A review by author_d_r_oestreicher
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 When much of the country is celebrating the harvest, solstice, and new year and year-end, I am in Southern California wishing for colorful leaves and snow. Fortunately, I can vanquish my jealousy by reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The long winter lasted for seven months on the Dakota prairie in 1880-81. During this winter Laura’s family faced the risks of freezing or starving. Laura worried that her father would be lost in a snowstorm and grew tired of brown bread made from wheat milled in a coffee grinder and froze her hands twisting straw into fuel to heat their home. This book was enough for me to forgo autumn leaves and fields of sparkling white snow.