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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
What a lovely romance between Laura and Almanzo. As usual, I love the Little House books, and this one is no exception.
Teaching and becoming a young lady on the pioneer prairie. Courting process seems a mite odd (not much talking!), but at least she refused to obey him in their marriage vows. Tornado tales seem unlikely.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
I've been slowly making my way through this terrific series and recently finished this penultimate installment. In "These Happy Golden Years," Laura starts teaching (at age 15) and also is courted by Almanzo Wilder (star of "Farmer Boy"). She and Almanzo marry and Laura leaves home at age 18 to make her new home with Almanzo. After having spent so much time with Laura and her family, I was truly moved to witness her leaving what had been her whole world and heading out on her own.
2 stars. I know that I'm not the intended audience, but this one was the least interesting/most boring of the series for me. I was fine with the descriptions of farming/prairie life in the earlier books, but not with the sewing and dress descriptions in this one - not my thing at all. And I know they took up less space in this book than any of the other tasks did in the others; I'd still rather read about twisting hay into "logs" to burn! Also this is the so-called romantic book of the series and it's really not romantic at all. Yes, Laura agrees to becoming engaged to Almanzo and then to marry him, but it is a totally emotionless relationship. Things I did like: Laura's hell while boarding with the Brewsters, the sleigh descriptions, the horses (loved that Barnum was easy to drive for her), and the tornado weather. I read this for my 2019 Reading Challenge and for my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book, 1944).
I think this might be my favorite in the series. The romance between Almanzo and Laura was so sweet! And I loved following Laura as she trained to be a teacher. Also, my heart pounded a little faster in the scene where the wife in the couple who she boards with is standing over her husband in the middle of the night with a kitchen knife. EEEESH!
Read to kids winter 2020/2021. Surprised by how engaging it was for them.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As always, I have mixed thoughts (this line should be standard on every review I write)
I was very sad reading this, as it's the last "real" book of the series. I'm also pretty sure I never read this one as a kid/teen, perhaps ever, as none of it really seemed even vaguely familiar.
I love watching Laura begin to have an adult relationship with Almanzo, (and I know times were different) but it still seemed like she agreed to marry him within even falling in love with him. They dated/courted a lot, certainly, and it's obviously from the beginning that Almanzo had feelings for Laura (even when she didn't see it, we the reading audience did). In the books, the two barely talked & half the time they seemed like that didn't even acknowledge each other's presence! (and yes, I know everyone is different; just because I love to (over) talk (and that's how I process things, is by talking aloud even if the other person isn't listening) doesn't mean every likes to talk, but they went on a bunch of sleigh/carriage rides and then "let's get married!" It certainly wasn't sudden since they had been courting for years, but compared to today's books, the lack of emotion during the courting is startling. And Almanzo is just so incredibly sweet to Laura.
The age difference between the two bothers me a bit, but Almanzo certainly acts like a proper gentleman.
It was very interesting reading the whole courtship, that's for sure; similarly, it was very interesting the way Laura's Pa basically manipulated Laura into spending her hard earned money (doing a job she mostly didn't want/hated) the way he wanted (i.e. the organ that Mary isn't even around to play and no one else knew how to play. $100 is SUCH a lot of money to spend on such a thing!) All that money could have been used when Laura got married, or held onto for a rainy day when the crops are bad one year. It's not like there's such a thing as insurance in those days, after all. So spend money on an organ??
I was very sad reading this, as it's the last "real" book of the series. I'm also pretty sure I never read this one as a kid/teen, perhaps ever, as none of it really seemed even vaguely familiar.
I love watching Laura begin to have an adult relationship with Almanzo, (and I know times were different) but it still seemed like she agreed to marry him within even falling in love with him. They dated/courted a lot, certainly, and it's obviously from the beginning that Almanzo had feelings for Laura (even when she didn't see it, we the reading audience did). In the books, the two barely talked & half the time they seemed like that didn't even acknowledge each other's presence! (and yes, I know everyone is different; just because I love to (over) talk (and that's how I process things, is by talking aloud even if the other person isn't listening) doesn't mean every likes to talk, but they went on a bunch of sleigh/carriage rides and then "let's get married!" It certainly wasn't sudden since they had been courting for years, but compared to today's books, the lack of emotion during the courting is startling. And Almanzo is just so incredibly sweet to Laura.
The age difference between the two bothers me a bit, but Almanzo certainly acts like a proper gentleman.
It was very interesting reading the whole courtship, that's for sure; similarly, it was very interesting the way Laura's Pa basically manipulated Laura into spending her hard earned money (doing a job she mostly didn't want/hated) the way he wanted (i.e. the organ that Mary isn't even around to play and no one else knew how to play. $100 is SUCH a lot of money to spend on such a thing!) All that money could have been used when Laura got married, or held onto for a rainy day when the crops are bad one year. It's not like there's such a thing as insurance in those days, after all. So spend money on an organ??