I wish I'd read this book years ago; though Hattie's sixteen-going-on-seventeen, it seems intended for younger readers. Still, I enjoyed the letters and articles Hattie writes, and reading about her homestead adventures and found family.

It's like a more mainstream version of Little House, a childhood favorite of mine, but with a more chartable plot and slightly different themes: finding a family (Laura Ingalls always had one, and that's a big part of the reason we love her stories), proving yourself to the world and to yourself (which is really a theme in most books, but it's especially pronounced and literal here), a little bit of romance, historically accurate and sadly always-relevant xenophobia.