This series chronicles Rose's life, Laura's daughter.

Laura continues to call Almanzo "Manly" in this book (and I'm guessing the rest of the series) but this doesn't drive me as crazy as it did in These First Four Years. I'm getting used to it, I guess.

Once again, I liked this book more than I was expecting to. I think I'll continue to read the rest of the series, but I think I'll slow down the pace to a book every few months or so - we'll see.

Rose is a bit annoying, and Laura as the mother isn't as amazing as her Ma is. Laura still sort of acts like Rose is a bother and doesn't exactly smother her in love, but again, that's the time and the way kids were raised. Laura still acts like she'd rather be with the horses than her family, but she at least acts like she cares for her husband during the book, so that's a great improvement.

It was heartbreaking watching Laura leave her family - I wish we could've seen a scene where Laura cried or something, instead of just accepting it all with a grain of salt. The travels by wagon was fascinating as in the other books - a journey that was much faster than Laura's earlier travels, so it seemed anyway. The book was a bit slow moving for my tastes, but I think worked as a introduction to a new generation.