I'm always looking for something "new" or something that teaches or give a different perspective. This one delivers...BIG TIME. It is the story of Louise White Elk and the people surrounding her on a reservation in the 1940s. It deals with boarding schools, marginalization, bad attractions and a host of complications that opened up a totally new world to me. This originally came out in 2002 - and has been re-released. It is, as others have said, "hauntingly raw."
Bold, passionate, and more urgent than ever, Debra Magpie Earling's powerful classic novel is reborn in this new edition.
On the Flathead Indian Reservation, summer is ending, and Louise White Elk is determined to forge her own path. Raised by her Grandmother Magpie after the death of her mother, Louise and her younger sister have grown up into the harsh social and physical landscape of western Montana in the 1940s, where Native people endure boarding schools and life far from home. As she approaches adulthood, Louise hopes to create an independent life for herself and an improved future for her…
This is another "new" historical perspective...that of the Kansas Irregulars and the Civil War. Make no mistake, this is a book about violence and needless bloodshed during a very dark time of American History. But if you've ever wondered about this facet of the Civil War (or the fall out) - this book is for you.
Set in the border states of Kansas and Missouri, Woe to Live On explores the nature of lawlessness and violence, friendship and loyalty, through the eyes of young recruit Jake Roedel. Where he and his fellow First Kansas Irregulars go, no one is safe, no one can be neutral. Roedel grows up fast, experiencing a brutal parody of war without standards or mercy. But as friends fall and families flee, he questions his loyalties and becomes an outsider even to those who have become outlaws.
Yes, this was made into a movie, but read it for the writing! Once again, this is a persepective of history that I NEVER considered - which apparently is my theme for 2026. Highly recommended. The setting is a girl's school in the South during the Civil War, and a wounded Union soldier whom they take in to nurse - with MANY unintended consequences.
The basis for the major motion picture directed by Sofia Coppola-named best director at the Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled-and starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning
"[A] mad gothic tale . . . The reader is mesmerized with horror by what goes on in that forgotten school for young ladies." -Stephen King, in Danse Macabre
Wounded and near death, a young Union Army corporal is found in the woods of Virginia during the height of the Civil War and brought to the nearby Miss Martha Farnsworth Seminary for Young Ladies. Almost immediately he sets…
Maude Montgomery, gifted with second sight, is trapped in a bad marriage to a confidence man who inspires little assurance. Yearning for a better existence, she gets more than she bargained for when her husband abandons her at a remote Nebraska outpost.
Alone for the first time in her life, Maude faces a crucial decision—return East to a life of mediocrity, or venture further into the West to seek fortune. Choosing to take her chances in the West and landing in Cripple Creek, Maude quickly learns that gold is not scattered in the streets.
Armed with nothing more than an untested belief that she can sense gold ore deposits, Maude finds herself entangled in the gold camp underworld and a mining swindle. Unsure who to trust, she’s about to discover that not everything that glitters is gold—and that freedom demands a hefty price.
