I would have liked this book a whole lot better if it wasn't for the unnecessary cruelty to animals (and to the young Indian boy) So many of the animal deaths were senseless and didn't contribute much to the story. It was a depressing and sorry read. ( )

After her husband, Haney, is killed in a farming accident, Mattie Remmel is left with a 4,000 acre alfalfa farm on the South Dakota plains. Haney's death, while devastating, is only the beginning of Mattie's heartache. While going through Haney's papers Mattie learns that Haney was not the man she had always believed him to be but that he had another life that she had known nothing about. Mattie forges ahead with the farm, enlisting the help of her college-aged daughter Shelley who returns home after breaking up an unsatisying relationship with her unemotional boyfriend. The Remmel women advertise for a handyman and are surprised when the ad is answered by a young woman named Dawn who has a knack for engine repair and construction but also has a past that threatens to catch up with her before too long. A teen-aged Indian boy, Elton, definitely a runaway from a painful homelife that he refuses to talk about, joins up with the women to keep the farm running. The four form a strange family unit that stands strong against weather, theiving neighbors, and Dawn's past.

I found this story bleak and tedious and I did not like any of the characters. Mattie is not too bad but she carries a lot of anger and distrust which makes it hard to feel any warmth toward her. Shelley is rather spoiled and whiny but she does show a lot of growth during the novel. Dawn is just plain weird and she lost me quickly with cruelty to a cat. I suppose Elton is the most likeable even though he doesn't talk about himself at all but you know there is a great deal of pain underneath his reticence. This one is definitely not recommended by me.
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Reminiscent of "A Thousand Acres," this book is extremely well written and the characters are exceptionally well defined. The women in this story are both strong and realistic, the language is beautiful, and the author makes the landscape come alive with his exceptional descriptions. ( )