Let the Hurricane Roar

by Rose Wilder Lane

Newlyweds Caroline and Charles are only sixteen and eighteen years old when they pack up their wagon and head west across the plains in search of a new homestead. At first their new life is full of promise: The wheat is high, the dugout is warm and cozy, and a new baby is born to share in their happiness. Then disaster strikes, and Charles must go east for the winter to find work. Caroline is left alone with the baby -- with nothing but her own courage to face the dangers of the harsh prairie winter.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Classics, Historical, Young Adult, Childrens, Romance

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Rose Wilder Lane was an American writer, journalist, and political thinker whose work ranged from fiction to biography and social commentary, and who became an influential advocate of individual liberty in the twentieth century. Born to Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder, she grew up amid financial hardship and frequent moves before her family settled in Missouri, experiences that later informed both her own writing and her collaboration with her mother. As the only surviving child, she developed independence early, shaped by a frontier environment that demanded resilience, adaptability, and self-reliance in daily life and work. After completing her schooling, she worked as a telegrapher in several states, gaining practical skills and financial independence while educating herself through extensive reading and study. Her early marriage to Claire Gillette Lane was marked by instability and ended in divorce, a turning point that pushed her toward a more focused literary career and personal autonomy. She gained recognition as a journalist and editor in San Francisco, where her talent for storytelling and observation quickly brought her professional attention and opportunities. Transitioning to freelance writing, she published short stories and articles in major American magazines, building a reputation for clear, engaging prose and strong narrative voice across different genres and audiences. Her novels, including Let the Hurricane Roar and Free Land, explored pioneer life and drew heavily on her family’s experiences, blending historical detail with fictional storytelling in a compelling and accessible manner. Lane also played a significant role in shaping and editing her mother’s Little House series, helping transform early drafts into widely successful books that reached generations of readers worldwide. Alongside her literary career, she developed a strong interest in political philosophy, becoming associated with the libertarian movement and emphasizing individual freedom, limited government, and personal responsibility as core principles. Her book The Discovery of Freedom articulated many of these ideas and became a key text in libertarian thought and discourse. Lane traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, often working with humanitarian organizations and observing social and political conditions firsthand in diverse cultural contexts. She maintained a wide network of intellectual and literary contacts, engaging with prominent writers, thinkers, and public figures of her time in ongoing dialogue and exchange of ideas. Known for her independence and strong convictions, she often chose a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle despite periods of financial success and public recognition. In her later years, she continued writing, lecturing, and mentoring younger thinkers, remaining an active and sometimes controversial voice in debates about freedom, society, and the role of the individual in modern life.

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recommended, but not required, for an online Laura Ingalls Wilder class I am currently taking.
Interesting contrast with Wilder's writing, as Rose took a lot of her mom's memories and put it together into a fiction before hers were published. It was interesting to run across familiar episodes, but it was also instructive at how much better Laura's voice and characterizations were.

[Majenta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically the same story as YOUNG PIONEERS, except the YOUNG PIONEERS are David and Molly and the HURRICANE is LET ROAR around...Caroline and Charles? Why, wherever did those names come from? :) Well, if you have the chance to read them both, go on ahead, and I hope you enjoy them!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book. I am taking a class on Laura Ingalls Wilder, where part of our discussion is how much influence did Rose have on Laura's Little House books. I don't see how anyone can even compare their writing styles. I understand Rose used Laura's Pioneer Girl biography as source material for this story, which Laura also used for portions of her Little House novels. A number of scenes are clearly recognizable, for example, the grasshoppers and trying to save the wheat. Similarities end there, however. Lane's writing style is so stark, stripped of emotion, almost journalistic, in a way. Wilder's writing style is the complete opposite: warm, vibrant, emotional, full of an abundance of details. It took a lot of effort for me to continue Young Pioneers. Sooooo boring!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and when I heard about this book, I wanted to read it. David and Molly in the story were modeled after Rose's grandparents, Charles and Caroline Ingalls. While the book is geared towards young folks, I did enjoy it quite a bit. While the "Little House" books are geared towards a younger set, "Young Pioneers" makes a nice addition to your bookshelves for your older children. I think the "Young Pioneers" is a bit more realistic when it comes to the hardships and dangers that the Pioneers faced, while the "Little House" books sugar coated them a bit because those books were more geared towards younger children. Also, Rose's writing style is different from those that her Mother penned. It's a bit more stark and not as descriptive.

If you've read the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, you will recognize that many of the settings and events in "Young Pioneers" are from Laura's book, "On the Banks of Plum Creek". For instance, David and Molly live in a dugout on the banks of Wild Plum Creek. They also lose their wheat crop through a swarm of grasshoppers. But, you also get a glance at what "Ma" and "Pa" were possibly like before Laura was born. The story starts with David and Molly's wedding. David is 18 and Molly is 16 when they set off on their adventure. From the "Little House" books, I never pictured them being that young. Granted, I know that this is a fictionalized account of Charles and Caroline's early years, but this fact was probably pretty accurate. After reading the book, think about this...how many 16-18 year olds do you know that could survive life as a pioneer in today's age? I enjoyed the book quite a lot, but I did feel that the ending was a bit abrupt. I would have like to have had it go on a bit longer to have it feel a bit more complete. I don't think it has the same magic as the "Little House" books, but it was well written and enjoyable.

This book is appropriate for I'd think 6th grade and up. Nothing too violent, just the stark reality of life as a pioneer. Also, there is a mild curse word that is used once when David is upset toward the middle-end of the book.

[Colette! · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why was Rose Wilder Lane largely forgotten as a writer while her mother reigns eternal in the annals of American literature?

While she had an eye for story exposition and structure, she lacked her mother's lyrical ability and poetic way of describing the world around her. Rose writes her family's history in a short little novel that sold well at the time it was published but has since faded into obscurity.

Laura wrote the same story, but the way in which she told it seared its memory into the souls of the American experience. Rose's attempt falls flat at the wayside.

[Laura McGee · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star is pushing it and really is only due to my love of Laura Ingalls Wilder whose story was blatantly stolen from her daughter for this book that is not even particularly compelling.
This novel was mentioned so often in the last book I read (Prairie Fires) that I had to give it a shot. It wasn’t great. Rose Wilder Lane was a real piece of work! And a thief of other people’s experiences, her mother literally wrote the same stories but better.

[Bren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, written by the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder is along the same lines as the "Little House" books. It is an enjoyable, quick read detailing the struggles of a young couple setting out into the frontier. The characters names are Charles and Caroline, and with their characterizations, seemed that it could have been about the author's grandparents, Pa and Ma in "Little House," except that the plot of the story didn't seem to match up with the early books of that series.
Other than wondering if any of it was based on fact, because I like to know, I enjoyed the story about their lives in a dugout, surviving a winter alone on the prairies, and the fierce pride and love for each other that kept them going.

Apparently newer editions are published under a different title with new character names. This probably alleviates some confusion, but I think the original title is very fitting.

My favorite quote from the book, when Caroline first peeked outside after a blizzard: "Air and sun and snow were the whole visible world--a world neither alive nor dead, and terrible because it was alien to life and death, and ignorant of them.
In that instant she know the infinite smallness, weakness, of life in the lifeless universe. She felt the vast, insensate forces against which life itself is a rebellion. Infinitely small and weak was the spark of warmth in a living heart. Yet valiantly the tiny heart continues to beat. Tired, weak, burdened by its own fears and sorrows, still it persisted, indomitably it continues to exist, and in bare existence itself, without assurance of victory, even without hope, in its indomitable existence among vast, incalculable, lifeless forces, it was invincible.
Caroline was never able to say, even in her own thoughts, what she knew when she first came out of the dugout after the October blizzard. It was a moment of inexpressible terror, courage and pride. She was aware of human dignity. She felt that she was alive, and that God was with life."

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been spoiled by the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, so reading this book by her daughter about events in her mother’s life seemed jarring. However, not a bad story about the misery of settling up a claim!

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fine book to read in a snowstorm. I enjoyed Minnesota and Iowa talked about as "out East."

There are moments that shine about perseverance in the midst of trial. Roughly two years pass in the novel, and we get acquainted with the demands and needs in the frontier. What is required for survival: friendship, companionship, fuel, wheat, hope? What makes life beautiful and worth the sacrifices of trials? Men and women answer those questions differently in this novel, and the differences are worth pondering.

The novel introduces several characters, but focuses on David and Molly's struggles to survive in a dugout on the prairie. David's need to leave Molly and resulting prolonged absence forms the most interesting part of the story for me. We get to see Molly grow her capacities in a little dugout in the middle of winter. It is a quick read well worth the time. I only wish there was more to read about Molly and David.

[Ellie Sorota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rose Wilder Lane, Laura Ingalls' daughter, writes a compelling story about a young couple carving out a place to survive in the wild west. Young Pioneers, originally titled Let the Hurricane Roar, depicts what reviewers call "the grown up version of Laura Ingalls' tale." The largest difference between Rose's book and her mother's series is that we see settlement through adult eyes rather than a child's. Although the two main characters are young in years, David is eighteen and Molly a few years younger, they are old in experience.
From the beginning of the book, the reader is transported to a different mentality, as Molly and David's parents give sacrificial wedding gifts: a whole ham, two maple cakes, a team of oxen, a quilt. Quickly the reader understands these gifts are both luxurious for such a young family to own, and necessary to survive the trip out west. Besides these meager possessions, David and Molly also receive a Bible, where they keep their marriage certificate. A surprising sentence is the seriousness of the "Birth and Death" page in the front of their Bible. While many Bibles today still come with such pages, Rose is quick to point out that though the page is blank, it will quickly be full and provide one of the only records of their existence.
David and Molly journey west, settle in a sod shanty and face the trials and tribulations of the pioneer life. They meet both tragedy and salvation, despair and joy, all the while learning contentedness with what they have and peace with what they lose.

[HamidReza · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک رمان کوتاه آمریکایی در اهمیت کار و تلاش و سخت کوشی برای ساختن زندگی خود و کشور خود .

حسرت خوردم که چرا ادبیات کشور ما از چنین قصه هایی محروم است و کمتر به چنین مضامینی پرداخته شده است.


بی شک از تجربه های خوب کتابخوانی من بود چرا که همه چیز این رمان تناسب و کیفیت خوبی داشت یعنی شخصیت پردازی ها و اشاره به زوایای روح و روان آدم ها ، قصه گویی و توالی اتفاقات، فضا سازی ها ، دیالوگ ها و پیام داستان ارزنده و قابل توجه بودند.

ترجمه کتاب از محمد عصار ترجمه قابل قبولی نبود با این حال حتم دارم از بهترین داستان هایی است که در این حجم کم میتوان خواند و محظوظ شد .

[Isabella Leake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfect little novel that deserves to be much more widely read (and can be read in a few hours!). I'm not sure why it isn't more often vaunted among lovers of American history and anyone who enjoys Laura Ingalls Wilder.

It was published right at the time when Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie first appeared, and it's based on many of the same events that formed the storyline, a few years later, of another Little House book. There are obvious similarities in terms of plot and circumstance: newlywed pioneers (he a fiddler, she a quiet woman) file a claim on land with a dugout and barn near a creek called Plum Creek; they raise a promising wheat crop, buy a reaper on credit, and begin building a large wooden farmhouse; but a few days before harvest, grasshoppers descend, ruining the crop and nearly reducing the couple to bankruptcy. The rest of the book tells of how they scrape by through the ensuing winter.

Lane's style is similar to Wilder's -- uncluttered, apt, poetic -- although the daughter's is slightly more literary or "novelish" than the mother's. I love both versions of the style: they somehow manage to be simple but not stark, elegant but not florid.

But for all these similarities, Let the Hurricane Roar is a very different work from any of the Little House books (and definitely worth reading on its own merits). It's a coming-of-age story for the young wife, Molly, whose selfhood, personality, resourcefulness, and marriage mature beautifully even as they are sorely tried and stretched to their limits. Molly's perception of her own experience is one of the richest things about the book. Another rich aspect is the descriptions, which are never cumbersome or overwrought but add, sparingly, just the right amount of vivid detail.

I have long known that Rose Wilder Lane was an established writer before her mother became one. But since I never heard her books recommended as worth reading, I assumed that she wrote with the cynicism and subversiveness you often find in adult literature of early 20th century (think D.H. Lawrence and other post WWI authors). This book is totally unlike what I expected: full of relish for the good things of the world, full of optimism, and (perhaps not intentionally) a deeply Christian tale -- it's about as perfect a parable of Providence as I can imagine.

It has sometimes been marketed as a book for young readers, and I sort of hate that, not because it's not appropriate for a young audience (the only damning thing about it is, actually, the word "damn" that appears a handful of times), but because it stands head and heels above most juvenile and YA literature and deserves to be read by any adult. All the same, I wish someone had told me what a good book this was when I was 12 and obsessed with stories of westward expansion -- but then, maybe it's even nicer to discover it as an adult and fall in love with something totally new under a favorite topic of girlhood.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Pioneers is the tale of a brave young couple, Molly and David, who travel west to find a homestead of their home after their marriage. They are only 18 and 16 years old at the time. Molly in particular is a brave young woman who not only gives birth on the prairie with only her husband in attendance, but also manages to live alone and keep the homestead when David has to get work out east after a grasshopper plague. “In the daylight she saw the devastated country more clearly. There was nothing but bare earth to the rim of the sky.” I was amazed by her pluck and determination against all odds.

Lane gives great characterization and setting. You feel through Molly’s eyes what it would be like to be alone on the prairie and the courage required by pioneers. I loved this description:

“This was a cloud ineffably beautiful, soft as moonbeams, iridescent as mother of pearl. It covered the sun, and the sun shone through it gently with kindness.”

Lane also talks a lot about the gumption of the pioneers. The pioneers who made it were tough and had that gumption, those that didn’t make it, lacked it.

“Suddenly she was happy, because she understood why he hadn’t come to her for comfort. It was his pride- his pride in taking care of her and the baby. She would love him just as much if he couldn’t take care of her. But she wouldn’t love him at all without the pride; he wouldn’t be David without it.”

This was about a neighbor of Molly and David:
“It was not only this quarter section of land that Mr. Svenson was giving up; it was a year of his life, a year’s work and hope. Molly doubted that Mr. Svenson would ever be more than a hired man.”

Rose Wilder Lane was a famous author before her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder. She greatly helped her mother with her works, but also took the material to write her own stories including this novel. It had many elements similar to On the Banks of Plum Creek and The Long Winter.

I wonder how Rose Wilder Lane would feel now that her books are marketed as “by Rose Wilder Lane, The Daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder.” I know the two had an at times contentious relationship. Fame is fickle; it’s hard to believe that the once famous writer, Rose Wilder Lane, is now only remembered for her association with her mother. Personally I think this is because Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories were written from the heart and of her own experiences, while Rose Wilder Lane’s books that I’ve read are mining the same material without the personal touch. The name of this novel was also changed from the original “Let the Hurricane Roar” to Young Pioneers probably to market to the Laura Ingalls Wilder crowd.

Young Pioneers was a bit scattered at the beginning and not as detailed as I would have like to really set up the story. It got much better with more description as the book went on until it got to the point that I was enthralled by the story and read through it quickly to see how it ended. Overall, it is a good story for those interested in history, especially of the pioneer era. It is also an interesting book for Little House fans to read as well.

Can you see yourself able to live alone on the prairie with only an infant through a winter of blizzards?

Book Source: I purchased this novel at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove Minnesota. Stay tuned for a blog post about my journey!

This review was originally posted on my blog at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS

I've always been a big fan of the "Little House on the Prairie" series, so I was familiar with Rose Wilder Lane, but I had never read any of her books. I was pleased as punch when I came across not one, but two of her books at a Friends of the Library book sale. One was "Let the Hurricane Roar" and the other was "Young Pioneers." You can imagine my surprise when I figured out these were the same book. The only change was that the publishers had decided to change the characters names from Charles and Caroline to Molly and David.

As I was reading this tale of hardship and perseverance, I kept thinking how familiar it seemed to me. It took me a little while to figure out, but my husband had bought a DVD of eight adventure movies that contained the movie adaptation of this book called "Young Pioneers." We watched it a couple years ago before I knew anything about "Let the Hurricane Roar," which is why I couldn't shake the feeling of deja vu regarding this book.

"Caroline's parents gave her two blankets, two wild-goose-feather pillows, and cooking pot and pan and skillet. They gave her a ham, a cheese, two molds of maple sugar, and Tennyson's Poems beautifully bound in green and gilt, with steel engravings. She had the patchwork quilts she had pieced. Charles had his fiddle and his gun. Their families together sent East for their Bible, and the circuit rider wrote their marriage certificate on the page provided for it. The pages for Births and Deaths were still blank, waiting to be written upon. So, well provided for, they set out to the West."

It's hard to believe most pioneer families began new lives out West with such few possessions!

We are having hard times now, but we should not dwell upon them but think of the future. It has never been easy to build up a country, but how much easier it is for us, with such great comforts and conveniences, kerosene, cookstoves, and even railroads and fast posts, than it was for our forefathers. I trust that, like our own parents, we may live to see times more prosperous than they have ever been in the past, and we will then reflect with satisfaction that these hard times were not in vain."

Overall, an enjoyable read about life on the prairie and the grit needed to survive during times of adversity.

[Kld2003 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good pioneer story but not a compelling one thus 4 stars. But I still recommend the book! The perseverance of our ancestors is something we need to learn about because the ease of life most of us enjoy today lulls us into a false sense of security and then when catastrophe hits many do not handle it well. Most of our pioneer ancestors dealt with adversity ALL the time and we can learn a lot from them in dealing with modern day life. Now, many people give up too quickly, in marriage (Divorce is all too common), child rearing ( just give them what they want to make them happy), social situations (phones and internet keeping us from engaging with society), etc. Pioneers dealt with hardships and trails and still managed to find happiness in their lives and we need to learn that living a good life is hard work. Yes, we need a balance of work and leisure but pioneers found that balance by growing food and finding joy in it, raising chickens and finding joy in it. Today we see everything we do as work.

[Beth Cato · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have long read about this book, which author Lane based on her mother's life stories. I think I had higher expectations, as I know Lane also influenced her mother's novelizations. This book directly riffs off On the Banks of Plum Creek with a tale of teenage newlyweds David and Molly who settle on the creek to land they see with great promise, only for the grasshoppers to descend. It is utterly soulless. The two leads read as archetypes that never come to life, and therefore, the emotional events describe lack feeling. They are poor, but more than that, they are profoundly foolish. David is a condescending jerk to his wife. The racism is pretty blatant, too, including two mentions of "the whitest man I know" being high praise.

The Little House books have their problems, too, but the actual writing still holds up quite well.

[Cynthia Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have to feel sorry for Rose Wilder Lane: at one point, SHE was the famous author in the family. In her lifetime, she wrote over 20 books, and countless magazine and newspaper articles. She wrote biographies of Henry Ford, Herbert Hoover, and Charlie Chaplin. She is considered one of the founders of the Libertarian movement.

Now? She’s mainly relegated to being “the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder.” She’s a footnote in the sad chapter of “The First Four Years.”

My daughter and I have been reading a series of books...

Read my full review here: http://cynthiahillbooks.com/2013/10/1...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of little house would like this short novel.

[Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and heartwarming

[Peiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

طوفان می غرد... داستان تلاش برای زندگی و زنده ماندن. داستان دوست داشتن، نا امیدی، غرور، ترس و انتظار...ه

بگذار طوفان بغرد
زیرا زودتر پایان می پذیرد
بر تندباد پیروز می شویم و سرانجام پایین می آییم
بر ساحل مسرت بخش کنعان

[Linds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella is written by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter Rose Wilder Lane. I’ve been interested in Laura Ingalls lately and I’m being a bit of a completionist.

I’m not quite sure what to say about this book. It’s no secret that Rose Wilder heavily edited Laura Ingalls’ Little House’ books, but this is a case of her cribbing her Mother’s material. The grasshopper plague from Plum Creek as well as elements of The Long Winter are present.

It has the similarities of plot but none of the soul. The characters are thin tropes. The prose reads quickly, competently, and is a bit pulpy.

[Karin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a bit hard reading this, being so familiar with the Little House books. Not only did Rose borrow stories from her parents, she even modelled Molly and David after them--at least once David was referred to as Charles. That said, this is not exactly them. The writing isn't as good as her mother's was when her books came out. Perhaps part of the reason is that her mother fictionalized her own life, perhaps another part of the reason is that Laura actually lived through the things in her fictionalized biographies. For me, this book was disappointing because too many things were borrowed from her parents.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for those who loved the Little House series by Rose's mom Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'm a bit annoyed by the reviewers who didn't take the time to figure out that Rose's book pre-dates Laura's and any quick Google search will show that the Little House books only came about at Rose's urging and assistance. It is a quick, sweet story and does not hinge on knowing anything about Little House. The ending is a bit abrupt and the reader hopes there will be more. Good for all ages.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short. My edition 118 pp. Most events will be familiar to readers of Lane's mother's books, the Little House series. I can't recommend this to modern readers, though, as these naive children were destroying the prairie, enabling the devastation of the Native ways of life, and still thought themselves superior to immigrants who weren't as 'tough' as they. I hope they taught their children the value of frugality and the risk of debt, at least.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I planned to read this over a couple days, but I couldn't put it down and finished it in one evening. I was surprised at how many things I could relate to, impressed by Molly's strength, and grateful for the luxuries of modern day life, like being able to communicate quickly with people who are far away. I'm looking forward to discussing this with book group.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously she would write based on stories her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder, had told her. This was a complete copy cat of the first few Little House on the Prairie books! I loved those books so this one, not so much...

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down. I found the writing sharp and the story engrossing.
Thinking of doing a Pioneer theme for my summer book group. This would be a good choice for one of the books.
Need 2 more.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was amazed to find this at a library's sale and see that the daughter of Laura Ingalls was a writer too and had written this book. I have to have love in a book, so I was thrilled to read the summary about a young married couple in the 1800s. On the very first page it proved it was as sweet as I hoped it would be as it delivered on the type of details I like.

It starts off saying that Molly and David had played together as kids and had said they would be married as soon as they were old enough. He'd tease her that he had never actually asked her to marry him.

I could relate to Molly in that she's quiet and shy and not pretty. She was amazed that she had won David. He's laughing and bold, a daring hunter, dancer, fiddler and fighter. On Sunday afternoons his family would spend the day with hers.

David was 18 and would have stayed to work for his dad until he was 21 but his dad was generous and let him marry now. He gave him the wagon and team early too. Molly's parents gave her two blankets and two pillows, a pot, pan, and skillet. They gave her food and a book of poems. She brought her patchwork quilts she had made. David had his gun and fiddle. Their families sent for a bible and the circuit rider wrote their marriage certificate in it with pages for births and deaths.

He shot game every day. When they needed supplies like flour, tea, and sugar, they camped at a settlement and he worked for it. He bought her presents whenever he had money, like a box covered in shells with a middle in the lid, and 15 yards of calico. When they were going to have a baby he got a job with the railroad company. She had to stay at the railroad camp. He built her a sod house and left her a gun.

I didn't like how fast it moved. It cut off their childhood completely and their courtship and jumped to them already having been married and then being pregnant. It was on pg. 6 that we learned they were going to have a baby, so soon after it started. And having a 16 year old married and pregnant isn't really reader-friendly.

David got a homestead out in the middle of nowhere. A woman was mad when she heard they weren't leaving east for the winter and asked if he wanted to kill her. I liked that he was afraid for her and was ready to go east.

It was a heart-warming story how a Swedish man came to their home and mimed that his wife was lonely, so Molly went to her house to visit her and taught her English words.

I didn't really care for David, the way he called her a goose when she didn't understand something or hadn't thought of something he had. Like with the wheat, she said that's nice, and he was like nice? And proceeded to tell her how much money it would make and called her a goose. When he wanted a tree claim she pointed out it would work him to death and he called her a goose and said he'd hire out. It was like verbal abuse, like he thought she was an idiot. When he was going to show her the wheat he snatched the baby up like he was a bundle and then when he cried he handed him back over to her without even realizing it.
He told her that her hair's silky, and he guessed he forgot to mention it but she's pretty nice to have around. He's kind of glad he's got her. At least he burst out thank god he's able to take care of her and the baby as he ought to, because he wasn't looking too good. She's "pretty" nice to have around? He's "kind of" glad? No.
He bought up all this stuff they didn't need, counting on the wheat crop before he sold it. Of course we knew it would be ruined.
When she told him to rest after he'd been battling to keep the grasshoppers from the wheat, he got mad at her and said he wasn't a baby that needs sleep. She told him later to rest and he got mad and cursed, told her not to turn against him and left like he hated her.
When the wheat was lost he raged at her, asking why won't she say something? At least he admitted he was a fool to buy all that stuff and get in debt.
He came home after not getting a job with the railroad and was mad at her, he brusquely told her to run along when she started unhitching the team, said he guessed he wasn't so beat that he couldn't unhitch his own team. Just because he was feeling that a man had no right to a wife he couldn't take care of didn't excuse his behavior.

Molly wasn't much more likable. David told her of the men forced to leave and go west because there were no jobs, and she asked why don't they eat rabbits? She said it didn't have anything to do with them and they weren't going to beg. She realized David was prideful and he didn't want to lose it in front of her because he'd hate himself.
It was nice that she would love him just as much if he couldn't take care of her.
She felt that if they left David and everyone would know that he hadn't been strong enough for the West. How mean!
Mr. Svenson cursed the whole country because the land wouldn't feed anyone and Molly got mad and said the country's fine and no country would feed you with a spoon. She thought that it's men that make a country and what's wrong with him? When he said they were leaving, she felt that he was giving up and he'd always be a hired man. So judgmental.

The sweet story was ruined as Molly and Mrs. Svenson felt awkward and embarrassed with each other that Molly had so much more than she did. She didn't even want to tell her of the new house. I was like stop thinking of it then! I felt so bad for the other woman and wished she'd give her something to help them out.

The horses worked too hard to be driven for pleasure so she had to walk to the neighbors.

She wrote of nursing the baby. The baby's mouth lost her breast.

It was sweet that David wrote her saying try not to miss him like he was missing her. He said he was never going to leave her again as long as they live, and told her to write to him.

It was Molly's suggestion for David to go east so they wouldn't lose the homestead. And then when he wrote that he'd broken his leg and wouldn't be coming back, she decided to go back to the town site. Giving up, Molly? Can't hold the homestead without the Svensons? What a quitter. I was so irritated with her attitude because they had been nothing but good to her, Mr. Svenson traveling miles with his hungry oxen to pick up David's letters for her and waiting for news of David's return; they were going to wait for him to come back before they left, taking time out of their long journey to Minnesota before the winter.

It was heartbreaking to read about the herd of cattle whose breath froze over their eyes and faces. They were all huddled together and dying. She shot one for meat, kept a female for her own, and freed the rest. I was so glad that she helped the rest of them and I felt so had for those poor animals!

It was admirable that she resolved to kill anyone who tried to enter the house. She knew there was no good to come from that and an honest person wouldn't be out in a blizzard. But when a man stumbled into the stovepipe she took pity on him knowing he would die in the deep snow.

It was such a surprise that it was David. I didn't expect him to come in the winter. I liked that he was teasing her, saying didn't he say he'd come back as soon as he could? And how serious he was when he got onto her for staying there alone. He said "Molly, God only knows what I went through when they told me in town that Svensons had quit and you were out here alone. Don't you ever do another fool trick like that. Do you suppose I care a damn for anything in the world compared to you?"

I could not believe how it ended. They were talking about things that had happened to them; he was warned he couldn't make it before the storm but he thought he could. She knew that the baby wouldn't always live in a dugout and there would be more a spacious setting and that's how it ended. What the heck?! We don't know when they'll pay what they owe, how they'll make money, or when they'll be able to build the house. What a colossal letdown.

[TheQueensBooksII · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as an adolescent and really loved it. I found it on my shelf and decided to give it another go, to see how well I remembered it. This story was written by Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane originally titled Let the Hurricane Roar. Lane was a real American patriot; maybe today one might call her a Libertarian. Her devotion to the work ethic, of pride in ownership and accomplishment, and illustrating how these young pioneers truly saw themselves as building a new nation and their pride in that work in spite of overwhelming hardships is inspiring. A lot of the book mirrors situations or experiences in Lane's mother's own life from the Little House books. Highly recommend this for younger audiences, although a call to return to self-reliance and a can-do attitude should not be lost on today's adults, either!

[Stacy Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of the Little House book series and have read them many times but for some reason had never picked this one up.

I didn’t read ahead of time, so I assumed this was the story of Rose but it is not. Still, a good read.

The story line is so very similar to the Little House books that sometimes I felt like I was reading a plagiarized book. 🙈 It’s like another version of the same story but with different people.

The internet says this is a book for 7th-8th graders but I disagree. The themes in this book, marriage and what that requires, birth, and death on the prairie - seems too strong for that age level. I’d say at least high school.