by Kirby Larson
Teenage Hattie is tired of being shuffled between relatives. When her uncle dies and leave a homestead to her, she jumps at the chance of having a place to call her own. She gets to Montana and faces blizzards, and hardships while learning to survive on her own. Her biscuits don't rise, her water is freezing and her house is filthy!
Gradually, with the help of some new friends, she adapts to her new life. She finally feels like she is getting somewhere when she learns a hard truth: unless she can make her claim successful, she will have to give it up. The amount of work she will have to do is simply staggering. On top of that, her new friends the Muellers are feeling the pressure of prejudice. Will a tragedy keep her from making it all work?
This was a great book. Hattie goes through a lot of growth and change in this story. Lots of teens will be able to identify with her wanting to do her own thing, and not have to be dependent on others for everything. Hattie has to make choices about who her friends really are, and between the easy way and the hard way. The writing was great, and the story very personal. I even cried at times! I would recommend this to middle school and high school aged students, mostly girls.
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