Hardscrabble by Sandra Dallas
After reading In Cold Blood and The Hazel Wood , I needed something a little lighter! Enter Sandra Dallas' Hardscrabble, a children's novel about homesteading in 1910 Colorado. Sandra is one of my favorite authors, and her new adult novel, The Patchwork Bride , is due out in early June. I simply can't wait! Here's what I love about Sandra Dallas. She writes about pioneers, homesteaders, and folks who lived hard lives in the settling of the West and Mid-West. Her main characters are always women, and they're women you would love to know. Strong, loyal, hardworking women who just want the best life they can manage--often times, at the end of a long, rough road. Hardscrabble is no different, but it's softened for a younger audience. It centers on the Martin family, who travel to Mingo, Colorado after their farm fails in Iowa. Belle, her mother and six siblings meet her father at the train station, and soon approach their new h...