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A review by emilyusuallyreading
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell by Kristiana Gregory
4.0
I'm currently on a middle grade book kick.
What I Liked
I chose to read this one because it was a favorite when I was small. I still remember the children putting "axle grease" on their lips because they were so chapped - but in my youth, I equated this to Carmex!
For a children's novel, this one doesn't dumb down death and tragedy. There are several tragic deaths throughout the story - eating poisonous hemlock, being washed away at sea, small children wandering away and never being found again, a child trampled by mules, a nine-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed by his friends, and more. While it wasn't pleasant to read these accounts, they kept me reading. I felt as if I was reading the diary of a 13-year-old girl ... and not only a book written for 13-year-old girls.
What I Didn't Like
A little too much obsession with "Will anyone ever love me?" "What IS love?" "What IS it like to be a bride?" for my taste, but that's just a matter of personal preference.
What I Liked
I chose to read this one because it was a favorite when I was small. I still remember the children putting "axle grease" on their lips because they were so chapped - but in my youth, I equated this to Carmex!
For a children's novel, this one doesn't dumb down death and tragedy. There are several tragic deaths throughout the story - eating poisonous hemlock, being washed away at sea, small children wandering away and never being found again, a child trampled by mules, a nine-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed by his friends, and more. While it wasn't pleasant to read these accounts, they kept me reading. I felt as if I was reading the diary of a 13-year-old girl ... and not only a book written for 13-year-old girls.
What I Didn't Like
A little too much obsession with "Will anyone ever love me?" "What IS love?" "What IS it like to be a bride?" for my taste, but that's just a matter of personal preference.