Fiction | Book Chatter

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
By Ann Weisgarber
(Penguin (Non-Classics), Paperback, 9780143119487, 336pp.)

The Short of It:

The parched, barren landscape of the Badlands is a constant reminder of what was in this harrowing tale of black Pioneers in the early 20th century.

The Rest of It:

This is a hard place. Hard to take, hard to like.

Rachel, a cook at a boardinghouse falls in love with Isaac, the boardinghouse owner’s son. Isaac wants to claim land under the Homestead Act and when Rachel offers to keep house for him in return for marriage, Isaac agrees, but only if Rachel will sign over her share of land. Seeing that they both have something to gain from the relationship, they agree to marry for a year on a trial basis.

Fourteen years later, Rachel is pregnant with their fifth child and struggling to keep food on the table. Isaac, continues to work deals to increase his land hold, but the supplies are dwindling and there is no water to be found as they are living through one of the worst droughts ever.

Rachel’s story is, without a doubt, a story of hardship, survival and courage. She is an amazingly strong woman and although her sense of loyalty is admirable, she is not naive. No, that is the one thing she most certainly is not. As the harshness of the environment continues to take its toll, Rachel ponders what it means to be a rancher’s wife and what it will mean for her daughters down the line.

Books like this one, take you outside of what you know and allow you to experience a different lifestyle from the comfort of your own home. To say that this book grabbed me from its opening pages and held on to me throughout, would be an understatement. It was a quick, riveting read and gave me a lots to think about. I highly recommend it.

If you live within the US or Canada and would like a chance to win a copy of your own, click HERE. Giveaway ends on November 20, 2011 (Pacific).

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via TLC Book Tours. Giveaway copy provided by the publisher.

To view the other tour stops, click here.

Disclosure: This post contains IndieBound affiliate links.

The Winters in Bloom
By Lisa Tucker
(Atria Books, Hardcover, 9781416575405, September 2011, 288pp.)

The Short of It:

I opened the book and fell right in.

The Rest of It:

Kyra and David are happily married, have a nice home and have stable careers. They live with their son Michael and things could not be more perfect. But in the back of their minds, because of decisions they made in the past, they expect tragedy at every turn and it hits when Michael suddenly vanishes from their backyard.

This is really an amazing book. I know it’s gotten some mixed reviews but if you enjoy dysfunction, let me tell you…this family is about as dysfunctional as you can get. The characters are beautifully flawed and vulnerable. These people have secrets. Secrets that have eaten away at them for years and years. They are burdened with guilt, filled with resentment and yearning for normalcy. Tucker does an amazing job of creating an angst ridden novel without making it depressing. In fact, it’s quite hopeful and I found myself cheering for this family and wanting things to end well for them.

This was my first Lisa Tucker novel. In the past, I avoided her books because they seemed a tad light for me, but this one had plenty of meat on its bones and left me thinking about it long after I finished reading it. All I had to do was open the book, read the first page and immediately I was sucked in. I read this with another blogger and she felt the same way!

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains IndieBound affiliate links.

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