Probably a 3.5 book, but I had to pick one! This was a gift from a BT friend because of my whole history thing.
In some ways, this is a very typical westward journey story--covered wagons, Indians, leaving stuff behind, death. However, the characters rang true and I liked that it explored several characters that didn't really want to be on that journey at all. This one also did a good job of emphasizing just how long it took--two and a half years for this family to get from Vermont to California.
The ending was graceful, leaving lots of unanswered questions but it was still satisfying.
Definitely better than many of the books of this genre, but certainly not a hidden classic.