This Newbery Honor book tells the story of an African American family’s trip by wagon to Nebraska in 1879 to claim land in hopes of a better life for themselves away from the South. The storytellers are three women: twelve-year-old Lettie, her mother–Sylvia, and a young teacher–Philomena. Stylistically, the novel is written in verse; there is essentially no punctuation with abundant white space on the page and quite small print. The point of view is always alternating among the three, and this gives the reader insight and different perspectives on what the journey meant to different people and what was a concern (or worry) for each. This provides a lot of texture to the narrative. It is always a stressful to read about westward journeys because the reader knows it is going to be rough: trouble, hardships, deaths. This book is so well-written, thoughtful, and fills a gap in the existing literature on Black pioneers so it is worth the stress.

The author’s note was so important that it literally begins on the same page that the story ends. Probably to help ensure that the reader continues to read and thus get more context and background. This novel will likely become a classroom favorite for discussion.

This is a story of family, hope, grit, endurance, the powerful women who helped settle the West, and the strength of sisterhood. For a complimentary read check out Will’s Race for Home, which follows a group of three male characters set during the Oklahoma Land Rush.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 2 religious exclamations; 2 mild obscenities.

Violence/Gore: References to past events while enslaved (family members taken and sold, beatings); kids throwing rocks at animal; reports of bandits; parent grabs child and shakes roughly; character shot, mention of blood, serious injury (eventual death implied); report of death of parents (past); brief recollection of white men coming at night to cabin, pushing a father to the ground, “snatching at Mom in her nightclothes”; group is attacked and sounds of fighting and shooting are heard with the death of one character; character drowns; death from illness; injuries from storm.

Sex/Nudity: Recollections of courtship; two adults like each other and are courting.

Mature Subject Matter:

Racial prejudice and discrimination, historical discriminatory attitudes about women, slavery, economic and physical hardship, death of a family member.

Drug/Alcohol Use:

None