Opulence, Kansas

by Julie Stielstra

When Katie Myrdal's father is found dead in his Porsche, everything she thought she knew about her family is shaken. Her uncle Len and his wife Maggie - relatives she barely knew existed - offer an escape for the summer to their Kansas farm. Katie abandons her Gold Coast high-rise life to land beneath the wider skies of the prairie. Grappling with loss and disillusionment, Katie must forge new skills and new friendships in a small town called Opulence, a town holding secrets and riches she will need before she can go back home.

"...capture[s] the essence of an adolescent from Chicago who visits a small Kansas community ... Stielstra explores the dynamic and complicated connections among people ... Opulence is complete with heartache, romance, conflict, and resolution. Unpredictable events exhilarate the reader with delightful developments.” - Emporia Gazette, 5/13/2020

- J. Donald and Bertha Coffin Memorial Book Award for Fiction, Kansas Authors Club, 2022
- Gold Medal for Young Adult Fiction, Midwest Independent Publishers Association, 2021
- Winner for Young Adult Book, High Plains Book Award, 2021

192 pages, Paperback

Published June 9, 2020

About the author

Born a couple weeks after Jonas Salk announced the effectiveness of the polio vaccine at Rackham Auditorium. One thing my parents did not have to worry about, at least.

Checkered career: BA in Art History (and no, I’ve never regretted it and it even got me a job once!); state license as a veterinary technician; finally a Master’s of Library Science, working mostly in hospitals (human, animal… a spleen is still a spleen).

A cat shared my crib when I was a baby, and I’ve never been without at least one since (current count is 5). We bred, showed and hunted Labrador Retrievers; there have been Italian Greyhounds, a whippet, a couple of Border Collie/Lab crosses, and the world’s finest dog Pippin, an American Natural Dog, who could beat the Border Collies in agility.

There have been horses too – hunter jumpers, eventing, dressage. My almost 30-year-old mare went to her peaceful home far away 6 years ago, and it was time to lay that part of my life to rest with her.

I love birds, art, Paris, cheap wine, good wine, peanut M&Ms, lemon poppyseed muffins, spring, good movies, and the Kansas prairie. I also love well-written crime novels with a setting and characters so interesting I don’t even care who did it.

I hate noise, Chicago, most vegetables, winter, action/thriller/horror/romcoms/blockbuster/superhero movies, cozy mysteries, and anyone who hurts an animal.

Reviews

[Gloria Zachgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A copy of OPULENCE, KANSAS arrived at my house as a gift from a friend. As an older adult, I very seldom read YA (young adult) books, but this one surprised me. It is well written in the voice of a fifteen-year-old and gave a delightful introduction of a rural community smack-dab in the middle of Kansas. Maybe I liked it so much because I grew up in an area that is much like the one described in this book.
The story captured my heart from the beginning when Katie is in Chicago, dealing with the misdeeds and death of her father. It kept me interested and turning pages in the middle when Katie came to Kansas, where she learned of a different way of living. And though I liked the ending, I have to admit I wanted to hear more from that teen’s voice.
OPULENCE, KANSAS is a quick and easy read with well-developed characters. I’m giving this one five stars.

[Gina Meronek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is as enjoyable and sustaining as an afternoon with a good friend. The characters are deeply human and also decent humans. As a former midwesterner myself the nods to farm community life and rhythms were particularly enjoyable but you don't need to have spent time in a feed store to thoroughly enjoy this book. Recommend it to someone who needs a little comfort and they will thank you.

[Andrea Hintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent story about finding peace and love after heartache. Though the story begins with emotional turbulence, it quickly turns into one of hope as the main character goes to live out on a cozy farm with her aunt and uncle. She quickly meets and begins to fall in love with a kind boy who is dealing with ghosts from his own past. The two find great healing in each others’ presence. My family comes from small towns like this one, so the descriptions hit close to home for me (and gave me great nostalgia for childhood summers well spent). Once you start reading, you won’t want to stop.

[Carmaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie Stielstra captured the essence of an adolescent from Chicago who visits a small Kansas community. After the shocking death of her father, her mother recommends spending a summer with an aunt and uncle on their farm. Katherine (Katie) Myrdal lived on the nineteenth floor of a luxury condo with a glamorous view of Lake Michigan. Her father’s expensive tastes in clothing, watches, and vehicles did not influence her desire for a lavish lifestyle. While her mother was connected to established, popular boards, clubs, committees, and social groups, introverted Katie appreciated poetry, reading, and photography.

Stielstra explores the dynamic and complicated connections among people. In an age of expression, Katie observes, listens, and learns from her Aunt Maggie how to percolate coffee, garden, raise chickens, and cook. She gains insight from her Uncle Len who teaches her to drive his truck on county gravel roads, fix fence, and routine ranch maintenance. “People out here knew how to live with the space between them” provided Katie’s recognition of the strength and uniqueness of rural and city life.

When a local boy befriends Katie, they explore an abandoned opera house, an underground historic diner, cellar, and barroom. Since Travis lost his father tragically in a house fire, they share anguished experiences. When Katie noticed her uncle’s ornate Civil War pocket watch, her natural curiosity directed her to a jeweler for repairs creating another friendship. Opulence is complete with heartache, romance, conflict, and resolution. Unpredictable events exhilarate the reader with delightful developments.

Bird imagery, landscape themes, the beauty of the sunrise and sunset, a dancing thunderstorm, the intensity of tornado damage, and livestock management enhance the story. “The shape, sort of bones, and muscles under the grass” define the fascinating, scenic Flint Hills. Colloquial language transforms the reader into the setting where simple pleasures are common experiences; a church picnic unites community members; and neighbors support each other. The story leaves the reader with a sense of hope, “Lots can happen in a short or a long time. We’ll just let it.”

Life in Kansas is not better or worse than living in Chicago. Each person in any environment has tremendous potential to contribute and be successful. Imitating her aunt and uncle, Katie cleverly plants seeds encouraging others to follow their dream. If you appreciate characters who face disappointment and obstacles with tenacity, Opulence delivers talented, hardworking, dedicated personalities who overcome adversity and make a difference.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the wake of tragedy, a privileged 15 year old girl’s escape from the residential skyscrapers of Chicago to rural Kansas becomes an absorbing character study, and not just about her adaptation from latte’s to barbecue. Katie learns how severe her own history (and the histories of those around her) can become in their power to influence present choices—if we let them. The book’s details about small-town life are poignant without painting anything too stereotypical. There are areas introduced concerning religion and community beliefs (see: politics) I would have liked to have seen explored further, but Stielstra’s illustration of how people living far apart come together with a gratitude and warmth missing in the big cities is interesting. Equally vivid are many of the story’s environments, such as an entombed Prohibition-era saloon & whorehouse the teen protagonists visit. And will the undiscovered talents of an unfortunate boy provide an escape from the drudgery of life in Opulence? As this is not a fairy tale, even the opportunity to join the Corky St. Claire theater troupe in nearby Blaine, Missouri could happen. Or Travis’ dysfunctional family, his poverty, his handicap and his low self-esteem could spell doom. Both Katy and Travis’ struggles to withstand the oncoming adult world come with no forecasts. Luckily, Katie’s encounters with “older generation people” have a big effect on her sensitivities--and her growth—without any pandering lessons about good old fashioned values. She learns about honesty over appearances. For those who care—and I do—chickens appear here as full-bodied characters, complete with personalities and photo calendars and Stielstra’s often flamboyant verbs. “Opulence, Kansas” is a novella, but it surpasses its YA confines by expanding its simple story to include all of the characters as they face uncertain American futures. That’s familiar enough territory to be political.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This YA novel was enjoyed by me, an adult. Julie Stielstra has scored with this story about Katie, Myrdal, a 15-year-old girl who lives a privileged life in a high rise condo in Chicago's Gold Coast. Her father's suicide and investigation for fraud turn her life upside down. When her Uncle Len and his wife, Maggie, invite her to spend the summer on their farm near the small town of Opulence, Kansas, she readily accepts. Anything to get away from this heartache and madness.

Katie finds life on the farm much to her liking. She learns new skills, makes new friends, and snaps photo upon photo of the amazing scenery and sunsets. Travis Gibbs becomes a good friend when she learns he, too, has lost a father recently in perhaps an even worse disaster. Like so often true, their relationship has its ups and downs.

The love Katie receives from her aunt and uncle, whom she had never met before, helps her meet each new day. There are secrets in Opulence that help Katie mature as she gets ready to go back to Chicago with promises and possibilities.

Julie Stielstra's characters feel like real people. Her descriptions are often poetic, and she is a true storyteller. Check this one out for a teen you know but read it yourself before you gift it.

[Mike Perricone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primarily aimed at a Young Adult audience, "Opulence, Kansas" is an outstanding and rewarding read for anyone. When I received my copy, I read it in one sitting. Katie Myrdal is an affluent Chicago teen-ager whose deal-making father is found dead in his Porsche after committing suicide. Katie is offered a change of scenery for the summer by an uncle and aunt who have a farm in Kansas. She barely knew them before encountering them at her father's funeral, but she accepts their invitation and experiences a season of surprises and secrets. The writing is excellent, the characters are three-dimensional, and the portrayals of farm life and the unexpectedly rolling prairiescape of Kansas are vivid and evocative. Author Julie Stielstra and her husband live part of the year on a farm in Kansas, and she writes from first-hand experience. The story of Katie's summer of self-discovery is an important addition to any bookshelf. (Mike Perricone, Riverside, IL)

[Ann Fell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful story follows a high school student as she harbors with distant relatives to heal from a family trauma. It is labeled YA (for young adults) but long past my teen years, I found it enticing. I loved that Kate was a photographer. I loved the scenes set in the underground tunnels of a town in central Kansas, much like Ellinwood. I loved that she discovered the secret that we Kansans guard so well: that there is mystical, magical beauty in our rolling hills and heavenly vistas. Kate faced lots of life’s social challenges in one short summer, almost too many to be adequately explored in the 37 chapters of the book. It left questions that made me wonder if a sequel is planned. What will Travis decide to do? Will the friendship between Kate and Travis grow? What, exactly, did Kate’s dad do that triggered his suicide? How did she come up with the book’s title? I hope there will be further stories to answer these and other questions.

[Jim Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie Myrdal’s 15 years old with her life in different worlds. She’s living on the 19th floor of a downtown Chicago apartment building with distant parents, then visits a caring aunt and uncle on the Kansas prairie. Life’s confusing. Katie’s lonely in the city, then surprised about her feelings for a boy with his own nightmares. Overwhelmed with life, Katie learns to cope a day at a time. Author Stielstra creates a vivid picture of Kansas with colorful characters so real you want to invite them home and cook them omelettes.—Jim Potter—author of Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery

[Barbara Schmid · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I were given this book by a friend, and though we are both well past the young adult demographic, we both found this YA novel engaging, interesting, and believable. I am sure that true young adults will like it as well. The narrator's voice (young teen girl) feels so true, the language flows so smoothly, the details are perfect - just the right amount of detail about just the right things, and the story is absorbing. It deals with loss/death, class, aspiration, and friendship in a healthy way. Highly recommended.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 YA book, light hearted story about a teen whose father kills himself, and she discovers herself in rural Kansas. Not alot of depth, suicide backstory story isn't really cleared up, but characters are likeable and developed well.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the start is grim, what follows is a delight, a heart warming story of a girl finding herself through interacting with others. By doing so, she's able to get past her anger at her dead father, reconnect with her mom and find friendship and more with a talented, but wounded boy.

[Barb Keltner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heard an interview of this author on NPR and was intrigued because she lives near where we have Camp Hope, which has nothing to do with her book but I'm so glad I gave it a try. A very good read!

[Crimsonandblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! I loved all the references to my home state that were so easy for me to follow. The story line was really good--not too sappy and no one rushed in to solve all the problems in an unbelievable way.

[Forest Ormes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author beautifully renders life in the central Plains seen from a young urban woman arriving to stay aunt and uncle. The relationship between the young woman and a young man she meets rings authentic. Opulence should reverberate among young readers. The supporting characters stand out for dimension of character, inviting interest on their own merits. Perhaps we will see another novel from one of their points of view. If so, looking forward to it.