by Sandra Dallas
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| List Price: | $12.95 |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $4.94 |
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Product Description
No one is more surprised than Mattie Spenser herself when Luke Spenser, considered the great catch of their small Iowa town, asks her to marry him. Less than a month later, they are off in a covered wagon to build a home on the Colerado frontier. Mattie's only company is a slightly mysterious husband and her private journal, where she records the joys and frustrations not just of frontier life, but also of a new marriage to a handsome but distant stranger. As she and Luke make life together on the harsh and beautiful plains, Mattie learns some bitter truths about her husband and the girl he lieft behind and finds love where she least expects it. Dramatic and suspenseful, this is an unforgettable story of hardship, friendship and survival.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 All time favorite!, 2008-09-06
When asked for a book I would recommend, this is my first suggestion every time. I enjoy every book Sandra Dallas writes, this it the my all time favorite. Her surprise endings sneak up on you, and leave you in a state of shock.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 First Hand Account of Life on the Prairie, 2008-08-14
Life in the untamed west was difficult for everyone, but especially for women. Their hardships often led to death or madness. Isolation, Indians, harsh conditions for child-bearing, back-breaking work, and, many times, an inconsiderate husband made these women age beyond their years and die before their time. Such was the life of Mattie Spenser, a young woman forging west with her new husband to build a life on a homestead in Colorado in the 1860's. We follow Mattie's most private thoughts as she enters all she experiences in this, her journal.
The story Mattie writes is filled with patience, compassion, discouragement, and fear as she struggles not only with a new marriage, but also with taming the wild land. She loses three children and discovers the secrets of her husband, all of which almost shatter her life. Some people don't survive on the feral land, and there were times Mattie had doubts of her own survival.
Ms Dallas tells her story in a realistic, heart-warming manner, filling it with the fear, strength, sadness, loss and humor of the amazing women who settled the west. I recommend this book.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 The Formula for Success, 2008-03-08
Sandra Dallas tells good tales. The Diary of Mattie Spenser has intriguing turns. New Mercies has southern charm. Unfortunately, Dallas succumbs to decorating her books with the bric-a-brac of pseudo research--without integrating it into the tale. It glows like Mattie's silver spoons in a sod house. Dallas demonstrates no mastery of letting her characters speak --choosing rather to sprinkle the dialog with newspaper headlines and abrubt colloquialisms. One does not have to include every historical figure, building, or event in a book. Dallas has the talent to write well; it is unfortunate that she chooses formulas which no doubt drive and satisfy publishers but do not create good writing. A warning to readers--positive reviews can indicate that others have abandoned a book because it was not worth reading. Before you waste money on Dallas books, sample her writing from the local library.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
surprisingly captivating , 2008-02-11
When I plucked this one off the shelf I was iffy. But it wasn't a daunting book, and looked like it would be a breeze to finish off even if it didn't entirely hold my interest. You know those books - the kind that aren't page turners but are good enough to keep going, unless they're 400 pages and not worth it.
I became wrapped up in this one quickly, and it's not just the author's writing style as Mattie, but Mattie's personality. I don't know how authentic it is - this era isn't really my thing - but it certainly has the feel of authenticity.
The critical review ("Trite and Formulaic") baffled me. I don't know that a book using a checked off list of required elements would have this much substance and life to it. And the ending didn't strike me as Hollywood at all, but entirely in keeping with the ways of the world at that time. In fact, had it ended the way it might otherwise have, I'd have said THAT would be a Hollywood ending.
And why that reviewer feels the written ending reflects Mattie faltering and losing sight of her true self really puzzles me. She's just going to do it anyway? I don't think so. Maybe in 2008, but not then. I don't want to go into this more - it will give too much away.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Prairie Life in Living Color, 2007-09-20
I started this book because my DIL wanted to read it together. Well, she forgot but I kept reading it and became totally engrossed in this fascinating account of a young woman on the frontier. I love Sandra Dallas' historical fiction, and this one was up to her same standards. I was really surprised to see it has been 10 years since she wrote it. I am sorry that I didn't get around to reading this book sooner! It has suspense, and yearning, motherhood, grief, recovery... it was just an excellent read.
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