Tag Archives: pioneer girl
Pioneer Girl
Fiction
Penguin Books
2015-01-27
304
Discovering a family heirloom that her mother may have received from Laura Ingalls Wilder, PhD graduate Lee Lien explores the tenuous connection between her ancestors and the famous pioneer author only to discover a trail of clues that lead to fateful encounters.
Review:
“Pioneer Girl” is an absolutely wonderful novel about a Vietnamese woman born to immigrant parents in the 1970s.
As a child, Lee Lien was obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books as she and her family moved from place to place, looking for a better life. As an adult, she begins to trail a story that goes back to her mother’s childhood in Saigon. The search for the full story makes for a wonderful literary mystery that would be enough to make a good read on its own. However, there is much more.
Soon Lee, and the reader, begins to connect the lives of her family with those of the Wilders. The search for a better life is something that spans all cultures and generations, and never has book so captured the American Dream as eloquently as “Pioneer Girl”. It is something unchanging, and will hopefully be embraced and extended to all of those yet to come. Don’t we all want what is best for those we love?
I learned more about Vietnamese culture than all of what I knew previously combined. It was extremely educational, and I don’t think I will ever be able to eat at a Chinese Buffet again. More diverse books are desperately needed, and this is an excellent addition toward that goal of universal diversity. Thank you to the author for your work.
I recommend “Pioneer Girl”. While it is an adult book, the subject matter can be appreciated by upper middle graders and up. It will be extra enjoyable to all “Little House on the Prairie” fans.
This review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography
Biography & Autobiography
2014-09-01
Laura Ingalls Wilder's unedited, and unpublished, draft of her autobiography that was written for an adult audience and eventually served as the foundation for her popular Little House on the Prairie series includes not-safe-for-children tales that feature stark scenes of domestic abuse, love triangles gone awry and a man who lit himself on fire while drunk off whiskey.
Review:
As with many readers, much of my early reading involved the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Of course, that world was also brought into our homes through the television series of the same name. It is not a stretch to say it has been a beloved staple of childhood for generations, including my own. Therefore, I was thrilled to get an advanced copy “Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Biography” through the Goodreads First Reads program in exchange for an honest review.
Here comes the honesty: this edition of “Pioneer Girl” is an absolute must have for all Laura Ingalls Wilder fans, fans of either form of Little House on the Prairie, as well as anyone interested in the history of the great plains. It is everything I hoped it would be and more.
The annotations are thorough and include little known facts about Mrs. Wilder herself, but also about the daily living of her time. Photos give a wonderful glimpse into the real people behind the stories and include such additions of schoolyard play in small towns. Her life comes alive in the minds of readers thanks to the photography and annotations.
Perhaps the biggest draw of “Pioneer Girl” is it was written as more of a diary of memories, skipping back and forth as her mind saw fit, and it was not changed as the Little House on the Prairie books were to add that little zing of which publishers are so fond. This is her story, stark, detailed, and wonderful, as she meant it to be.
I give “Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography” a hundred stars, but the rating system will only allow me to put five of them here. And don’t forget, this would make an excellent gift for the fans of Little House in the prairie in your life!
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