A review by llama_lord
West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi by Jim Murphy

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It features a unique spin on the common Westward Expansion theme in the Dear America stories because the Viscardi family is traveling by train to form a utopian community in Idaho. However, I think the real standout in this book is the family dynamic. Particularly the relationship between Teresa and her younger sister Antoinetta. To a lesser extent I think the relationship between her father and uncle was also very interesting, and unfortunately the rest of the family is not as fleshed out as these four characters. That said, I think that the relationship between Teresa and her sister is one of the most believable and endearing sibling relationships in the entire series. That in itself is enough for me to recommend this book. However, there were other parts that I enjoyed also, such as the fact that Teresa keeps up a correspondence with her teacher from New York throughout her journey west.
SpoilerI also loved the fact that Teresa doesn't end up marrying the story's love interest in the epilogue. Almost every Dear America book has the main character end up marrying whatever boy she likes in the story no matter how childish or insignificant their relationship is. Just a pet peeve of mine.
Overall this is a great DA book and I definitely recommend it.