Monday, May 20, 2019

The Wide Horizon

The Wide Horizon. Loula Grace Erdman. 1956/2007. Bethlehem Books. 279 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Katie Pierce was sure she must be the luckiest girl in the whole Panhandle of Texas. Luckier even than her older sister Melinda who, after five years of waiting, was going to marry Dennis Kennedy in June and go with him to live in Amarillo. Dennis was a real doctor now, driving around the town and the surrounding country, looking after sick folks.

Premise/plot: The Wide Horizon is the middle book in a series. The first book is The Wind Blows Free and the last book is The Good Land. Each Pierce sister has their own novel. Melinda's story was The Wind Blows Free. Caroline's story will be The Good Land. Katie's story is The Wide Horizon.

Katie is the middle sister. Her older sister, Melinda, is literally about to get married when the novel opens. She'll be moving to Amarillo with her husband. This will make Katie the oldest sister still at home. (The twins Bert and Dick are still older. They're seventeen, I believe.) She'll be the one called Miss Pierce. She's soon to go away to school back in East Texas. But life has a way of reshuffling plans. When their grandmother falls and breaks a bone, it is their mother--not Katie--that heads East. Katie will be the woman of the house. The cooking, cleaning, sewing, tending will fall to her. She has watched her mother and Melinda for years--but those chores haven't really been hers. Is she ready to be a woman?

My thoughts:  I love, love, love, love, love, love this one. It is a favorite from my childhood. I did not grow up reading The Wind Blows Free or The Good Land. But The Wide Horizon was a book I owned and reread countless times. I loved spending time with Katie both at home and at school. (At home, she's learning to cook and bake. At school, she's given the responsibility of teaching art.) I also love how Melinda's friend, Annie Foster, is sticking around in this second book. Her love story happens in this one!



© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2 comments:

Alyssa Nelson said...

I've never heard of this book, but it sounds like something I would have ADORED growing up; I'll have to check it out sometime. Great review!

Lark said...

I would have loved this book growing up. I'd still probably love it today. :D I'll have to see if I can find a copy.