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actuallyitsmary's review
3.0
I wish I went into this book like I did with "The Watch That Ends the Night". I didn't take the time to see who was speaking each page so I got lost a whole lot. Other than that though, it was a really good story and I really enjoyed it. Nearly every time I took the time to read the book I got goosebumps, especially from Hunger.
dstricker98's review
5.0
I'm just going to sit and appreciate my life for a second...
A historical fiction piece on the Donner party written in verse? I would never but I am SO grateful I did because just wow? The emotional impact? The horror of one of the most well-known disasters of our American history(and we have quite a lot of disasters)
Listen, I won't sit here and tell you I ENJOYED this book. No, I cringed from the horror of it all in so many places. But the fascination that something like this happened in our history and seeing the different perspectives had hooked me into finishing the book. I thought it was well written and the long verse made the emotions more impactful. NOT for the faint of heart.
A historical fiction piece on the Donner party written in verse? I would never but I am SO grateful I did because just wow? The emotional impact? The horror of one of the most well-known disasters of our American history(and we have quite a lot of disasters)
Listen, I won't sit here and tell you I ENJOYED this book. No, I cringed from the horror of it all in so many places. But the fascination that something like this happened in our history and seeing the different perspectives had hooked me into finishing the book. I thought it was well written and the long verse made the emotions more impactful. NOT for the faint of heart.
writethruchaos's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
draculaura21's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
annakelly's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
erincataldi's review
5.0
Woah - this book gave me freaking chills. I remember being fascinated with the horrific fate of the Donner Party when I was younger - but I hadn't given it much thought since. This remarkable telling of events is told in verse, journal entries, letters, and maps. The slow build up of terror guarantees that you won't be able to tear your eyes off the page. Told through multiple perspective: a German immigrant, an orphan boy, an 8 year old, a father, and two indigenous scouts help give this story a well rounded view of the situation. For those that aren't aware - The Donner Party got trapped in the mountains not even 90 miles away from a fort by an extremely early winter. They slowly starved to death and succumbed to cannibalism - it was truly horrific. This book..... is one I will 100% read again and recommend to teens and adults - the notes and the statistics at the end are also wonderful additions. The author really shined a lot on an awful situation and refrained from placing the blame on anyone while still remaining objective. Marvelous storytelling!!
meaganmart's review
5.0
This book was incredibly well researched and thoughtfully and carefully written. It is a compassionate and detailed view of the Donner Party tragedy told through the points of view of multiple members of the expedition and narrated by the omniscient figure of Hunger.
kelleemoye's review
4.0
Allan Wolf is a genius. Have you read anything by him yet? If not, fix that. This one or his Titanic novel are brilliant. The way he tackles topics, does research to immerse himself, and can tell stories from so many points of view is just so all encompassing. I mean, some of the points of view in this book, which is about the Donner Party, is from hunger (literal and figurative) and from oxen–it was fascinating to read!
k_paul's review
5.0
This was one of the books required to read for class. I was initially drawn in by the cover. It wasn't until I was about to start reading that I noticed it said "voices from the Donner Party" on the cover. I was interested to see how the story went.
Despite this being historical fiction, I think this book would be a good kickstart to learning about the Donner party and the expansion out west. I know the Donner party was briefly mentioned in passing during this unit in school, which I get because of cannibalism, but Allan Wolf does a great job of rationalizing what happened. It was a terrible thing that happened, but the Donner party didn't just decide to be cannibalists. There were more factors at play and this book points that out quite well.
Warnings: drugs (mentions of drinking and whiskey, some smoking), R&R (death, prideful men, angry women, survival of the fittest mentality, cannibalism, withholding provisions, extreme weather), language (some swearing), violence (killing animals, leaving people behind, murder, banishment, hitting with a bullwhip, starvation, cannibalism) people in general???
Despite this being historical fiction, I think this book would be a good kickstart to learning about the Donner party and the expansion out west. I know the Donner party was briefly mentioned in passing during this unit in school, which I get because of cannibalism, but Allan Wolf does a great job of rationalizing what happened. It was a terrible thing that happened, but the Donner party didn't just decide to be cannibalists. There were more factors at play and this book points that out quite well.
Warnings: drugs (mentions of drinking and whiskey, some smoking), R&R (death, prideful men, angry women, survival of the fittest mentality, cannibalism, withholding provisions, extreme weather), language (some swearing), violence (killing animals, leaving people behind, murder, banishment, hitting with a bullwhip, starvation, cannibalism) people in general???