The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868

Dear America

by Kristiana Gregory

In Kristiana Gregory's third book for the "Dear America" series, a 14-year old girl records the momentous building of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Childrens, Diary

223 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

Kristiana Gregory grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, two blocks from the ocean. She's always loved to make up stories [ask her family!], telling her younger siblings whoppers that would leave them wide-eyed and shivering. Her first rejection letter at age ten was for a poem she wrote in class when she was supposed to be doing a math assignment. She's had a myriad of odd jobs: telephone operator, lifeguard, camp counselor, reporter, book reviewer & columnist for the LA Times, and finally author.

Her award-winning books include STALKED, which earned the 2012 Gold Medal for Young Adult Mystery from Literary Classics and is hailed as "historical fiction with a thrilling twist." KIRKUS calls it "an atmospheric confection that will thrill YA readers ... Gregory achieves a realistic, rich atmosphere with insightful details about the immigration process and New York tenements in the early 1900s." Now available on Kindle and in paperback.

JENNY OF THE TETONS [Harcourt] won the Golden Kite Award in 1989 and was the first of two-dozen historical novels for middle grade readers. Several of Kristiana's titles are now available on Kindle including "Curiously Odd Stories: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" with the celebrated 'Paper Monument', a futuristic book-banning with horrific consequences.

BRONTE'S BOOK CLUB [Holiday House] is set in a town by the sea and is inspired by the girls' book club Kristiana led for several years.

Her most recent title with Scholastic's Dear America series is CANNONS AT DAWN, a sequel to the best-selling THE WINTER OF RED SNOW, which was made into a movie for the HBO Family Channel.

New re-releases in ebooks and paperback on Amazon:
**PRAIRIE RIVER SERIES #1-4
**ORPHAN RUNAWAYS: THE PERILOUS ESCAPE TO BODIE
**CABIN CREEK MYSTERIES #7: THE PHANTOM OF HIDDEN HORSE RANCH
**THE WAITING LIGHT: CLEMENTINE'S STORY -- originally titled "My Darlin' Clementine" [Holiday House] this riveting historical mystery takes place in an Idaho mining camp of 1866, and was Idaho's representative for the 2010 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Library of Congress.

Kristiana and her husband have two adult sons, and live in Idaho with their two golden retrievers. In her spare time she loves to swim, walk, hike, read, and hang out with friends. She's trying to learn to knit, but isn't yet having much success.

Check out Kristiana's blogs at http://notesfromthesunroom.blogspot.com/ for behind-the-scenes stories about her books, and with photos from her childhood.

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting look at creating a newspaper in the late 1800's and it's trials. The family and community dynamics created; no-matter where the family was is my favorite. The railroad race was an excellent backdrop that I never really thought much about in history.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never been terribly interested in the history about America's westward expansion but this books turned out to be really good, in my opinion. Libby West and her family travel along with the track layers of the Union Pacific railroad who are trying to beat the Central Pacific railroad to their meeting place which ends up being Promontory Summit in the territory of Utah. I actually learned quite a bit from the story. I always thought that President Grant hammered in the final spike for the final tie in the railroad but apparently no one really knows who finally hammered it home. I also didn't know how close to the end of the Civil War this occurred. It seems to me as though this was almost a healing experience for both sides seeing as both the Yankees and the Rebels had to work together to achieve a goal. It really is amazing how all these men built a transcontinental railroad by hand. I also am confused at to why there were so many newspaper men along the way? I mean shouldn't the all band together and create one newspaper? Also I didn't know that they put telegraph lines underneath the spike so when it was finished every paper in the country would know about it. All in all I think this is a time period I'm going to have to look deeper into.

[Kelsey Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like all the other Dear America books that I cramming to finish up my goal this year, I enjoyed this one. I tend to like Dear America stories that have a journey or travel involved and this one was no exception. Both Libby and her mother are strong and opinionated and have a sense of adventure. This one was also less depressing than some of the other ones that I recently read which was incredibly refreshing.

[Kassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all Dear Amercia Books I checked this book out at my school libary and I pretty much got done with it two days after, I couldn't stop reading it.

I absolutely loved it I loved Libby & Pete's romance and then how Joe puts a penny on the railroad and gets in a bunch of trouble. & It's good cause I learned some history from this book. Overall, This was a good book.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite how long it took me to read this book, I enjoyed it immensely. I want to start by sharing my favorite quote from The Great Railroad Race:

"I don't want to be like the absent journalists who write stories about what they think happened, so I will report only what I saw with my own eyes. By the way, my new opinion is this: Gossip and rumors make a mess of history." (Gregory p. 172).

Kristiana Gregory wrote this in the late 1990s through the eyes of her main character, Libby West, a girl living in the 1860s, but her words couldn't be more applicable to the state of news reporting today. I often feel guilty that I make no effort to read the news and am unaware of current events. However, Gregory reminds me that when the only things being reported are gossip, rumors, and opinions, there is little value in paying attention. While this quote is somewhat affirming, it also saddens me to think that today's lack of journalistic integrity is creating an inaccurately preserved history.

As a communications major, I really enjoyed reading this book because it reminded me that I should choose to write and report the truth without letting rumors, gossip, and most importantly, opinions cloud history. On the outside, The Great Railroad Race seems like just another fun Dear America book, but in reality, it is an insightful commentary on news reporting and how it should be done with the utmost integrity.

Aside from this outstanding theme, I also really enjoyed the book's epilogue. The author did a great job paralleling her main character's experiences in 1869, the year America completed the transcontinental railroad, with that of her grandchild's one hundred years later in 1969, the year America put men on the moon.

[Amy Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The diary of Libby West is a great book.
You can learn about the troubles in being a newspaper reporter in the 1800's, through the eyes of Libby West. You also get to see the Great Rail
Road Race.
A very good story set in 1868-1869.

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great Railroad Race (Utah Territory) / 0-590-10991-X

Another wonderful Dear America book - this one covers the race to connect the opposite ends of the country with a single railroad. Our narrator here is the daughter of an intrepid journalist, who hopes to strike it at least semi-rich by being one of the few to cover the story first-hand. While I recommend the Dear America series for both children and adults, I recognize that the series is primarily marketed towards young children, and I will follow my usual reviewing pattern for marking out things a parent might wish to be fore-warned about.

There's wonderful history to be had here, and the first-hand account of watching the railroad being built is wonderful. The narrator details the cooperation between former Union and Confederate soldiers, and treats with fairness and dignity the situations of the American Indians (who are being displaced by the railroad) and the Chinese immigrants (who are working under harsh conditions to build the railroad). The hasty and sometimes slip-shod manner in which the railroad is assembled is highlighted and the reader will marvel that the end product worked at all. Also much appreciated here is the strong characterization of the narrator's mother - she insists that the entire family will travel with her wanderlust-driven husband, and that is that. It is later revealed that she knows as much about the printing and editing of a newspaper as her worthy husband, and the two make a good team out on the frontier, a welcome change from the standard "mother does the housework and not much else" theme often found in historical literature.

Some things which may not be age appropriate for all children include the death of a small boy who places a penny on the rail tracks only to be killed by the high velocity of the shooting penny when the train strikes it. This is also one of the most 'sexually explicit' of the Dear America novels I have read - the narrator and her friend sneak into the bad part of one of the shanty towns one night and are accosted by drunk men who want to force them to 'dance'. It is only by kicking their way free that the girls are able to escape, and they are very frightened by the experience. Also, Mormons are heavily featured in this installment, with the narrator spending a good deal of time in Salt Lake City and meeting Brigham Young. Our narrator is very interested in how a man can have multiple wives, and she is very distressed to learn that several of her female cousins have entered into plural marriages. She also meets a few Mormon girls her age who wish to be friends. Children may share the narrator's confusion about this complicated issue.

There is one slightly odd thing about this story. A character named "Pete" is featured; Pete is a bearded, stinky old man who lives with the narrator and her family. He served in the war with her father and saved his life and now lives alone with the family, rarely speaking unless spoken to. When the narrator decides to be kind to Pete, in spite of his stench and ugly looks, Pete shaves his beard and suddenly becomes a very attractive, charming nineteen-year-old. This magical Beauty and the Beast transformation is extremely disconcerting to the reader, if not to the narrator (her adjustment to this new love interest takes a mere 24 hours). Pete has been living with the family under frontier conditions with very little privacy for clothing changes, bodily functions, and basic attempts at washing, and it does seem strange that the 15-year-old narrator wasn't cautioned by her otherwise prudent mother that Pete was quite a bit closer to her age than she had realized. It isn't, I suppose, a big deal, but I found it very odd, and parents may as well.

~ Ana Mardoll

[Elizabeth Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opinion

I love this this book because it has history and I like to learn new things. I think someone else should read this book because if you don't like to learn about history then you could read it. I say that because the book is like a diary about someone in that time. I think it would have been better if there was more romance.

[Willa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libby West. She lives a relatively average life. At least until her father take Libby, her mother, and her brother Joe, along with him to the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. This book is seen through her diary and everything that goes on there.

[Rebecca]

It has so many details in the book. I love the book.

[Erica Flowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m rereading these books as I remember loving them as a young teen and I really still enjoyed this one . Definitely view things differently as an adult and find deeper meaning than I probably did when I was young . This one really made me think about is progress really progress at all if it is rushed and not done right and was it worth lives lost . Being a young girl , during this time must have been so interesting and confusing not that it isn’t interesting and confusing now but I loved taking a journey through someone else’s eyes to a time I didn’t get to experience. Also kind of makes you feel nosey reading someone’s journal even though you aren’t really and it’s a fun way to learn a little about a different view on history . Happy to be rereading these .

[Edge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book!!! So sweet! 🥲 it’s one of the best DA books I’ve read. :) I just recently started going through the ones I’ve read and placing the READ button on them. 🤭

[kelsey! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember reading this one when I was younger (otherwise I'm sure the nostalgia factor would be even greater) but I still find this style of series enjoyable overall. The writing is somewhat basic but I like the way they pack in a whole bunch of historical perspective into one place and the kids I've directed this series to still find it appealing.

[Monica Capetillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Report for: Monica Capetillo
Grade: 7, Date: May 17, 2011
________________________________________

The Great Railroad Race the Diary of Libby West
The author of The Great Railroad Race the Diary of Libby West is Kristina Gregory.
This is a fictional story.
It was published by Scholastic Inc. in 1999 and has 203 pages.
The setting is: Utah Territory 1868.
The main character is Libby West and other characters are Joe, Ellie, and Pete.
Here is what happened early in the story: Libby found out that her dad is going to write a paper on the new railroads that they are building, but her dad doesn't want her family to go with him. After a long time of begging her dad let them go with. So they all packed their bags, and left with her dad as he wrote his newspaper.
Here is what happened during the story: They made it through different territories with little trouble till Libby's dad found out that they are not paying him enough money that he should be making for his paper. Also they are having troubles with the building of the railroads. Some workers are getting hurt while trying to fix the problems that are going on.
Here is what happened at the end of the story: Both the two railroads are done being built, and everyone is celebrating that they made it through with very little problems. Also Libby was happy that her father got to write his newspaper about it all while being built. She's happy that she made a good friend who traveled with her through it all. Libby and her family made it through all the bad while traveling with the railroads.
Why did I like Libby West? That she never got mad at anyone to their faces. She wrote all her problems in her diary.
Why did I choose to read The Great Railroad Race the Diary of Libby West? I wanted read about the building of the railroads from a younger person's point of view.
I liked the book for this reason: I like the book because it tells you about what's going on during the time of the railroads in a younger person point of view.

________________________________________

This Book Report Construction Module was created by Bill Swartwout and the
3rd, 4th and 5th grade students at Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School.

[Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

1868 Council Bluffs, Iowa
The family is Ma, Pa, Libby, and Joe. Ma is pretty, vivacious, Pa is a newsprinter, and Joe is a curious little brother.

When Dad buys a 175 lb. printer and has it delivered, Ma is fit to be tied. He wants to record the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and Ma doesn't want him out of her sight, as he spent the last 2 yrs. of the War in a Confederate Prison. He has only been home a year and has not fully recovered from his injuries. She decided the only way he can do what he wants, is if the family comes along. He doesn't think it will be safe for them, but he finally agrees.

Dad often angers people with his editorials. So far, only threats have been made. Libby reads in the paper how one editor was tarred and feathered for a criticism of the mayor of someplace in Missouri and another in Ohio was horsewhipped when he wrote about the sheriff. When Ma hears this, she is more than determined to go with her husband.

May 16, Pa and war buddy Pete, Ma, Libby, and Joe all load up the wagon for Cheyenne, Wyoming. It took a week and was a good trip, as only one mule died and one wheel needed repair. Pa deposited them in a hotel and he and Pete took the press and headed for Laramie, 50 miles down the line.
The hotel has only sheets for partitions and all kinds of sounds and silhouettes are heard and seen. After two days, Ma received a telegram from Pa that said, "Stay in Cheyenne for 2 weeks."
She immediately marched to the train station to purchase 3 tickets for Laramie. You have to admire her spirit!

The train chugged along to slow down at Sherman's Peak. It was named after General Sherman. He was the tallest General and this Peak is 8000 ft. above sea level. They found lodging at Laramie Hotel and it was much fancier than Cheyenne. Imagine polished dinnerware, starched tablecloths, and shiney floors that far west!! Now to find Papa.

Now begins the drama: rickety bridgework over steep canyons, daily killings, Indians who tear up track, silly little boys who play on the cow catcher of the locomotives and lose their lives, and always, fevers and sickness.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of the first transcontinental railroad, finished only a few years after the end of the Civil War. The construction of the railroad eventually meant the end of the wagon trains and a quicker settling of the west by non-Native Americans.

Libby's father is a newspaper man who wants to record the historic events, so he, his wife, Libby, and her younger brother all accompany him, following the progress of the railroad, sleeping in tents or sometimes actual buildings. It's certainly not an easy life and it's a dangerous one with danger from weather, Indians and non-Indians alike.

There are a lot of historical persons in the book, also, including William Tecumseh Sherman who led the March to Atlanta Union effort during the Civil War, using a scorched-earth policy and destroying an area almost sixty miles wide. Apparently his view towards Native Americans wasn't very charitable, either.

There's also some time spent on the Mormons and Salt Lake City, and the book notes that the Mormons of the time didn't want anything to do with non-Mormons, including children.

Custer makes an appearance in a reference to an attack by he and his men on an Indian village where they slaughtered women, children and old men.

There's also some interesting talk from Libby's father about reporters who sometimes basically make up part or all of their stories, not really caring whether what they write is factual or not, a problem still in evidence today (if not even more in evidence than at that time.)

There's also a great deal of violence in the novel, as reference is made to what amounts to a mobile town that follows the railroad workers, a town of gamblers, prostitutes armed men who think little of shooting someone else.

All in all it's an interesting story and gives a good view of just how nasty the West was, much of that nastiness coming from the white workers and settlers, not the Native Americans and Chinese.

[Christine Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libby West's life changes dramatically when her father decides to go west and follow the construction of the Union Pacific railroad in order to report on its progress in his own newspaper. Libby is introduced to all aspects of railroad life, including being constantly on the road, living in a tent, and the temporary saloons and towns that pop up near the railroad. Between the excitement of the ever progressing railroad construction, and a blossoming interest in Pete, her father's assistant, Libby has quite an exciting life. The reader gets a firsthand account of all the events and Libby's thoughts as the novel is written in the format of Libby's diary.

I enjoyed reading this novel because I found the information about the Great Railroad Race between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies. I especially enjoyed it because of it being in the format of diary entries. It is a quick read, but very informational. What the people were experiencing during that time in the mid 1800's really comes to life through this novel.

Content Warning: (Scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst)
-Genre: Historical Fiction
-Sexual Content: (2) Libby and her friend Ellie visit one of the "towns on wheels" and are caught by drunk men and carried into a saloon. Ellie is almost carried off alone with one the men.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, although ultimately sort of forgettable entry in the DA series. Dear America has an unusually high number of books focusing on Westward Expansion compared to other periods in American history, and thus with so much competition, The Great Railroad Race doesn't particularly stand out among its peers.

However, this book does have some interesting things to offer. I enjoyed the fact that Libby's father is a traveling journalist following the railroad. I also thought it was interesting that Libby and her family are living a comfortable life in a home before deciding to travel west with the railroad. In most Westward Expansion stories, the protagonist's family is usually moving because their lives in the East are pretty miserable. This book also features some exciting parts, the one that sticks out the most in my memory is when Libby and her friend disobey her father and sneak into the traveling "town" that follows the railroad, and very nearly get assaulted when a man tries to drag them into a brothel. . The romance in this story was a little hard to wrap my head around. the "old man" who is a friend of Libby's father turns out to be a handsome guy in his 20s after he shaves off his beard? What? But overall this is a good Dear America book and I recommend it.

[Drucilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars. I felt this book didn't focus as much on the railroad race as it could have or on the newspaper angle. Libby was also nice to the point of being bland. Her brother did some annoying/bad things and yet nothing seems to come of it. There were also "lessons" throughout the book like "slavery is bad" and "women should have the right to vote" that felt like an after school special. I also had a problem with Libby and Pete's relationship. She only seems to like him after she discovers that he's close to her age. And how did she not know this anyway? It just leaves a weird image in my brain. I usually like the historical event these books focus on and while that still is the case here, I found the historical note much more interesting than the story.

[Leane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better Dear America books. It follows the journey of Libby who travels with her family as her father, a reporter, writes about the development of the transcontinental railroad. This story is simple, but still entertaining. She makes friends along her journey, worries about her relationship with her parents and little brother Joe, and has her first taste of love when her father's partner, Pete, starts paying attention to her. This is an accurate portrayal of what life was like during this time period and is the only YA book I have found that focuses on this historic event

[Harle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by the same author as the wonderful Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell 1847 and Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild California Territory 1849, this book does not disappoint.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

we're reading this book in my class, and I really like it so far! i have to say that libby is kinda like me in someway. and by some way, i mean by going off with your friend to get in trouble. :) whats weird to me is that as soon as she found out the Pete was 19 she started to like him. no time before, just then. i still like it though, and i thought it was funny that joe still put the penny on the railroad track a few hours after he saw that one kid die from a penny attack.
I highly recommened this book, because i love it!

[IluvmyNini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, I am astonished that some people didn't. I love the romance. Actually, I didn't think it had enough "I LOVE PETE!!!" kissy kissy stuff. A overall great book that I HIGHLY recommend. I own it, and have read it countless times. A very educational book, along with a BFF, a good enough amount of romance.

And of course she wouldn't love Pete until she found out he was 19. I mean, what would a 15 year old have liking a 40 year old?

I would've put more romance, but that is me. Half love romance, half don't.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Laura Chipman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun, easy read. This was especially fun for me to read because the characters have a lot of similarities to my family's history. The family shares the same last name as our family and they were there when the golden spike was driven and so was my great, great grandpa. He was the one who sent the telegraph that the golden spike had been driven and he was in the famous picture of the two trains meeting. It was fun to better imagine what it would have been like to be there.

[ϟEvelynϟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! 1 of my top 5 in the series! I just loved the romance. What i found strange was that she began to like Pete right after she finds out he is 19 years old. I think some other readers will as well. Over all this book was AMAZING! I totally recommend it to anyone of any age to read. ***** 5 stars all the way! I absolutely love Kristiana Gregory's books in this series. She is my favorite author. You did it again, Kristiana! --Evelyn

[Claire Vanderlaan]

Strange, very strange. I didn't like Libby very much. She disobeyed, messed up a whole bunch, and wrote quite a few rude things in her diary. And she was mean to her little brother, which was completely uncalled for. Did Ms. Gregory really need to add that terrible tidbit? I saw several very bad things about this book.

This book was okay. Not the best it could have been, but who knows, maybe Ms. Gregory wrote it on a deadline and was completely rushed?

[Elaine Shipley-pope · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Great Railroad Race is a diary style story that follows Libby; a young girl who travels with her family as her father writes a newspaper about the two railroads finally joining. Its a dangerous adventure for a young girl as the traveling towns that are wildly thriving are full of unsavory characters. She finds a best friend along the way and falls in love with her father's assistant. Overall its a pretty good Dear America book.

[Caity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting story that reveals a lot about the newspapers of the time and some wisdom about reporting that is timeless. The story is also intriguing because of the way it shows some of the racism and racial tension of the time while still remaining kid friendly. This is also relevant in the descriptions of the towns that popped up beside the railroad as it was being built. Overall this book is really informative and fun.

[Kathy]

this book wasnt that great... this book is about a girl named libby west who lives in utah the time of 1868

her parents and her are going on the railroad becuase there is a war and they are going to utah

libby meetss new people sees great new places and most of all she can spend it with her family!