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llama_lord's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It features a unique spin on the common Westward Expansion theme in the Dear America stories because the Viscardi family is traveling by train to form a utopian community in Idaho. However, I think the real standout in this book is the family dynamic. Particularly the relationship between Teresa and her younger sister Antoinetta. To a lesser extent I think the relationship between her father and uncle was also very interesting, and unfortunately the rest of the family is not as fleshed out as these four characters. That said, I think that the relationship between Teresa and her sister is one of the most believable and endearing sibling relationships in the entire series. That in itself is enough for me to recommend this book. However, there were other parts that I enjoyed also, such as the fact that Teresa keeps up a correspondence with her teacher from New York throughout her journey west. Overall this is a great DA book and I definitely recommend it.
Spoiler
I also loved the fact that Teresa doesn't end up marrying the story's love interest in the epilogue. Almost every Dear America book has the main character end up marrying whatever boy she likes in the story no matter how childish or insignificant their relationship is. Just a pet peeve of mine.meaganmart's review against another edition
3.0
I had no previous knowledge of the settlement of Idaho, or honestly any of the west outside of California and Oregon. It was very interesting to see how the railway changed the travel for these immigrants and also interesting to see how unprepared this train journey left them for the rugged terrain that would need to be traveled via covered wagon once they reached the "end of the line."
I did love how much personality author Jim Murphy gives to Teresa. She's the first "funny" protagonist I've seen in the Dear American Series. Much more like a "real" girl would be than a stuffy historical figure!
I did love how much personality author Jim Murphy gives to Teresa. She's the first "funny" protagonist I've seen in the Dear American Series. Much more like a "real" girl would be than a stuffy historical figure!
briski's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Loved these as a child mainly for the built in bookmark and wanted to revisit. Expect to see me reading more since my brain only has the bandwidth to read books written for children. Sue me.
natalieballenger's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
3.0
I kept hearing about these Dear America books and how they were very interesting and fantastic, so I decided why not check them out? Sure they are children/young adult books but even fully grown I'm still a bit of a kid at heart so that never bothers me. And with this being the first one I encountered, I thought it was ok; not stupendous, but still very readable.
Teresa and her family are on their way west to a place called Opportunity. After her uncle had noticed a flyer saying that fortunes could be made and good land could be farmed, he convinced her father to go and that was that. Teresa, her sister Netty, her grandmother, brothers, and parents took off. They first traveled by train as far west as they could go and from there set out by wagon pulled by oxen. It is a hard trip and a lot happens to Teresa and her family, but there's no good way to turn home so they must persevere despite all hardship.
This book is mainly told through the eyes of Teresa, and on occasion her sister Netty. While they are both strong female characters, I found that I wasn't really taken with either of them. Teresa was kind of gloomy, but despite that I still liked her better than her sister. Maybe its just being the older sibling but I found Netty to be extremely annoying and disliked when the book was in her view.
The book is written in diary format (hence the "Dear America") and while this is not my favorite format it was pretty easy to read. I did enjoy Teresa's entries more than Netty's but that's probably because I liked her better as a characters. In non diary format there was an epilogue but it was so small that it didn't really change the dynamic of the book. The trip was interesting but full of historical inaccuracies. Granted most of the younger people reading this would never realize this fact, but I think if you're going to write a book based on history, do a little research first. Once I got over this error though the book was very interesting and I liked the concept of the book.
I'll probably end up reading more Dear America books. They're interesting, if the research is done right probably informative, and I think that its a good book for a family to share. If I ever have kids I'll probably choose this as a book to share with them.
West to a Land of Plenty
Copyright 1998
201 pages including maps, pictures, and information at the back of the book
Review by M. Reynard 2011
Teresa and her family are on their way west to a place called Opportunity. After her uncle had noticed a flyer saying that fortunes could be made and good land could be farmed, he convinced her father to go and that was that. Teresa, her sister Netty, her grandmother, brothers, and parents took off. They first traveled by train as far west as they could go and from there set out by wagon pulled by oxen. It is a hard trip and a lot happens to Teresa and her family, but there's no good way to turn home so they must persevere despite all hardship.
This book is mainly told through the eyes of Teresa, and on occasion her sister Netty. While they are both strong female characters, I found that I wasn't really taken with either of them. Teresa was kind of gloomy, but despite that I still liked her better than her sister. Maybe its just being the older sibling but I found Netty to be extremely annoying and disliked when the book was in her view.
The book is written in diary format (hence the "Dear America") and while this is not my favorite format it was pretty easy to read. I did enjoy Teresa's entries more than Netty's but that's probably because I liked her better as a characters. In non diary format there was an epilogue but it was so small that it didn't really change the dynamic of the book. The trip was interesting but full of historical inaccuracies. Granted most of the younger people reading this would never realize this fact, but I think if you're going to write a book based on history, do a little research first. Once I got over this error though the book was very interesting and I liked the concept of the book.
I'll probably end up reading more Dear America books. They're interesting, if the research is done right probably informative, and I think that its a good book for a family to share. If I ever have kids I'll probably choose this as a book to share with them.
West to a Land of Plenty
Copyright 1998
201 pages including maps, pictures, and information at the back of the book
Review by M. Reynard 2011
huncamuncamouse's review against another edition
3.0
This was . . . fine? And seemed to have squandered some interesting opportunities? First, I think it's both inaccurate and manipulative to call this a "humorous" book (like the marketing copy here states). Several of the books have also incorporated humor, and this book actually ends on a pretty sad note.
This book took me a little bit to get into. The conceit of the dueling narrators was honestly kind of annoying. If you know that your sister is going to be reading your diary, would you actually confess any real secrets? And why would Netta want to write in the diary in the first place for that very same reason? It was one thing when Netta was snooping and correcting Teresa's spelling (that was kind of funny), but it went on way too long to be believable. And then it kind of felt like a cheap set-up to make readers extra sad when *spoiler* Netta dies.
Otherwise, it's weird that they're riding with family, but her uncle, aunt, and cousin are all really one-dimensional characters to the point where we know next to nothing about them, other than that for some cultural reason, Teresa's dad has to go along with his elder brother's plans.
I'm reading the books in the order they were published, so it's weird that this is book #8, and we already have ANOTHER book about migrating out west. Sure, technology and transportation have come a long way since Book #5, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, but there were still too many similarities. And what was most interesting about this trip was that they were going to be part of a Utopian community! Like that would have been really interesting to see in action. But nope--the book ends before that community is even formed. I kind of wonder if that's the book Jim Murphy wanted to write and the publisher's squashed it. I think that was a mistake. I was way more interested in seeing the community come together instead of yet another voyage West.
However, Teresa does display a lot of personal growth as the book continues, and she is fiercely independent. There's this incredible conflict near the end where Teresa literally points a gun at two men and shoots at them. I honestly don't know how likely something like that would have been, but it was a great moment. And I like how she slowly gains confidence in her voice. The book also does a decent job highlighting the historic racism. A previous book discussed tensions between the Irish and Americans, but this one goes a step further and shows how Italians were discriminated against and sometimes had their own biases against people from other backgrounds and religions. It doesn't offer an easy explanation for this; a complicated historic moment is allowed to just kind of exist, and I think that's fine (although supplementing this book with other materials might be good for young readers to help them understand).
Ultimately, this book suffers for not having a unique enough plot (and being published too close to Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie), but it's still a serviceable volume in the Dear America series.
Dead Parent Count: 0, but there's possibly the most "shocking" death in the entire series--one of the narrators.
This book took me a little bit to get into. The conceit of the dueling narrators was honestly kind of annoying. If you know that your sister is going to be reading your diary, would you actually confess any real secrets? And why would Netta want to write in the diary in the first place for that very same reason? It was one thing when Netta was snooping and correcting Teresa's spelling (that was kind of funny), but it went on way too long to be believable. And then it kind of felt like a cheap set-up to make readers extra sad when *spoiler* Netta dies.
Otherwise, it's weird that they're riding with family, but her uncle, aunt, and cousin are all really one-dimensional characters to the point where we know next to nothing about them, other than that for some cultural reason, Teresa's dad has to go along with his elder brother's plans.
I'm reading the books in the order they were published, so it's weird that this is book #8, and we already have ANOTHER book about migrating out west. Sure, technology and transportation have come a long way since Book #5, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, but there were still too many similarities. And what was most interesting about this trip was that they were going to be part of a Utopian community! Like that would have been really interesting to see in action. But nope--the book ends before that community is even formed. I kind of wonder if that's the book Jim Murphy wanted to write and the publisher's squashed it. I think that was a mistake. I was way more interested in seeing the community come together instead of yet another voyage West.
However, Teresa does display a lot of personal growth as the book continues, and she is fiercely independent. There's this incredible conflict near the end where Teresa literally points a gun at two men and shoots at them. I honestly don't know how likely something like that would have been, but it was a great moment. And I like how she slowly gains confidence in her voice. The book also does a decent job highlighting the historic racism. A previous book discussed tensions between the Irish and Americans, but this one goes a step further and shows how Italians were discriminated against and sometimes had their own biases against people from other backgrounds and religions. It doesn't offer an easy explanation for this; a complicated historic moment is allowed to just kind of exist, and I think that's fine (although supplementing this book with other materials might be good for young readers to help them understand).
Ultimately, this book suffers for not having a unique enough plot (and being published too close to Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie), but it's still a serviceable volume in the Dear America series.
Dead Parent Count: 0, but there's possibly the most "shocking" death in the entire series--one of the narrators.
toloveisdestroy's review against another edition
3.0
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't crying by the end of this book. Sorry, haha. I haven't read one of these novels since I was a wee little kid. I do not believe you could truly appreciate them until you are older as well.
As someone who once wrote avidly in a diary, I can confirm the way the little girl wrote in her diary is extremely accurate: Poor grammar & spelling, overly used punctuations, the endings and all. As someone who used to sign "JHR Out!" at the end of her diary entries thinking it made me appear more like a spy (or "The End" to make it appear as though it were a fairytale versus reality), I appreciated her saying "End. TAV" at the end of her diary entries.
I only wished the ending had included J.W. in a different sense, which I hope is not a spoiler to any who stumbles upon this review.
As someone who once wrote avidly in a diary, I can confirm the way the little girl wrote in her diary is extremely accurate: Poor grammar & spelling, overly used punctuations, the endings and all. As someone who used to sign "JHR Out!" at the end of her diary entries thinking it made me appear more like a spy (or "The End" to make it appear as though it were a fairytale versus reality), I appreciated her saying "End. TAV" at the end of her diary entries.
I only wished the ending had included J.W. in a different sense, which I hope is not a spoiler to any who stumbles upon this review.
musiquedevie's review against another edition
3.0
I'd give this Dear America book more like 3 and a half stars. As an avid Dear America fan this wasn't my most favorite. However, it was written well and gave insight into America's expansion out west into Idaho. I enjoyed the details and learning about a different trip out west. If you're a fan of the Oregon Trail and its stories, you'll enjoy this too.
sophia_she1's review against another edition
4.0
did not know this was a utopian community until the epilogue tbh