys sticks out to me as a particular moment of learning for her) and that Rae shines a wonderful light on. She could have brushed past so many things, and she didn't.
Finally, the picture that Rae paints of 1849 America is bloody, brutal, and so vivid that I feel like I lived there. I love her ability to worldbuild. This was just so intense, and so real, and I loved it so much.
RATING: 5 stars
UPDATE #2: So I was apparently really bad at writing reviews? What does all that stuff even mean lol
Anyway I still love the settings in this book and the wonderful descriptions; basically I adore the overall atmosphere of it. It really makes you feel like you're there with them.
I can't believe I never mentioned the great found family though? They kept losing people all throughout the book but you can really tell that only made the ones remaining grow closer lol, especially Becky Joyner? I've never been a huge fan of her but I gotta say she grew on me a lot this time around!
There are still plenty of characters I love to hate, though: Frank Dilley is such an asshole lol and of course Hiram is like the devil incarnate. I also found myself wondering what the hell Jefferson was thinking for half the book? I have no idea why he was so hot and cold to Lee lol like I love him and I love them together but also...? He was sorta rude a lot of the time?
Also I love Lee more every time I reread this series ajfksj she's so amazing and strong and apparently we're practically the same age now? Wtf
And the humor in this book? Honestly it's pretty funny at times, again idk how I haven't mentioned this before? Considering I've read this book four times now? Maybe I'll just make it an annual thing lol (actually can they make movies of these? I'd love that omg)
Anyway I remember the second book not being the best thing ever but honestly as long as it's about these characters in this setting I think I'm okay with reading practically anything lol
UPDATE: After re-reading it again, I can safely say I still agree with all of these things! I'd really love to visit California and see if there's any historical things there about the Gold Rush sometime lol
I love this series so much, honestly. I love the setting during the Gold Rush and the covers are beautiful and the characters are amazing and it's just really, really good. I especially love the beginning of this book because even Lee is excited then. These books have a way of making you feel whatever the characters feel- at the end, Lee was tired and needed to get to California, and that was really conveyed well through the writing. At the beginning she was scared and maybe a little excited- and I was scared for her and excited mostly for her to see Jefferson again lol.
The point is that this series is really immersive and makes you feel like it really is the 1840s and that gold awaits in California and that things are actually as pretty in real life as they are on these GORGEOUS COVERS I MEAN LOOK AT THEM lol
UPDATE #2: So I was apparently really bad at writing reviews? What does all that stuff even mean lol
Anyway I still love the settings in this book and the wonderful descriptions; basically I adore the overall atmosphere of it. It really makes you feel like you're there with them.
I can't believe I never mentioned the great found family though? They kept losing people all throughout the book but you can really tell that only made the ones remaining grow closer lol, especially Becky Joyner? I've never been a huge fan of her but I gotta say she grew on me a lot this time around!
There are still plenty of characters I love to hate, though: Frank Dilley is such an asshole lol and of course Hiram is like the devil incarnate. I also found myself wondering what the hell Jefferson was thinking for half the book? I have no idea why he was so hot and cold to Lee lol like I love him and I love them together but also...? He was sorta rude a lot of the time?
Also I love Lee more every time I reread this series ajfksj she's so amazing and strong and apparently we're practically the same age now? Wtf
And the humor in this book? Honestly it's pretty funny at times, again idk how I haven't mentioned this before? Considering I've read this book four times now? Maybe I'll just make it an annual thing lol (actually can they make movies of these? I'd love that omg)
Anyway I remember the second book not being the best thing ever but honestly as long as it's about these characters in this setting I think I'm okay with reading practically anything lol
UPDATE: After re-reading it again, I can safely say I still agree with all of these things! I'd really love to visit California and see if there's any historical things there about the Gold Rush sometime lol
I love this series so much, honestly. I love the setting during the Gold Rush and the covers are beautiful and the characters are amazing and it's just really, really good. I especially love the beginning of this book because even Lee is excited then. These books have a way of making you feel whatever the characters feel- at the end, Lee was tired and needed to get to California, and that was really conveyed well through the writing. At the beginning she was scared and maybe a little excited- and I was scared for her and excited mostly for her to see Jefferson again lol.
The point is that this series is really immersive and makes you feel like it really is the 1840s and that gold awaits in California and that things are actually as pretty in real life as they are on these GORGEOUS COVERS I MEAN LOOK AT THEM lol
I really enjoyed this book, and I don’t think it needed the gold magic aspect at all for it to be entertaining. In fact, it didn’t really seem to fit.
I thought this book was really enjoyable. The story is about a girl named Lee. She has an ability where she can sense gold. She keeps this hidden to keep her and her parents safe. Unfortunately, (spoiler), her parents are murdered. It is revealed that someone close to her, who was trusted with her secret, is the one who did it. In order to escape a life of being controlled and worse, she heads west to California, where gold is abundant. Her journey to California was exciting to read. She travels as boy with a group of people. They have to go through many trials to survive on their journey.
The plot is pretty fast paced and entertaining. However I think my favorite part of the book is Lee. She is a very hard working, clever girl. She gets herself through many situations. It amazes how she was able to head west while disguised as a boy all by herself. Especially since the whole time the person who killed her parents is tracking her down. She is very brave. I also like her relationships with the people she is traveling with. She has a childhood sweetheart and her horse, but everyone else is a stranger. One lady in particular, a mother of three children, was particularly intriguing to me. At first, she didn't like Lee. She was wary of her and tried to keep her kids away. As the book goes on, they become much closer and it was nice to see that. Overall, it was a great, pretty easy read. The ending made me glad the book is apart of a series.
The plot is pretty fast paced and entertaining. However I think my favorite part of the book is Lee. She is a very hard working, clever girl. She gets herself through many situations. It amazes how she was able to head west while disguised as a boy all by herself. Especially since the whole time the person who killed her parents is tracking her down. She is very brave. I also like her relationships with the people she is traveling with. She has a childhood sweetheart and her horse, but everyone else is a stranger. One lady in particular, a mother of three children, was particularly intriguing to me. At first, she didn't like Lee. She was wary of her and tried to keep her kids away. As the book goes on, they become much closer and it was nice to see that. Overall, it was a great, pretty easy read. The ending made me glad the book is apart of a series.
Leah Westfall has a secret the she and her parents have kept hidden from everyone they know in Georgia. Lee can sense gold whether it's a piece of jewelry, a stray nugget, or veins of gold deep in the earth. Lee's parents have always feared Lee's magic could lead to trouble for her and their family.
They were right.
In January 1849 Lee's life changes forever and, for the first time, she is completely alone in the world. Even her best friend, Jefferson, has left her behind to chase the promise of gold and a fresh start in California
With nothing left to keep her in Georgia and every reason to leave, Lee disguises herself as a boy and sets out to make her own way west and hopefully find her best friend along the way.
The road to California won't be easy. With so many people hoping to find gold and security, Lee is sure her witchy ways will give her an edge. If she can make it that far. After losing so much, and with so long to go, Lee will have to decide who she can trust and who she wants to be in Walk on Earth a Stranger (2015) by Rae Carson.
Walk on Earth a Stranger is the first book in Carson's Gold Seer Trilogy. Because this book focuses heavily on Lee's journey to California it does offer a contained story and can easily be read on its own.
While Walk on Earth a Stranger is very much in the same vein as traditional westerns, it does not offer a sanitized or romanticized version of the west as characters grapple with racism, sexism, and the physical dangers on the trail while also beginning to grasp the enormous change this great movement of people will bring to the western territories of the United States.
Although Lee has a magical ability to find gold, Walk on Earth a Stranger is a historical novel at its core, and extremely well-done at that. Carson has surpassed herself in this well-researched and nuanced novel that covers so many details and perspectives of the 1849 gold rush. Lee falls in with a ragtag cast of characters on her travels west. This varied and diverse group add a lot of dimension to what is already a very rich story.
Lee's first person narration brings the landscape and the era to life as she makes her long trek from Georgia to California. Against the vivid backdrop of her travels, Lee's story is often quite introspective as she ponders her own place in the world and her future out west.
Lee's journey to find herself while also finding her way to a new life is riveting and empowering. Walk on Earth a Stranger perfectly captures the freedom and possibility that can come with following gold west at a time when picking a new identity was as easy as adopting a new name. Walk on Earth a Stranger also returns, again and again, to the idea of choice as Lee is left to choose who she wants to be, and also who she wants beside her, on the long road ahead. A stunning start to a series that is sure to be gold for many readers.
I can't recommend this book highly enough.
Possible Pairings: Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman, A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee, For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund, Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White, Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
*An advance copy of this book was acquired from the publisher for review consideration at BEA 2015*
They were right.
In January 1849 Lee's life changes forever and, for the first time, she is completely alone in the world. Even her best friend, Jefferson, has left her behind to chase the promise of gold and a fresh start in California
With nothing left to keep her in Georgia and every reason to leave, Lee disguises herself as a boy and sets out to make her own way west and hopefully find her best friend along the way.
The road to California won't be easy. With so many people hoping to find gold and security, Lee is sure her witchy ways will give her an edge. If she can make it that far. After losing so much, and with so long to go, Lee will have to decide who she can trust and who she wants to be in Walk on Earth a Stranger (2015) by Rae Carson.
Walk on Earth a Stranger is the first book in Carson's Gold Seer Trilogy. Because this book focuses heavily on Lee's journey to California it does offer a contained story and can easily be read on its own.
While Walk on Earth a Stranger is very much in the same vein as traditional westerns, it does not offer a sanitized or romanticized version of the west as characters grapple with racism, sexism, and the physical dangers on the trail while also beginning to grasp the enormous change this great movement of people will bring to the western territories of the United States.
Although Lee has a magical ability to find gold, Walk on Earth a Stranger is a historical novel at its core, and extremely well-done at that. Carson has surpassed herself in this well-researched and nuanced novel that covers so many details and perspectives of the 1849 gold rush. Lee falls in with a ragtag cast of characters on her travels west. This varied and diverse group add a lot of dimension to what is already a very rich story.
Lee's first person narration brings the landscape and the era to life as she makes her long trek from Georgia to California. Against the vivid backdrop of her travels, Lee's story is often quite introspective as she ponders her own place in the world and her future out west.
Lee's journey to find herself while also finding her way to a new life is riveting and empowering. Walk on Earth a Stranger perfectly captures the freedom and possibility that can come with following gold west at a time when picking a new identity was as easy as adopting a new name. Walk on Earth a Stranger also returns, again and again, to the idea of choice as Lee is left to choose who she wants to be, and also who she wants beside her, on the long road ahead. A stunning start to a series that is sure to be gold for many readers.
I can't recommend this book highly enough.
Possible Pairings: Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman, A Curse as Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee, For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund, Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White, Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
*An advance copy of this book was acquired from the publisher for review consideration at BEA 2015*
To be honest, I felt a disconnect with the characters the entire way through. I never had that moment where I grew to care for them, or really worry for them. I didn't even grow to hate anyone, really. Maybe the word I'm looking for is complex. There was just a lack of detail and complexity to the characters, and so that was a bit of a letdown.
I still found it enjoyable to read about Leah's journey across the US to California though. I liked reading about a more western setting, as it was an interesting change of pace to my usual contemporary and fantasy reads. The author writes in such a way that isn't unpleasant, but isn't spectacular, but keeps me reading nonetheless. Kind of like how I feel about her characters (not loving them, but not hating them either). I'll most likely pick up the second in the series to see what happens, and hopefully the characters and the plot will develop a bit more.
I still found it enjoyable to read about Leah's journey across the US to California though. I liked reading about a more western setting, as it was an interesting change of pace to my usual contemporary and fantasy reads. The author writes in such a way that isn't unpleasant, but isn't spectacular, but keeps me reading nonetheless. Kind of like how I feel about her characters (not loving them, but not hating them either). I'll most likely pick up the second in the series to see what happens, and hopefully the characters and the plot will develop a bit more.