First published 2017
Seventeen-year-old Becky Linville stands with her three younger siblings on a windswept claim in South Dakota's newly opened Rosebud Reservation. Uncle Jim's sudden death has left Dick, Phil, Joan, and Becky to prove up their homestead without any adult to guide them. The children discover squatters living in a ramshackle shelter on their land, their property damaged and their crops threatened by drought. Winter arrives with brutal blizzards and temperatures that drive the family close to starvation. Becky must keep her siblings alive while learning to farm, build, and survive on the unforgiving prairie. The scattered neighbors prove more welcoming than expected, offering help when the Linvilles need it most. Each challenge tests the children's determination to hold onto their land and stay together as a family. Through harsh seasons and small victories, the siblings develop the skills and confidence they need to make the prairie their home.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: South Dakota, Rosebud Reservation
Period: 20th Century
174 pages · Kindle Edition · Dover Publications
Content warnings: death