Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell

Dear America

by Kristiana Gregory

Now that we're in the North Platte River Valley the air feels dry and thin. My lips are so chapped they bleed when I talk. The only thing to do is dip our fingers in to the bucket of axle grease and rub our lips every hour or so. It smells bad, it tastes bad, and the blowing dust sticks.

It feels like we must be halfway to Oregon, but Tall Joe says, no, we've only gone five hundred miles. He also says the worst part of the trail is to come.

Does he mean more rivers to cross...? I'm afraid to ask what he's talking about.

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

140 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1997

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

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A creditable portrayal of the trip westward along the Oregon Trail as seen through the eyes and experiences of 13-year-old Hattie Campbell. The joys and sorrows, the triumphs and tragedies, they all come together to give a complete picture of the challenges the travelers faced during the 6-month journey. A compelling and educational read that whets the appetite for more information on the dauntless and resilient pioneers; would pair well with If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon.

[Arlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah I'm 27 and I just listened to a Dear America audiobook.

And I liked it.

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

TW// death (including mothers, children, and animals - deaths were by poison, murders, drownings, etc.), racism, brief mentions of fatphobia and ableism, violence (scalpings, shootings,etc.), child marriage, pedophilia, suicide, mentions of cannabalism

This book took me back to my childhood. I loved the Dear America series as a kid and since I live in Oregon, I had to extensively study the Oregon Trail growing up. I’m sure that I would’ve enjoyed this book even more if I’d read it as a kid, but I still enjoyed the story and I was pleasantly surprised by how accurate this story was. Some of the truths in this story were harsh and the story didn’t brush over the amounts of death on the Oregon Trail. This may be hard for some kids to read about, but it was the truth and this story did a great job of portraying what life on the Oregon Trail was like.

Mrs. Kenker was the only part of this story that I truly hated. I get the reason why she was included because she teaches kids about forgiving people even when they do terrible things, but she just got on my nerves so much and none of the adults took her bad actions seriously until the end of the book. It was so annoying.

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So yes indeed, I have to admit that I do tend to find it a bit (and in fact rather more than a bit) frustrating that in Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell author Kristina Gregory seems to have her fictional diarist and first person narrator Hattie Campbell almost constantly be narrationally wallowing in pain, grief and tragedy, with one presented disaster, with one featured horror after another meticulously textually depicted and examined, a seemingly constant and incessant barrage of doom and gloom (but then and very much strangely so often seemingly penned by Hattie in a manner and style that reads almost light and breezy), a strange at best scenario that has not at all been an engaging reading experience by any stretch of my imagination and has in fact left me so annoyed with Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell that I very quickly did manage to lose all my potential reading interest and to therefore abandon Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell as a "could not finish" about half way through.

Because although I do think that Kristina Gregory paints and demonstrates with Hattie Campbell's fictional journal entries a decent and realistic enough (in and of itself) sense of time and place and how the Oregon Trail was both difficult and often imbued with and beset by many dangers and threats, the fact that in Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell, Hattie Campbell's narrative voice focusses (in my opinion) almost entirely and yes rather majorly exaggeratedly on sadness, tragedy, on horror and more horror, this has certainly made my perusal of Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell both so uncomfortable and tediously depressing that yes, I have indeed decided to not continue with this instalment of the Dear America series of fictional diaries, I have without any feelings of guilt or contrition whatsoever decided to stop reading Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell and to move on to hopefully more uplifting and less totally depressing and infuriating reading experiences (and yes, thus far, I also do very much consider the Dear Canada series as being vastly superior to the Dear America series and definitely much more readable and engaging).

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Dear America books! I remember liking this as a young girl and this one still held its own with a reread. Would recommend it to lovers of historical fiction and/or girls 10+.

From a Christian perspective, Hattie wrestles with accepting God’s will and wonders why the Lord lets bad things happen. Her mother tells her that sometimes God works in mysterious ways, and Hattie takes comfort in her belief that God will protect her and her family and work everything for good. She learns throughout the book to love and help others, even those who seem completely unlovable, and this theme is built upon many times. She also learns to value those who are different from her.

Content warnings (spoilers ahead): A man falls from a roof and dies. A coffin on its way to burial is sucked under a steamboat and the body disappears. The main character’s sisters are mentioned to have died from disease before the story starts. A little girl is lost on the trail, and it’s implied that she was never found again. A mother dies from illness. Three characters die by hemlock, and their deaths are moderately described (you’d be surprised how much hemlock, which is extremely deadly, can be found in neighborhoods and parks!). One character wonders what marriage is like. Two young characters are married and the bride becomes pregnant. One character dies by suicide. Another dies from a snakebite. Another gives birth, and this is mildly described. Multiple characters die in river crossings from falling into the water, wagons tipping over, etc. Mentions of guns and shooting, scalpings, the Donner Party, cannibalism, maggot-infested meat, snakebites, buffalo droppings, butchering animals, oxen dropping dead, hemlock, birth, and thievery. The word “Injun” is used multiple times by a few characters. I may have forgotten a few potential content warnings as this was written from my memory and not from any notes I took (I didn’t take any notes). Overall, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie seems very true to the real experience of many pioneers of the Oregon Trail. My 10-year-old sister read it, and I knew she could handle the content. However, this book still might not be appropriate for the more sensitive. Some caution is advised when giving this book to younger readers.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first started this book, I was so not 'into it'. I stumbled along through the first 20 something pages, before it really pulled me in. But one it did, I was hooked! It was so good! I loved Pepper and Gideon (adorable couple!!). And Mr. & Mrs. Biggs were my favorites!! :) I was shipping Wade and Hattie through the whole book too. ;)
If you like good, real, sad, stories of courageous pioneers, you'll love this book. :)

[J. Wootton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent! Loved the detail, the story, the interspersion of historical flavor and moments. It's really difficult to maintain the conceit of journal entries as a vehicle for storytelling, yet Gregory does this very well, managing a childlike voice, diary-style tone and content, plot and character development all at once, trespassing over these constraints in only a few instances. Lots of authors have tried this conceit and almost nobody succeeds; hats off to Gregory there.

Overall, likeable historical junior fiction.

[Katrina G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one! I was worried that this was going to be a lot of the same mundane things over and over again, and while Hattie often complained about the same thing on multiple occasions, there were so many other things going on that it didn't really come off as repetitively annoying to me.

Sometimes it takes a minute for the Dear America stories to get to the good part, but this one started off in the action right away. RIP to Hattie's poor uncle whos coffin got tipped over into water and swept his body away. I still feel bad for laughing about it. But it sounded so funny the way Hattie described it all...

As always, there's some nuances that would fly over a child's head that most definitely did not fly over mine. Can't say I was the biggest fan of the 13 year old girl getting married to the 30 year old man, and when Hattie asked her what it was like to be married, the girl just blushed. I mean I guess this was considered more normal during the time period, but it still really gave me the ick.

My only real knowledge of the Oregon trail is the game I used to play on the computer when I was a kid, and the whole thing about the Donner party (which actually gets mentioned in the story). The game kind of made a joke out of the silly ways to die, but this gave more insight to just how devastating and sudden everything can all be.

[Anna Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember becoming interested in the Oregon Trail because of this diary (and the excellent computer simulation, of course).

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

My sister and I joke about how darn depressing this series can be (just read some of the titles. The Dear Canada ones sound even worse. I'll have to read some of those sometime). But perhaps it's precisely because these books don't squirm away from the gritty details of history that I found them so compelling as a child. Actually I think what I liked/like about them has more to do with the fact that I'm fascinated by history—not just dates and names and places, but about history as the stories of real people that had thoughts and emotions and ups and downs. This series does a wonderful job of allowing readers to imagine living in the shoes of one of those individuals, and along the way discover that so much of who we are as people doesn't change.

So with that introduction, this book seems to be pretty depressing even by Dear America standards. Within the first few pages, the protagonist's uncle falls off the roof and dies. While trying to bury him, his coffin somehow floats down the river and is lost. A passing boat captain feels sorry for them and offers to give the family free passage to anywhere they chose. They take advantage of this offer by deciding to move to Oregon. The free fare allows them to get to where the Oregon Trail starts. That beginning felt rather bizarre to me, but her uncle's death is only the first of many tragedies to come. Through the course of the book a nine-year-old boy is accidentally shot in the neck and killed by careless boys, twin children wander off the trail and are lost, three kids die from accidentally eating water hemlock (which the protagonist unknowingly prepares), a woman dies as a result of childbirth, two families drown while crossing a river when their livestock gets tangled and their wagons capsize, a boy gets trampled and dies, a man dies from a rattlesnake bite, an old man commits suicide, and a woman dies while trying to save her husband while crossing a river. There are a few more things, but that's most of it. Seriously, I have no idea how people did this journey; it sounds absolutely awful. Some women, like the girl's aunt, even traveled while pregnant (she ends up having her baby while they are crossing a major river, and while the threat of a possible Indian attack looms). I would've been hightailing it back to Missouri at the first "skeeter cake" (pancakes full of mosquitoes). Then once they finally get to Oregon one of the first things they do is write to their friends telling them to come. After all they went through, they are encouraging friends to do the same? It's interesting, though, to read in the epilogue how just a decade later the trail was so vastly different—people could then travel by stagecoach and stay at inns along the way.

So although this wasn't a light, fluffy, and altogether-pleasant read, it was well-told and informative. The reasons people left their homes and traveled west, the concept of manifest destiny, the hardships the pioneers faced, and the courage of many of these people are all themes that are woven into the story.

I was really surprised that Hattie's fourteen-year-old friend was getting married! Did people really marry that young? I also wondered who performed the marriage ceremony--was there a preacher or judge at the place they stopped? The main character seemed really kind of obsessed about getting a husband, and I wasn't really sure what the reason for that was, other than to give something to modern day readers that they could possibly relate to (maybe that was the point, since these books are targeted at tween girls?).

One thing I didn't understand: once these people got to Oregon, since they had no possessions and no money, how did they buy supplies and build a home?

I didn't dislike this book, and I'm glad I read it; it just wasn't a huge favorite. 2.5 stars.

[Donna Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diary from a young teen is a great way to tell of the struggles and joys of traveling the Oregon Trail. You see first hand the dangers, the everyday pains such as feeling lonely when your friend is married and you are not. You see children born, and children die. The realness of the story and how although the character is fiction, you know these kind of things did happen and you just feel connected.

[Nattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story. I am a huge fan of pretty much all "Wagons Ho!", fiction, unless it is really bad. I found myself slightly annoyed. It seems that the book was obviously trying to avoid the big SEX word, but kept mentioning things that you know involved sex. I'd rather the subject was ignored completly if you're going to have scenes like the ones where Hattie asks the new 14-year-old brides what it's like to have a husband and they both blush redder than a red crayon. I guess the only things they can come up with in their minds for Hattie is the stuff that makes a person blush?

I always find it very puzzling as to how these people determine womanhood and manhood. If you're only 14 you're a child on Monday, but if you're still 14 and get married on Thursday then suddenly you're a man or a woman a few days later? Now you get to hang with the adults.

[Zev · Rating 4 out of 5]

2019 review: this was the first or second book that I read of the series and its spinoff series (Royals plus a few My Name is America books). I have a definite soft spot for it, and was pleased to discover I hadn't outgrown it. Still a really good historical fiction diary, and what a way to write! Most of the action happens over three months, but it feels so much longer. The descriptions were vivid as ever, the stakes just as high. I shook my head at the teenagers and was shocked they were marrying so early, and with their parents' consent. It was a different time, indeed. I was fascinated at the references to other trails and groups and how they were approached. When the Donner party was first mentioned, I thought ofthe YouTube video by Caitlin Doughty that examines the events with modern knowledge. That made it even sadder. I laughed when Hattie first discovered Pacific NW weather (born and raised Seattle, here), and crowed, "you're southern and the sun's never gonna appear again!" I was teasing a fictional teen, but it's fun to poke at people who don't know what a sun break is. I had fun reading this again. I'm glad I was able to get it at the library.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book in March 1997 when it was first published and it was one of my favorite books ever. It brings the Oregon Trail to life and puts faces on the countless brave pioneers who braved the hardships of the trail to make new lives in the west. The narrator is a fictional thirteen-year-old farm girl from Missouri, Hattie Campbell. Through her diary, written in a voice that truly sounds as if it belongs to a young girl from that time, the reader experiances the events of Hattie's journey west - her friendship with Pepper, a fourteen-year-old girl from the wagon train, the beginnings of a romance with Pepper's brother Wade, and many others. Hattie was a character that I really came to care about, and I was sad to put the book down when it was finished, but since then, I have read it several more times. Kristiana Gregory is an amazing author that has given a distinct voice to each of her narrators in this book and her other Dear America books. Overall one of my top favorite Dear America books.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw Mama out on the dance floor with Pa, her arm looped through his, and her head thrown back in laughter, I knew we were really truly finally in Oregon. Just like that.

Still one of the best Dear America books, tbh. It's heartbreaking at times, to think what the brave souls who made this journey went through, but it's inspiring just the same. Hattie is fantastic as a narrator, sassier than most of the narrators in this series. So I really enjoyed revisiting this story, though the 13 and 14-year-olds wondering about marriage got a little bothersome after awhile. Like... calm down, you're still a child, kid. And I will say that this book did put a healthy fear of water hemlock and deep rivers in me as a child. So. That's good I guess.
Idk what I'm trying to say with this review but this was a really nice stroll down memory lane and I also discovered the audiobook that I never knew existed and quite enjoyed. 4 stars from me, just for the nostalgia. I'd give it 3 if this were my first time.

[Mary Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Our family had just moved from upstate New York to New Hampshire at the end of the summer of 2005. Our daughter Olivia asked me to read this book with her. We started out reading this book together and one by one the rest of our family would gather to hear us read until "it" became the event of each evening or rainy weekend afternoon.
I think we were drawn to this story because in our own way, we had left "everything" behind; (family, friends, our church, home, a pet, furniture and even a piano that I had prayed for and God divinely sent our way) to find a new life in New England. Each of the children and my husband and I felt as connected to the characters in the story as we did their journey.

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read it made me get wet eyes and laugh.
It helped me under stand what it was like crossing the river and walking for miles with out end but also the good times they had when the camped for the night and the thief your old friends could become.i also like in the back there is a historical note and pictures.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it might have been fun to travel by wagon across the country but now I would have hated it. Such a bumpy and slow ride! It is not safe and it is not guaranteed you will live.

[Berdena Beamer]

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail Diary of Hattie Campbell is a really good historical book. I would recommend this book for grades fourth through sixth. It is the first Dear America book that I have read. The story starts in the spring of 1847. It is a good depiction of how it was back then to ride a wagon train across the United States to start a new life. There were several families who gathered in Independence, Missouri, where the Oregon Trail started. They traveled northwest to Oregon to make new homesteads and a new life.

Hattie Campbell and her family lived in Booneville, Missouri. It was her father's dream of starting a new life with the family after Hattie's two sisters died from swamp fever. One day, Hattie's Uncle Milton died from falling off the roof. During the funeral, the coffin slid off the wagon and into the river. A steamboat was coming around the corner making large waves and sucked the coffin into it's tall paddles. Uncle Milton was lost forever. The captain felt horrible and offered to take the family anywhere they wanted to go, and anytime. So this is how it began of Hattie's father taking the offer and move west.

Her father was a very strong, determined, and a leader. Her mother was very reluctant to go and to leave behind Hattie's sisters, whom they'll never see again. To help convince Hattie's mother, her father says, "Augusta," he said, "we'll be able to start a new life, where there ain't no sad memories." She finally agreed, but still not happy with Hattie's father.Being the oldest now at the age of 13, Hattie had to be responsible and help take care of her much younger brothers. Her Aunt June and Uncle Tim decided to move west with them.

Hattie started writing a diary of the adventure from day one and her aunt encouraged her to write everything down, good and bad. There were several good things that happened along the way like babies being born and couples getting married. But there were also many tragedies and much sadness, too.

[Lauren Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time reading this in probably 15 years, but it was my favorite "Dear America" book as a kid and it's still just as exciting and fun to plow through. Told from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl whose family decides to go to Oregon during the height of westward expansion in 1847, even though it's meant for younger readers, the book doesn't shy away from any of the horrors of the Oregon Trail, including all of the amazing ways to die: poison! getting crushed to death! disease! drowning! freezing! suicide! heart attacks! murder by fire! murder by guns! murder by scalping! There's even a brief foray into cannibalism, in case you were getting comfortable. The historical accuracy is pretty on point, and there's even a nice little epilogue to tie everything together at the end.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my revisit of the Dear America series! Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie was one I really remember loving from my childhood, and it did not disappoint. I remembered certain plot points but was still surprised at others, and the imagery is just as vivid as I remember. A great read for any age!

[Mackie Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this as part of a selection committee and I liked it more than I thought I would. Not that I would really know, but it felt like a true portrayal of life on the Oregon Trail. Definitely didn't shy away from the hard stuff (lots of people and almost all of the animals die). A good primer for kids who are interested in the subject.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful look at pioneers traveling to Oregon and all the hurt that it entails!

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

i used to love this series as a kid but i can't remember much about them. this was a very engaging read that holds up! i also really enjoyed the documents in the back of the book. i hope they're all this good. :)

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Across the Wide Prairie (Oregon Trail) / 0-590-22651-7

I love Oregon Trail stories, probably as a remnant of my childhood obsession over the video game series of the same name. I couldn't wait to read this installment of the Dear America series.

The Dear America formula works very well here. The diary format is well-suited to a long journey, and fits realistically here as the main character sits down by the fire at the end of the evening to record the days' experiences. The day-to-day account is gripping and never boring, as Hattie details the hardships of the trail, the various illnesses and weddings along the way, hazardous river crossings, genuine concerns over food and supplies, and other gripping details. The author tends to provide a 'fair and balanced' view of the world around the settlers, and treats American Indians with relative fairness and somewhat lavishly describes the Mormon settlers to Utah as fundamentally decent people looking for their niche in the world.

Somewhat frustratingly, however, all the adults here are morons. The parents and friends of the author are all sensible, caring adults but they all act so foolishly as to not deserve to make it to Oregon. To provide conflict, the author has provided us with an elderly couple plagued with grief-inflicted kleptomania. The adults are aware that the elderly woman is stealing supplies, clothes, and so on, but choose not to embarrass the poor woman in the name of 'Christian charity'. This is a classic case of a modern American author failing to see things from a historical perspective - when a stranger steals your child's sweater and your cooking pot, that means that your child catches cold and dies and you don't eat that night. People didn't exactly own five of everything, and certainly not when traveling cross-country. The parents are also so insipidly stupid as to let their children play with guns and explosives, and several nameless children die as a result.

However, none of these points detract from the book as a fun and educational book for children, though as an adult reader it may cause a wince or two on your part.

~ Ana Mardoll

[Jessica Mcmahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, to get through hard times, you must remind yourself of the treasures you are thriving for. When Hattie's family decides to move west in 1847, everyone thinks good or bad of it. Her father looks forward to staring a new life, leaving the last. Her mother is all tears, having to leave the place in which her dead children reside in. Hattie's brothers don't think of it much- they are young and naive. And Hattie doesn't know what to think- she has to leave her home and friends behind, but she is excited for a new life and wants to see a family friend who invited them to come. The journey has many dangers- many will die, some will live, all in a journey for a new experience. What happens to Hattie? Who will die? Who will live? Who will make it to the West?

Wow. This book made me cry, but it also made me laugh. I still cannot believe Pepper, Hattie's friend, married at 14! I will say this: the writing was very descriptive and I felt like I was really there, it was not at all hard to picture the scenery in my head. Having read many books on the topic before, as I find it fascinating, I can say it was pretty historically accurate. And I agree with Hattie- boys should not be aloud to shoot rifles whenever they feel like it, someone can be killed just like that. Overall, I gave it a five star rating since it was historically accurate, and every page kept me begging for more.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the storie of Hattie Campbell in 1847 whose father decides that he wants to move the family to the Oregon territory. This involves traveling from Missouri to Oregon, a six-month trip by wagon through a rather wide variety of dangers.

As Hattie learns, not everyone survives the journey. Not every thing survives, either, as families often have to abandon personal possessions to lessen the weight of their wagons, trying to make the job of the oxen or donkeys easier, although even they often die during the journey.

There's also danger from plants they are not familiar with (like hemlock), from the Indians, from the weather, from crossing rivers and even from each other. The novel shows that the journey was a terrible adventure, and that the cost of starting their lives over could be quite high indeed for those who desired to journey west.

Nowadays, of course, we think nothing of getting on board a plan and travelling from one side of the country to the other, or even of taking a train or just driving a car. Such things were utterly impossible in that day, though, and you got places long distances away through a long and very difficult process of wagon travel.

As with the other books in the series there is also a historical section with some interesting photos. Another good book in the series.

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why I remembered so little about this particular Dear America book; I can't recall reading any other standalone book with such a massive death toll of named characters! There seems to be at least one new casualty every few pages(some occurring quite dramatically), making it so gruesome that I just had to keep reading! I don't know what the mortality rates were for the average real-life wagon train, but if they were anything like this I'm surprised that enough people ever made it to Oregon to build a single ramshackle pioneer town.

But the insane amount of deaths and dangers isn't this book's only attraction: it's actually well-written and there are some truly likable characters among the wagon train. Mr. and Mrs. Bigg were my favorites, and I also liked Tall Joe and Hattie herself. But in the epilogue it felt overly convenient for Hattie and Wade to get married after all, when it seemed like by the end of the journey Hattie kind of decided that she was okay with just being friends and Wade never seemed romantically interested in her anyways.

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie turned out to be much more of a page-turner than I remembered. Something is always happening, and I actually cared about several of the characters. I'm glad I decided to finally re-read it, even after so many years.

[kaleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Across The Wide and Lonesome Prairie
By: Kristiana Gregory
I found this full of interesting information on the Oregon Trail. It was historical fiction. Based on true events but storyline developed by the author. The book made me feel as if I was actually there with them on the Oregon Trail. It kept me hooked the entire time I was reading. Over all, I enjoyed the book.