Hardscrabble

By Sandra Dallas

Libby ebook  

Published: 2018

Genre: historical fiction, early 1900s

I really like this author! In this story, a family is heading west to join the father who is homesteading in Colorado. Mom is bringing the oldest daughter Carrie, 12 year old Belle (our protagonist), three younger children, and the baby. They are not quite ready for living in a sod house with neighbors few and far between.

Chapter Two: The Girl Homesteader 

"'So we're not poor?'

'Not poor at all,' Carrie insisted, turning to look at the family. 'How could we be when we have each other? It's just that we don't have money.'"

I love the idea of this! I liked saying to my young children that we were rich! We had a home to live in, we had a loving family, we had enough food to eat . . . that's wealth.

Chapter Two

"It's a hardscrabble life, but I love it."

The speaker is neighbor Lizzie, a young woman who is farming her own homestead. I like to see where a book's title originates. This is it. Lizzie is a fantastic character and a huge blessing to Belle's family.

Chapter Eight: A Homesteader Party

"A man stood beside the car, looking embarrassed. Frank called out, 'Get a horse!' as they passed. That was what people always yelled to a man whose motorcar had broken down."

Heckling isn't the nicest thing to do, but this hit my funny bone anyway.

Chapter Eleven: Staying with Lizzie

". . . she'd had (sic) dug behind her house."

Pet peeve alert: typos in action. "She'd had" is redundant . . . she had had . . . ugh. I should get over this, though. More and more with texting and using finger swipe to spell, I find typos in my own writing and even in my blog entries! I should edit my own work more carefully instead of just hitting "send" or "publish."

Chapter Thirteen: Becky

"'It means difficult,' Lizzie explained. 'You have to work hard to make it out here. Life isn't easy. You've already learned that. The land itself is hardscrabble - tough and dry as a board. And it has no mercy. Sometimes things are so rough that you want to give up, but you don't. You keep going, and you know what, Belle? It's worth it. I've learned that. So has your father. And maybe you have, too."

 

A further explanation of the title. Belle asks Lizzie about the word. Lizzie says more great stuff, but I'm moving on. Read the book! It's good.

Chapter Fifteen: The Rescue

"Bell (sic) studied the bed coverings. They were pretty, with bright designs, and the stitches were as fine as Mama's."

 

Okay, again with the pet peeve. A main character's name is misspelled. How does this happen? I also loved the quilts in this story. They weren't as prominent as in Persian Pickle Club, but the details make me happy!

 

Chapter Nineteen: Hank Comes to Mingo

 "Maybe she could be a cowboy - a cowgirl. Belle laughed to herself. There was no such thing. Girls didn't work cattle."

This whole thought process goes on but raises some great questions about gender roles, skills, etc. I love Belle's observation that Lizzie is "as good a farmer as Papa" and "Mrs. Spenser seemed to know as much about ranching as her husband."

Chapter Nineteen: Hank Comes to Mingo

"'Women out here sure are independent.' He turned to Lizzie. 'I guess we can fix that.' He grinned at Lizzie, and she smiled back."

This made me think, "Oh no! Don't marry him, Lizzie!" I won't put any spoilers here, but I do like this book a lot . . . I'll definitely read more of her books, but I'm playing catch-up right now.