March 28, 2016
Dagg (The Year We Were Famous) delivers another engrossing historical novel in a story exploring family bonds, the pioneer spirit, cooperation, and the meaning of home. In 1934 Wisconsin, the Johnsonsâlike manyâhave fallen on hard times: Pop has lost his job, and the family has little to eat, except for what they grow, including a crop of pumpkins that 11-year-old Terpsichore turns into meals. When President Roosevelt implements the Matanuska Colony project, offering needy families acreage in Alaska to start farms, Pop signs on against the wishes of his wife. The story of the family's adjustment to frontier life is real and moving, and the obstacles are significant: they initially live in a tent and are plagued by "measles, mud, and mosquitoes." Dagg credibly shows Terpsichore's burgeoning maturity as she works to open a library, comes to appreciate (rather than resent) her sisters' musical talents, and finds a way to help her mother accept Alaska as home. A memorable tale of physical and emotional survival. Ages 10âup. Agent: Steven Chudney, Chudney Agency.