Scan barcode
A review by yarnylibrarian
The Jumping-Off Place by Marian Hurd McNeely
5.0
I discovered this book when it was advertised on a flyer sent to my library promoting Pioneer Girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder's first autobiographical manuscript that was recently edited and released to great excitement and acclaim. The South Dakota State Historical Society Press published both books. The Jumping-Off Place is a young adult novel originally published in 1929 (when it won the Newbery Honor); it was republished by the Press in 2008. As it covers the pioneer/homesteader territory I love so well, you can understand that I immediately got my hands on the book.
The basic story is that four orphaned siblings move to South Dakota in the early twentieth century to "claim up" a piece of land filed on by their uncle, who unfortunately dies at the outset of the novel. Dear Uncle Jim left detailed instructions about what needed to happen during a 14-month period for them to successfully claim the land. Since Jim had spent the summer before his illness on the claim setting things up and making contacts, this scheme was actually doable. The older children, Dick and Becky Linville, are only 15 and 17 years old.
The bulk of the narrative takes us through the months of the year. The family arrives in May and settles in. They aim to grow enough food to carry them over in the garden but not to actually farm a crop. They obtain a cow and chickens, establish a garden, plant enough corn for the animals to eat, and work hard to make a go of the homestead. Of course, challenges appear around every corner. Some are predictable - the summer brings a bad drought that kills all the corn and most of the garden. Others are a little surprising - one neighbor family is competing with the Linvilles for the same claim and the unruly Welp boys vandalize the Linville homestead at every turn. The reader is reminded how much "law and order" depended on neighbors policing each other. Some of the Welps' crimes are just expensive (like stealing the well pump or the cow - the cow, fortunately, was returned) and some are truly dangerous (the "hanging" of the boys over the cliff). This little storyline has a very satisfying ending which you must read!
The Linvilles have a lot going against them, but they also have a lot of things working for them. Becky ends up getting a teaching job over the winter (despite not having a teaching certificate) which brings in money that saves them. Also, they seem to be able to get their hands on enough canned goods to keep them alive through the winter (not quite sure how). They have great friends in the Cleavers, who offer the love and support of a larger family to the plucky children.
Sure, there are some Pollyanna moments in the book. Becky is truly the heroine of the novel, seemingly able to solve any problem, including evading assault by some of her very large male pupils. But there are also plenty of dark moments which are no doubt true for some settler. Some I've already mentioned - there is also the death of a baby by snakebite, families who are truly unequipped to handle the rigors of the prairie, and a bright girl who is physically handicapped by her drunken father.
If you read this, don't skip the Afterword, which explains the curious situation of part of the Rosebud Reservation being opened for settlement in the early 1900s. The editor also points out that many readers assumed that McNeely copied the successful Laura Ingalls Wilder in putting out a homesteading narrative for young adults, but that McNeely published her book three years before the first Wilder title appeared.
All in all, this was a very satisfying and informative read, even though I aged out of the target audience decades ago. I'm glad this book has a shot at rediscovery. May McNeely ride the Wilder wave. There's always room for more good stories in this genre!
The basic story is that four orphaned siblings move to South Dakota in the early twentieth century to "claim up" a piece of land filed on by their uncle, who unfortunately dies at the outset of the novel. Dear Uncle Jim left detailed instructions about what needed to happen during a 14-month period for them to successfully claim the land. Since Jim had spent the summer before his illness on the claim setting things up and making contacts, this scheme was actually doable. The older children, Dick and Becky Linville, are only 15 and 17 years old.
The bulk of the narrative takes us through the months of the year. The family arrives in May and settles in. They aim to grow enough food to carry them over in the garden but not to actually farm a crop. They obtain a cow and chickens, establish a garden, plant enough corn for the animals to eat, and work hard to make a go of the homestead. Of course, challenges appear around every corner. Some are predictable - the summer brings a bad drought that kills all the corn and most of the garden. Others are a little surprising - one neighbor family is competing with the Linvilles for the same claim and the unruly Welp boys vandalize the Linville homestead at every turn. The reader is reminded how much "law and order" depended on neighbors policing each other. Some of the Welps' crimes are just expensive (like stealing the well pump or the cow - the cow, fortunately, was returned) and some are truly dangerous (the "hanging" of the boys over the cliff). This little storyline has a very satisfying ending which you must read!
The Linvilles have a lot going against them, but they also have a lot of things working for them. Becky ends up getting a teaching job over the winter (despite not having a teaching certificate) which brings in money that saves them. Also, they seem to be able to get their hands on enough canned goods to keep them alive through the winter (not quite sure how). They have great friends in the Cleavers, who offer the love and support of a larger family to the plucky children.
Sure, there are some Pollyanna moments in the book. Becky is truly the heroine of the novel, seemingly able to solve any problem, including evading assault by some of her very large male pupils. But there are also plenty of dark moments which are no doubt true for some settler. Some I've already mentioned - there is also the death of a baby by snakebite, families who are truly unequipped to handle the rigors of the prairie, and a bright girl who is physically handicapped by her drunken father.
If you read this, don't skip the Afterword, which explains the curious situation of part of the Rosebud Reservation being opened for settlement in the early 1900s. The editor also points out that many readers assumed that McNeely copied the successful Laura Ingalls Wilder in putting out a homesteading narrative for young adults, but that McNeely published her book three years before the first Wilder title appeared.
All in all, this was a very satisfying and informative read, even though I aged out of the target audience decades ago. I'm glad this book has a shot at rediscovery. May McNeely ride the Wilder wave. There's always room for more good stories in this genre!